u/Huge-Return2835

A little Minho and Buggie update because so many of you were so helpful when we first brought Minho home. ❤️

It is honestly crazy looking back at how scared Minho was in the beginning. We took everything really slowly with him and now he is the cuddliest little guy. He actively comes looking for pets, curls up with me to sleep, climbs into our bed and follows us around the house. He recently discovered the couch for the first time and apparently decided it was one of the greatest inventions ever. 😂

His quarantine is finally over and he and Buggie are officially living together full time. They wrestle, chase each other around the house and run laps together at all hours. Buggie is constantly chirping at Minho and walking away so Minho will follow him. He also patiently lets Minho eat out of his food bowl, which is especially sweet because Buggie is VERY food motivated.

Apparently his generosity does have limits though because Buggie growled at Minho for the first time over his precious Greenies. 😂 Minho looked completely shocked that his big brother had finally told him no.

Buggie has been such a good and patient big brother, although he currently looks absolutely exhausted. 😂 I don’t think he realized that getting a little brother meant having a tiny creature available to wrestle with him and follow him around 24/7. He looks like a tired parent who desperately needs a vacation.

They have also both discovered that they can wake me up together for pets in the middle of the night, so that has been fun. 😂 Buggie makes sure I know he still wants his Mom cuddles too and then the two of them disappear together and I hear them running around the house at 6 in the morning.

Thank you again to everyone who gave us advice and encouragement when Minho first came home. I was so nervous about doing the right thing for him and everyone here was so helpful. Seeing this formerly terrified little kitten running around our house, asking for cuddles and following his big brother everywhere makes me so happy. He is completely at home now and we love him so much. ❤️

Yesterday was… eventful.
We’re on **day 11 since our kitten came into our lives and have begun the process of** introducing our **13-week-old former feral kitten** to our **1.5-year-old resident cat (Buggie)** and I’d love some perspective from people who’ve been through it all.

Firstly thank you all so much for the advice on my last post, along with the encouragement and reality checks. We really took a lot of it to heart and it was incredibly helpful.

We’ve decided we’re keeping him ❤️ He’a an absolute doll and adores my husband especially. Watching their bond form has been really special. He’s become the biggest cuddle baby, loves people, and has come such a long way from the scared little feral kitten we rescued.

We’ve been quarantining the kitten for the past week with scent swaps etc. however yesterday was quite eventful.

•	Buggie (our 1.5 year old neutered male cat) cried to be let into the kitten’s room. He’s been increasingly interested in the kitten, including spying through the window. 

•	I let him in while the kitten was in his cage and he repeatedly went back into the room on his own to investigate.

•	He also sat at the door and watched the kitten from outside and through the crate kitten is in (3 foot dog crate with litter, food, bed etc.)

•	He hissed and growled when the kitten moved quickly/stared at him but \*\*never swatted, lunged, or chased\*\*.

•	At one point he laid down and just watched the kitten quietly.

•	The kitten mostly ignored him and happily played with his toys. He seemed more curious than scared. Later, when Buggie got more vocal, he chose to hide rather than escalate. I was holding him and he grumbled back softly at Buggie. 

•	The funniest (and weirdest) moment was Buggie jumping into the kitten’s brand-new, never-used litter box and \*\*rolling around in the clean litter like the little chubby bunny he is while simultaneously growling at the kitten\*\* 😭😂 

I have absolutely no idea what to make of that.
This morning, Buggie still heads over to the closed door whenever he hears the kitten crying for attention and seems incredibly curious, even though he’s still unsure.

I’m not going to lie this has been really stressful. I actually cried yesterday because I love both of these boys so much and I just want them both to be okay. My goal isn’t to force them to become best friends overnight. I just want them to peacefully coexist, and if they eventually become friends, that would honestly be the dream.

Does this sound like a pretty typical day 10 introduction? For those whose cats started out similarly, how long did it take before they were able to comfortably coexist? Any advice or reassurance is always appreciated.

Yesterday was… eventful.
We’re on day 11 since our kitten came into our lives and have begun the process of introducing our 13-week-old former feral kitten to our 1.5-year-old resident cat (Buggie) and I’d love some perspective from people who’ve been through it all.

