If you carry your first, second, or fifth cat along, it’s incredibly necessary to plan ahead of time. Before agreeing to bring a new cat to your home, please note the following:
Is your house spacious enough for both cats to have an appropriate territory?
Are some of your current cats (if relevant) suffering from a chronic disease where the added stress of a new pet may trigger additional health problems?
Is any of the cats now suffering from behavioral concerns such as improper marking?
When you have thoroughly examined all of the considerations as mentioned earlier and can introduce a new feline family member, the following parts can help facilitate a seamless adjustment and integration with other family members and pets.
General Tips for Bringing a New Cat Home
- Sleeping tiny Kitty
- Prepare a safe place for you. A secure starter space or shelter for a new pet would provide the cat with the peace and comfort it wants when being acquainted with the smells and sounds of your house. The starter space may be of any scale but must have a stable door and ceiling.
- Cat-proof of the secure space. For more details, see our Cat Protection Tips and Escape Prevention sheet.
- Give the kid a spot to escape. Fresh cats are always shy, and they tend to cover. Cardboard boxes or blankets spread over seats provide perfect hiding places when you first get the Kitty around. If you have adopted a shy pet, we suggest removing large pieces of furniture from the space, such as beds and closets. It’s a lot better to communicate with a cat sleeping in a package than a cat hidden under a sheet.
- Help your new cat get to know you right now. Place a t-shirt or item of clothing that includes your perfume in a secure space.
- Equip your secure space with cat food, water, and litter. Place the food and water on one side of the room and the open (unclosed) litter box on the other. Shyer cats can not eat much for the first 24 to 48 hours and may develop temporary tension diarrhea. If your cat hasn’t eaten in 48 hours, consider those special tasty treats such as canned tuna or salmon. If this is not a success, you will want to contact your veterinarian for guidance.
- Offer a new post for your new Pet. Placed a new scratching post (at least one meter high) within the safe space. Scratching is a regular and soothing activity for cats. It is also critical that the scratching post is fresh and has not been utilized by any cats. Your new Pet does not want to be stressed by other pets’ smells as it first adapts to the new surroundings.
- Feliway is saving the day. When your current Pet is an adult, you should use the stuff you’ve ordered from a shop named Feliway. Feliway imitates normal cat pheromones and allows a new cat to feel more relaxed. Feliway arrives in the shape of a spray and diffuser.
- Offer your Pet a pair of cat toys for fun. Provide games such as mice and balls in a secure space while you’re not home.
- Spend more time with your new Pet. In the beginning, return regularly for a brief period. Visiting can involve engaging specifically with the new cat in the way of play or petting, reading a book, or talking on the phone in the same room as your new friend. Bear in mind that an anxious cat will growl, hiss, twitch its tails or draw its ears back. The safest response is to whisper, accompanied by allowing the cat some time alone.
- Transition to the secure space. When you and your new cat have developed a trustworthy bond, the cat is happy to start exploring the home. Be sure to initiate this phase while you’re home to monitor it. Shut most doors such that the cat begins its orientation in steps. So many new spaces can be stressful and terrifying at once. If you’ve taken a timid pet, don’t let it in the basement for weeks. Much of the cellars include several secret places — some unavailable to people.
- Ready to explore the nest. Note, integrating with the rest of the house relies on your new cat (as well as your current pets). Often the integration process will start in only two or four days, but it’s usually better to wait a few weeks. Shy cats can require a longer time of integration.
How to Introduce Kittens as Pets
- Step 1 – Pet Scent Cat
Effective introductions will take time. Do NOT, and we reiterate, do not plan to incorporate a new member to your resident cat(s) directly upon arrival. You can irreparably harm the new relationship and trigger terror, frustration, hostility, spraying, and litter box problems in the new Pet and resident cat(s). Effective introductions will take time.
Let the cats sniff out the entire situation. Let the “smell” be the first introduction as the cats sniff each other under the “safe space” flap. In two to four days, the swapping of bedding between the fresh and the resident cat(s) continues regularly. This allows the cats to get to know each other’s scents.
- Step 2 – Animal Follows to Scent Cat
Let the sniffing go on. If there are no marked symptoms of cat violence, such as hissing and groaning, the next step is to confine your resident cat to space and let the new cat roam the house for a few hours per day for a few days.
- Step 3 – Pet Scenes Cat
Organize a conference for the airline. Put your new Pet in a carrier and position the page in a place outside the secure space (for example, the living room) of your house. Enable the cats to glance at each other and smell through the door of the carrier.
Are there any symptoms of aggression? Keep the stay brief and put the new cat back to its secure place.
Repeat this step 2 to 3 times regularly (if possible) until the cats seem to be more familiar with each other.
