# Introducing Kitten and 1 Year Old



## James Wolfe (Jul 15, 2016)

Hi everyone, 
We recently got a kitten which was intended to be a companion for our one year old, who recently has been extremely uninterested in playing and has gotten a little fat. 
Unfortunately we rushed introducing them and did no separate them at first, as the one year old did not seem overly interested in the kitten. 
This has changed after two days and the one year old is being really aggressive with the kitten, is there anyway we can rectify our failed introduction?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi @James Wolfe and welcome to Pet Forums 

A one year old cat should be very playful and lively. Have you had the cat checked by the vet to see if there is any physical cause for the lack of interest in play. If the cat is not feeling 100% well it will have a big effect on how he/she accepts the new kitten.

Also a cat should not be fat at one year old unless it is being fed too much dry food. A wet food diet would not make her/him fat, because cats can better judge how much to eat when their food contains moisture as nature intends (their prey). On a high calorie dry food diet they find it difficult to judge when they have eaten enough for their needs, so they may over eat. All dry food is high in carbs, carbs are fattening and cats do not need carbs.

With regard to the new kitten your best plan is to go back to square one, separate the two cats, give the kitten its own safe room with litter trays, food, water bowl, bed and toys. Choose a good size room, not a bathroom or utility room.

Prevent the cats from seeing each other for a week until the older cat has calmed down. The ideal then is to fit a screen door to the kitten's room. You can buy them ready made on line and you fit them so they open outward, so there is no need to remove the room door. Next, expose the two cats to each other starting with 5 minutes a day, and increasing slowly. Any hissing from them is OK but any growling, yowling, spitting, you close the room door so they can't see each other and leave it until next day and try again.

Basically you are giving the older cat the chance to get the measure of the kitten in her/his own time at her/his own pace, without any risk of harm to the kitten. You must not rush things. Be guided by the older cat's responses all the time.

Once the two cats seem to accept each other you can feed them on either side of the screen door. Next step is to allow direct face to face contact which must always be under your close supervision. The older cat must not be allowed to be aggressive to the kitten, as the kitten could get badly hurt. Being playful is fine but any sign of aggression and you must step in, rescue the kitten and put him/her back in their safe room for the rest of the day.

You may find it is two steps forward and one step back in the progress from day to day, once the two cats are together. Persevere, letting the older cat dictate the pace. It may take a few months but as both cats are young, it should work out.

I assume the older cat has been neutered? This is essential. Just as you must get the kitten neutered once they are 4 to 5 months old.

Note - you will need to spend lots of time with the kitten in their safe room, playing or just keeping them company. But also give the older cat plenty of attention too, as he/she needs lots of reassurance from you. You have a busy time ahead


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## James Wolfe (Jul 15, 2016)

Hi @chillminx, 
I think I made our one year old sound obese! He's not dramatically overweight and we took him to our vet who said we should just play with him more cause his diets fine, he's just a bit chubby! I think the issue is he just gets bored of toys quickly and as an indoor cat he only gets to explore through the windows! 
The older cat is neutered and both have had all their jabs etc. They have started napping together and eating together fine, but when the older cat wants a nap and the younger one decides his tail is a chew toy he gets aggressive! 
I'm going to get started on making a safe room in the kitchen now for him, thanks for your help!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi James, it sounds as though things are progressing quite well.  Probably all you really need to do is give the older one some peace from the younger one for periods of the day. Making the kitchen a safe room for the younger one would be fine.


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