2 new rescue kittens arriving this weekend! Any advice?

Sburke

I'm taking in another 2 kittens this weekend (rescued by my sister but my nephew is very allergic :-(.
I have 4 cats (indoor/outdoor) who have come to a grudging acceptance of each other over the last few years. 2 of them were rescues who grew up together so they're fine....its the older 2 who had issues with them so I'm a bit worried about the kittens.
I'll be keeping them in the spare room for a couple of months but I'm worried about the impact on the others (they'll know something is going on!). I have feliway spray to help the kittens settle and I can use it in the rest of the house as well. Basically, I'm looking for any other advice/tips anyone can give me to help avoid stressing me....and...the other cats out!

Pumpkinseeds

Well done on taking in the kittens, there are so many moggies desperate for homes these days. I've heard people recommend switching the cats bedding, if you let the kittens have some bedding the older cats have slept on and vice versa. If you get the kittens and cats used to each others scent before they meet it can help ease the transition. Obviously lots of extra fuss and attention for all of them, no difficulty there:D

I'm sure I'll think of more. Good luck with it all.

SillyMangoX

Feliway. Cannot recommend it enough! Get the plug in or spray, spray it around where new kitties will be residing, and when introduction time comes spray some around where they will be meeting for the first time! Also agree with rotating bedding, or even.giving the kittens a jumper of yours to sleep on and wear it around resident kitties. Also if you could set up something like a baby gate where they can see each other but not touch for the first while before letting them in around together. When the time comes for proper introductions get a toy they can mutually play with, like a ball if they like batting things or a feather or laser pointer for chacers. Basically you want to make it that all cats are almost bored with the new smells and sounds before they are all living together. And needless to say, seperate sleeping areas at night and plenty of high platforms for the older cats to get some alone time away from the crazy kitties!

Irish Stones

I agree with all the other advice.
But one thing you really should keep in mind is that those 2 new kittens could have some disease that hasn't shown up yet. So, it's a really good thing keeping them separated from the other for the first two months and meanwhile, as soon they are at least 6 months old, run a simple test to verify they are healthy.
I'm talking about diseases like FIV, FIP and FeLV.

planetX

Irish Stones wrote: »

I agree with all the other advice.
But one thing you really should keep in mind is that those 2 new kittens could have some disease that hasn't shown up yet. So, it's a really good thing keeping them separated from the other for the first two months and meanwhile, as soon they are at least 6 months old, run a simple test to verify they are healthy.
I'm talking about diseases like FIV, FIP and FeLV.

+1, also cat flu and stomach viruses. I never tested for FIV/FeLV because it was so expensive, had to take the risk. Don't switch bedding, use different bowls - wash them in a different sink to the other cats bowls. Wash your hands after handling the kittens, and make sure your own cats are up to date on vaccinations. I did all the above and one of my cats still got ill with some element of cat flu. It all worked out well in the end though:) I was surprised at the some of the friendships between cats that I thought would never get on. The only one causing trouble is the teenage male kitten:rolleyes::rolleyes: Enjoy the kittens!

Irish Stones

planetX wrote: »

+1, also cat flu and stomach viruses. I never tested for FIV/FeLV because it was so expensive, had to take the risk. Don't switch bedding, use different bowls - wash them in a different sink to the other cats bowls. Wash your hands after handling the kittens, and make sure your own cats are up to date on vaccinations. I did all the above and one of my cats still got ill with some element of cat flu. It all worked out well in the end though:) I was surprised at the some of the friendships between cats that I thought would never get on. The only one causing trouble is the teenage male kitten:rolleyes::rolleyes: Enjoy the kittens!

You are right. Never switch beddings and bowls unless you are 101% sure that they are all fine and healthy.
The FIV/FeLV test isn't too expensive (of course everyone knows their own wallets).
This Snap Test
http://www.idexx.com/view/xhtml/en_us/smallanimal/inhouse/snap/feline-triple.jsf
can be done for only 25-30 euro, it takes 10 minutes and has a high accuracy (they say about 95%).
I have two indoor cats and one outdoor-only cat. This one arrived in my yard from who knows where and has FIV and FeLV. After feeding him or touching him and before touching my other two cats I wash my hands twice and then I use this product
http://www.cfs.it/website/product.aspx?id=5054
that kills all bacteria and most of the viruses. It leaves no odour on my hands and I'm sure I'm not passing any didease onto my indoor cats.
There is no vaccination against FIV, and the vaccine against FeLV leaves a 30% of chance of getting the fatal disease anyway.

Sburke

Thanks IrishStones....had already thought of that too. The kittens are vaccinated and wormed but I'm very conscious of feline aids etc. Will be getting them "fixed" like the others at 4 mths so will get the test done then. I'll be keeping them completely separate until then as my crew are pretty healthy. Thanks to all of you for the advice. Let the mayhem begin :-)

Themadhouse

Just so you are aware. Most vets will not have snap tests and it is a blood test they use to determine fiv/felv. It shouldnt be done before 6 months as you can get false positives/negatives. If its a blood test it will set you back about €70.
Also there is no test for FIP.

Just keep the kittens seperate for a while. Let the other cats sniff under the door of the room they are in to get used to the new kittens. If FELV is a problem it will show up soon enough, same with fip. FIV is far more manageable and cats with it can live easily in an indoor environment with others that are negative.

With your older two cats its gonna take time to integrate the kittens. We sue a crate in the living area and bring the new ones down to the crate for a few hrs, then longer and longer. after a while the other get used to them. This is after we are 100% sure they are healthy.

Sburke

Thanks for the advice TMH :-) They're settled in the spare room....playing away. We have a small old fireplace in there and when we turned our back for a second Willow was up the chimney like a flash!!! She was down a minute later but it was a long minute! Thought we'd be taking it out of the wall :-) Needless to say it's safely blocked up now! The others will prob see them through the window so that might help the transition. Feliway everywhere!!