- Step 4 – Animal interacts with Pet
Let the cats come together at their own pace. If there are no indications of hostility amongst cats, leave the door to the safe space to open a crack. This will encourage the new cat to discover and visit your resident cat. Supervision is essential to guarantee the protection of all cats.
In the case of provocation, use a spray bottle packed with water or a convenient towel. Often avoid severe threats and violence instantly, as an uphill battle, will destroy the chances for good integration and partnership.
If the integration strategy is not going smoothly for several weeks, try adding a low-cost screen door from the construction supplies shop. The screen entrance helps the cats begin to get to know each other by sight and scent, thus keeping all parties secure. Each cat is permitted to take turns in the screened room.
A Feliway diffuser can also prove useful when integration is challenging.
- Step 5 – Completion of the integration
For the next few months (and years), you may find any mild hissing, swatting, and irritable behavior. It’s usual. Cats are hierarchical by their design and must create and affirm a pecking order within your household. Plus, like us, all cats have an odd “down” day.
Please note: The five stages mentioned above give only tentative timelines. Some integrations can progress sooner or slower, and integration depends on the personalities of the cats involved. Note, you do the most of your cat(s). They are using common sense and persistence to integrate a new pet or cat.
How to Add a Shy Cat Companion — Except to Law
If you have rescued a timid cat or kitten to provide companionship for your resident animal, it might be better to adapt more quickly. Shy cats are also accustomed to and accept other feline fellowships. They would feel unfortunate on their own, but we suggest that transition takes place very quickly (1-3 days) unless there are significant issues.
How to Introduce Dog Cats
Step 1 – Cat Detects Dogs
Follow the measures mentioned above in Phase 1 of the How to Introduce Cats to Cats portion.
Step 2 – Move to Spots
If there are no other pets in your house, lock the dog in one space and let the cat start exploring the rest of your home for one or two hours per day before the cat is acquainted and relaxed with the layout of your home.
Step 3 – Cat encounters Dogs
Bring the dog on the leash. Once the cat is accustomed to your house, let the cat wander in one room. Hold your dog on the lead and have dog treats ready in your wallet. Where necessary, let another human recognize the cat on the other side of the room to reassure and distract the cat from the puppy.
Sit down to talk. Keep the dog sitting and concentrated on you as the master. Try giving a treat to the puppy. When your dog insists on or accepts a toy, reward your dog with a treat. If the dog is about to stand to walk towards the cat(s), correct the dog slightly with the lead and give him or her a reward. If, at any stage, the dog does not respond to your commands or the cat’s stress level seems to be high, withdraw the dog from the room. Keep doing this procedure before the dog listens to you and then ignores or embraces the cat(s). This method allows the dog to understand that cats are not prey, toys to be pursued, or risks.
Watch. Watch. Never leave the dog and the cat(s) unsupervised until you are entirely confident that they have developed up a shared, trustworthy, and respectful friendship.
Make sure the Kitty has some room of his own for a bit. And once the cat(s) and the dog(s) are acquainted with each other, the cats also want to escape to a room away from the dog. Put a baby gate across the door of space in a house where cats or cats wish to hang out, or purchase or build a tall cat tower so they can retreat as required.
Note: The amount of time needed to combine cats with dogs effectively depends on the animals’ prior history. E.g., the dog might have had a previous interaction with a cat, or the cat may have had the last contact with a dog. Sometimes, since cats and dogs are accustomed to living with the other animals, adaptation may be more straightforward.
Tips for children
To help introduce your new cat to children, we’ve provided a small note with some tips from the cats:
Hi there, guy! I’m your new Pet, and I’d like to say a couple of things to you:
Your house is entirely new to me, so I’m a little anxious and shy.
It’ll take me a couple of days to feel relaxed, so please be patient.
Please don’t chase me; I’m going to start playing when I feel more relaxed.
I’m trying to think about my new house by smelling it all.
Since I’m fresh, I might run away from loud voices, sounds, and rapid gestures.
Since I’m a little anxious, I may be hissing; that’s how I mean, “I ‘m afraid.”
I like peaceful moments just as you do, so I may be able to find a hiding place and take a break.
Please placed my litter box in a safe position and let me use it for my own.
Just note to lift both my legs while you’re holding me or when my tummy hurts.
I’m not going to mean to do so, but because I have nails, I might scratch you if we play too hard.
I’m not sure where to sleep, so I could try a couple of places before I feel settled.
Please pet me softly, and don’t pull my tail; I’m tiny, and I can get hurt easily.
Making sure you don’t let me out of here. I don’t know where I work, and I’m going to get lost.
Yeah, one more thing. Please note to lock the door outside behind you. I’m interested, of course!
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