Re: Maine Coon kittens and introducing into household

Elvira — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:28:17 GMT

Hi there,

I breed Maine Coons and have also just introduced another kitten from outside to my 6 adults. I always put a kitten pen (or dog crate ) in a room and shut the other cats out. It helps if the room has a glass door as then the other cats can see the kitten and sniff a bit through the door. I let the others get used to seeing the kitten for a day or so then put the kitten in the pen and allow them in one at a time to have a good sniff, hiss and grumble! I carry on like this until one of the other cats stops, or nearly stops, hissing and seems less confrontational. I then allow them together in the room (preferably a small room) under supervision, being ready to intervene if things get nasty or too exuberant. When they all seem relatively calm I start to let the kitten out of the room under supervision but making sure he/she is shut away if I am not around. When they seem perfectly ok together downstairs ( the occasional hiss is acceptable),I let the kitten upstairs under supervision and then let them all free range. I picked up my latest kitten last Monday and by yesterday they were all fine together, which is the quickest it's ever been, though sometimes it has taken a good two weeks. You will need to keep he kitten shut away from the others at night and when you are out for a couple of weeks. Be aware that the two cats may never be best buddies but if you introduce slowly they should tolerate each other. Maine Coon kittens are generally very bold and less likely to be fazed by a new home. If you would like to email me privately with the area your boyfriend's family lives I can give you a few ideas of breeders to contact. My new kitten is my prospective new breeding girl after 5 years so I won't have babies until next year.

Re: Maine Coon kittens and introducing into household

Rachael_24 — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:47:24 GMT

Hi,

I don't know anything about breeders but there are some basic principles to follow when introducing a kitten into a household with cats. It should be done slowly so the kitten should be kept in a separate room to begin with. You should introduce the scent first so cuddle the cat after handling the kitten and so on. As long as it is all done gradually and stress kept to a minimum then there should be no problems! A feliway plug-in would help too! It should be plugged in for a few weeks in advance though!

Good luck! x