i have a 10 month old female kitten and want to get a second cat.. (male, smells)

[littlemissangry.x]

If i have a feisty female kitten (10 months or so) and want to adopt a Male cat (just over a year) what should i do to make this easy on both?

My cat has the habit of hissing and growling when new people are around and has rarely been around other animals.. My friend has to give up her 3 cats and i want to take the oldest (male) but need some tips on making this easy for both.

And... do females and males generally get along?

Ive always grown up with 2 cats but they were very timid..

[Redsox1972]

Originally Posted by littlemissangry.x

If i have a feisty female kitten (10 months or so) and want to adopt a Male cat (just over a year) what should i do to make this easy on both?

My cat has the habit of hissing and growling when new people are around and has rarely been around other animals.. My friend has to give up her 3 cats and i want to take the oldest (male) but need some tips on making this easy for both.

And... do females and males generally get along?

Ive always grown up with 2 cats but they were very timid..

Kudos for giving a cat (particulary the oldest) a new home when otherwise he would end up in a cage somewhere. hopefully you'r friend's other two cats will be adopted together, soon. (I wouldn't give up my cat for anything.)

I haven't had issues mixing females and males. Hopefully as your cat ages she will lose some of that feistyness (sp?). Make sure you pick her up as often as possible (so she's used to human touch, etc.) and I would probably not give her cat nip or cat nip toys until she mellows out.

When you introduce a new cat, you should take your existing cat and per her in a room with food and her litter box. The new cat should have run of the place for a few days. Some cats deal with change better than others, so, you'll just have to wait and see how he deals with it. But give him the run of the place for a few days. Make sure he has a clean litter box of his own and his own food dishes, and give him a new little cat bed and some new toys of his own.

Both cats will smell each other's presence, and it's good to introduce that scent slowly by keeping them seperated. When you do introduce them, keep in mind that again, cats can react differently to these situations. Some may show submissive signs right of the bat, both may hiss up a storm yet be curious, some may approach the other cat frist, back and tail raised, etc. Just don't be discouraged! Some cats become fast friends, some take a little bit of time, and some take a lot of time.

You may find it helpful to give the new cat his own room if you have the space (this is on top of giving him the run of the place for a few days).

Good luck and again, try not to get frustrated if they two cats take some time in becoming "friends"!

[catsmom21]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I disagree that new kitty be given the run of the house. First of all, new kitty is going to be very stressed out. He has suddenly lost his home and his family and finds himself in a strange place with strange people and strange cat smells. He will probably be terrified for several days if not longer. And he will probably grieve after that, unless he had a crummy life and this is a huge improvement for him.

Put him and his own stuff that came from his house in a small room. He will probably hide immediately. Let him hide. Go in every now and then and sit still and just talk quietly to him using his name a lot. Tell him where he is and why, and how much he is going to be loved and all about your girl kitty he can smell everywhere.

When he starts venturing out, pet him and talk to him. Get a t shirt that you've worn and rub it on your girl kitty. Then rub the t shirt on him.

Let girl kitty smell the shirt and rub it on her again, this exchanges the smells of the two cats, with your smell blended in.

Smell is everything to a cat. Let the cats meet by playing footsies under the door as you continue to do the smell exchange every day.

After a few days of smell exchanges, if you think the new boy is ready, put girlie in the new kitty's room, shut the door and let new kitty explore the house. Do this room exchange for a couple of days.

Then open the door and leave it open and see how they do.

Be sure through all the integrations stages to give your little girl plenty of attention and reassurance that she is not being displaced. Talk to her and tell her all about the new kitty, and use his name, often.

You'll want to have three litter boxes for two cats, and make sure you have enough elevated space for two cats to be up high in the same room, at the same time.

Good luck, and let us know how things are going!

(I am assuming both cats are spayed and neutered. Make sure you know the health and vaccination status of the new boy)

[J-CityRelo]

I agree with catsmom and I just wanted to add that you might want to put up a baby gate before giving the kitty in the room the run of the house. That way they can see and smell each other. I put the new kitty in the den, which doesn't have a door so I just used a baby gate instead.

Expect a lot of hissing and growling when they first meet (after the new kitty gets the run of the house). That's normal. I just ignored it. Once they get used to each other it will die down and they will become friends.

I've heard a male and female is better than 2 females by the way.