How to introduce your new cat
 to your established pets        





    New kitten
    If you have a new kitten, it's much easier to make introductions between it and
    your household's established pets.  The established pets have identified your
    home as their territory.  Older cats are more likely to accept a baby kitten than one
    who might challenge their territory.  Larger breeds of dogs are likely to be OK with
    this, too.  Smaller breeds might see kittens as a challenge to their space.  But,
    don't worry, when properly introduced, any cat can become part of the family unit.  
    The idea is to prevent any traumatic events.

    The first day
    Whether a kitten or older cat, have a safe room prepared for them.  This is a room
    where the doors and windows can be shut, and where the cat's litter box, food
    and water dishes are on the floor.  Bring your new pet into this room in a carrier.  
    Close the door and open the carrier.  Sit down, the floor being a preferable spot so
    you have easy access to the cat when it approaches you.  Let the cat determine
    when it's ready to come out.  If needed, you can leave the room and let the cat
    alone to explore.  Otherwise, be patient.  
    After the cat looks comfortable in exploring everything, you can invite your children
    in.  Remind them that cats don't like loud noises and that they must move slowly so
    as not to frighten the new addition to your family.  Let them sit down on the floor
    with you to keep them from wanting to chase the cat.  Let the cat come to them
    when it's ready.  
    Unless you notice that your cat is quite sociable, that will be enough for the first
    day.  
    An alternative method, if possible, would be to have the pets meet in a different
    location than your home.  Then no one's "territory" is threatened.  Have them play
    together in someone else's house.

    The second day
    On the second day, put the cat back in the carrier and close it.  Bring it out to the
    rest of the house, where the other pets are.  Keep the carrier closed, so that the
    new cat is secure.  Let the other pets sniff.  Restrain your dog on a leash before it's
    necessary.  Give this process as much time as is needed, days or weeks.  For short
    intervals, return the cat to the safe room to use the litter box and for eating and
    drinking.  Have the cat spend the night in the safe room and keep the carrier open
    in that room.  In the morning, you can try a baby gate for the safe room, if the
    problem is not another cat.  
    The more patience you have, the easier the transition will be.

    On the day I brought my sixth cat home it was like momma bringing home another
    baby from the hospital.  It was as if the cats said, “been there, done that.”  
    I started out with the procedures mentioned in the paragraph about the second
    day.  I brought the new cat, Muffy, in her carrier and placed her in a room with all
    my other cats in it.  I placed the carrier near me and sat down.  I started knitting,
    but kept an eye out to watch what was happening.  No growls and no hissing, just
    a lot of old cats smelling the new cat.  After a while, I opened the carrier and
    returned to my knitting.  After about a half hour, Muffy came out on her own and
    started exploring the room.  The other cats seemed cool about the whole event.  
    So, use your judgment.  Use your intuition.  If you have any doubt what will
    happen, take the cautious route.           
    You can browse through my images of Muffy by clicking on my page, Order Cards
    and Prints.  


    Next
    When your established pets are calm about this new intruder, bring the carrier into
    the room where the other pet's food is.  Have a food dish in the carrier and move
    the carrier close to your established pet's food dish so they can see each other
    eating.  Give each of them a special treat.  After a while, open the carrier and
    stroke each pet.  This will start the spread of one pet's smell to the other and also
    will show each pet that you love them both.  
    The reason why you take this procedure slowly is to prevent a traumatic event that
    will start a fight or make the new cat hurry back to its carrier.  Make sure all pets
    are comfortable before moving on.  Give your established pets the same amount of
    attention they had before.      
    The big day is when your new cat comes out of the carrier while the established
    pets are still around.  Be there.  Watch this with amazement.  You helped that to
    happen without any traumatic events.  Make it a celebration with treats and lots of
    petting.    
    Now that there is peace in the house, do what you can to make sure that no one
    feels competition for the use of the litter boxes, food or water, a place to sleep, or
    your loving hands.  Have lots of toys out.  It's up to you to provide all that.    
    Keep the carrier in the house with a soft towel inside so that your cat can return to
    sleep there, if it wants to.  When your cat no longer shows any interest in the
    carrier, you can move it to the garage or wherever you'll store it.  
























    Outdoors
    If you intend to let your new cat outdoors, keep it inside for at least a couple of
    weeks.  That way your new arrivals will know that this is the place where they now
    belong.  There are incredible stories of cats traveling hundreds of miles to return to
    their old home.  I don't think you will want your cat to do that.   Take a walk with
    the new cat, on a leash if possible, to watch as they explore.  Call them back to the
    house after a few minutes and reward them with a treat.  Do this several times
    until you a sure the cat will return when it's called.  There might be a time when
    you'll want the cat back in the house right away, so you need to have the cat
    eager to respond to your call.

    Problems
    It's not easy for any animal species to live with others in peace.  Cats and humans
    have different opinions and run into problems expressing themselves.  This is
    normal.  However, if your new cat (or any cat) looks seriously frightened, return
    them to the safe room.  Different cats have different levels of sociability and you
    need to respect that.  You can check my page on How to interpret your cat's body
    language to be able to identify signs of fear in cats.  
How to Introduce A New Pet