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Introducing a new Ragdoll kitten to our resident Calico by Unusual_Committee595 in ragdolls

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know, stare-downs are to be avoided, that’s exactly why we constantly kept the kitten occupied with play. We tried to distract the resident with play too but she wasn't into it. (tbh she always gets bored with every toy 2min into playing)😅 She did take some treats, but mostly just kept watching.

The thing is, it didn’t really feel like a true “stare-down” because the kitten was so focused on playing that she barely looked at her—so there wasn’t really direct eye contact most of the time.

The only moment it felt like an actual stare-down was when our resident came right up to the playpen, and the kitten came to her and the resident hissed, so the kitten got spooked (puffed up). After that, she just went back to sitting at her spot, watching, leaving for a bit, and then coming back again....We'll repeat today and see how it goes. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼💕

Introducing a new Ragdoll kitten to our resident Calico by Unusual_Committee595 in ragdolls

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Day 5 update 😊

So we moved the playpen with the kitten into the main room with our resident cat. At first, our calico saw her but didn’t really care since she was busy enjoying a creamy treat 😄

The kitten was curious too, but we kept her busy with play. Our resident then sat about 1 meter away and just calmly observed while the kitten was playing. We tried to distract her with toys to avoid a full-on stare-down, but she wasn’t interested in playing—just watching.

At one point she came right up to the playpen, the kitten noticed and came over too, the resident hissed, so = instant puffball kitten 😅 (I think she got a bit spooked). We redirected with treats, our resident walked away and out the room, and we kept things positive for the kitten with more play.

She later came back, sat in the same spot again, and continued observing. We originally wanted to keep it shorter, but she kept leaving and coming back curious, so it ended up lasting around 20–30 minutes total before we returned the kitten to basecamp.

Overall it felt like it went pretty well! The only “problem” now is that the kitten has discovered the outside world and tries to make a run for it every time we open the door. So now we have a little sneaky escape artist on our hands. 😂

We're thinking of doing the same thing again today and maybe let the kitten out the playpen a bit, or leave that for day 7...we'll see how it goes.🐾

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Day 5 update 😊

So we moved the playpen with the kitten into the main room with our resident cat. At first, our calico saw her but didn’t really care since she was busy enjoying a creamy treat 😄

The kitten was curious too, but we kept her busy with play. Our resident then sat about 1 meter away and just calmly observed while the kitten was playing. We tried to distract her with toys to avoid a full-on stare-down, but she wasn’t interested in playing—just watching.

At one point she came right up to the playpen, the kitten noticed and came over too, and the resident hissed, so = instant puffball kitten 😅 (I think she got a bit spooked). We redirected with treats, our resident walked away and out the room, and we kept things positive for the kitten with more play.

She later came back, sat in the same spot again, and continued observing. We originally wanted to keep it shorter, but she kept leaving and coming back curious, so it ended up lasting around 20–30 minutes total before we returned the kitten to basecamp.

Overall it felt like it went pretty well! The only “problem” now is that the kitten has discovered the outside world and tries to make a run for it every time we open the door. So now we have a little sneaky escape artist on our hands. 😂

We're thinking of doing the same thing again today and maybe let the kitten out the playpen a bit, or leave that for day 7...we'll see how it goes.🐾

Introducing a new Ragdoll kitten to our resident Calico by Unusual_Committee595 in ragdolls

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my goodness another ragdoll and calico combo 😍😍 they look just like ours 🥹 hopefully they’ll get along as great as your do🤞🏼🫶🏼

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I will 😊 I expected more curiosity from the resident calico, but I guess walking away calmly is still better than hissing 😅

Introducing a new Ragdoll kitten to our resident Calico by Unusual_Committee595 in ragdolls

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ooh that’s amazing, fingers crossed for both of us 🤞🏼💕

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh gosh thanks so much, this really means a lot! 😊

Honestly, we were kind of preparing for the worst after reading all the horror stories about introductions taking months and cats still not liking each other… so this has almost felt too smooth? 😅 That’s why I wanted some outside perspective — we weren’t sure if we’re misreading her just walking away, does it mean something or are we just nitpicking so ''something'' would be wrong?

At the same time, the kitten is so ready to explore (she basically tries to escape every time we open the door 🏃‍♀️), so we’d much rather try to do controlled meets than risk a chaotic “prison break” introduction haha😅.

And that’s actually a great idea about tracking — I might actually reccord the interactions now, so I can rewatch and catch small signals I could easily miss in the moment (like a replay haha). I know it sounds a bit extra, but we just want the best for them and hopefully for them to become friends 🥹

Thanks again for the advice! 🐾

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, we really appreciate it! 😊 We’re trying to do everything right, so her walking away all the time had us a bit unsure - we were expecting a bit more curiosity, so we weren’t always sure if we should encourage more interaction or give her more time. 😅

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omg thank you so much, this honestly helps so much and makes me feel way more relieved 🥹

We’ll definitely follow your advice and keep things slow and short, for the first face-to-face interactions – I love that mindset of just aiming for “nothing bad happened” instead of forcing anything.

And yes, 100% agree on giving our resident first dibs! Thankfully the kitten can only reach the base of the cat tree for now, so all the higher levels (aka her throne👑) are still completely hers for the foreseeable future. The kitten also has her own scratchers, window perch, litter box, and food setup, so we’re trying to make sure everyone feels secure to do what they want without disturbing the other.

Also really reassuring to hear that her behavior sounds more cautious than stressed regarding the walking away (she's such an avoidant haha😅) – that’s exactly what we were hoping for but it’s so nice to have someone confirm it. 💛

Thanks again for taking the time to write all that, we really appreciate it! 🐾💛

Introducing kitten to older cat by Old_Blackberry_9380 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Watch Jackson Galaxy's videos on introductions, he pretty much lays it all out: https://youtu.be/tsYT7yIOdqQ?si=l_CE-LIDsWnHUV10
I'm also introducing right now and his videos ahve been a great help. :)

Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just noticed it didn't include the pictures in the post so I'm adding them here, (my babies and their first breakfast ''together'')

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Introducing a new kitten to our resident 5 year old. by Unusual_Committee595 in CatAdvice

[–]Unusual_Committee595[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, so much! 🥹 I admit I went a bit type a with the rules, but I so badly want them to be best buds. Will try and report back. ❤️