Great Ways to Introduce a New Feline to Your Pet Cat
If you are considering bringing another cat to cohabit with the already existing cat in your house, here are some of the things you need to know before going into that.
Remember that cats are very territorial and find it hard to socialize with other species unlike human beings. As result of the fact that cats are very territorial, bringing in another cat to cohabit with the existing one in your house needs a lot of diligence, planning and patience and this very act of trying to make the cat comfortably cohabit with another cat can take about 12 days for younger cats and at least 12 weeks or more for older cats.
Points to Consider
Aside the fact that it is very important to check any cat whether it is disease free or not before bringing it to your house to stay with the already existing cat, it is also strongly recommended that you avoid bringing opposite sex from the one at home. If this is unavoidable then consider neutering either of them. Generally, it is advisable to spray female cats to free them from the discomfort of the heat cycle.
The Steps
Isolation
For the first couple of days, the new cat needs to be isolated from the already existing cat at home. This is to help avoid any eye contact between the two cats. The best space for the isolation can be a room which can be firmly locked.
First Day at Sweet Home
Endeavor to take the new cat straight to its isolated room.
Make the cat comfortable in its new ‘home’ and bring the carrier out. Allow it where the older cat has access to it. Allow your older cat to sniff and explore the carrier, and observe how it reacts to the scent of the new member in the household. Remember to still spend time with your older cat like you always did. Still play with it and pet it. From time to time, go into the isolation room and feed and talk to your new cat. Endeavor not to rush in case it makes a mad rush at you for it might already be feeling excited and comfortable
The older cat may hiss and growl and act confused when it detects the unfamiliar smell of a new cat on you. However, you have to continue with your normal routine. The older cat may even spend a lot of time sniffing at the door of the isolation room. You may also note it expressing displeasure at the change in ‘its’ home. Except the aggressive behavior has drastically reduced or till it has become comfortable with the new scent, do not change anything around yet.
Just Eye Contact Please
When the first level of comfort has been observed to be achieved, it’s time to move a step ahead. Mount rigid plastic mesh baby gates or high-tension gates, high enough to prevent the two cats climbing over it. Better still, you could also fix rubber stoppers on either side of the door, so that the door can’t be pushed on either side once you have kept the door slightly closed and fixed the stoppers on either side. Don’t let the door open more than about 2 to 3 inches. Ensure that the cats are only able to see each other, but do not come in contact physically.
A Little Closer Now
When it is observed the cats have got used to the smell and sight of each other, there comes the time to see how comfortable they would be in the physical presence of each other. Remove the gates that had been mounted on the doorway of the isolation room. Ensure to do this while the existing cat is engaged somewhere else. Let this be done as unceremoniously as possible. Let the cats get to know each other on their own. Even if they fight, try to stay out of it as much as you can. Clapping, shouting or throwing water usually ends the fight. However, if you have to intervene, do not handle them directly. Put a thick blanket over the cats and then lift up one of them, and place it behind closed doors.
In case tension gets worsen during the next attempt of introduction, try feeding them side by side with the new cat in a cattery cage that is mounted up in the older cat’s area. But if you think that more time is needed, feed the cats in opposite ends of the room. As days goes by, reduce the distance between them during the meal times. You can do this after a week at least.