Thread: How to integrate a second kitten

Hi all, we've dried our house as best we can and look almost back to normal now - we're waiting for loss adjusters etc before the house gets rid of that lovely damp smell but we've now got dry carpets everywhere except one room. So I decided to collect Wicca and bring her home yesterday afternoon, and although my breeder warned me that Freyja would hiss and growl at Wicca - and at me - I wasn't prepared for Freyja to isolate herself the way she has. I've got Feliway plugged in downstairs in the kitchen, which is also where food bowls and litter trays live, but Freyja will not venture down there and Wicca will not venture up. I brought little Wicca up stairs into the middle floor last night, so Freyja locked herself away on the top floor. I ended up taking bowls of food and water into our bedroom, plus Freyja's litter tray, because it became apparent that she'll not venture downstairs to the kitchen.

Every time Freyja hears Wicca call out from the kitchen, she freezes and hisses. Every time I talk to Freyja, she hisses and growls at me. She's just jumped up on my desk whilst I'm typing this, gave me a head bump and let me fuss her, then jumped on her Tower and curled up to watch me - so I went to give her a head rump and got a hiss and a growl for my trouble.

No idea what to do for the best. Wicca now - technically - has free run of the entire house (even though she won't leave the dining room) and Freyja has limited herself to just one floor. Not what I intended at all.

Should I put Wicca's food/water bowls and litter tray in our bedroom so that Freyja can have the rest of the house to herself again? I didn't do that yesterday as Freyja loves sleeping in our room with us when we go to bed.

Any thoughts??

Hi

Timmy was no problem - Sarah was awful when I first got Zack but they gradually got over it and as you see from the picture they are best friends now

I dont know what is best but I made up a room for Zack and kept him in there with his own beds, toys, tray and food bowl and brought him out for supervised visits for the first couple of days and put him back in there. I would go down to the room and play with him alone and then come out and fuss the others. After day 2 I left the door open and he ventured out himself and that was when sarah went berserk. I followed them around and seperated her from him and gave her a fuss .

After another couple of days I resorted to the water spray ( works best for Sarah) if she got too nasty and it worked because the next day the hissing stopped they could sit in the same room.

I still left his tray in his room for a couple of weeks and then slowly moved it out to the cat run and moved his food with the others when he started running into the laundry himself at food time.

I left all the Timmy and Sarah's food and toys etc where they always were

One of those things I think - it worked for me but may not for others

PS - I know that awful feeling tho - I remember thinking Sarah was going to kill him to start with - she would bail him in a corner and go for him. I think I posted in a panic but got reassurance from this forum and all went ok in the end

Originally Posted by FreyjaRoMaine

Hi all, we've dried our house as best we can and look almost back to normal now - we're waiting for loss adjusters etc before the house gets rid of that lovely damp smell but we've now got dry carpets everywhere except one room. So I decided to collect Wicca and bring her home yesterday afternoon, and although my breeder warned me that Freyja would hiss and growl at Wicca - and at me - I wasn't prepared for Freyja to isolate herself the way she has. I've got Feliway plugged in downstairs in the kitchen, which is also where food bowls and litter trays live, but Freyja will not venture down there and Wicca will not venture up. I brought little Wicca up stairs into the middle floor last night, so Freyja locked herself away on the top floor. I ended up taking bowls of food and water into our bedroom, plus Freyja's litter tray, because it became apparent that she'll not venture downstairs to the kitchen.

Every time Freyja hears Wicca call out from the kitchen, she freezes and hisses. Every time I talk to Freyja, she hisses and growls at me. She's just jumped up on my desk whilst I'm typing this, gave me a head bump and let me fuss her, then jumped on her Tower and curled up to watch me - so I went to give her a head rump and got a hiss and a growl for my trouble.

No idea what to do for the best. Wicca now - technically - has free run of the entire house (even though she won't leave the dining room) and Freyja has limited herself to just one floor. Not what I intended at all.

Should I put Wicca's food/water bowls and litter tray in our bedroom so that Freyja can have the rest of the house to herself again? I didn't do that yesterday as Freyja loves sleeping in our room with us when we go to bed.

Any thoughts??

There are many ways to integrate a new kitten though I always advise my new owners to let the new baby be alone for a week or so.. in a room with either you and or on her own with you paying lots of visits, moving to new homes is the biggest stress some kitties can have and if they are hiding anything nasty then it comes out round about now!!

But I will take it that all is okay health wise..

I would suggest little introductions slowly, NEVER rush them...

