Another cat?

[Arion]

We have one cat already, she's seven years old, and we've had her ever since she was weaned. My mom's friend's cat just had kittens, and my mom and sister were both over there looking at them, and now it looks like we might be getting a second kitty. I'm worried they won't get along though. What happens when you put two cats together?

[Shanti]

Give the old cat her space and keep the new kit from totally taking over all the old cats turf. Time. Go slow.
You may have to keep them separated in rooms off and on at first while they get used to each other. Watch that the old cat doesn't go hide and stay that way to long. Then you need to put the new kitty out of sight for awhile so the old cat doesn't become depressed.
It can work fine if you watch close, intervene as needed, and pay a lot of attention to the old cat.
They may get into scraps with each other but the new kit has to learn what the old cat is willing to put up with in terms of play. The old cat may eventually play with the kit, or it may never play with it. The kit and you will have to find out where and for how long the old cat is drawing lines.
And have multiple cat boxes in case the old cat abandons the one the kit goes in. That can happen and result in the cat going all over the house. Watch where the kit goes and watch to see if the old one is going there to or looking for her own private place that she doesn't want to share.
Separate feeding and watering dishes too. You don't want the old cat depressed or resentful. Let her keep her own personal stuff that the kit doesn't get to mess with.

That all I can think of for now. :)

[Arion]

Thanks for your help :)

[Arion]

Well, we got the new kitty. She's a tiny little grey tabby cat, and she's soo cute! She's also really young, so we have to bottle-feed her for a while, and then rub her to stimulate her... umm... excretion and urination. Feeding her with the bottle is fun, but not the other part :p

I'm following your advice, Shanti, and giving the older cat her space until they get used to each other. She growls and hisses at the new kitty whenever she gets too close.

[person of shadow]

It'll take time. Congrats!

[Shanti]

Congrats. :)
But how is it that she isnt weaned?

[Arion]

Congrats. :)
But how is it that she isnt weaned?

She's about 4 weeks old, we got her early for some reason. I guess my mom's friend thought we could handle bottle-feeding her for a week or two. When are they fully weaned, anyway?

[Shanti]

She's about 4 weeks old, we got her early for some reason. I guess my mom's friend thought we could handle bottle-feeding her for a week or two. When are they fully weaned, anyway?
8 weeks is the best. Its healthier for the kit and the mom cat.
The kit at 4 weeks isn't getting any immunities from moms milk and formula for cats doesn't provide any. 4 weeks is to young for its vaccinations. Usually a kit gets it vaccines when weaned so its not vulnerable to deadly viruses and such. Some of those viruses are air born.
The only way a person should take a kit before its weaned is if the mom is dead or ill in such a way it can not nurse.

The kit is put at risk taken so young.

I hope yours does ok and gets to 8 weeks for those first kitten vaccines.

Who ever is breeding the cat, they should stop or learn more before they do anymore breeding. Spaying prevents babies.

[person of shadow]

What shanti said is VERY true! I got a kitten at 6 and a half weeks. He was sick because of it. He had to go back and be fed before I could get him.(I was young, But I remember the poor little guy being sick!)

[Brónach Druid]

First...Congrats on your new baby!
However, kittens should really not be taken from the mother until they are 6 weeks old, normally the only time you would take a 4 week old kitten is if it was born to a feral mom.
Are you sure about her age? Kittens normally begin to wean at 4 weeks old and also normally start to use a litterbox around this age as well. At 4 weeks, you should be able to begin to try and get her to start to eat wet or canned food and to lap the formula from a shallow dish or bowl, also she really should not need much if any stimulation to go. As far as vaccinations go, kittens begin almost all vaccinations at 6 weeks of age.
I agree with the others on the question of them getting along, definitely make sure your older cat is allowed to have her space. Is your older cat spayed? If not, be aware that sometimes unspayed females will never really get along and are more prone to fighting.
Best of luck with your new kitty! :)

[Arion]

Thanks for your input everyone :)

Brónach Druid - I'm not 100% sure about her age, just what my mom told me. She still seems to need the stimulation to go pee, but apparently she used the litter box on her own this morning, although she hasn't done it since. Yes, my older cat is spayed, but she still hasn't been very friendly to the new baby. I guess it just takes time.

Here's a pic of the new kitty

[Brónach Druid]

Oh! She is adorable!!!! :smile:

[person of shadow]

Very Cute!

[Arion]

Who ever is breeding the cat, they should stop or learn more before they do anymore breeding. Spaying prevents babies.

Okay, I finally found out what was going on, and why we got the kitty so early. It turns out my mom's friend found the kittens in her father's shed or something, and they were abandoned by mommy cat. So my mom's friend was raising them by bottle-feeding, and i guess since the kitten didn't have her other anyway, it didn't make a difference if we got her early and did the bottle-feeding thing. She's about 7 or 8 weeks old now and she's doing well. She's a very lively little thing, and she seems to have a much different personality than my older cat when she was a kitten. She's much more social, and not as cranky :lol:

I keep reminding my mom to set up an appointment with the vet for the new kitty to get her vaccinations, but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

[Shanti]

Okay, I finally found out what was going on, and why we got the kitty so early. It turns out my mom's friend found the kittens in her father's shed or something, and they were abandoned by mommy cat. So my mom's friend was raising them by bottle-feeding, and i guess since the kitten didn't have her other anyway, it didn't make a difference if we got her early and did the bottle-feeding thing. She's about 7 or 8 weeks old now and she's doing well. She's a very lively little thing, and she seems to have a much different personality than my older cat when she was a kitten. She's much more social, and not as cranky :lol:

I keep reminding my mom to set up an appointment with the vet for the new kitty to get her vaccinations, but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry.I wonder if mom had an accident. Its rare for a mom to abandon the kits.
Glad they found the babies otherwise there wont be any right now.

I am glad its working out ok and that the kit is doing well. :)

[Bryony]

Suddenly this thread makes more sense, with the kitten's age and all.

Miss Abby was an abandoned runt (mom was small and had too many kittens to care for and not die trying), who I raised with part of a slightly older litter also from grandpa's barn that had the eye goo that will result in an upper respiratory infection and kill them if they aren't treated daily for it. The other kittens' mom wasn't happy about letting people handle her kitties and kept trying to hide them, so we removed them for their own health and safety (all but one made it to adulthood- he sucked milk into his lungs and died of pneumonia because of it).

Good luck with the baby.

[Fairy_Princess]

What happens when you put two cats together?


*snerk*

[xarimae]

Every cat is different. Many times cats that are older may not take very well to a new cat. I have two cats who were feral and brought the second one in when my first was around 1 1/2 years old. She took to him immediately. Almost two years later, she still bathes him. We never had a problem with the two interacting. But both were born feral and are thus more communal since they were born in large litters. Indoor cats seem to be quite different. It just takes time. Exposing the older one to the little guy a little everyday is the quickest way to do it - throw them in a room together and supervise. Somehow leave the scent of the little guy around the older cat's sleeping areas.

[Dusty]

She is so cute...... :boing: