Lovely having a kitten again, think she's a week or so too young to be without her mother but she's settling in okay.

My cat Bobby was nice at first lots of traded sniffing etc, but the little one is still quite nervous and shaky and reared up a bit and since then Bob has sort of held her down and chased her (!)

I love him to bits but he hasn't really been home since that encounter, is this quite typical and is there anything I should do about it that I'm not already?

How old is the new kitten? Did you introduce straight away?

I have had success by keep the new kitty in their own room with their own home comforts at first. The new kitten will be very scared at first so having its own safe space will help it settle in. Also if you keep them separate for a few days its gives both cats sometime to get used to the new scents. The cats will kinda let you know when they are interested in exploring further, after a few days I would try some careful supervised introductions. Older cats especially can take a few weeks to get used to the new arrival and calm down. I've found doing it this way stops anything unfortunate happening early which would spoil there relationship forever.

New kitten is 6 weeks old

It takes time. when I had my old cats, My male hated this new kitten. he had had a mate that was killed in a RTA, so i thought he would respond to another cat well (I knew far less about cat behaviour then!!)

Anyway after a couple of weeks....

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...untitled-1.jpg

I would like to point out my taste in Settees is better these days.

You're right, the kitten should not have left its mother yet, should have stayed with her till he was 8 weeks.

How long has the kitten been with you? Don't expect miracles, it usually takes around a fortnight till they are comfortable together, just let them get used to each other gradually and do not force them together, let them each have their own space.

Only since Friday evening, they've had another little encounter a minute ago which went okay. Thanks for responses

Can you take it back to its mother? It really should be with her for another couple of weeks!

This is how we introduced a new kitten when I was younger: (got the advice from cat behaviour books written by vets):

You should keep the kitten in one or two rooms only for 10 days - 2 weeks. Feed the kitten & your cat together morning & evening & when you do so put the kitten in a cat basket so that the door frame is between the kitten & your cat (so they both feel safe).

Make a fuss of your own cat so he understands he's still the boss & home is still his territory.

Take something that smells of each cat (like a cloth or t-shirt) & introduce it to each other - so they can get used to the other's smell. If you litter trays - swap the litter trays over regularly for the same reason.

Wait for your cat to come to the kitten, not the other way round. He will become curious about it..

When we first introduced a kitten to an adult cat, she Ithe kitten) was the one chasing him. After a while he took to sitting on her until she stopped annoying him. A little later they (mostly) settled down. Now they get on most of the time, apart from occasional episodes when they'll knock seven bells out of each other. Half an hour later:

This.

If it helps, the vet said that fights could look,dramatic, but he'd never seen a major injury as a result.

The owners for whatever reason (they're friends of friends) wanted the kittens out sharpish, and pretty sure they wouldn't take them back. Think I'm being a little impatient, as I want them to get on and couldn't stand big fights or the older cat feeling pushed out

Similar situation in my house, aiming to integrate a 10 week old kitten to my anti-social family group of 4. They don't even like each other...the mother in particular despises her offspring. Gulp.
New kitten is safely ensconced in back bedroom and my gang have shown no interest in visiting her, although one of the boys chose to interrupt my sunday morning coffee with a shower of tom cat pee so I presume he has GUESSED something is up!

Good luck with that Charlie!

I wouldn't worry about returning the kitty to its mum, she will be weaned at 6 weeks and should be fine - would just have been better for her ideally not to have been taken away for another couple of weeks.

And yes I think you're being impatient Make sure they are not forced into each other's company, so they get to choose when/if to socialise. I usually let kittens out for half an hour here and there - supervised - so the cats get used to seeing and smelling it. I wouldn't leave them unsupervised for probably a fortnight (depending on how well they get on) - when I go out, I shut the kitten in comfy bedroom with litter tray, food etc, so the cats have the run of the rest of the house/garden and their life continues more or less as normal.

As the previous owner was so 'caring', I would assume she has not been rigorous with de-fleaing and worming, and have the kitten checked over at the vet's.

I had to introduce a 9 week old kitten to a 16 year old cat... Was quite funny really - the kitten harrassed the old girl for ages, the old girl got the hump, and used to beat him up when he was asleep. They never really liked each other but there was an amnesty after a while. I personally wouldn't separate them. How are they going to get used to each other if you do? Just supervise for a while, and they'll settle. But be patient, it'll take more than a few days...

We did something similar.

1. Kitten had its own room, and wasn't allowed out of it for a week.

2. Kitten was allowed to roam around the house when the other cats were out, so that he could smell them, taste their food, etc., but didn't see them.

3. During the same period, other cats obviously became aware of kitten's presence through sniffing around his door, and later sniffing him in the rest of the house.

4. Graded introduction of kitten to cats - one older cat at a time was allowed to enter the kitten's room under supervised conditions, just for a short while. Door remained open, so cat didn't feel threatened. There would be some scuffling and batting of paws, but I've never had any serious problems.

5. Once kitten and older cats were able to socialise without any agro, kitten was allowed to roam around the house. Older cats would smack it down if it got too annoying, but the social order was established pretty quickly.

A little update for people who responded.

Bobby's always been a lovely cat (the vet commented on his good temperment) and is already a lot friendlier, even allowing the little one to drink from his bowl.

Funnily enough he's never bought home anything he kills but two days after the new kitten, a big blackbird was left gutted on the doormat. Horrible, but it's his way of saying, "Look at me! Look what I can do!"

I want to say URGH! and AWWWWWW at the same time. At least you know he still loves you if he's bringing back little presents.

Keep us updated we'd love to know how your little addition is getting on with your big cat. Also photos please ?

I'll add some photos to Photobucket when I get a sec. The little one has awesome markings a little smudge under the chin is particularly cute

Just to be clear I meant I want to see pics of your kitties not the deceased blackbird. Re-read my post and it could have been taken either way lol.

Will be posting pics soon, I'm just too damned lazy right now