Help!! 8 week old kitten meeting spoiled Savannah...

[nickandkristi]

Well, after toying with the idea for months, Nick and I finally decided to get Lyra a sibling.

Tonight we picked up Lex, an 8-week old male kitten, adopted from our local Humane Society. We brought him home, in Lyra's old cat carrier.

When we brought him in, we did set him down (in the carrier) so Lyra could see. She took one look and hissed and growled like I have never heard before. Immediately following that, we put Lex in his own room, closed off from Lyra. Nick and I have been taking turns between making sure Lyra is ok and that our new baby Lex, is also ok.

How are we ever going to get our beyond spoiled one-year old Lyra Bean to accept this new, teeny fuzz baby?? Since she really is a "Mommy's girl," after seeing me hold Lex, she hisses and growls at me now

Any advice would be appreciated. If Lyra doesn't adjust, we are afraid we will have to find a new home for Lex

 

[WitchyWoman]

It's way too soon for you to be concerned about the final outcome. You should keep Rex is isolation for two weeks. After that, put Lyra in his room and let Lex explore the house and get used to it. Then put him back in his room and give Lyra back the house. Swap the cats for a few hours each day -- one has the house, one is closed in a room. If you have the ability to put a screen door on the room where Lex is that would give them time to see and greet each other and get used to each other at the end of the isolation period. If not, you can put Lex in a carrier and let Lyra into the room or vice versa. Or you can supervise short visits. There are many variations to this that you can use to get them comfortable with each other. Instead of putting one in a carrier, give Lyra Rex's bed after the 2 wk iso and give Rex Lyra's bed or anything else that smells of the other cat. Keep doing any or all of these suggestions until they are comfortable with each other.

You may have a bumpy road and you may not. They could bond quickly or it could take some time or a lot of time but in most cases, even when cats don't become bosom buddies, they learn to share a home in relative harmony.

 

[WitchyWoman]

One other thing -- Lex is very young and ideally should have spent at least another 4 weeks with his mom/siblings before being separated from them. He hasn't had enough time to learn proper cat interactions and Lyra will have to teach him. Sometimes these lessons are taught with a lot of yelling, hissing, hitting so don't panic if that happens. Lyra will be socializing the kitten right along with you.

 

[nickandkristi]

Thank you so so much for the response. I guess I was just hoping for a miracle, bringing Lex home and having Lyra love him.

It's going to be a long road ahead with getting these two acclimated to each other. But, we are willing to try- Lex is such a good kitten

Thanks, again, for the advise

 

[Trish Allearz]

Thank you so so much for the response. I guess I was just hoping for a miracle, bringing Lex home and having Lyra love him.

It's going to be a long road ahead with getting these two acclimated to each other. But, we are willing to try- Lex is such a good kitten

Thanks, again, for the advise

It's so not necessarily a long road. You just brought home a teeny baby and plopped it in front of your older kitty- the reaction is a totally normal one for an older kitty.

Listen to Deb- you may be pleasantly surprised

 

[nickandkristi]

I definitely will follow Deb's advise, I am hoping with all my heart that I can look back at this and day, "I was such a worry wort," as I am posting photos of Lyra and Lex happily playing together

Another question, Monday, unfortunately is just around the corner and Nick and I have to go back to work- the kitties will be home alone. Is it ok to leave Lex closed away in his room, while Lyra has the run of the house? Guess there really isn't another option... Thoughts?

 

[Dantes]

to add to what deb said, make sure they can smell each other (ie. under the door) but not see. the idea is to get them used to each other's smell so they will get curious about each other and want to meet, so lyra will invite him in rather than feel he's invading her territory. done properly, since they are both young, they should be begging to meet each other by 2 weeks. then you can have lex in the carrier and have eye contact with lyra. they'll let you know

 

[nickandkristi]

Lyra has been stopping and sniffing outside of the room that Lex is in, but she keeps making a hissing noise and this crazy, almost bark sound... Ahh, the joys of being a Savannah Mommy .

Lyra did sleep with me last night, like she always does- no purring, but still my little snuggle bunny. I am crossing my fingers for a good day today

Just out of curiosity, one shelter than we had looked into before getting Lex from our local Humane Society, had mentioned putting a tiny dab of vanilla extract on both kitties noses, so they can smell the same to each other. Anyone heard of this? Is it safe?

 

[John Popp]

Deb's post needs a super awesome button to click!

I always like to think about it in terms of how long it would take you to warm about the idea of sharing your home with another person. If you came home and Joe Sixpack was snacking on the couch before you even knew them you probably wouldn't be too cool with it. Of course your cat is pretty much a non-voting entity in this matter, but it's obviously important that they at least warm to the idea before meeting face to face.

I'm sure all will be fine and with time they generally become buddies. If they don't they definitely learn how to share space and coexist. My guess is they'll be buddies, just don't be surprised if it takes a couple weeks.

 

[John Popp]

Just out of curiosity, one shelter than we had looked into before getting Lex from our local Humane Society, had mentioned putting a tiny dab of vanilla extract on both kitties noses, so they can smell the same to each other. Anyone heard of this? Is it safe?

I'm not sure I would do this as it's primarily to mask other scents. If there was an outdoor cat that was causing stirrings I would certainly go this route and I found some success with our big boy. In your situation, it's only going to prolong the inevitable and in that close of proximity probably not going to be real effective.