Help with introducing new kittens!?

[Christian]

So here's the deal: I have been "cat-sitting" my brother's two 1-year old kitties for the last 4 months as he finishes his last semester of law school up. Me and these two cats have gotten extremely close. As a result, I began thinking about getting two kittens of my own in order to fill their void when they move back in with my brother. Yesterday I finally got my two, 12 week old long haired maine coon kittens; they are extremely lovable and are great with other cats. The problem is this: my brothers cats, who will still be living with me for the next month, are used to lots of attention and are very dominant and I am worried about my new babies getting along with them.

Before bringing my kittens home, I did my research, ensuring that my kittens have a room to their own until my brother's cats were ready to meet mine. When I brought my kittens home, I immediately placed them in their room where they stayed all day. Their food is on one side of the door and my brother's cats' food is on the other side of the door, so that both pairs can get used to one anothers' scents. Finally, this morning, the day after I brought home my cats, I decided to see how the two one-year olds would react to the kittens (they were secured in their carrier and were allowed to be inspected by my brother's cats) : one was suspiscous at first but later got over it and walked away; the other, however, is the noticeable more dominant one and let out one short hiss and would growl at times. I then let the older ones check out the room the kittens were in. Finally, I returned everything as it was before, with my brother's cats to roam the house as they please and my new kittens in their closed room.

My question is: what are some of your suggestions on how to better assimilate my new kittens with my brother's and, more specifically, how to get my brother's more dominant cat to accept the babies.

The hiss and the growling have scared me and have left me worried about the safety for my new kittens if they were to ever get near him.

PLEASE HELP!

 

[pdoe1357]

What we did when we got 2 new kittens we got a huge baby gate one that could hold back a retriever one with plastic it it so no batting could be done and we bought a $20 door at home depot took off the original door and cut the new home depot door so it stopped tight where the baby gate stopped then the cats can see each other but your brothers cats cant jump the gate then after all the hissing stops with the whole new door take out kitten 1 by 1 and hold them so the other cats can see them and eventually after about a few days of doing that the cats will be used to each other it should work pretty well it worked for us it is little expensiveve but its worth it and once the cats are used to each other put the regularar door back on

 

[Louise]

You'll have to expect a bit of hissing and growling as they all settle in.

When I got my two kittens last year, I kept them separate from my older cat just have you have done, but I swapped around toys and bedding so that they got used to the smells of each other.

I made sure I gave my older cat lots of attention, positive reassurance and treats to let her know she was still loved and wanted. I also made sure her special places were not invaded by the kittens during this process.

Introduce them all together only when you are there to supervise until you are happy they are integrating. Its important to keep the kittens safe, but give the older ones their space too. They will form their own pecking order in time.

We had hissing, spitting, cuffing and the odd fight, but one year on they are all best of pals. The younger ones do get a paw round the ear every once in a while, just to show them who's boss.