I've got a 7 week old kitten and Ive got to introduce her to my 9 month old cat! How do I do it. They are currently looking at each other through patio doors. The cat is hissing at the kitten. I've had the kitten on my knee and tried to introduce them that way but I dont like the hissing. Any suggestions on the best way to do it?

There are people with far more cat experience than I on the forum, but from my own limited experience (7 cats, which I started off as pairs and then each time one dies I get another, then a pair, then a single) I've never once found any to be kitten friendly, most just totally ignore a kitten or like you hiss on introduction, only when the kitten is older do they tend to bond, but to date I have not found any that wish to play with or entertain a kitten, and I always have to be a kittens playmate whilst the older cat/s just watch.

Once you start to feed the kitten infront of the older cat they get the message that they are staying. :-)

P.S. I guess I should just add, that none have ever hurt a kitten, hiss and snarl yes, but never hurt one.

Thanks Carrington. So do you think Im best putting them together, keeping an eye on them and hoping for the best?

Basically you just leave them to it but make sure to spoil the adult cat extra. Avoid having the kitten on your knee when the adult is around -that actually helps a lot. Cats are funny and need to know they are still number one. Spend time with the kitten when the adult has its back turned, so to speak. :) It can take a couple of weeks, but most will accept a kitten eventually, whether it is just a grudging acceptance, or if they actually like them. A 9 months old cat is adult, but only JUST adult, so should find it pretty easy to accept a newcomer. :)

The one thing I'd be a bit wary of here though is that the kitten is so extremely young. :( 7 weeks, that's awful, that kitten should have stayed with its mum for another 6 weeks, so the risk is that the kitten may try to suckle the adult cat whether it is male or female. It won't be anywhere near fully weaned yet so will go for anything it thinks it can suckle off.

Thanks Marianne. The kitten is apparently eating meat so hopefully she wont try suckling but I'll keep a look out for that.

I've put them both in the conservatory and they are watching each other, having the occasional sniff but generally so far so good. I think they are wary of each other. The kitten is doing her hardest to make friends but also standing her ground. Shes not intimidated!

Yay!!! You've got your new kitten :)

I've never had to introduce a kitten to a current cat (always had just 1 cat). My friend has recently got a kitten (a Main Coon - it's sooo cute), she also has 2 older cats (both about 10 yrs old), the 1 cat took to the kitten strait away, the other cat was completely disgusted and would avoid it (other than to give it a wop on the head), but after 3 weeks they are all great friends :)

They just need some time to learn each others boundries, your older cat is still very young, I'm sure they will soon be great play mates :)

Thanks Mastiff. My older cat has recovered completely from her spey! I'm gonna have to go through it all again with this little girl. Fingers crossed they make friends soon!

i found my HUGE dog cage to be a big help when i had a foster kitten as i wasnt sure how my older boy would cope, they can escape from each other, or sniff through the bars without my interferance which meant they met on their own terms really. dot had her bed, litter tray and toys and scratchy pyramid all in there, plus she was fed in there also, she got used to it very quickly, and it meant she had a safe haven from the dogs, and from kipper too!  i gradually let them spend more and more time together  and now they are great friends!
here is a video i made of dot when she first arrived ( she was from a farm that a litter was found in a field, and she was the last one i homed...so she stayed!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDESF476I-4

How cute! And what beautiful markings.:-)

gorgeous kitten, your older cat looks just like mine but is probably much friendlier (ours hisses every time you go near him then wants cuddles once he realises its you :-D)

what a beautiful kitten! my cat is expecting babies in around 3 weeks.

> what a beautiful kitten! my cat is expecting babies in around 3 weeks.

Ooohhhhhhhhh what breed?   Anything unusual?

no. shes just a run of the mill moggy lol. actually i shouldnt laugh........i got her a year ago after my friend found her and her 3 brothers under a bush in her garden. i have been incredibly busy over the last 6 months wth family issues and am ashamed to say kept putting off having her spayed. so the inevitable happened. lokking forward to to kittens tho and will be keeping one.

Just a little update...

The 2 cats were getting on better but I kept splitting them up and when I re-introduced them it felt like we were back to square 1 so I decided that as they never hurt each other they could stay together. Came home tonight to find them both fast asleep on a chair! The same chair! Kitten cried and Phantom started licking her! Couldnt believe it!!

Im much happier!

Bella (the kitten) has got fleas. Ive got some flea stuff that I was gonna use on phantom but it says you cant use it on kittens under 12 weeks. Is there one I can get for kittens or will I have to wait till shes older?

You can use this on 8 week old kittens            

Frontline spray (prescription only though) can be used on kittens from 3 days of age.

Gorgeous kitten! I'd have kept her too :-)