Expert: Karen Craft - 6/16/2008

Question
Hello..
We have a 5 month old kitten that we've had since she was 6 weeks.. We decided to get her a friend recently as the opportunity came up (because she is alone more often than around someone as we both work in the daytime).. shes often very energetic when we get home cause shes been lonely all day.. we got a 8 week old kitten (female as well) and brought her over yesterday... unfortunately we didn't ease them in... when they first saw each other they both arched their backs and growled slowly.. and hissed..  this went for on a while it was pretty stand offish... they would almost smell each other and get close but then hiss.. the small one hid under the couch while the bigger one was at the edge just watching and growling.. the older cat even swatted the young one a couple times.. eventually (after a few hours) we broke them up, older cat slept with us in our room with her food and liter and new cat had the rest of the apartment over night... this morning we let them see each other for a brief minute and they kind did the same thing, no attacks how ever... we left for work with the small kitten in the bedroom now with her own dish and different litter and the big kitten in the rest of the house... Any tips for this situation? i know its still early yet but the 5 month old had like 7 siblings so i thought she would become accustomed to each other easily... also regarding...us being gone all day could be a problem and we were worried to leave them alone incase the older one decided to beat the crap out of the small one while we aren't home.. we don't want the older one to bully her all day and corner her.. I've read a lot of answers about continually letting them see each other and we will continue to do so but i was just wondering if you had anything else really for the situation! thanks :D

Answer
Hi Jared,

Let them be together. They are young enough that they will settle in soon. They just need a little time together. The swatting and hissing is normal. You need to bring them together now and not keep them separate. Within two weeks they should be fine with each other. Bring them together when you are home and at night. Just keep an eye out for any real bad fights. Then you just separate them for a little bit and try again. Also give a little more attention to the older one. This reassures her. They will be fine soon. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen