How to introduce a kitten to your cats at home

Did you, or someone in your family, get a new kitten for the holidays? Do you have other cats at home? Here's some tips from cat owner Mary Beth Frezon, who just added a little kitty to her feline family.

Q- Mary Beth, please introduce us to your new kitten.

MB- My new kitten's name is Molly - she's now about 9 weeks old, she was about 6 weeks old when she was delivered by my co-worker Josh. His cat had four kittens and when he said there was an all black one in amongst the other tuxedo kittens I knew I had to meet her.

Q- How many cats do you have at home?

MB- Molly makes four, although it seems more like 3 honking big cats and a smidge. Deirdre is probably about 10, and the two brothers Archie and Erasmus are about 4. Collectively they're known as the three honking big cats - 3hbc.

Q- How did you introduce the kitten to the cats? How did they react?

MB- I left the newly cleaned and dusted empty carrier out for a few days beforehand and all the big cats wandered in and out and sniffed it all over. I took the carrier to work with me on the designated kitten-pick-up day. She rode home in it (with a little side trip to see my parents).

When I got home, for some reason I thought it would be interesting to take her out of the carrier and set down the empty carrier again. So I put Molly inside my sweater, went inside and let the big cats re-inspect the carrier. Many puzzled looks as they all crowded around it. They paid absolutely no attention to me or to the little black kitten head sticking out of my sweater.

After a few minutes of this, Molly started squirming around and hopped down to the floor. All the big cats came over for a closer look. She did her arched back, puffed out fur thing and without a hiss or growl, all the big cats were just gone. That's sort of the normal thing to happen - small kitten puffs up and maybe gives a little hiss and all the big cats vanish.

Q- What is the cutest/funniest thing about your new kitten?

MB- She was really well socialized and is quite affectionate, although I have to say she's a daredevil and rather fearless. The cutest thing she does is sort of this kitten-godzilla thing where she does a four-footed pounce move followed by walking towards them on her two back legs. They look at her like she's lost her little kitten mind.

Q- Do you have any tips for introducing a new cat to others?

MB- Despite the tales of cat aloofness, they're actually quite social beings. Every group of cats has a clear social structure once you get to know the members. It's important to let the cats adjust to a new member on their own and only take action if it looks like someone is really going to get hurt.

No amount of holding the kitten up to the big cats and saying "look! cute kitten" you should like her!" will help this process, and usually doing that just results in the big cat taking a whack at the little one which makes everyone unhappy. Especially me because I should know better!

After awhile the big cats think the kitten is a special kind of toy that never runs down and there may be some chasing or pretend batting back at the bold little thing. This is usually followed pretty quickly by ear-licking and butt sniffing and next thing you know they're curled up nearby each other.

Another way to introduce a new cat is to keep them in a room separately and let everyone sniff around the door. Screened porches are good for this too.

I always tell people to expect a few weeks of hissing until everyone settles back into place, but I've never had any real cat fights or injuries. (Photo to the left--the black blur you see is Molly, playing with Erasmus.)

The hardest part in all this is of course remaining a neutral human party, especially because there's this adorable new kitten looking for attention and a warm lap. I try to spend some extra time scritching and paying attention to all the big cats individually and as a group. Then I spend time with the new kitten by herself.

Thank you Mary Beth, and all the best to Dierdre, Archie, Erasmus, and little Molly!

Why Do Cats Hunt?

Has your cat ever left you a present on your door mat that you stepped on by accident? Has your cat ever presented you with the remains of a mouse or bug? The best thing to do in this situation is to praise your cat and make a happy fuss over the remains, before disposing of them as discreetly as you can without your cat seeing you do it. Believe it or not, all cats hunt whether feral or domesticated, outdoor or indoor.

Yes, even those wonderful purring machines that love to sit in your lap and cuddle, hunt. My cats never used to go outside, so I was presented with all sorts of odd things when they were “hunting” in the house. They would bring me twist ties, buttons, pencil stubs, bottle caps, and the occasional fly or ladybug that had been unlucky enough to get in the house. They brought whatever they happened to find that they could carry to me. While I thought this was very entertaining, I never really gave it much thought. After all, I had taught them to fetch toys and things, so I thought that was what they were doing, except that some of the things they found I had not tossed for them. Now I know better, they were bringing me the bounty of their hunt.

There are a few schools of thought as to why they will bring you their prey. Ethologist Paul Leyhausen proposes that cats adopt their humans into the social group. As humans, he believes that we are at the top of the pecking order and therefore rate to share the “kill”. Desmond Morris, the author of “Catwatching”, believes on the other hand that they are trying to teach us to hunt much as they would one of their own kittens. Still a third idea is that this behavior is a relic of a kitten trying to gain the approval of its mother, as to its hunting prowess.

There are also some misconceptions about cats hunting. A cat that has been declawed can still hunt, I know I owned one. Keentya used to bat any mouse that entered his domain with his front paws. It seemed to me that he had stunned the mouse with this activity. It never went farther than that if I was around; I would rescue the mouse and put it outside. But Keentya was no slouch when it came to hunting without front claws.

While mother cats (queens) teach their kittens to hunt, the instinct to do so is hard-wired into the kitten. The mother teaches the kitten to hunt, to augment their skills and become a better hunter. I have seen orphaned kittens that are unbelievable hunters, using just as much stealth and cunning as their adult counterparts.

Cats do not necessarily prefer birds or mice; they hunt where the opportunity presents itself and will hunt the trail of least resistance. For example, if my cat Munchkin can get to a mouse on the ground, she will do that as opposed to climbing up the barn roof to try to catch a pigeon that can fly away from her. We have had an issue with the occasional bird, but thankfully those events are few and far between, as the cats know I am displeased when they bring a bird home.

Living in the country now, I spend as much time outside in nice weather as I can and so do the cats. They hunt grasshoppers and other insects, mice, voles, elephant shrews, and rats. Sometimes I am gifted with an entire mouse, sometimes just a bit of what is left. I don’t think they are trying to teach me to hunt, I think they are bringing me a trophy. They don’t seem to be distressed after the trophy is missing; they just go and get another one. 

I have become philosophical where the cats are concerned. If I continue to let them outside they will continue to hunt, no matter how well-fed on CANIDAE Cat and Kitten they are. However, they are ridding us of vermin that are not welcome in our garden, chicken house or home. Because of the skills of my feline family I don’t need to use chemicals or bug repellants to get rid of the mice, rats or other things we find around the farm and for that I am truly grateful.

So if your feline friend brings you home a treasure one day, remember to smile and show how proud of them you are. They could just be saving your pantry.

Ruthie Bently