Expert: Ali - 2/16/2009

Question
Ali- I just nabbed a 3-4 mth old kitten in my yard. Took her to vet- shots, blood tests- she is clear of any disease. I have her in a bedroom alone . Eating and drinking,playing and getting closer to me.My I have 4 cats from 20 yrs. to I think 14. They have all been introduced one by one to her in her room.No problems except the hissing , but not much of that. Just curious and perplexed.Baby wants to get out into the whole house and I,m asking if it,s okay to let her do so with my supervision. I,ve had her here almost three daysa. Thank you for your help- Mara and Pretty Girl

Answer
Mara,

It sounds like you have found a stray kitten, not a feral one, there is a very big difference between the two types of kitty. Feral kittens have never been handled by people and are essentially wild animals, strays are generally abandoned kittens that have been handled and somewhat socialized with people. I would recommend that you follow my recommendations for proper new cat/kitten introductions. Questions regarding how to introduce a new cat into a household with resident cats are fairly frequent and I've answered many so I will give you the short version here and if you'd like any further information I'd encourage you to read up on my previous answers on new cat introductions.

Proper new cat introductions can sometimes determine whether your house will be peaceful or if there will be a constant power struggle between feline members of your family. I would recommend that you scale things back a bit by placing the new kitty back in a room by herself for 2-3 weeks (with all of the usual kitty amenities, of course) and several visits from human members of the household each day. The isolation period serves two purposes, it allows your resident cats to become gradually accustomed to the new addition and vice versa as well as protecting your resident cats from any possible viral or bacterial infections this kitty may have. The isolation period will cut down on or eliminate aggression from the new kitty and resident cats as they will be able to smell and hear each other through a closed door. You can feed the resident cats and the new kitty on opposite sides of a closed door during the initial introduction period. Isolating the new cats will allow your resident cat(s) to become accustomed to the new arrivals in his/her own time. You can help this process along by feeding the cats on opposite sides of the closed door which will allow all of the kitties in question to associate something positive (food) with a change in their territory. It's very important to play with and give affection to the resident cat as well as the new girl, after all, isolation doesn't mean that their need to be loved changes. Another positive point to isolating the new cats is that you will gradually become familiar with this little girl and the isolation period allows you to find out what is normal for her in regards to energy levels, toilet habits, appetite, personality quirks and more. Once the 2-3 week period of confinement is finished for the new kitty you can open the door and watch the interactions closely. If any of the cats respond with aggression I would suggest having a spray bottle handy to act as a deterrent. Never get in the middle of a cat fight as you can be seriously injured completely by accident (angry cats tend to be hot headed and they don't necessarily realize who they're striking out at), use a broom to push the cats apart if necessary. Introducing this new baby to your household should work out well with a bit of time and patience. Do watch for any signs of aggression between the resident cats and the new kitten, aggression that looks mild can lead to serious fights down the road and should be nipped in the bud early on so that you can have a peaceful household.