Might be getting a new baby!

[MaggieTheCat]

So, one of my husband's co-workers found a baby kitten in the middle of the road on his way to work today! There weren't any other cats or people around that she might belong to, no ID, and there were a couple big birds circling around her so husband's co-worker picked her up and brought her to work. He can't take her home, so he started asking everyone in the office if anyone else wanted her.

So we might take her!

Here's the IM between my husband and I...

Me: Are you gonna bring her home? XD
Husband: Well, maybe. I thought I should ask for your opinion first. X-D
Me: I think you know my opinion. XD But my judgement is not always clear with kitties. It's more like "SQUEEEEEEEEE KITTEN"
Husband: Mine neither. X-D I wasn't /quite/ ready to go looking for one, but since there's an abandoned baby who needs a home...
Me: Yeah, I agree...if someone else wants her, then that's cool, but if nobody claims her by the end of the day, you can bring her home.

We wanted to get a new kitten after moving into our new house, although we've only been moved a bit over 2 weeks and haven't even completely unpacked yet, so we were gonna wait a little while. Supposedly she's all black with a brown splotch on her chest, very fuzzy, and very friendly and playful. We're barely settled into the new house, but we already have 2 cats so we don't really need to go out and get much (except kitten-specific food.)

I've never introduced a new kitten to older cats. One of our cats is super-friendly and loves everyone (including every animal he's ever encountered) so I'm not worried about him...but the other one can be kind of a brat sometimes. I'm sure she will not be nearly as accommodating as our older boy. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to make the transition easier for both baby and older girl? We have plenty of space in the house including 2 empty spare bedrooms...should we separate them?

[Red_Dazes]

I would suggest separating them for a while. Put the kitten in one of the extra bedrooms for a few days, they can smell each other through the door but not see each other. Then let the kitten into the main rooms and the big cats into the extra room you have been keeping kitten it ((no interaction)) it will get them accustomed to the smell of each other. Then if you want you can try introducing them with the kitten in a carrier so the other cats don't feel threatened, or you can put brat cat in a carrier and try introing the kitten and the sweet cat. But be prepared for the integration to last about a week or so. Some times it can be faster, but with cats it is best to take it slow because one bad meeting can set the president for the entire relationship.
In my experience though, if the kitten is little enough, most female cats don't have a problem accepting a new baby kitten into the house. Just that mothering instinct. But I don't know how old that one is or if your cats have ever had kittens or not. ((All my cats had had kittens at some point so they loved getting new babies to coddle....except my moms cat, she never had kittens and she hates anything that moves....))

[MaggieTheCat]

Thanks for the suggestions, RD, that sounds like a great plan. I'm home during the day too, so I can make sure that things don't get out of hand whenever we do introduce them all face-to-face.

I made an appointment with our vet for this afternoon, to make sure she doesn't have anything that could affect our other cats. My husband is going to take her directly to the vet after work before even coming home, so hopefully we can prevent anything like fleas or diseases from getting in the house!

[Red_Dazes]

Quoth MaggieTheCat

I made an appointment with our vet for this afternoon, to make sure she doesn't have anything that could affect our other cats. My husband is going to take her directly to the vet after work before even coming home, so hopefully we can prevent anything like fleas or diseases from getting in the house!

Good. It is always good to get a health check first, also keeping them separated will really reduce the chance of anything getting passed along. Make sure you have your vet test the kitten for Feline Leukemia, cause that can be passed like nothing else from cat to cat and it is almost always fatal. My sister lost a whole litter of 7 kittens she was fostering PLUS her cat of 5 + years to it.

Also, supervision is a YES. If you are going to be leaving them at home alone for the first month or so make sure they are separated until you feel they don't need monitoring.

[Exaspera]

Be prepared to witness the older kitties smacking the little one around a bit in order to establish the hierarchy.

[Red_Dazes]

Quoth Exaspera

Be prepared to witness the older kitties smacking the little one around a bit in order to establish the hierarchy.

As long as there isn't screaming involved on the little ones part or any blood, don't worry about it though. Just steel yourself for it cause it is never easy to watch the baby get picked on when the older ones decide to put it in it's place. lol

[MaggieTheCat]

Well, my husband just got done at the vet. Apparently our little girl is actually a little boy! Oops. Anyway...the vet said we should keep him separate from the older cats for 2 months. He tested negative for feline leukemia, but the vet said it he was recently infected, it might not show up right away. Good thing we have those spare rooms...now we need to get some furniture or something up there so we can actually sit in there with him!

[Red_Dazes]

Quoth MaggieTheCat

Well, my husband just got done at the vet. Apparently our little girl is actually a little boy! Oops. Anyway...the vet said we should keep him separate from the older cats for 2 months. He tested negative for feline leukemia, but the vet said it he was recently infected, it might not show up right away. Good thing we have those spare rooms...now we need to get some furniture or something up there so we can actually sit in there with him!

^_^ Pillows and such on the floor make for ideal kitten level cuddling! Congrats on his clean bill of health thus far! I'm sure he will grow up and be healthy and happy. If your vet is worried about the leukemia then make sure your other cats don't get to be in that room until he is cleared 100%, and you might want to get some comfy PJ's that are exclusively "kitten Room" clothes, since it can be spread from you cuddling him to your other kitties. But I am sure if he tested fine that he will be fine, it is usually a shelter disease.

[MaggieTheCat]

I'm actually a little confused as to the whole leukemia thing...our vet said that he tested negative for FIV but that we need to quarantine him for 2 months because if he was recently infected, he might still have it and it just doesn't show up on the test. HOWEVER, everything I've read about FIV indicates that it's not life threatening and that the chance of older cats developing it is slim anyway, and the only way to transmit it is through serious bites. Now, this is FIV I'm talking about right now...FeLV, which is the leukemia virus, is different and more dangerous. I've read how the chances of cats surviving it are very slim but I also have not read anything about need to quarantine a new kitten like our vet told us to (nevermind the fact that our vet was supposedly talking about FIV, not FeLV.) I think I'm going to call them tomorrow to ask for clarification.

[Calvin St.Hobbes]

I think there's a rule somewhere that says that if you tell people about a new kitty/puppy then a picture is obligatory....
If it's not a rule it should be...