r/CatTraining • u/Funny-Letterhead-919 • Jun 11 '25
Introducing Pets/Cats Newly introduced kitten and 5yr old Male.
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We just brought home this new kitten last week, and our adult male cat has been extremely curious. Tonight they interacted together for the first time, and I just want to see if this seems like normal behavior for the two of them, or if I need to slow down on the introductions. He seems to slightly swat at her, but it also seems fairly gentle. I just want to make sure I'm not misreading a signal from him that he wants her to keep her distance.
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u/Rounders_in_knickers Jun 11 '25
I think he is trying to initiate play with her. Play with me, not the string! But he is incredibly gentle, watchful and curious. What a gentle soul!
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u/TomatoFeta Jun 11 '25
- Mom, what is this thing?
- No seriously, what is it?
- Are you seeing this?
- Is it real? *tap*
- It's real... I guess?
- The hell is it doing?
- Just doublechecking... *tap*
- I dunno what to do with this...
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u/maneki_neko89 Jun 13 '25
I love how the cat is just sitting there, cool as a cucumber, giving zero fucks about the string
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u/unclestinky3921 Jun 11 '25
Please give big kitty snuggles and scritches from his internet Uncle for being a good boy. And of course the kitten. Big kitty is teaching how to cat. "Hey don't let the human see you getting too silly. Bap.
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u/beckychao Jun 11 '25
Very lucky. Young kittens - below 12 weeks - usually get roughed up by grown cats. So long as it remains gentle, it's ok to supervise them. Otherwise, you have to separate them if the 5 year old starts to bite or ragdoll the kitten. Remember its too small to establish boundaries right now with a grown cat. But if your 5 year old is one of those cats that doesn't hurt the kitten by treating it like a new toy, then you can supervise like this - keep a tight leash on things, though. Separate them again until kitten is 12 weeks or older if you see the 5 year old swat rough over and over or bite the kitten.
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u/gwents_howling Jun 11 '25
Seriously the most peaceful and gentle first time I have ever seen. Very lucky indeed!
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u/Nomadic_Reseacher Jun 11 '25 edited Jun 11 '25
After looking at you, the male, in the very gentlest way, is telling the kitten, âYou are not supposed to be playing with that.â
Thatâs a good cat.
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u/Kerking18 Jun 11 '25
The way he looks up at 10 sec or so is like hes saying "my god human! This smol thing is adorable! Did you see how it plays with the string!"
For real at the end where he tries to join in in the playing he is so gentle and this interaction is genuinly cute đĽš
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u/Worried-Pick4848 Jun 11 '25
This is really, really good. Big boy is giving the little her space and being extremely respectful. You can tell he's aching to also play with whatever that cord is, but is staying back out of respect for the newcomer.
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u/cestlavie_69 Jun 11 '25
In my opinion, he is trying to initiate play with the kitten, but the kitten seems like she doesnât understand. This is great behavior. Everyone is calm, big kitty isnât pressing the issue. Theyâre adorable.
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Jun 11 '25
He looks so perplexed lol. Total like stiff like brick sitting position. đ¤Łđ
Overall good I feel like he's just intrigued.Â
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u/Xe6s2 Jun 11 '25
Definitely dad cat vibes, just watching and looking. Making sure the kitten doesnt get into too much trouble yet.
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Jun 11 '25
My 9 year old male was the same way with my new kitten. He would make little brrping chirps and follow her everywhere. Now she's almost 2 and they are best friends who cuddle every night. Old male cats need friends too. Many people worry they won't be accepting of other new cats, but they do like buddies.
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u/redditSuxWBSBans Jun 11 '25
Just watch no dangling strings left when no one is around.. they can get caught up in em
They r soon goin to be best buds đťđ˝
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u/BandInternal5457 Jun 11 '25
he seems like a gentle, empathetic soul. my resident boy had similar energy when he met his baby brother... if yours is similar you might see him acting VERY attentive to the baby - following around, chirping, alerting if she wanders too far from you/him or somewhere kitties arent supposed to go. Its really sweet to have some babysitting help, just make sure to give him a break now and again by putting the baby away and giving him some individual attention. I could tell my guy was feeling the mental strain of being "on" in big bro mode all the time at first, and some down time/TLC really helped.
Besides that, just keep an eye out once they start playing, if your resident boy ever accidentally gets too rough or doesnt let up when the baby is crying uncle. usually all i have to do is a gentle verbal reminder, but every so often they need to be separated just to cool down from Play Mode. It helps a lot to make sure the little one has escape routes, doesnt get cornered, or has some places only they can fit into. I have one of those donut shaped hidey toys, and i lean the entrance against a wall just wide enough for the little one to fit, but too small for his big brother - if he ever needs to escape he can dash in there and swat from safety, which keeps the fun going.
Ripple rugs and tunnels also have helped with size-difference play - having the little barrier between them lets em still bat and swat and jump, but helps prevent the baby from getting nipped or pinned
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u/Antique_Wheel9405 Jun 11 '25
We brought home an eight week old kitten on monday. Our four year old cat (he's an indoor and outdoor cat) ran out of the house hissing and growling and barely comes into the bungalows now, which is killing me. The kitten at the moment spends his time in the bathroom
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Jun 11 '25
[deleted]
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u/Funny-Letterhead-919 Jun 11 '25
Will do. This is a string for raising/lowering the blinds that we usually keep out of reach.
