New Kitten being introduced to the home..HELP PLEASE?

[Jesse]

I currently have an almost one year old female Calico Cat. Ive had her since September of last year. She usually a very good cat,calm social with other people. The odd time she may not like something and hiss or swat. But nothing serous thet we could not handle. Today we brought home a new 10 week old female kitten. My older cat came to greet us, as I was holding the new one. Since that exact moment everything's been complete mess. The new kitten is very calm and content however my one year old is not!! I took my one year away to another level of the house. She continued to hiss,growl,and swat at both me and everyone else living here. This I DO NOT understand. I understand her being territorial towards the kitten, but not the rest of us. I'm not sure of how to handle this from here. I would love to get them both socialized with each other. Now I'm nervous I may lose both cats. How do I approach this, especially with my one year old?
I see some of the feedback. I do realize I need to keep giving my one year old the same love and affection. The problem is she will not let anyone near her at ALL! I've tried as well as the other two people that live here. No one can get close to her at all. I realize it takes time for two cats to socialize but how do I personally handle the way my one year old is acting towards me and the other people that live here?

 

[vikki94]

dont force them to interact. if they are going to become friends they will do it in their own time. i have had 2 cats for 7 years. one had kittens and i kept it and he died 2 years ago and i got a new kitten a few weeks later and that cat is now 1 and a half and the other 2 cats still dont accept her as one of them. your cats may never be friends, and they may when the feel ready.
also a friend of mine got a kitten off me before and already had a cat and after 2 weeks or so they started warming up to each other.

 

[Bob N]

New cats need to be properly introduced to the new home, the new humans, and the existing cats if they are to get along well and not have problems.

Contrary to what many people think, domestic cats are not solitary creatures. Nor is there any dominance issue about introducing cats to each other. There is virtually no dominance issue with domestic cats like there is with dogs.

A cat who has never lived with another cat might not like the idea, at first, of a new cat in the family, but they will accept the new cat if the introduction is done properly.

If cats are properly introduced into a family, they can get along with the existing cats and the existing cats can accept the new comers.

Here's how we introduce newcomers to our gang:

Cats need to be introduced very slowly.

First of all, we do not allow a new cat to have any contact with our other cats until a vet has given the new cat a clean bill of health. This includes tests for such things as FIV and Feline Leukemia.

Cats can be successfully introduced to each other regardless of their ages or sexes.

We have successfully added adult cats to our family containing both young and old cats as well as introducing very young kittens to the other cats.

It has to be done slowly. If you simply put them together, you will have behavioral problems the vast majority of times and they may never really get along.

The new cat has to be given time to get used to you and the new environment - don't try to introduce the new cat to the new home, to you, and to the other cats all at once. Do it in stages - first get the cat used to you and its new home - or at least part of it - and the noises and smells of its new home.

Then the existing cats have to get used to the new cat - starting with its scent and then its appearance.

We introduce cats by keeping the new cat in the back room for up to a month. My office is there as is my wife's sewing table. There is a sofa and bookshelves.

We spend a lot of time with the new cat to get them used to us, the new environment and the new smells.

It is important that you spend a lot of time with the new cat. Don't just put it in a different room and leave it there. The first thing that has to happen is that the new cat has to get used to you and accept and trust you.

After they accept us with no problems, we put a screen door on the back room door frame and let everyone see each other for a week or so.

It may take a lot less time than a month to get to this point but we just take it slow and easy.

Once we judge it safe to do so, we let the new cats out into the house and chaperon the first encounters.

We've only ever had one problem introducing cats like this and that problem was resolved in a couple of weeks.

We've had 26 cats over the past 22 years and many of them were adults - 12 and older - when they joined our family.

We've also introduced several kittens, ranging from ages of 7 weeks to 4 or 5 months, to the rest of the crew, of kittens and older cats, with no problems.

You have to take it slow.

If you can't put up a screen door, perhaps two baby gates, stacked one on top of the other, will close off the door but still allow the cats to see each other.

If you can't use a screen door or baby gates, try letting the existing cat into the room with the new cat for a few minutes while you chaperon.

If things get bad, take the cat out of the room.

You just have to introduce cats slowly

There are cats who could be thrown together and become pals but they are few and far between.

 

[Aviram]

Cats are so unpredictable. But id say give it some time. My dog warmed up to my cats with time.

 

[basement dweller]

just let the cat go in. If it hides it hides. Sooner or later it has to come out to eat. Make sue you always have food out for the cat. Later on the cat will always be around.