Questions About Bringing a New Kitten Home

You may be excited about bringing home a new kitten, but the other pets in your household may not be as happy. There are many things to consider and steps to take to keep your new "baby" safe.

I have a two-year-old female cat named 'Lilo'. She is spayed and vaccinated. Recently, I brought a new two-week-old male kitten into the household, and I've had him for a week. I have given him a separate litter box and food away from Lilo because she is very aggressive towards him and snarls a lot.

Since the arrival of 'Paw-Paw' (the kitten), Lilo is angry with everyone in the house. My normally friendly cat is showing signs of aggressiveness with my kids and hides under the cot for long hours even though Paw-Paw is in his room. Even when she hears him meow, she snarls and runs off. She doesn't seem to relax on the couch or play hide and seek as she used to. I am quite worried, so what do I do about it ? How long does it take a cat such as mine to get friendly with the kitten? I got the kitten from the veterinary clinic where he was looking for a home. The vet said that I could take him back if my cat cannot adjust. My kids love the kitten a lot and want to keep him, but I am scared that Lilo may attack him. Please help.

~~K. Jehan

Expert Reply

Hi K. Jehan,

First, it is very normal for Lilo to be upset about the addition of a new pet into the household. Just like people, cats have individual personalities and some respond better to change than others. It sounds like Lilo is particularly stressed, but it shouldn't be anything you can't eventually overcome. Obviously, while the kitten is small, you will need to monitor both cats closely to avoid any injury to the smaller cat. Are you sure the kitten is only two weeks old? I can't imagine a cat that small could even eat food on its own. It would need to be bottle fed, more than likely. You may want to check on the age of the cat with the veterinarian to give you a better idea of what to expect from the kitten at different stages of kittenhood.

Next, you did the right thing in separating the kitten to its own area for a while. Since the kitten has been in there a week, it is time to take the next step. This step may take a while, but if you are patient with the process it may help Lilo adjust more readily. You need to get a small cage and place the kitten inside. Bring the cage into the main room of your home. This might be the living room for example. This is the room where your family spends most of its time. Leave the kitten inside the cage for one hour. Allow Lilo to sniff the cage or snarl or whatever she needs to do during that time. After an hour, open the cage door and allow the kitten to come into the room, watching Lilo's reaction closely. If she shows any type of aggression, immediately put the kitten back inside the cage and repeat the process. After a few hours, go ahead and take the kitten back to his room if she has not accepted him. This process may take weeks with some cats.

Good luck and I hope it works out.

~~Lori

We have two adult spayed female cats that get along well together. We adopted a six-month-old male stray about three weeks ago. He was neutered and declawed. We kept him in his own area for a while and then introduced him to the females for short doses. The alpha female has always reacted by growling and hissing at him. However, after an extended time together, we found her and the new male in a drag-out brawl. She urinated and defecated, apparently in fear. We have separated them again and have been slowly reintroducing them to each other nightly for about an hour. She continues to hiss and growl the whole time, and he eventually approaches her "safe territory" (behind a chair), leading to a huge fight again. We separated them again. Although he is the newcomer, he seems to be the definite aggressor. Do you have any tips on how we can get him to stop scaring her and have them all get along? We have tried lots of positive feedback, petting each cat, play, and separate sleeping spaces at night. This is not a "play" fight--it's real aggression. Please help! We don't know if this will get better with time and we should keep trying the same things, or if there are other tips. We're a little afraid that we might have tried to acclimate them too quickly.

~~Kim

Expert Reply

Hi, Kim,

It can be frustrating when pets you love don't get along. Three weeks is not a lot of time for cats to grow used to one another, especially if you have particularly territorial animals. The female urinating and defecating is probably her way of marking her territory. Many of the things you described are exactly the things you should be doing to help the cats get used to one another. I would just change things a tiny bit to help the female feel safer. Try these steps for a week or two and see if this helps at all:

• Continue to keep the cats separated during the day. Make sure each cat has his or her own litter box and that you confine the new cat to a small area, such as a bathroom.

• In the evenings, bring the male cat into a common living area, such as the family room. But, instead of letting him roam, confine him inside a cage or crate. If you do not own one of these, you can sometimes turn a laundry basket upside down. It depends upon the size of the cat whether this will work. You may have to weight it down on top. Allow the female cats to sniff around the cage and ignore any growling or other behavior. After an hour, allow the male cat out of the crate and closely observe the behavior of the three cats. The minute any type of fighting breaks out, no matter which cat starts the fight, put the male cat back into his crate and repeat the process.

