How to help the Iriomote Cat?

Help with a new kitten and cat??!!?

• My boyfriend and I recently got a kitten of 3 1/2 to 4 months to keep our older 2 1/2 year old cat company. Unfortunately, our resident cat is not too impressed. I was expecting that much, and I took necessary precautions by making sure the new kitty has its own "room" with food, water, toys, bedding, a scratching post, and a litter box. I also kept the kitten in the room during day 1 of introductions and allowed the older cat to smell the kitten's scent (and vice versa) by switching toys and petting/playing with the kitten, then with the cat, then with the kitten, and so on and so forth. Day 2, we made introductions with the kitten in a kennel. It went better than expected (hissing and growling on behalf of the older cat, but no swatting or chasing), so we tried again with the kitten in our arms. It is now day 3-4 and the cats are slowly acclimatizing to each other. The distance between the cats gets smaller and smaller every day before either one begins to hiss. Because of this, I decided to push just a tad by letting the kitten wander (while the older cat is out and about in the same rooms) under my supervision. Our resident cat follows her around and only growls and/or hisses when they get too close to each other. I originally gave the older cat treats when she saw the kitten, but I didn't want to reward her hissing, so I stopped doing that. I only give her treats when she allows the kitten to get closer without hissing/growling. The kitten is pretty scared of our resident cat and she often runs to the safety of our arms (or behind furniture) when the cat is present in the same room. The cat sometimes swipes at her but until this evening she had never attacked the kitten (tonight lunged at the kitten while we were all sitting on the bed; my boyfriend smacked a softcover book on the palm of his hand really close to the older cat and the loud noise scared it away). I'm spraying feline pheromones on the areas where the cats usually interact (and on their bedding and litter boxes) as well in an attempt to help calm the two (recommended by my vet) and I make sure the kitten is in her room whenever we aren't home or able to watch her (such as at night). I've also tried not to disrupt the older cat's regular schedule (same feeding times and she still sleeps in the bed with us and lounges in her regular spots). With that explained, these are my questions: 1. Is there anything I'm NOT doing that I SHOULD be doing to help the two get along? 2. Is there anything that I AM doing that I SHOULDN'T be doing in order for them to befriend each other? 3. Will my kitten be scared poopless of my cat for the rest of her life or will she eventually get over it as she becomes more familiar with her surroundings? 4. Will my resident cat ever come around to actually liking the new addition to our family? For questions 3 and 4, shared personal experiences in situations such as these would be greatly appreciated. *As a side note, both cats are female. Their temperaments are as follows: they are both really quiet (not much meowing), but my older cat is timid and prefers us to strangers while the kitten is social but a little skittish (it's difficult to tell if that's because she's scared of the older cat though or if it's because she's genuinely skittish) but she warms up quickly to new people and likes to be handled. Also our oldest is declawed (please don't give me a lecture on the wickedness of declawing; I did it in the most humane way possible by laser and with much research, questions, and forethought) and spayed, while the kitten is neither declawed nor spayed (though she will be fixed in mid-April). Any and all help is appreciated! Thank-you! :)

• Answer:

  You're taking it slow which is great. I think the only thing I'd do differently is leave the kitten in the other room and let them sniff each other under the door. No forced meetings even with you holding them. The pheromones you are spraying, is it by any chance the product called Feliway? I use that and spray it on the bedding in the carrier to get a scared cat to the vet. I introduced an adult cat into my household and things weren't going too well so I purchased Feliway from the vet in diffuser form. It's refill bottles that are plugged into a light socket. They look like room deodorizers, you can't smell it but the cats can. It's a bit pricey but the good side is that you probably don't need to use it longer than a couple months or so. The refill lasts about 4 weeks and it allows the pheromone to permeate the air 24/7 rather than just the 2 hrs that it lasts when you spritz. I'm having good luck with the diffuser stuff and am going to get a refill this weekend. Another calmative that you can get at a good healthfood store or possibly pet supply is Rescue Remedy. It's made from flower essences and you put a few drops in the water bowl. You can try brushing your resident cat really well then brushing the kitten go back and forth a couple times then have an intro session and hopefully they will smell like each other and be less upset. This sometimes works, sometimes not but worth the try. There's no guarantee that two cats will ever get along though if you handle the intro correctly and slowly the odds are in your favor. Here are some sites that might be useful: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/introducing_new_cat.html http://www.fourpaws.org/pages/adopting_pages/introducing_cats.html http://wvcats.com/integrating_kittens_with_cats.htm http://www.pawnation.com/2010/03/08/how-to-introduce-a-kitten-to-your-older-cat/ Good luck!