# Newbie needs advice, have we made a big mistake?



## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Hello everyone newbie here and joined this forum to seek some advice on if we have made a mistake introducing our new kitten to our 1 year old cat too quick?

We had 2 cats from kittens called Mango and Chutney and everything was well and being brother and sister they got on very well of course and myself and my wife where very happy with our beloved pets.

Then tragedy on a sunday morning Mango who loved to explore never came home when we called him for food and later on that morning we found him by the road side and looks like he got hit by a car 

Chutney took a while to get used to the fact that her brother is no longer around so we decided to get a bengal kitten and waited an agonising 3 months for the kitten to become 12 weeks so we could pick him up.

Got the kitten on Sunday and apart from meowing all the way home the second he got out it was like he has been home all the time was running and jumping all over our living room without a care in the world.

We kept both of them separate and let Leo *new kitten* get used to his surroundings before calling in chutney and keeping leo to 1 room only so chutney can still have her space.

We have let them both out under our supervision and they do sniff where each other has been and when chutney see's leo from a small distance all is ok until leo gets closer as he wants to play and chutney is having none of it which I understand with cats needing space and time to adjust.

Also even though we have 2 litter trays in different rooms they both have chosen to use the same one with no conflicts however...

Chutney simply hisses and runs and this is where I think we went wrong and hopefully we can fix this? we clipped chutney's nails this morning (leo's where clipped already) and after 2 days of them being locked in separate area's of the house and constant meowing and clawing we let them both be alone to the entire house this morning thinking let them sort it all out and hopefully leo will know chutney is boss and all will be ok!?!

Have we introduced chutney to leo too quick as I have been reading up on the internet and they say not to do this and all my friends at work who have introduced many cats to cats and kittens to cats said they just let them get on with it and they sort it all out, pecking order who's boss.

P.S Chutney is not aggressive whatsoever and will always run from any cat no matter how big or small they are and Leo has shown zero signs of aggression towards Chutney and just wants to play.

Pictures attached


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Further to this myself and my wife both work and it looks like from looking up articles on the internet you need to dedicate a lot of time during the day which we cannot do and our time is strictly in the evenings only when either I am home or my wife or both.

Am I wrong in thinking if we keep them both shut in different rooms in the house or keep leo in 1 room and chutney can have free roam to the entire house will only prolong the time taken for them to find a truce and get used to each other?

Owned cats and kittens nearly all my life but never introduced a kitten to a cat before so be kind to me!

Many thanks for all your help and it is much appreciated.


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## scatchy (Nov 29, 2011)

What you are doing sounds fine but you just need to give it time.
If you only got the kitten on Sunday that is only a few days ago - expect it to take weeks not days for them to settle down together.
Unless you have to intervene leave them to it when you are there. 
Make sure Chutney still gets lots of fuss and does not feel rejected.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

scatchy said:


> What you are doing sounds fine but you just need to give it time.
> If you only got the kitten on Sunday that is only a few days ago - expect it to take weeks not days for them to settle down together.
> Unless you have to intervene leave them to it when you are there.
> Make sure Chutney still gets lots of fuss and does not feel rejected.


We are both giving chutney plenty of fuss and making sure she still has plenty of toys and doesn't feel left out.

Will see what they are like when my wife gets home later on in the afternoon and will take it from there I guess?.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi there, so am I right in thinking you introduced them to each other within a couple of days? If so, than that was much to soon for them.

Ive just got a new kitten and it was nearly a week before I let him meet my 15 month old cat. I only let each other smell bedding and toys for the first few days to get used to each others smells. Than after a few days I let them smell each other behind the closed door of Kittens safe room.

When they eventually met Kitten was in a cat holder for safety.

I had a few days of upset but than everything was fine and now they get on great albeit my big cat is a bit rough when playing and I always supervise them.

