Ways to Get an Adult Cat to Accept a Kitten

You have had your cat for a while, and now plan to get a kitten. While it is possible to simply put the kitten with the cat and let them "meet" each other unassisted, this may not be such a good idea. The adult cat may bully the kitten and never stop, resulting in the kitten either running away or never adjusting well to your home. You can save yourself and your cats a lot of stress if you take some time to introduce the cats to each other.

  1. Safe Place

    • Let the kitten familiarize itself with a room that you have set up for it. Make sure there is no way for the kitten to escape or injure itself in this room. You will want to have some sort of bed for the kitten, a food and water dish, a litter box, a scratching post or pad and toys.

      Let your kitten get used to you first. Sit down on the floor with the kitten while it is exploring its room. Do not reach out and try to pet or hold it. Wait until the kitten comes to you. If the kitten wants to hide, let it. Do not force it to interact with you until it is ready.

    Smells

    • Pet your kitten while it is in its room, and then go to your adult cat and pet it. This will familiarize the two cats with each other's scent. If your cats sleep on a bed, pillow or blanket, exchange them after a few days and let them sleep on each other's bed. This is another way to get them used to each other's smell.

    The Meeting

    • Open the door to the kitten's room and let the cats meet with you supervising. Have some cat treats on hand. In case the meeting starts out badly, give each cat a treat to distract them. You can expect growling, hissing and posturing at first. Typical posturing behaviors clear are when the cats freeze, the hair on their backs go up, they puff up their tails, their ears go flat and they turn to the side and hiss. This may or may not lead to a fight. Most cats prefer not to fight. However, if each time you introduce the cats, it ends up in a cat fight, this means the adult cat may never accept the kitten. If there is no cat fight and the cats back away from the posturing and ignore each other, that is a good sign. They may continue to ignore each other indefinitely, while still being able to live in the house together, or they may become friends, groom each other and sleep and play together.

      When the cats are tolerating each other, which can take a few days to a few weeks, start feeding them next to each other. This helps them get used to each other. Once you are sure there will be no fighting, you can leave your adult cat and your new kitten together, unsupervised.