Tips on Introducing a New Kitten to Full-Grown Cats

Cats are territorial and do not appreciate other animals intruding into their space. If you plan to add a kitten to your household but have adult cats, you will need to spend time introducing the kitten to your cats. This can be a slow process that takes days or weeks before your full-grown cats accept the kitten as a part of the family.

  1. Quarantine

    • Isolate the kitten until you have it checked by a vet. This ensures the kitten is disease- and parasite-free, and cannot infect the other cats in your household. Place the kitten in a separate room with a litter box, food bowl and water bowl. Do not allow the adult cats access to the room. Maintain the isolation for at least three days. The isolation also allows the kitten to relax and accept its new environment and situation. Use the three days to bond with the kitten, so that it feels safe with you.

    Scent Swapping

    • Rub a towel against the adult cats and kitten, and place it in the kitten's room. Take another towel, rub the kitten and the adult cats, and place the towel in the area of the cats. This will allow the cats and kittens to get familiar with each other's smell. At this point, keep the kitten separated from the cats. Do scent swapping for about days.

    Room Exchange

    • This is similar to scent swapping but a more extreme form. Keep the kitten in a cat carrier, so that it has no physical contact with the adult cats. Take it away. Allow the adult cats to enter the room where the kitten was housed, so that they can smell the kitten without being a threat to it or being threatened by it. Let the kitten roam in the rest of house under your supervision, so that it gets to know the house and feel more comfortable.

    Observing One Another

    • Allow the adult cats to look at the kitten for a few seconds. At this point, do not allow physical contact with the kitten. Open the door to the room where the kitten is housed, and let the cats peek in. Slowly increase the duration to around 10 minutes. If the adult cats begin hissing on seeing the kitten, go back to scent and room swapping until the cats are comfortable with having the kitten around.

    Short Visits

    • Allow the adult cats and kitten to meet face-to-face. However, be around to supervise in case the cats begin growling and hissing at the kitten. If the cats appear curious or completely ignore the kitten, take it as a good sign. Give treats to the cats and kitten for good behavior.

    Longer Visits

    • Slowly increase the duration of visits, but be around to supervise. At this point, do not allow the cats and kitten to mingle freely. Also, introduce stuffed toys to the kitten, so that it learns to have mock fights with the toys instead of the cats. Adult cats do not like mock fights and will feel that the kitten is harassing them when it wants to play with them. This could cause the cats to hurt the kitten.

    Free Mingling

    • Allow the cats and the kitten to mingle freely under your supervision. At this stage, still keep the kitten in a separate room when you go out or retire to bed. However, allow the cats to spend time alone with the kitten, but be around in the adjoining room in case there is trouble. Once you are certain that the cats and kitten are getting along, and the kitten has grown in size and strength, you can allow them to mingle freely without without any supervision. Usually, it is advisable to wait until the kitten is more than 16 weeks old before letting it mingle freely with the adult cats. Once the kitten is 5 to 6 months old, you can let it stay with your adult cats without any worries.