How does getting a kitten affect an older cat?

*-Ellie-*: How does getting a kitten affect an older cat?
We have the sweetest, most handsome cat in the world, Meeko. He is 13 and very friendly. He gets along great with our collie and the birds. We are thinking of getting a kitten. How do older cats usually react? Are they like dogs in the way that the kitten will liven up the older cat, or are they resentful? We would introduce them gradually, and we’ve also heard of rubbing the new kitten with household scents like our cat’s blanket. How does this usually work out? What do you suggest doing when bringing a new kitten home?

Answers and Views:

Answer by tnkrb3l
The older cat may get mad for a little while but then they generally adjust and can sometimes be happy to have a playmate. The best way to bring the new kitten into the home is to keep him/her in a room away from the cat you already have for about a week or so. This way the cats will be able to smell each other through the door and get used to each other.

Answer by formula1fun
Make sure the kitten is old enough to be declawed before bringing it home. My wife and I had the greatest cat ever for 14 years along with another cat. He was more like a dog in that he would greet everyone and always had to around when we had people over. Our 8 year old daughter asked for a kitten of her own. We agreed and went to the local animal shelter to adopt a kitten. The kitten was not declawed yet and ended up scratching our wonderful cat in the eye. His eye was punctured and we ended up having to put him down because the vet said he probably would not have survived the surgery to have his eye removed due to his age and health.

Answer by Jo M
When we introduced our new kitten we kept him in a separate room for a few days with a blanket and every day we swapped the blankets over so both cats could get used to the others scents and slowly introduced them even then there was some hisssing by the older cat. But now it is fantastic were there is one the other is not far behind they are thebest of friends.

Answer by tmmc4444
one of my really old cats didn’t pay any attention to the kitten, but the other one, she was 18 years old, became sort of interested. in fact, she seemed to have perked up a little.
when the kitten would cry, she would come running to check it out.

Answer by Judy W
I think a kitten is a great idea. it will perk him up and give him a whole new outlook on life. A young kitten about eight or nine weeks old would not have any territory issues and need some one. If your cat is as good as you think a few cries of distress from a baby will have him a running to see what is up. I once had a new stray kitten that I was giving a bath just squalling in fear. MY three year old not neutered tom jumped up on the sink removed the kitten from my hands . He jumped down took the kitten to my room up on our bed and proceeded to clean him up. They were the best of friends his whole life.

Answer by Miss Minie
My cat loves my new kitten. She needed a buddy and so we got Fred for her. Introducing them slowly is always a good thing, and make sure Meeko never feels rejected or unloved because there’s a kitten around to play with.

Answer by Elaine M
It completely depends on the cat. With one of ours she hated the new kitten completely because the first thing it did was jump on her tail. She hated Hershey for all 12 years they were together (we just lost Dax last month to cancer). With Merlin we got a huge surprise–he LOVED kittens and would have made a great foster uncle to them if we were into fostering. Within 5 minutes he was having fun chasing and being chased.

Answer by ?answerer
First, have someone else (a friend or a neighbor) carry the new kitten into the house. Your older kitty will be curious. When I got my 1 year old a kitten, she sniffed, hissed, and chased her for about a week. The new kitty was a foster so she was used to other animals and wanted to be friends right away! When I wasn’t home, I kept the kitten in another room. But when I would come home, they would be playing footsies under the door. Literally after 7 days, they tolerated each other and I felt comfortable leaving them unattended.

The whole reason I got my older cat a pal was because she would attack me. She was mean and would back me in the corner and bite my calfs if she was given the opportunity. Getting a playmate was Vet recommended, and I am happy to say they get along great now. And my younger kitty is the dominant one in the relationship. She gives a mandatory ear cleaning to the older one a couple times a week.