my kittens are not getting on!!

Question
Recently we got a 5 week old kitten (female),but we alredy had a 10 week old kitten(male).He kees spitting at her and trying to swipe her,she gets really scared! what can i do to help them get on.

Answer
Georgia,

If you just got the kitten and allowed her run of the house right away that may be one of the reasons that your kittens are not getting along properly. I would recommend that you take the five week old kitten and have her in a room behind a closed door for about a week or so. This kitten will need toys, food, water, and a bed to sleep in. At this point you may want to be mixing a weaning formula in with hard kitten food, this will make the food softer and easier to eat with her tiny teeth, as well as provide desperately needed calories, fat, protein and other extras that kittens need at this stage of development. You can usually find kitten weaning formula in pet supply stores or veterinarians offices. You should be aware that this kitten needs to have food accessible at all times to avoid having issues with poor growth and blood sugar. The time in isolation will give the two kittens time to get used to each other's scents and presence and protect both kittens from the possibility of contracting contagious infections or viruses. After the week is over you can slowly reintroduce the kittens and try to help them become friends by playing with them. I must say that 5 weeks old is a bit young to be in a new home, this little one should still be with her mother. I prefer to see kittens 8 weeks old at a minimum before they are introduced into new homes. There are several reasons for this recommendation, one being that kittens are born with very immature immune systems...This kitten is at the stage where the mother is likely starting to wean her and she hasn't had any vaccines yet...This means that she is extremely vulnerable to infections and viruses. You may want to consider keeping her isolated from the older kitten until she has some vaccines so that she is less likely to get sick. Vaccines for kittens generally start at 6-8 weeks of age depending on the circumstances and the vets individual preferences. Hopefully this information is a helpful start. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.