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You’ve already got a cat, maybe
two who have been bestest best friends, and now you are faced with having to bring another cat into the family. You can talk to the human family members, but bringing in a new cat can be challenging.
One important thing to remember is that cats are not dogs. In a dog pack, every dog has a place, and they pretty much keep to their place. Cats don’t have an established hierarchy. One day Queenie can be the top cat, the next day Puss-Puss can decide it’s her turn. If you handle it well, you won’t have bloody coups every night at bedtime.
To bring a new cat into the family, try these great tips:
- Remember that even if they seem to get along fantastically at first, keep your eye on your cats as they get to know each other – things can change. Don’t leave them alone together for the first few days even if they seem to be great pals.
- Give each cat her own space. A closed door makes a great neighbor when introducing cats to each other. Give your new cat her own litter box, food, water, bedding and toys in her own room.
- Introduce the cats via smell. Rub your cat gently for a moment with a clean towel, then leave the towel for the other cat to smell. Repeat for your established cat, and give your new cat a chance to smell a towel. Don’t force the cat’s face into the towel, let her deal with it at her own pace.
- After a day or two, you can allow your cats to sniff each other from under a door or through a barely-opened slider. It should be too small for claws to slip through and do any damage.
- At least once, switch the cats. Let your established cat into the closed room, let your new cat into the rest of the house. Let them explore, explore, explore!
- When I introduced a 1 year old rescue cat to my family with an established 3 year old house cat, I actually slept a couple of nights on the floor of the new cat’s room. It was a great way for us to bond, for her to get used to me, and because she was a rescue, it let her just get used to the idea of “humans”.
- Finally you can let them be together, completely supervised. Expect hissing and spitting and perhaps even some baring of teeth, but intervene (carefully) only if the fight gets physical.
- As they get to know each other, give both cats some great things to do: eat, play, a good chin scratch. If they feel loved, they will share the love.
- If things go badly, separate them and keep going with the shared smells, and small amounts of time together. I once rushed an introduction, and had to spend an extra week sleeping on the floor with the new cat while we went back to step one! Sometimes, it can take months for cats to even begin to tolerate each other.
Remember to let your cats be cats. Despite all your best intentions, cats don’t really speak English (or French or Spanish or…) so you can’t reason with them. Show your cat how much you love her, and she will be assured that everything in her world is great!
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