Have you fallen in love with a new cat and already started the adoption process? But you don’t really know how your long-lost favourite kitty will behave? Just as with humans, cats also have their rivalries. So you’re wondering how to introduce a new cat without causing problems for your other cats? In this article, you’ll discover how to introduce a new cat without conflict.
To integrate a new cat into your home, it’s important to follow certain rules. After many years of experience with cats, T’es pas un chat has decided to give you the top 4 steps to follow when introducing a new cat without conflict.
Prerequisites before meeting the cats
Before bringing a new cat into your home, there are a few things you need to consider:
- You need to set up a room for the new kitten. Inside, there are two bowls: one for water and the other for food. You’ll also need to provide a litter box and, if necessary, a few games to entertain your future resident. If you can’t spare a room, opt for a fairly large cage made of transparent material.
- Make a shortlist of the treats your titular cat loves most (your new cat may adopt them too).
- Do the same for meals (please differentiate between meals and treats so you don’t get lost!).
- If you’ve opted for the bedroom, it’s a good idea to include a wire mesh or glass panel to allow the protagonists to see each other.
Let’s take a look at the 4 steps you need to follow to introduce a new cat into your home without conflict.
Step 1: Let the new cat get to know the place!
The acclimatization phase can last several days for the new cat. During this phase, you should allow the new cat to adapt gradually to its new environment.
To do this, as soon as you arrive at your home and before you even enter it, you need to isolate the resident cat in another room. You can give him his favorite treats, but make sure you close the door behind you. This is to avoid any contact between the two cats, even eye contact.
Next, you need to introduce your new cat to the room he’s been assigned. You can also offer him treats to welcome him on his way, on the bed and so on. After that, you’ll have to let him explore on his own.
You should resume your usual routine and let the two cats get to know each other over the course of a few days. Once the newcomer feels at ease, you’ll see him walking around, rubbing himself all over the place and seeking contact with you. From this point on, you need to intervene to facilitate cohabitation with the old cat. To do this, you can, for example, swap their toys to exchange scents. However, place treats next to each of these toys so that discovering each other’s scent while eating treats reminds each of them of something nice.
If each of your cats eats the treats, it’s perfect. If one of the cats spits, remove the object from the other cat and start again later with a healthy dose of treats.
Step 2: Try to bring the two protagonists closer together.
Whether housed in a separate room or in a cage, it’s time to bring them closer together. To do this, you put them to work with food. That’s right! This is how you handle them. Here, the presentation is purely visual. When you open the new door, place everyone’s favorite meal about a meter either side of it.
By observing their reaction, you’ll understand whether the task is easier or more difficult than expected. Indeed, being at the door, if each cat goes to its own bowl, it’s a good sign. Otherwise, one may feel frustrated by the other’s presence. Move his dish back so that it’s further away from the other.
Repeat until the two hairballs are physically close together. You need to take the time you need to avoid rushing them. If the situation gets out of hand, due to the aggressiveness of one or both of them, cancel and reschedule for later. You can sprinkle treats on the floor of each room to draw their attention to the food, rather than to each other.
Step 3: Bring them closer together.
Use food to help them tolerate each other more easily. Here, position the bowls closer together with each new attempt. In the event of violence or irritation among cats, or even with just one cat, move the cat’s bowl away from the house, or increase the number of treats. This is to get her more interested in her dish rather than her new roommate.
Never stray too far from the scene of operations. As we’ve said, all this won’t happen overnight, so there’s no need to rush things. Otherwise, you’ll be masking a conflict that will flare up later and in proportions you’re not sure you can handle. Let’s face it: patience is the key to successfully introducing a new cat into your home.
Step 4: Bring your cats together.
You’ll always need to pull a lever that helps you get your two cats together: food (treats and meals). Depending on how far they’ve progressed, you’ll know when it’s time to leave your observation and arbitration post (the door).
So you can finally open the door and place their bowls side by side. In the case of non-aggression, all is well. If there’s shouting or a violent argument, don’t get involved – cats love to sign contracts. Leave them alone and you’ll see that they’ll get along in the end.
Introducing a new cat into your home is no easy task. How to get the new cat accepted without frustrating the old cat? In these 4 steps, you’ll help your resident cat make a new friend he’ll never want to leave.
This article was dedicated to introducing a new cat to your existing cat. If you’d like to know how to introduce a new kitten to your cat, read this other article: How to introduce a new kitten to your cat?
