Introducing… Ember!

A little over a month ago, Michael and I added a new member to the family: a tiny black kitten named Ember.

We adopted Ember from MADACC, the county animal shelter. The first few days home were a struggle, first in picking a name and then introducing her to Mukki, but after a few weeks, we all got in the groove. All of us are so happy she’s here!

So, What’s She Like?

She is squirmy and silly! When she’s not running around after her favorite sloth toys, she’s flopped on one of our laps or snoozing on her scratching post.

She also spends a lot of time with our other cat Mukki. She gives him a run for his money! Ember tackles him, leapfrogs him and is generally a pest. She also likes to snuggle by his side and clean his head. It warms my heart to see it.

Why We Picked a Kitten

I volunteered at the Wisconsin Humane Society for five years, so I understand the advantages of adopting an older cat. Older cats are sweet! They’ve grown out of the bounce-off-the-walls stage and into their personalities.

But in the end, I selfishly wanted a kitten. I hadn’t had a kitten since I brought Zara home 16 years ago. Also, it’s been a very hard year. I figured we deserved a kitten as an extra dose of fun. I also rationalized that introducing a tiny kitten to Mukki would be easier than getting two grown cats to adjust to one another again (it was very challenging).

It turns out that this was the right move, not only because we love Ember, but because our vet said this was smart thinking. According to Dr. Paul over at Harwood Veterinary Hospital, older cats tend to respond to kittens better. Kittens aren’t that threatening to older cats, and kittens adjust pretty easily to most surroundings. It doesn’t mean that two fully grown cats won’t get along, but the getting-to-know-you process can be more challenging.

What’s It Like Introducing an Adult Cat to a Kitten?

I think introducing cats is incredibly hard. In all honesty, it’s what I was most nervous about before getting married. Would our cats get along?

This being said, introducing a kitten to an older cat went much more easily than getting two adults to adjust to one another. So how did we do it? Irresponsibly! Most experts would recommend, letting the kitten have their own space before bringing in the existing cat. But Mukki loves other cats, so we let him see her pretty much the second we got home. It wasn’t so bad! They sniffed, had a little hiss, played and that was it. We only let him visit with her for about 10 minutes at a time. There were squabbles and growls, but nothing serious.

We did keep Ember in her own room exclusively for about five days. We’d spend time with her and let Mukki in occasionally, but she stayed in her habitat for a while before we released her into the rest of the house. And even then we still had her sleep in her room at night just in case.

After two weeks, we let Ember have the run of the house full time, and things went well! I mean, yes, she does feel the need to get into trouble every night around 11:00, yes, she wakes me up in the morning biting my nose and yes, she collects every cobweb she can find in the basement, but in the end, all of us are happy she’s here.

In the words of my dear friend Amanda (a newer cat lady), “two cats is the perfect amount.”