Introducing a kitten to a cat.

So my new kitten is tiny. I think he is only about 5 weeks old. My older cat, who has lived with us for 7 years, hates the new kitten.

I completely understand.

But.... she seems to want to kill the new kitten. I've kept them apart for a few days - separated by a door. I let her in the room to see the kitten yesterday. The kitten was sleeping, so the old cat jumped up on the bed and quietly snuck over to the kitten. She crouched down and spent a few minutes poking him (yes, reaching out and poking/prodding with a paw) to get a reaction. Sleepy kitten really didn't want to wake up.

I finally decided to remove the cat from the room, figuring she'd seen enough of him. When I picked her up, she reached out and boxed him. Poor thing.

So how do I go about really introducing them? He is soooo small.

by the older bully! The older cat is just protecting its territory from the little squatter.

Whenever I've gotten kittens they have been about 8-10 weeks before trying to introduce to older cats. You did the right thing with the separation, you just might have to let the youngin' get a wee bit bigger so the older cat doesn't think it can get away with murder. It will be piss and vinegar for a couple of days even with a slow intro, but I've heard many positive outcomes with older cats and kittens, so hang in there.

Come to the pets group for more information! We LOVE kittens :loveya:

it was at least a little bit able to defend itself. Sure, it gets it's ass kicked a few times, but severe injury isn't likely. My cat Midnight would have killed a very small kitten without question. She would even camp outside the room and attack us going in or out. Now, she's the oldest of four cats and for the most part, she just views them all with severe distain.

Shelter from the storm is a good thing.

I always fed the old cat next to the door to room where kitten was sequestered too. Lots of favorite treats. Make the old cat associate the smell/sound of the newbie to good fittles!

But always keep in mind, some cats just don't want another cat in the household. Some are very social. Some are NOT.

Lots of good ideas at homevet.com:

http://www.homevet.com/petcare/petmeet.html

once the best strategy is for HER to find it and therefore you aren't involved at all but it sounds like its too late for that. Can you buy her some treats or special food to make her feel that she is # 1? Pick her up and stroke her a lot and ignore kitten - let it just hang out on the floor or where ever. You get the idea.
5 weeks? That is a little cat!!

I mean, poking and prodding with a paw, or boxing the kitten.... as long as teeth and claws weren't involoved, your kitty wasn't really REALLY mad, you know. Mine playfight all the time. :D