two kittens

Question
i have a six month old tom cat and have just acquired a 7 week old kitten. unfortunatly i did not read your advise for introducing them!! ive done it all wrong and introduced them straight away. my older cat is very dominant and is hissing and spitting at the kitten. according to your advise i should not seperate them now. should i continue to allow them meetings or seperate them for a few days? my older cat is my best friend i dont want him to feel alienated or unloved likewise the kitten. please help!!!!!!  Kim

Answer
Kim,

My advice for introducing any new cat or kitten is the same. It would be best for you to separate the new cat from the resident cat for 2-3 weeks until they both get used to the idea of each other. It is a good thing to feed and play with them on both sides of the door so that they can get used to each other's smells and sounds. I do think it would be in yours and the new kitten's best interests to neuter the male cat as male cats will generally kill young kittens that aren't their offspring in order to mate with the mother sooner. Neutering will also save many lives and prevent common issues like using urine or feces to mark territory or reproductive cancers or infections later on in life. You can also switch up bedding between the cats if you think your older cat needs more information to cope with the new kitten. It is normal when the proper introductions are followed with a dominant cat to still have some hissing and spitting back and forth. The safety of a kitten that young is necessary to protect as I typically don't recommend that kittens leave their mother and siblings until they are 10-12 weeks old and properly socialised. Be aware that the kitten is still very young, he should be vaccinated, dewormed and tested for serious feline conditions like Feline Leukemia and FIV (both of which attack the immune system and are incurable). I would still recommend that you spend time with each kitten and play with both. The cats both need to know that you love them. I hope that this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again.