Are you looking to add another cat to the household, but aren’t quite sure how to go about it? Here are a few tips to help you along the way.
Do your research
Make sure you know the history of the cat you’re looking at bringing home. Have they lived with other cats before? Are they aggressive? Are they up to date on their vaccinations? Kittens can easily acclimatise to a new situation, but for some people it might be easier to get an older cat that you know is happy around other cats. Picking the right cat for your environment makes a big difference.
Understand how the cats will be feeling
Cats are largely territorial. When you bring a new cat home your current kitty is going to feel threatened – and so is the new kitty! Unless you have a very easygoing cat there’ll probably be a bit of hissing, growling and general unpleasantness.
Keep the new cat separated
The new cat will still be getting used to its new owners and surroundings, so being told on no uncertain terms to go away by another cat isn’t going to help them settle in. Keep the new cat in their room complete with litter tray, bed, scratching post and food. This way the cats are able to smell and hear each other through the doors but not have a full on confrontation. Regularly check on the new cat to make sure they not distressed.
Introduce the smells
To start introducing the cats to each other, it’s a good idea to swap items with their smells on them. For example, give your current cat a blanket which the new cat has been sleeping on, and give the new cat something which smells of the current cat. This way the cats will get used to the smell of each other in a relaxed environment. This can sometimes make the first meeting a bit smoother.
Supervised meetings
There is no set time limit for when this should happen – it depends on how both cats are reacting to each other. When you think they are ready, let them meet in a neutral room (i.e. not where new kitty’s current abode is!). See how they react together. Growling and hissing should be expected. If either cat goes for the attack, remove the new cat and put them back in their room.
The first meeting might not go so well – that’s okay. Keep trying small meetings until they will tolerate each other. Don’t force things! It’ll only make things worse.
Keep things separated
While they may not growl at the sight of each other anymore, it certainly doesn’t mean they’re going to want to share food bowls! Keep food bowls, bedding and toys separate. If they want to share these items they’ll do so on their own terms – if you take away the extra set it and they’re not ready for it, it’ll make the ‘getting to like each other stage’ much harder.
All cats are equal
While you may have the urge to reassure the current cat and to provide them with more attention, you’re likely only to enforce any bad behaviour/feelings they have to the new cat. Provide both cats with an equal amount of patting, grooming and cuddles. Yes, your current kitty is likely to be jealous – there’s not much you can do about that.
A kind of harmony
It may take a while, but both cats will learn to tolerate each other. Don’t expect loving embraces and sleeping on top of each other – you should be happy with them living together the same house. If you do have snuggly kitties, well, that’s even better!
Remember – it’s not always going to be an easy ride… nor is it going to happen overnight (in most cases!). Patience and understanding will help a lot :)
savvycat x
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This was a really good post. The part about understanding the history of a cat is so important. I was often surprised at the shelter by just how many people thought the history of a cat was irrelevant, as if they were now a blank slate.
Forever Foster´s last blog post: For Seamus