Im lucky I work from home so my kitten is never on its own. but I think if you leave the kitten in a safe room while you are out he will be fine and sooner or later the two cats will get on ok. All I know is that you have to take it slowly slowly and not force them together as I know someone who did this and now the resident cat absolutely hates the kitten and they are having big problems....Goodluck.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Kyria said:


> Hi there, so am I right in thinking you introduced them to each other within a couple of days? If so, than that was much to soon for them.
> 
> Ive just got a new kitten and it was nearly a week before I let him meet my 15 month old cat. I only let each other smell bedding and toys for the first few days to get used to each others smells. Than after a few days I let them smell each other behind the closed door of Kittens safe room.
> 
> ...


Yes you are right we did that as we thought it was the best way but after reading articles on the internet it seems that we should be doing the exact opposite.

I will set about keeping leo in 1 room for about a week or two and this will give chutney time to relax and will do the same approach as you and see how it goes.

Did you not let the kitten out at all within the first week under supervision? so I can only guess you was going back and forth between rooms and making sure they are both ok but never the two shall meet?

As it's only been 2 days I am sure we can reverse any damage which may or may not of been done quite easily I hope.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Hi and welcome to the forum.I have no personal experience of intro's but you might find this link, taken from a fantastic cat site, very helpful.

Living Together - Introducing a New Cat

Good luck with your new kitten


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

buffie said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.I have no personal experience of intro's but you might find this link, taken from a fantastic cat site, very helpful.
> 
> Living Together - Introducing a New Cat
> 
> Good luck with your new kitten


Reading that now and will follow the advice given here as I don't want long term problems and will see how it goes.

Now that chutney knows about leo is it safe to let her out as we are worried she won't come back?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

daleski75 said:


> Reading that now and will follow the advice given here as I don't want long term problems and will see how it goes.
> 
> Now that chutney knows about leo is it safe to let her out as we are worried she won't come back?


Again I have to say ,personally, I cant help as my cats have always been indoor cats.Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge and personal experience will be along to advise you.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Decided on an action plan... 

1. keep leo in a safe room whilst myself and my wife are working letting chutney have free roam to the entire home so she can feel relaxed.

2. play with both of them but in separate rooms even if it's very hard on us for about a week or so.

3. slowly introduce them to each other again and see if chutney's behaviour changes after a few days of the introduction again.

4. keep the cat flap locked so neither of them can do a runner.

Will update this thread with progress as well.

How does the plan sound?


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi My big cat Tipsy is an outside cat too. He actually spends more time outside than in to be honest. The first couple of days of actually being together in the same room Tipsy was so scared of the kitten, every time the kitten ran up to him Tipsy would run..When we let Tipsy out he was disappearing for quite a long time much longer than usual. One day we didnt see him for a whole day and night, which was very very worrying. Than he came back and all was fine.

I can honestly say this only went on for a few days. Now we are back to a normal routine of him coming and going, he comes in, eats and plays supervised with the little one, than goes out again. He loves the kitten in his own way.

He is now starting to clean the little one a wee bit which is very sweet. Tipsy is a young cat too so sometimes I think his over boisterous nature towards the kitten is due to his young age.

Im sure if you just do it slowly remembering to bring kittens bedding down for the big cat to smell and the other way round. Everything will be fine. Goodluck.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Kyria said:


> Hi My big cat Tipsy is an outside cat too. He actually spends more time outside than in to be honest. The first couple of days of actually being together in the same room Tipsy was so scared of the kitten, every time the kitten ran up to him Tipsy would run..When we let Tipsy out he was disappearing for quite a long time much longer than usual. One day we didnt see him for a whole day and night, which was very very worrying. Than he came back and all was fine.
> 
> I can honestly say this only went on for a few days. Now we are back to a normal routine of him coming and going, he comes in, eats and plays supervised with the little one, than goes out again. He loves the kitten in his own way.
> 
> ...


That gives me peace of mind as i want chutney to feel loved and she can go about her usual routine which involves disappearing for a few hours and coming back with live animals to give us!

Will unlock the cat flap tonight which I hope will make chutney feel more at home even though there is a new arrival and then we can slowly see what happens once chutney is settled and we can slowly reintroduce them to each other.