Firstly thank you all so much for the advice on my last post, along with the encouragement and reality checks. We really took a lot of it to heart and it was incredibly helpful.

We’ve decided we’re keeping him ❤️ He’a an absolute doll and adores my husband especially. Watching their bond form has been really special. He’s become the biggest cuddle baby, loves people, and has come such a long way from the scared little feral kitten we rescued.

We’ve been quarantining the kitten for the past week with scent swaps etc. however yesterday was quite eventful.

•	Buggie (our 1.5 year old neutered male cat) cried to be let into the kitten’s room. He’s been increasingly interested in the kitten, including spying through the window. 

•	I let him in while the kitten was in his cage and he repeatedly went back into the room on his own to investigate.

•	He also sat at the door and watched the kitten from outside and through the crate kitten is in (3 foot dog crate with litter, food, bed etc.)

•	He hissed and growled when the kitten moved quickly/stared at him but **never swatted, lunged, or chased**.

•	At one point he laid down and just watched the kitten quietly.

•	The kitten mostly ignored him and happily played with his toys. He seemed more curious than scared. Later, when Buggie got more vocal, he chose to hide rather than escalate. I was holding him and he grumbled back softly at Buggie. 

•	The funniest (and weirdest) moment was Buggie jumping into the kitten’s brand-new, never-used litter box and **rolling around in the clean litter like the little chubby bunny he is while simultaneously growling at the kitten** 😭😂 

I have absolutely no idea what to make of that.
This morning, Buggie still heads over to the closed door whenever he hears the kitten crying for attention and seems incredibly curious, even though he’s still unsure.

I’m not going to lie this has been really stressful. I actually cried yesterday because I love both of these boys so much and I just want them both to be okay. My goal isn’t to force them to become best friends overnight. I just want them to peacefully coexist, and if they eventually become friends, that would honestly be the dream.

Does this sound like a pretty typical day 10 introduction? For those whose cats started out similarly, how long did it take before they were able to comfortably coexist? Any advice or reassurance is always appreciated.

Yesterday we rescued a kitten just before severe storms with torrential rain and hail rolled through our area. Before bringing him home, we took him straight to the emergency vet for an exam and FIV/FeLV testing because we have a sweet 1.5-year-old resident cat, Buggie, who our whole world revolves around and we’re also expecting our first baby, so we wanted to be as careful as possible. Thankfully, he tested negative, and the vet estimates he’s about 10–12 weeks old.
Since coming home yesterday, he’s been staying in his own quiet office in a large dog crate with a bed, food, water, and a litter box. We’ve been spending time in the room just sitting quietly, talking softly, and mostly ignoring him so he doesn’t feel pressured.
It’s been less than 24 hours, and while he’s still very scared and mostly freezes or tries to hide, he hasn’t hissed, growled, or swatted at us. He watched a wand toy but wasn’t ready to play. Earlier, he let me hold him briefly as we transitioned him into the crate and buried his head into my arm and had a few licks of Churu. He also had a stress poop while we were getting him into the crate, but afterward he settled down and ate his regular wet kitten food while we were sitting in the room. That felt like a huge milestone to us because we know eating is such a vulnerable thing for a scared kitten.
Buggie has been incredibly curious. He’s been sniffing under the office door, inspected the crate before we even brought it into the room, and figured out he can peek through the office window to see what’s going on. We’re taking introductions very slowly and keeping them completely separated for now. This is our first time “rescuing” a kitten from the street, Bug was a rescue at 5 months from a shelter and has us completely wrapped around his little paw.
Our biggest hope is that this little guy eventually becomes a confident, affectionate indoor cat. We know it’s only been a day, but we’re hoping we’re off to a good start. We’d love to hear from anyone who has socialized a shy or feral kitten around this age. Does this sound like normal progress, and is there anything else we should be doing during these first few days? Will wait until he is fully vaccinated and can be seen by our regular vet for any introductions with Bug but would appreciate any tips on how to make it as smooth as possible for both of them