Hi All,

 I’ve seen different  responses about having our buns and cats get a long, and know it differs from situation to situation, but I wanted to get a little advice.

 I have a bun, Santino, that is 7 years old that I have had since 7 months old. He’s a rescue that’s always been the boss, decides when it’s acceptable to give him pets, doesn’t cuddle, likes to lay around and that’s all perfect for me.  I love him. He has his own cage in his own room (we keep the cage door open so he can go in for his litter box.)

 We recently just adopted a 6 month old kitten that is very playful. We’ve had him for a week now, and I’ve been shutting the door to Santino’s room so Cat (yes, that’s his name) can’t get in. Cat shows know interesting in being aggressive to Santino, but I won’t risk that since Santino has been with me for so long. To get them introduced, I put Santino in his cage, close the door and bring Cat in so they can sniff at each other safely.

 Cat seems just curious, but Santino is becoming very aggressive, constantly thumping whenever they meet and then being aggressive with me when I go in to feed him/pet him. I’m worried about Santino becoming unhappy (I feel like he’s now getting the shorter end of the stick being in his room all the time, even though when we give him free run of the house, he doesn’t take it.) and me resenting Cat for it.

Additionally, I unexpectedly lost my father last year, so I’m still going through things emotionally.

Here’s where I need advice: I can keep Cat for a month and return him to the shelter if I think things aren’t going to work out, but should I give it that much time? I don’t want to have an angry bun, but I also don’t know if I’m just jumping the gun since it’s only been a week. I think tomorrow we are going to give them a break from each other, then put Cat in his carrier and let Santino have free run to sniff him out.

Any input is appreciated, I’m feeling so torn right now.