Introducing 10 week old kitten to 3 year old cat?

Question

Hello! Just figured I'd ask a question for some opinions.

I have a 3 year old cat who has never really been around a kitten. At our old house he liked to associate with the strays who ate on the porch, but I'm not too certain how he would react to just a little baby.

I have read the proper steps as to introducing them, such as taking the kitten, keeping it in a room with it's essential needs and slowly but surely introducing the two together, like feeding them by the door, cracking the door open, etc.

Now, what I've been wanting to do is to just take the kitten and let it roam in the house, because honestly I think everything will be fine, BUT if things do not go according to plan I will do the right steps into a more suitable introduction.

What do you think?

J C · Accepted Answer

Start with the isolation and slow introduction.  Of then the "damage" caused by dumping two cats together cannot be undone.  Do things right - while it sounds like a pain it's much better than trying to get two improperly introduced cats to stop hating each other

Tyler · Answer

When we got a kitten, we showed her where her "safe zone" was and then let her roam around and meet everyone. There were no slow introductions. We had a 8-year-old cat at the time and a 5-year-old cat. Both lived in shelters with young and old cats for over a year before we adopted them, so my kitten was perfectly safe and they got along well. We watched them interact closely but my two older cats were really good with her so we weren't worried at all. The 5-year-old immediately began mothering her (or fathering...since he's a male) right away and would let the kitten chase him (he's an 18-pound cat--all muscle and heavy bones) and win when wrestling. The kitten would hang off of his neck, throw herself on his back, and bite his neck and he would just lay there and occasionally bat at her. When he got annoyed, he would just shove her a little harder or give her a whap to the face.

So anyway, my suggestion is to just let the kitten loose around the house. It's quick and there shouldn't be a problem. Of course, watch their interactions closely for the first week or so, but your know you're cat best and if you say he'll be fine, then I'm sure your older cat will be fine with the kitten. Hopefully they end up like my two (the now 2-year-old and the 7-year-old), who still are the best of friends.

Anonymous · Answer

I think you should start with the introduction through the door and things first. This will give them more time to get to know each other. 
Also when they are fully together keep a close eye on them, because kittens love to play and he might end up agitating the other cat. Or when they are playing the three year old cat could end up ax dentally hurting the little kitten. Just cuz he's probably
Y twice the size of the kitten.

Hope this helps :)

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Introducing 10 week old kitten to 3 year old cat?

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