Introducing my cats

[Patti]

You have some beautiful kitties! I suspect your little boy is feeling a bit intimidated by the larger cat, who is after all a complete stranger to him. You might try crating her while you let him out in the room with her for supervised visits - this way he can get to know her a bit better while keeping both of them safe. I would definitely continue to feed them next to each other with the gate separating them. You can also play with them side by side in the same way with wand toys or laser lights. You didn't mention how long you have had the kitten in quarantine, or how long you have been attempting to introduce them. Sometimes kitties hit it off right away, other times they can take weeks or even months before they are truly comfortable and happy with each other. It is important to be patient and let them work this through in their own way and timeline.

 

[roxie.manix]

He was in quarantine for 1 week before introductions and he is still in his room most of the time other than when he comes out to explore and play. We put our resident cat in another room during this time. We have been trying for a couple days to let them meet and interact a little bit. It seems one day our resident cat wants to play and he shy's away now today she is being a bit aggressive to him. Maybe we are going to quickly and we just need to take a step back and slow down. Thank you for the advice. We will keep feeding times at the gates and play time on either side of the gate. I will get a bigger crate to see if that helps too ☺

 

[Patti]

I would definitely slow down and see if you can't ease them into the relationship more gradually. You can also let him out to roam the house while secluding her in a room so that he has free run. Once he gets to know his new home/environment better he will be more confident, and more able to handle introductions to his half-sister.

 

[roxie.manix]

Thank you ☺ we will slow it down and hopefully it goes a bit better when we try again