Kitten question

[SwC]

My son brought home a new kitten today approximately 9 weeks old. The mom's owner stated she had not yet taken him to the vet for the normal kitty check ups. Being a weekend not much I can do until Monday. I have had kittens and currently have an adult cat also (5yrs). This little guy constantly sleeps! He seems otherwise healthy as far as appearance. I am keeping him quarantined from my other cat until we can have him vet checked, besides she already threw a "hissy" fit at the sight of him. He did use the litter box and was no visible signs of parasites although not formed at all. Offered kitten food but hasnt eaten yet but has drank water. He did play abit with a string when I offered very briefly but otherwise he just wants to sprawl out and sleep. All my others wanted to play constantly at this age not sleep. Should I be concerned at this point? The previous owner said they nicknamed him Snoozer as he sleeps most of the time.

[SwC]

Well guess I'll follow up myself here lol. Doing better guess he just has his days and nights confused for the moment. Starting to eat abit but making his first appt on monday. Now the other problem is my 5 yr old Manx/angora mix even smells the kitten on me and she hisses, smacks and growls at me. I'm washing my hands continuously and have already suffered 2 bloody instances myself. Will she ever warm up or do you think she'll continue her kitty haterid. If she sees a neighbor cat in the yard from her window she will even attack one of us walking past her she gets so upset about it. My son really wants to keep this little guy (nameless for the moment) a really cute orange tabby with white boots on all four. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She doesnt have an issue with the prairie dogs or my dog at all.

[christine]

Well I had a kitten like this once. What I did was lock her in the bathroom and everytime I visited (it wasn't really mine it was my stables cat and had to be tamed and they wanted me to tame it). Anyway everytime I visited I would sit in the bathroom and just talk to her and hold out treats. After a few weeks she would venture out and after a month or so she became real friendly. It just takes a lot of patience and time. Hope this helps and good luck. It sounds cute. Any pics for us?

[mourne]

Hi i have had the same problem in the past but it has always worked out good. Your older cat will not like the new addition for the first few days but usually come round to knowing it is a new member of the family and except it. You say the new addition is an orange tabby well i have 4 orange tabbies they are my favourite.

[SwC]

Tx for your response but the kitten isnt the issue now as he's doing fine and coming out to investigate everything. Loves to cuddle. I think he just has his days/nights mixed up abit. He's found my sons room to be a safehaven. My big problem is my 5 year old cat who's been the queen of the house since she was 4 weeks old. She's the one attacking throwing a really hissy fit! I'll have a couple of scars to prove by the time this is over I'm afraid lol. I'll get pics of both up soon as I can get my oldest to bring over his digital

[christine]

Well what I have read is that what you can do is put one under a laundry basket and let the other one investigate so they are both safe. After a while when they ignore each other switch the positions and of course watch them constantly because the basket can get tipped over and they can get into a fight. I hope this helps sorry I misunderstood earlier.

[Keritsubo]

I recommend giving the kitten a blanket to sleep on. Let it get all furry and stuff and full of his scent. then bring it out for your older cat to investigate. Also, if you have a child gate you can put that up in the doorway of the bathroom and let them interact through the gate. I'd supervise this time at first to be sure there is no leaping or climbing over the gate and fighting. Some older cats take a while to warm up but usually they will after some time.