Cat and kitten recently introduced?

[Sandra Krüger]

Well I added a 2 month old male kitten to my family of one cat, who is 10 months old(female). It's been here for about 11-12 days. I followed the cat-kitten introduction measures such as keeping the kitten in a separate room, separate toys and everything, scent introduction, etc etc. Then I introduced them with the kitten in a closed carrier and the resident cat in the same room, fed them their favorite food/treats. Aside from hissing and a bit of growling from the resident cat, all went pretty well, with no signs of serious aggression, (or aggressive/distressed body language),territorial behavior nor attacking or running away. After a few times like this,(when the cat stopped growling) I let them meet "in the open", again with all the standard procedure. They seem to like chasing each other a lot, and the kitten is always searching for the cat when we let it explore the apartment with the cat in a closed room.(hangs around places she does) When the kitten is in his room, the cat will often be found sitting in front of the door, or laying there.

SO, what I want to ask is; the older cat is obviously interested(body language) but after a while of playing she starts sort of like..barking at the kitten when it tackles her, and they end up "wrestling", or she hisses at him a few times, so should i separate them, or is this dominance "play"? Should I let them work it out between themselves, or is it yet too early?

Also, the resident cat doesn't like being petted when the kitten is in the same room, she growls and often runs away from us, but not the kitten. Then, when she's "alone" again, she lets us pet her and quite enjoys it, even falling asleep at times. Why is this? Is she jealous? Because she does indeed get a lot of attention from us.(Of course,without neglecting the kitten!)

 

[kiannamj]

First, put the kitten in a kennel and let the cat sniff it through there. Then you should watch them in a room and just let them sniff each other. But when they start to fight, take the kitten out of the room until the next day. Keep giving your cat plenty of attention. They should get used to each other soon.