Just hoping that it wasn't a big mistake letting them both roam freely around the house until my wife gets home a bit later on.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

I shouldnt worry it will be fine..please let us know how things progress. Kyria


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Aww I just saw the photo of your two cats..they are both totally beautiful.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Kyria said:


> I shouldnt worry it will be fine..please let us know how things progress. Kyria


I will keep this thread updated and fingers crossed everything will work out in the end and just need to make sure we keep both of them as happy as they can be even if they are in different rooms.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Kyria said:


> Aww I just saw the photo of your two cats..they are both totally beautiful.


Aww thanks they are both gorgeous and no way we can part with either of them now so they have to get along! lol


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Plan sounds ok to me.
Remember you cannot let your kitten outside till he is around 1 year old. Any younger and I think it's asking for trouble on the roads. Unless you mean you are planning on a cat proof garden or cat run.

Good luck with the intro's, keep us posted


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

jo-pop said:


> Plan sounds ok to me.
> Remember you cannot let your kitten outside till he is around 1 year old. Any younger and I think it's asking for trouble on the roads. Unless you mean you are planning on a cat proof garden or cat run.
> 
> Good luck with the intro's, keep us posted


The plan is that leo will always be a house cat as we ain't keen on losing a pedigree bengal and somehow keep our current cat who loves going out to be able to still do that so they are both happy.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

My wife has just told me that both leo and chutney where close to each other earlier (well as close as they can be right now) and chutney just stared with no hissing or growling so hopefully this is a good sign and not a one off.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

daleski75 said:


> The plan is that leo will always be a house cat as we ain't keen on losing a pedigree bengal and somehow keep our current cat who loves going out to be able to still do that so they are both happy.


I was hoping that was the case.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

erricsimmons457 said:


> I liked your idea of introducing Leo to Chutney.I feel Chutney needs company of somebody to play and interact with after losing the other cat.Definitely, the presence of Leo who is so playful will be a huge stress buster for Chutney in such a situation.What's your observation of the company of Leo and Chutney? I think they will adjust quickly.


As we went wrong and introduced them right away the initial reaction from chutney and for a day after was to hiss and run and growl to make it known that chutney is boss.

We have since separated them and Leo is now in a separate room so will give it a few days for chutney to relax and will then slowly start to introduce them again.

Got a white glove which I am using to stroke Leo and then doing the same on chutney and will keep doing this morning and evening until they get used to each others scent.

Only once a few days to a week has passed will I slowly let them see each other under constant supervision and during the working day chutney will have all the home and Leo will stay in his little room.

It's hard doing this but it's for the best long term and I hope that the initial reaction will be forgotten about by chutney over the coming days.

Chutney does miss some to play with and hopefully in a week or so things will be much better in our household for everyone involved.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Have you thought about cat proofing your garden? That way, both can have a taste of the outside, yet be kept safe. The danger you have at the moment is that your little Bengal will learn to use the cat flap, and then, no matter how hard you try, he'll take himself out whether you want him to or not. Even the microchip cat flaps have a second or two where another clever cat can whip out behind the chipped one, so nothing's fool-proof except cat proofing the garden or building a cat run.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

carly87 said:


> Have you thought about cat proofing your garden? That way, both can have a taste of the outside, yet be kept safe. The danger you have at the moment is that your little Bengal will learn to use the cat flap, and then, no matter how hard you try, he'll take himself out whether you want him to or not. Even the microchip cat flaps have a second or two where another clever cat can whip out behind the chipped one, so nothing's fool-proof except cat proofing the garden or building a cat run.


We are getting our garden landscaped next week so I can ask around about that worst case scenario is we have to lock the cat flap permanately when chutney and Leo are getting along and chutney can be in the same room without hissing or growling.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Katzecure is a great system, looks the nicest I have seen by far. I know I can't afford it but maybe it might be of interest. They have a good website.
If not then there are different (cheaper) options. I just like the look of this system the best.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

It's very expensive, and you could probably do it cheaper. The problem with Catsecure is that outside cats can still get into the garden, but can't get out again to get home. I know they don't often, but I've heard of cats who have.

