posted November 08, 2005 10:41 PM         

* Just how long does it usually take an older cat to warm up to a kitten?
It's been some time for me...and we had a large house w/ some acreage surrounded by farms. While I was growing up, if the cats didn't want to see each other they didn't have to.
Now we're in a fairly small duplex...so.

* Does it really make a difference if both are male?
OK, I know that it does. But how surmountable is this if one's older and one's a 5-week-old kitten?

posted November 08, 2005 10:58 PM         

This is the best that I could get before my camera's batteries died:

posted November 08, 2005 11:03 PM         

I love the name you have picked out for him!

There are some cat experts here so I'm sure they'll give you great advice!

posted November 10, 2005 02:05 PM         

If Harry's isn't acting up in very egregious ways, like urinating all of over the house, violently attacking the kitten, acting aggressively to you, etc., then there's fairly good chance he'll accept the kitten eventually. He may never warm up to Huey completely, but sometimes with cats, the best you can get is a truce.

Until then, make sure Harry has his space, and begin teaching the kitten to respect his elders (i.e., discourage him - humanely of course - from stealing Harry's food, tormenting Harry while he's in the litter box, claiming Harry's favorite sleeping place, and so forth). Cats are actually social and hierarchal (although not as much as dogs), so if you reinforce that Harry was there first, things probably will go better. However, if Harry feels he's being crowded out of his own home, this would be extremely stressful for him and cause him to become very aggressive (towards anyone) or depressed.

2. Gender always makes a difference is how cats get along. Again they are social and hierarchal. Males aren't always the dominant, but if there isn't a female, it's important to reinforce who's the Alpha and who's the Beta. Cats are very territorial so this begins with territory - basically what I said above. Kitten shouldn't be allowed first dibs on anything, at least until they've adjusted to one another. Make sure Harry gets his food first, gets his provacy int eh litter box and gets left alone when he wants to be left alone. That kind of thing. I even know of some cases where the alpha cat is "given" a room to himself, and the other cat is not allow in there (don't know if that is doable for you, but this often works very well).

When the kitten gets to be 1-2 years old he'll start feeling his male tendencies and may challenge Harry, so it's good to have a living arrangement to reinforces who's Alpha. That's the main concern with two male living together. However, as long as the younger is reminder and accepted he's the Beta, things usually go OK.

3. Normally, it's advisable to have one more litter box than the number of cats. If that's not doable, try to have at least two. Chances are, Harry'll claim both anyhow, but at least if there's two, they won't get as dirty as quickly, and thus give Harry less to object to.

Cat are very clean animals and do not like to use a dirty litter box. Normally, if another cat has used it bfore them, that means "dirty" to them. If a cat is not used to sharing a litter box, it's best to add another box to help ease the adjustment.

P.S. They're both adorable. Harry looks a bit like my Alpha cat (who's female).

posted November 10, 2005 05:22 PM         

I wont even bother to answer your question - as GN explained it purr-fectly!!

edit: OMG that turned out huge. Does anyone know how to make it smaller?