I have a big pen I use and I put the newbie in there for a while to give the established kitty's time to smell out the newcomer... then slowly open the door and take it easy!
Moving litter trays, food bowl, water not a good idea confusion all the way around and one of the main causes of dirty kitties.. even kitty's that have been clean before can become dirty..

Never force the introduction, there is no rush!

Growling and spitting even at you is par for the course...

Take time talking to them in that soft silly voice we all use with our cats, talking to them both, using their names.. and let them do it at their own pace!

I have just brought in an Abyssinian from a well trusted breeder, he has already lived on his own for some time, so no stress about nastys... he spends all the time here walking around growling and spitting even at us.. My own cats just look at him... he is desperate to play... you can see it.. after 1 week he is still walking around grumbling to him self but he has just started to play!!

The somali kitty I bought at the same time.. Well he has lived here all his life... nothing phases him and nothing luckily phases my cats cause he is a real loon!!


It takes time.. it can be a matter of days it can sometimes be weeks.. and never presume always they will be best buddies sometimes that can happen.. THEY tolerate one another... lol But in most case the owner gets stressed and this rubs off on the kitty's Chill!!

Oops... I hadn't read your earlier post about the flooding. You have my sympathy... glad to hear things are a bit better now.

As for the integration problem... I am familiar with the hissing and growling. In our household it only lasted a couple of days. Tatja hissed at Monty for two days before deciding he wasn't such a bad sort after all. And both of them hissed and growled at little Minnie for a bit, but that grew less and less. In a matter of days they had totally accepted her and everything went back to normal.
Minnie did hide under the bed at first, but I left her food and water in the kitchen so she had to come out and eat with the others, which she did.
Her breeder told us not to interfere in case of 'hostilities'... she said the cats have to work it out among themselves. So we went about the normal daily routine, no special protection for the newcomer, no keeping them apart, etc. We just let them stew in their own fat, so to speak.
I'm sorry I can't give you any better advice than this... but of course it's only been a very short while since Wicca arrived. It might take a couple of days for them to get used to the new situation.
Good luck and hugs for both girls!

Was sad to see Fryja's empty pen at the show but so pleased for you that there is some form of normality for you at home,amongst the hissing....
I have always kept the newbie of the household seperate for a few nights but during the day as long as we were about we have just had open house & let them get on with things,Bruce was awful to Merlyn when he arrived & Bruce plus Merlyn were awful to Shims & Welly,lots of the hissing & growling & Bruce not wanting his cuddles but eventually they all worked themselves out & harmony reigns most of the time.
Strange thing happened to me with the Feliway though,when daughter was moving back home to live with her two cats I decided to use the diffuser to see if it would keep mine calmer,it done the complete opposite to Shimba,when Lynne arrived she said Shims looked spacey & his eyes were glazed,I went to pick him up to have a look & ended up bit & scratched for my efforts & him a quaking heap under the bed,we got rid of the diffuser, shut all the other cats up, opened all the doors & windows for a couple of hours,bl***y cold because it wasn't the warmest time of the year but when Shims came out of the bedroom he was his usual loving self,would never risk using it again,I suffered & the cats all got on fine !
Will follow the next few traumatic days with interest & wait for the excitement the first time they actually get into the same room together,you think you are winning with them & then they take two steps back before starting again,how many of us have been there,done it,got that T shirt......x

Don't worry, Karen - Hobbes hissed both of us when we introduced Alice and after three days, they were playing quite happily. Same thing when we introduced Paddy and now they are inseparable. Like Antonia, we didn't even try to separate them - Paddy slept in the ensuite right next to the nice basket we provided and Hobbes slept under the bed, emerging to glower at the interloper from time to time. This lasted all of two days, so I wouldn't worry. I'm sure Freyja and Wicca will soon be romping happily together.
Hope the loss adjusters get their fingers out and you can soon be rid of the damp smell!
Hugs, Pam

Thanks everyone for your advice. Thought I'd give you a bit of an update...

So, since her arrival, Wicca has adopted the dining room as her base of operations; it took a bit of coaxing but she's sussed where food and litter trays are and happily uses both as when necessary. This morning I'm working from home and she's venturing out into the larger part of the house, with regular brief visits to the study where I'm based. She's incredibly playful and super affectionate - not sure she's up to Candes's Loverboy levels but she's certainly more demonstrable than Freyja was when we first brought her home.