There's a sticky on the top of the Cat Chat forum which talks about cat runs and cat proofing.

Would Chutney be happy as an indoor cat? How often/long did she used to go out for?


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

carly87 said:


> It's very expensive, and you could probably do it cheaper. The problem with Catsecure is that outside cats can still get into the garden, but can't get out again to get home. I know they don't often, but I've heard of cats who have.
> 
> There's a sticky on the top of the Cat Chat forum which talks about cat runs and cat proofing.
> 
> Would Chutney be happy as an indoor cat? How often/long did she used to go out for?


Chutney is used to going out as much as she wants and the plan is to try and ween her off going out by slowing down how many times she can go out until she doesn't really miss it and also hopefully by then she would of accepted Leo as her new play mate so that will keep her occupied instead.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Also when we shut Leo in his safe room for a good few hours instantly chutney was more relaxed however even with Leo constantly meowing chutney ignored it and was not curious at all so I am guessing this is because chutney already knows Leo is around and is just happy he ain't in the same room!


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

As promised here is a further update on our progress or lack of progress as the case may be!

Had a bit of a accident where we were moving leo to another room and he darted out and came face to face with chutney which just resulted in the usual hissing from chutney and leo wanting to play however we have since started to do the following.

Chutney has access to the kitchen, living room and dining room and can go outside freely during the day when myself and my wife are working.

Leo has access to the bedrooms and stairs and hallway also during the working day.

Chutney sleeps downstairs one night and Leo sleeps in one of the spare bedrooms next to ours and the next night we alternate so leo smells chutney's scent and vice versa without them meeting.

Using the blanket which leo sleeps on each day to give to chutney so she can sniff it and get used to his scent and this is repeated each morning and evening.

This will be repeated for around a week and then the plan is to leave the door slightly open so chutney can see leo and we will keep doing this until chutney stops hissing, growling and running away.

Then and only then will we slowly let leo see chutney under our supervision and if any hissing or growling occurs we can get the toys out or clap loudly to distract them.

Hopefully if we can prevent little accidents where they see each other we should make some good progress eventually.

Still undecided about how to do the whole keeping chutney in all the time once she is used to leo or still let her roam freely but make sure leo never follows or tries to get out as well.


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## Ingrid25 (Oct 1, 2011)

That sounds like a very good plan to me
Leo and Chutney are adorable! I love Bengals and black cats, my two favourites! I have a Leo too, so I instantly fell in love:001_wub:

A bit of hissing and growling is ok if they are supervised- just not fur flying....
Keep us updated with thier progress together!xx


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

erricsimmons457 said:


> Daleski75, as you say that Leo is now in a separate room, so can you like to tell me that where are that separate room? Also I want to know from you that why did they need to relax?


The separate room was a spare bedroom we have with cat toys and of course litter box and food.

It was more for chutney as she was by herself for a good 6 months before we got our new Leo and we wanted her to feel loved and still welcome as cats can get jealous of new comers.


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## daleski75 (May 29, 2012)

Also a further update on our progress

Brought one of these feliway diffusers the day before we let leo roam the house with chutney and we are making very slow progress.

Chutney sniffs Leo and follows Leo everywhere but if Leo gets too close she growls and hisses but it's becoming less frequent now.

If Leo wants to play then Chutney still wants none of it and will run away and then runs to where Leo is just to keep an eye on him and on the odd occasion Leo pushes his luck then Chutney does try to swipe but so far she has never actually tried to hit him and it's looking like a warning more than anything.

Funnily enough they still use the same litter tray and even when feeding them they can use the same double bowl without any fuss.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Feliway takes at least a week to begin working - so give it a chance


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## doclubz (Mar 7, 2012)

Hi. Sorry I can't help you at all regarding your prob, and as I can see from the thread,more experienced members have given you a lot of sound advice. I couldn't stop myself from commenting though after I had looked at your kitties' pics. Chutney is absolutely gorgeous. In that piccie, she is posing like she is in a beauty pageant!!! She is stunning. It is sad to read about Mango. I hope Chutney gets over her loss and finds a lil brother in Leo soon.


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