New kitten question.

[Kelsey2663]

Hi I have a almost 10 year old tuxedo female. I got her when she was a year old and a month after I got her I got a 6 week old calico female. They grew up together with no issues. They even did ok when I had to move back home with my parents and my moms demon cat. Last week however I had to put my calico down, she had a mass in her stomach. I decided it was time to get a new baby kitty which my husband and I did yesterday. The new kitten is doing great however our older cat is in hiding and we don't know what to do. We have them separated but the older one still hides. My husband is willing to give it about a week before we take the new kitten back if things don't improve. We're really stressed out and worrying about our older cat. Any advice on how to make this easier for our old cat and reassure her that it's ok?  Please help!

[Bria_Elliott]

The older cat is going to be mad for a while but they will get used to each other. It is just like when you where a kid and you got your first little brother or sister and you where kind of upset because you are not getting all the attention.  

[Piparskeggr]

When we brought Miss Teia into the house a little over 5 years ago, we had 3 kitties , Kessie, Hildie and Chessie, all of whom had a pretty well established hierarchy.

Teia spent the first couple of days in our master bath, mostly hiding behind the commode.  During the 3rd night, she got across the hall into the guest bedroom, so that became her room.  We closed the door all the time for a couple of weeks.  We then put a baby gate in the door way (all the kitties were jump challenged, so this was a good barrier).  After a couple of months, the new order was that room was Teia's and the other kitties stayed out, without the baby gate.

Eventually, Hildie and Teia formed a sort of friendship where Hildie could go in and visit, so long as she did not try to get closer than 1 foot or so.  The two of them would eat their meals together while Kessie and Chessie ate in the kitchen.

We made sure that everyone got lap time and playtime, though it took quite some time before Teia learned to play.

We still have Teia, who has become quite the snuggle bug.  Lost the other girls to illness.

Are looking forward to getting an older shelter cat and then 2 kittens so we're back to our usual 4.

[Kelsey2663]

Thank you!  I watch it and hopefully learn some pointers.

[opus88]

Here it is, originally posted by furballsmom....has some excellent points

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrwcoiy_gY&feature=youtu.be

[opus88]

Plz don't take kitty back....it just takes patience and a bit of time!!! Keep new kitty or older one in their own room where other one can't intrude, slowly introduce by taking a Blankie or something with their scent on an exchanging from cat to cat....than allow them a visual of one another from under a door or across a barrier gate, this is all very new to the older kitty an will take abit of adjustment for her to get comfortable with
Supervise first intros in a week or two...new baby is going to be a bit rambunctious and cause the older one to be jittery...and possibly swat at kitten out of fright
They will soon learn not to feel threatened and know their boundaries with each other......good luck plz don't give up
There is a video I have stored on this very topic by Jackson gallexie when I find it I will copy for you:)