interdoucing my cats

Question
i have a neutred male cat about 1 yr old and a few days ago i got a lil female kitten 3 mts old. they get along together more or less fine as long as i m looking as soon as i turn my head to them the male cat gets on top of the kitten and puts his mouth around her. i didn t let it go that far to find out if he would bite her or just holding her. i pull him away but not punish or yell at him just put him in another room. when i intoduce them again same thing over again they get along ok until i turn my head to him....what could i do about it,to make them best friends?

Answer
Claire,

The neutered male is NOT going to hurt your 3 month old kitten!  Once you introduce cats, the best thing to do is to let them work out their relationship on their own.

Human interference of any kind, including separating them again, will only prolong the process.  Furthermore, we mere humans have no idea how cats determine their relationships with one another.

So, let them stay together.  Ignore any hissing, spitting, rough play, etc.  They are not going to hurt each other.  Cats learn at an early age to play incredibly roughly with each other.  Even though it may look as if he is going to do something very bad to the 3 month old, no harm will really happen.  Watch your vet give your cat a shot and see how they have to punch that needle through the skin.  Cat's have very, very tough skin!

In time, they may play roughly, but if they engage in mutual grooming, sleep together, eat together, etc., they will be best friends.  At one year of age, your male is fairly young and will be very tolerant of the 3 month old at first and warm up to it as they get to know each other better.  There is always the rare situation where one takes an instant dislike to the other (just like people), but I would not worry about that happenstance.

Best regards... Norm.