• You may have to be very patient. It could take days or even weeks before you can allow the male cat out of the crate without the cats fighting. However, these steps will allow your female to feel more secure and may prevent some of the fighting.

The cats may never be best friends. Your goal is to simply get them to tolerate one another without fighting or having accidents in your home. The good news is that I have never had a situation where the cats did not eventually get used to one another. I did have two females who would pass one another and growl their entire lives but they tolerated one another's presence eventually. Good luck!

~~Lori

My cat, Lucy, is being very aggressive toward my new cat, Roxy. We got Roxy on Saturday. I don't know what to do. Roxy never tries to be aggressive back and is much smaller and can't defend herself. I've tried putting Lucy in a different room and then taking her back. But, Lucy is still aggressive. Please help me.

~~Michael

Expert Reply

Hi, Michael,

Welcome to the world of cat territory. Don't worry. This type of trouble is very common when you bring a new kitten into the home. Cats are creatures of habit and do not like change. Some cats are more sensitive to change than others and almost always it takes cats some time to adjust to one another. There are some steps you can take to slowly introduce the new kitten to Lucy and to reduce some of the stress for both of them.

• Place the new kitten in a separate room with her food, water and litter and leave her there. When you want to pet her or play with her, you go into the room and shut the door behind you. You need to keep her in the separate room for about three days. I know this is hard when you have a new kitten because they are cute and we want them close to us, but this will also teach Roxy where her litter box is located and will help her get used to her new home.

• Next, you need a cat crate. After a few days, put Roxy inside the crate and bring the crate into a main room of your home, such as the living room. Leave her inside the crate for a minimum of one hour. Allow Lucy to sniff the cage or even to growl and hiss if she needs to do so. After an hour, bring Roxy out of the crate and allow the two cats to interact. If Lucy shows any aggression, immediately put Roxy back into the cage.

• Repeat the above step, leaving Roxy in the cage for an hour and then bringing her out until the two cats get used to one another. This takes a lot of patience and at times it can take several days of work, if you are working with a stubborn cat.

Even if you are able to get Lucy to accept Roxy, she may not "like" her for a while. Your immediate goal is to keep her from hurting the kitten or showing aggression. Good luck!

~~Lori

I got a male kitten about a month and a half ago. He is not neutered because he's not six months yet, and he is very playful. A week ago I adopted another male kitten that is ten- weeks-old. When I brought him home, I realized he is very skinny and he would not eat. I took him to the vet and they couldn't really figure it out but gave me different foods to try. He is now eating a little bit but is very skinny still. He only weighs one pound and thirteen ounces.

Now I have two male kittens, one who is sick, neither of them neutered and I'm trying to slowly introduce them. The older kitten is much bigger and he attacks the little one. There is no hissing coming from the big one but there is from the little one. The bigger one also bites the little one. I always separate them, because I am unsure whether this is normal or not. It's hard to keep them in separate rooms because I'm in a one bedroom apartment and whichever kitten is in the bedroom meows (which breaks my heart). I can't be two places at once so I really need them to get along. Thanks!

~~Shelby

Expert Reply

Hi, Shelby,

Some of the behavior you describe could be normal playfulness on the part of the other cat and your new kitty is just shy and uncertain. However, it is important that you not let the older cat get away with aggressive behavior, so I'm going to give you some tips for introducing the cats to one another.

Anytime you bring a new cat home, it can take time for the animals to get used to each other. First, make sure your older kitten feels loved and understands that the new cat is not taking his place in the household. Give the older feline extra attention and love. It is really important that you confine the new kitten to a small space for the first few days in your apartment. You can place him with a litter box in the bathroom for example. Obviously, this does not mean that you ignore the kitten. You need to still give him lots of attention. But his roaming is limited as he grows used to his new surroundings.

After a few days, introduce the cats to one another. The best way to do this is to put the new kitten into a plastic crate. If you do not own one, a heavy laundry basket turned upside down works well with small kittens. Let the older kitten wander around the room, sniff the carrier or laundry basket and just get used to the new kitten's presence in the house. Leave the kitten in the carrier for at least an hour. Then, let the kitten out and see how the two react to one another. It is fine for them to sniff or meow at one another but if either cat shows aggressiveness, separate the two cats and put the kitten back into the carrier. Leave the kitten in there another hour and try this process again. Keep doing this as long as necessary. Although cats typically adjust to each other's presence quickly, I once owned two female cats who hated each other until they both grew old and died. Cats have personalities too and some personalities just do not get along.

You can find some more tips and suggestions in the article New Kitten Troubles. Be patient and the cats will likely get used to the new situation. Good luck!

~~Lori.

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