Hi All

Id just like some small tips, everything is going reasonably well, except now we're a bit unsure of what to do next.

To recap this is what we have done:

- picked up our new female kitten @ 12 weeks as per norm.
- took her straight into the safe room
- our 2yr male noticed the smell straight away & stayed outside in his enclosure all day
- the 2nd day our 2yr old was coming inside
- we purchased a cat pheromone which lasts 1 month, and slowly releases a pheromone that settle's cats down, we hope this would ease the process
- we slowly got them used to each others smell
- using a face washer with his scent and vise versa
- letting the 2yr old smell us after we have played with the kitten and vise versa
- 3rd 4th 5th 6th day he was inside and used to her smell, though there has been no visual contact
- on the 6th day we let our 2 yr old come inside the safe room while our kitten was in her carry cage - we did this 3 times over the next day or two.
- we were pleased with the progress, our 2 yr old seemed calm and interested in the kitten.
- on day 7 we let our 2 yr old into the safe room, then opened the cat cage door to let the kitten out if she wished to go out.
- the kitten was a pistol and attacked him repeatedly (seemed more playful than genuine!) our 2yr old was running away from her and defending himself non-aggressively.
- day 8 we did the same, they seemed to interact great, we were pleased with the progress - mainly at how calm our 2 yr old was.
- now we're at day 9 and we let our 2 yr old in the room, he is MUCH more comfortable with her, to the point where he wants to play, he does play quite rough and hes given us humans pretty severe scratches and bits over the years - all playful though - he really does have some power (8+kg) solid.

The problem is, he is now enjoying playing with her, but his play seems way too rough, and our kitten is constantly yelping and running away from him, so the tables have turned and now we worry that they will fight like this often, and perhaps not get along down the track. Also we question when to let her into the rest of the house, as in the safe room there isnt much area for her to get away from him & vise versa which may contribute to the fighting. However, when we have let her out into the main house, she cannot explore as shes constantly defending against our 2 yr olds attacks! Again, i think he is playing with her, but it cant be fun for a kitten to be constantly on edge fearing of another yelping bite from her brother!

Perhaps we're looking into this a bit too much, it might just be play then when they wear each other out it will stop, though i dont want out kitten to be in fear of our 2 yr old because we've let them fight until worn out!!

Does anyone have some advise or experience with this sorta stuff?

We did our homework and have taken the steps recommended by the breeder - and like i said, everything had been going great until this.

Thanks :)

It sounds like things are going really well for you and your cats. But I know what you mean, it really *is* tough to know when to let them rough house, and how much is too much.

Personally I tend to err on the side of safety, and probably break up the cats more than I need to. When I hear the little one screeching or screaming bloody murder, I break it up and let them cool off a bit. But fully realizing that often that was just "part of the game". I think how you learn is by watching what happens after you break it up. If the little one goes right back and instigates more play with the bigger cat, then you know it was all in fun and you probably broke it up when you didn't need to. If however the little one then wants to steer clear of the bigger cat for a while, then you know you intervened appropriately (and possibly a little late?).

As far as when it's time to let the little one start roaming more of the house, my cue was when she started showing interest with what was behind the door. That's when you know your kitten has the confidence to go out and explore more. What I did for awhile was let her explore one new room at a time.

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The little monsters 3

I'd let the kitten explore the parts of the house that are new to her - without the 2 year old there, for a bit. Maybe someone could take the older boy into his enclosure and give him a good game to play, whilst the little one is exploring and finding hidey holes as well as gaining in confidence. We have also put a couple of small carboard boxes on their side, covered with a blanket, so it is a small dark place, and one of our two kittens can go in there and easily defend the front if they really do want down time.

Like the post above, we step in when one makes the other scream in pain. More often than not, the screamer goes straight back into the chase and wrestle game as soon as they can. I suspect they are enjoying it more than we think.

It sounds like you have planned it all very well and it has gone successfully, so far. Well done!

The thing is your little female will be growing by leaps and bounds and once she gets bigger will be able to defend herself better and present a larger presence to your other kitty. You're looking at day 9 -- for some people, it takes months and months. It takes time for kitties to get used to each other.