We acquired 2 kittens last week and have been trying to integrate them with our existing cat. They have met a couple of times and there has been some hissing etc but nothing too much to worry about. We are using Feliway diffusers in the house to help the elder cat (he's 4) to come to terms with the change in circumstance. The kittens are being confined to one room with some supervised access outside of this. The main problem is that our existing cat is now only coming in to the house to eat. When he arrives he seems fine and likes being stroked/talked to/groomed etc but he is reluctant to venture further into the house. I would like to know how best to proceed to ensure 3 happy cats.

Introducing smells gradually works. Your new kittens blanket to the other cats then back to kitten and back to cats etc etc etc.

Also if you rub your kittens cheeks and rub a bit of the smell (you may not smell the smell) next to your other cats or where they stay/sit most.

Feeding them closey together can work. Bringing the 2 cats in when the kitten is sleeping can be a good time for them to have a good sniff at the kitten.

Try not to pay kitten too much attention in front of other cats for now. Although, I am very guilt of often doing this.

Best of luck, they will get on, eventually!

Hi there,

I found this article really helpful.

Hope it helps you.

Introducing A New Kitten To Your Older Cat

I understand that they have already been separetad for few days?
Sure by now they all know perfectly well that behind the close door there's another cat, so if I were you I'd just open the door and see what happen.
That's what I did with mine and it worked well, the important things are that you don't cuddle the new arrived more than the older cat, and that you act like nothing special is going on (they can feel it if you are nervous).
Anyway the older should not attack the kittens, even if he gets angry, so don't worry too much if they make strange noises and let them work it out by themselves...
Then you could maybe close the kittens in a separate room at night, to give everybody a bit of rest!

I generally leave them to it.

A bit of hissing and not happy cats is normal for a few days but they always come round and develop some ground rules betwen them.

Nala my existing cat did not like my new kitten one bit and made it known by completly avoiding me for days.

I continued acting normal and gave Nala extra cuddles and she soon adjusted.

Now the new kitten Mia sleeps in bed cuddled up with Nala.

Thank you for all your ideas, especially as it seems that there will be a positive outcome eventually! Gus, our existing cat is still hissing quite a bit and refusing to venture into the house, other than to get his food. He seems happy enough in the garden but is still keeping his distance which makes helping him adjust to the new kittens more difficult. We are giving him lots of attention when he comes into the house, he does seem to be doing this more often which is a step forward. Do you think that it might be best to force the issue by keeping Gus in the house so that he has to meet the kittens? A bit worried about doing this in case he decides to run off forever when we do allow him to go out!

All the comments have definitely helped anyway.