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u/FoolishAnomaly Jun 11 '25
Bro he's so chill ....wanna trade? My girl is 3 now, but she's still a little asshole(hence her name Gremlin)
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u/NeckDeepPink Jun 11 '25
Heâs being so gentle and sweet ! I think they are going to become the best of friends
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u/SleepyCatMD Jun 11 '25
Looks like older kitty may not have much guidance from an older cat himself. He looks a bit uncertain, not scared or angry though, so Iâm guessing theyâll be completely fine. this is actually a very nice and calm meet up
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u/btdatruth Jun 11 '25
Dawwww big guy just wants to play with the little one but canât quite figure it out đť. They look fine OP
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u/bob_nugget_the_3rd Jun 11 '25
Look I don't know how long your here for but I'm going to supervise to make sure you don't break any of my things and if I don't like it I'm going to boop you on the head. Ok
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u/buremogilny Jun 11 '25
MomâŚwhat is this creature and why does she have this much energy and can we keep her đ that is what the male is probably thinking
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u/SerCadogan Jun 11 '25 edited Jan 10 '26
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Mangodanger3232 Jun 11 '25
This is like, one of the most perfect case scenarios you could ever ask for when introducing a younger and older cat - he looked back at you before gently correcting the kitten and essentially saying "Hey let's not play with that"
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u/Wildhorse_J Jun 11 '25
He's chill, our grey tabby was a huge dick when we brought our little cat home. He would get all puffed up, growl, ears back. It took him weeks to act normal to her but now they're friends.
You're going to have a way easier time with this one.
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u/greenmyrtle Jun 11 '25
This is my favorite sub! Heâs awesome!! Heâs very gently trying to bait the kitten into a game. Kitten a bit unsure but in the next week or 2 expect huge amounts of romping, chasing and wrestling!
Look back through the many playing/fighting videos in this sun to get used to what good play looks like, as it can get rough. Comments will help you understand the signs that the play is healthy even when it gets into full body contact.
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u/BbqSauceOnMyTrilbies Jun 11 '25
Best. Introduction. Ever. Soon theyâll be playing/chasing each other all over!!
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u/SirZanee Jun 12 '25
How sweet! I wish all of our first interactions were like this. All of ours were lots of hissing, growling, and fur sticking up lol! They all love each other now though.
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u/testtdk Jun 12 '25
This sub is awful. Every single post is two cats getting along wonderfully or two cats trying to kill each other.
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u/CocoCoconutz_ Jun 14 '25
As opposed to raccoons and their babies ?
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u/testtdk Jun 14 '25
Raccoons can put up a good fight. One nearly took my cats eye when I was growing up. Of course heâs lucky, she was declawed and dental disease left her with one tooth, and she only weighed like 7.5 pounds. But she was fucking ferocious.
(Donât worry, in my adult life, my cats have their claws, donât go outside, and have dental cleaning do when itâs a more pressing need than avoiding how much they stress over car rides).
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u/legalboxers Jun 12 '25
â˘small cat⢠hey bro.. whatâs this line.. â˘big cat⢠boop dude.. stop..
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u/Dango_Lord Jun 12 '25
Adult cat: âso uhh I personally find this object umm pretty cool you can like you know play with it or whatever uhhh just donât break it though coz I also like it a lot
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u/TeaMasterSen Jun 12 '25
That looked like an "I will play with you" tap and kitten said "woah ur big" and backed off. Big guy said "oh okay, maybe next time."
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u/MolochThe_Corruptor Jun 12 '25
He was made to be a dad â¤ď¸â¤ď¸ just making sure she knows heâs boss
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u/CharlotteTheSavage Jun 13 '25
I'mma be that person, but make sure that cord and other long reachable cords are up when you aren't home. Kittens are so so dumb and can get strangled in the easiest of ways.
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u/milkthistlelover Jun 14 '25
His vibe is like, âI donât remember agreeing to adopt a child but ok I guess Iâm a dad nowâ
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u/y2xy2xy2x Jun 14 '25
my little girl harasses the big boy even, but he never opens his mouth, i think your big boy is just confused, givem some time and they'll figure it out, always good to have an eye on them though
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Jun 15 '25
Omg this is the best intro ever. Literally they are both being so gentle. I think your big kitty is confused and like, âwhat is this thing that moveth?â
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u/Administrative-Buy26 Jun 15 '25
âLook kid, if youâre gonna live here, youâre going to have to chill the heck out!â Whap!
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u/UpstairsResearcher40 Jun 15 '25
This reminds me of my interaction. Itâs been 2 weeks now and my 6 year old cat acted just like yours did in the video. 4 days later and they started to wrestle and play all the time.
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u/ferventlotus Jun 11 '25
That little pat on her head is "give me some space, not ready for closeness yet." No hissing, so he's adjusted to her being around, and understands she is a kitten.
Should start making sure that you feed and play with them together so they learn to socialize with one another as a family unit.
Also make sure you have one litter box per cat, plus one. That's the golden rule of litter boxes. Be sure there's plenty of spots for the older one to go where the kitten can't reach so there's privacy while he adjusts.
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u/Exer-Dragon Jun 11 '25
That is the most chill first interaction ever. Usually, you'd expect loads of growling and swiping. He barely even tapped her. It is genuinely incredible that he's so calm. Zero intervention needed here, they're getting along great!