Freyja, locked herself in the top floor of the house - two floors away from food and litter tray, and a floor away from water. Saturday night I brought a tray up to our bedroom and some kibble as it was clear Freyja wasn't going to leave the bedroom and as she HATES to be shut out of our lives I had no intention of locking her out of our room by putting Wicca in with us. Sunday morning, tray and food went back down to the kitchen (the kitchen is next to the dining room, so food and toilet facilities are on the same floor as the room Wicca has adopted). Since Sunday morning, Freyja - to my knowledge - hasn't eaten anything. She may have used her litter tray since it's been back in the kitchen, but I'm not sure about timing.

I expected this hissing, growling and anti-social behaviour, but I didn't expect Freyja to isolate herself in part of the house. So today, we've shut the doors to the top floor rooms to force her to mooch about in other parts of the house. We're not forcing the two cats together, just cutting off the places Freyja can hide to avoid Wicca.

With all the hissing and growling, Freyja hasn't given us the impression that she'll attack Wicca, but she's tried to box me several times when I've decided to fuss her regardless of the growling - not sure how best to manage her when she's in that mood, but I wanted to show her that nothing would make me love her less, even growling and hissing at me. I realise I maybe crediting my puss with far more emotional intelligence than a feline deserves though! Whilst Wicca's been invading the study today, I've noticed that Freyja's hissing and growling has reduced considerably (at least at Wicca; I'm still getting it in the neck though) so I think that must be a good sign. And Freyja's not angry 24/7, either.

So I'm not worried that Wicca's going to be beaten up, and I'm much less worried about the abuse directed at me, especially after reading some of your experiences, as I suspect that this will pass. What bothers me at the moment is Freyja locking herself away and not eating, so I've brought some food into the study today just to make sure she's put something away, but I figure if I keep doing that it'll make it easier for her to avoid the bottom floor. And I'd like to let her out in the garden as she loves it out there and sees it as a treat, but I'm worried that she'll get the wrong message (i.e. that she's not wanted) or that she'll try and leg it over the fence.

And the smell of damp is still here, with no loss adjuster arriving until Wednesday now. Fortunately, the study ceiling hasn't bowed any further, so I'm optimistic that it won't collapse! Whilst squashing both my cats under a fallen ceiling might resolve one of my immediate issues, it's not got much longevity!

Fortunately, the study ceiling hasn't bowed any further, so I'm optimistic that it won't collapse! Whilst squashing both my cats under a fallen ceiling might resolve one of my immediate issues, it's not got much longevity![/QUOTE]

Oh Karen that bit made me smile,I do feel so sorry for you but to still have a sense of humour must help.
You might find that Freyja is blaming you on two accounts,not only have you brought a new funny four legged furry thing in but you have also spoilt her house,she is most probaly feeling insecure about her surroundings as well,the smell she associates with home has gone & the replacement odour leaves a bit to be desired.I am sure the other will work out though,when our two ganged up on the two new babies Bruce was really awful to them & us,Merl would hiss & walk past but Bruce snarled & hissed like a wild cat & if I spoke he would hiss at me & walk away,he didn't go off his food but gave up coming for cuddles,I really did begin to wonder if we had done the right thing,he eased out with me though by being allowed to come to bed with me on his own for a special half hour at night,no one else allowed in,I just sat on the bed & done crosswords & eventually he came & laid down near me & then he laid across my legs & from there he got better with me,I always kept just talking to him during the day but didn't go in for cuddles & it was nearly a couple of weeks before we got back onto the same footing as before,did take a bit longer to give up on babes but now he is fine,he came down to bed a couple of mornings ago & Shims gave him a head & ear wash,now Bruce waits for Shims & goes & puts his head under him to have his daily clean,it will happen.....

Freyja’s hiding away must be very unsettling for you.
A cat whose territory is being invaded can feel upset and threatened. But the newbie is far too busy checking out her new home to be bothered by any hostile behaviour. They often act as if they don’t even notice the other one’s hissing and growling!
I get the impression that Freyja, for all her playfulness and sweet antics, is in fact a far more timid kitty than she seems to be. You said yourself she wasn’t all that affectionate at first. Possibly Freyja is the insecure one whilst Wicca is the confident one – different personalities, just like people.
But if Wicca really is the outgoing and affectionate type, she’ll be looking for a playmate soon. And then she could very well start making advances toward Freyja and try to win her confidence.
I think you’re doing well by giving Freyja lots of attention in the meantime. Also some extra-special food, treats, or a new toy might help her feel better.
Hang on in there and keep us posted!