QUESTION: When can I leave my cats ALONE together?

[christa]

Yes, I'm asking for more advice please . . . LOL.

I will be starting the introductions of my 1 year old, Josie to a new kitten this weekend. I know, it's going to take a few days (at least) . . . so here's my question:

How will I know when I can leave my tiny kitten and my cat ALONE together?

What signs should I look for to know that they'll be OK together ALONE?



Thanks guys!

[Lacey]

Mmmm... Tough call. The best thing to do is watch and see how they get along together when you're around. If they seem to be fine together, it should be pretty safe to leave them alone. When you think they're ready, try for short sessions of alone time at first. If you can figure out a way for them to be apart together, you may want to give that a shot. Before Mowg got the run of the place, he was caged, and I'd leave the door open to the room he was in so Zelda could go check him out whenever she felt like it. Of course, it helped a bit that Mowg adored Zelda from day one, even if she was all hissy at him.

When you have them together, I'd give Josie most of the attention to let her know she's still top cat. As Josie realizes that Brodie isn't there to take her place, she'll get along with him better. And who knows? Maybe she'll decide to take on the surrogate mommy role. Goodness knows I always thought it was the sweetest thing when I caught Zelda letting Mowg nurse off of her!

[catcrazylady]

Christa I don't think it will take long at all. Unless Josie is incredibly upset by this tiny invasion then I think you will feel comfortable about it very soon. Just remember that Brodie is going to take a few smacks and he will have to learn a few lessons from Josie but he will survive. I think Josie is going to be happy with a little playmate and I think your worst problem may be that she is a little to rough with him. It will scare you more than hurt him.
Rosco fit in with all my big ones so quickly that I had no fear leaving him out within a short few days. Abigail was so weak that I was afraid she would get hurt and I kept her caged during the day longer than Rosco. Finally I just held my breath, left her out and went to work, worried all day every day for a week or two, then realized that everyone was fine and never looked back. You will know when its safe and okay to leave him free. You may worry and there may be a few tiny issues but I have no doubt that you will know when the time is right.
You are going to have so much fun when they become buds!!

[jazzcat]

I left Rocky and Rumor totally alone with the big guys on the 12th day. They had been around the big guys quite a bit by that time so hubby convinced me to leave them all out together for what I thought would be 3-4 hours and it ended up being 9-10 hours but they all did fine.

You just have to wait until you feel sure that there will be no harmful fighting. Now the main things I worry about when I leave are Rumor chewing on an electrical cord - she's a big time chewer - or Ripley getting upset and spraying in the house.

[christa]

Originally posted by jazzcat
I left Rocky and Rumor totally alone with the big guys on the 12th day. They had been around the big guys quite a bit by that time so hubby convinced me to leave them all out together for what I thought would be 3-4 hours and it ended up being 9-10 hours but they all did fine.

You just have to wait until you feel sure that there will be no harmful fighting. Now the main things I worry about when I leave are Rumor chewing on an electrical cord - she's a big time chewer - or Ripley getting upset and spraying in the house.

I hope and pray that there will NEVER be any serious fighting! Since Josie has never ever been around another cat since she was Brodie's age, I worry about what she'll do. She's pretty aggressive . . . but I'm hoping that she'll have some instincts kick in!

Thanks everyone for your advice. Sounds like I should just play it by ear!

[jazzcat]

Christa, I also wanted to tell you that when Scout first saw R&R she acted like a wildcat, no kidding. She hissed, growled and spit. We had her and the other big guys in the sunroom with doors shut and the kittens out in the family room where they could all see each other through the French doors. Ripley and Jazz just looked at them like "oh great, more cats" but Scout hissed with her mouth opened wide and she looked deranged. I was afraid I would never be able to trust her with them but we slowly introduced them and now, even though she really doesn't like them, she tolerates them. She continuted to growl at them for over three weeks and she still growls if they bother her when she's eating or sleeping but at least it not just at the sight of them any more. She's protective of her scratching post too and has smacked them pretty hard for playing on it when she's using it but they are learning.

I don't know if anyone has suggested this to you yet, but let Josie smell a towel or blanket that Brodie has been using so she can get used to his scent. Also so do the same for him. It may help ease the intros if they already recognize the scent.

[sirrahbed]

aha! Reading Lori's response reminded me of Dylan's first response He was also a maniac and scared me! He growled, hissed, spit and acted like I had never seen him act I honestly thought he had gone nuts. Now, I can't even remember how long it lasted. The babies disappeared into the bathroom...seems like Dylan started by sniffing around and acting interested - we gave him LOTS of lovins. He has smacked them good several times - enough to send Lizzie flying across the kitchen floor for swatting his tail but she got right back up and did it again Robbie was a quicker study - when he is running and sees Dylan, he puts on his brakes mughty quickly and tippytoes in a wide circle around him!! Like I said, Uncle Dylan is a pussycat but he does NOT put up with misbehaving. And, there has never been bloodshed or missing fur. Eliot plays pretty rough and the babies will squeal and he always backs off right away.

Once the actual face to face introductions took place, we just left the kittens out that same day. Since no blood was shed, we felt ok about it and they just gradually learned to get along at their own pace and we never felt the need to separate them again. We tried our best to play only with the bigger cats and only with the babies in secret. The bigger guys mostly ignored the babies until they were in the mood to find their role - Eliot the playful clown and Emily and Dylan the strict nurturers. I really never felt that a baby was in any danger from any of the older cats. Well, that first reaction from Dylan but that was the first night and of course the babies were still caged.

[christa]

Thanks for the ideas! We'll definitely try the swapping scents thing . . . We've been letting Josie smell our hands after playing with the baby . . . She hissed the first time she smelled it, but she she hardly reacts to the smell now. I'll let her sniff his blanket and see if he's interested in her smell as well.