Adopting a brand new kitty is such an important day. However, have you considered learn how to introduce your new furry member of the family to an present cat in your house? Cats are fickle creatures, so there isn’t any assure that they are going to get alongside. Studying learn how to introduce your cats to one another steadily shall be essential to their future collectively.
It doesn’t matter what the reason being that you just’ve adopted one other cat, you’ll want to make the introduction course of as clean as doable. The smoother the introduction, the sooner the cats will get used to one another and have the ability to cohabitate in peace.
As I discussed, it will not be a assure that two cats will get together with one another. Planning the introduction upfront and making it a gradual course of will significantly enhance the probabilities that the introduction shall be a hit.
How To Introduce Cats To Every Different
a step-by-step course of
Step 1: Commerce scents
For those who’ll be adopting a brand new cat from a shelter or breeder, ask for a blanket with the brand new cat’s scent on it. Additionally, ask whether it is okay to usher in a blanket from your house that has your resident cat’s scent on it.
By doing this, you’ll enable the cats to get used to every scent steadily. It is a crucial identification issue for cats, so will probably be a giant assist in the introduction course of if you can also make this occur.
Step 2: Put together a separate house
Discover a quiet room in your house, like a spare bed room or rest room, the place you may preserve the brand new cat separated for a couple of days. This may give her time to get used to the brand new setting, new smells and new human members of your loved ones earlier than getting launched to your resident cat.
If doable, select a room that has an inch or extra of open house underneath the door. This may enable your resident can and your new cat to have the ability to sniff one another and work together underneath the door with out having full entry to 1 one other.
You’ll additionally have to ensure that this house has all the facilities that your new cat will want, together with meals, water, a litter field, toys and a mattress.
Step 3: Feed them collectively (however separated)
After the brand new cat has been in your house for twenty-four hours, start feeding the cats on reverse sides of the door. If one of many cats refuses to eat close to the door, place one thing particularly appetizing equivalent to canned tuna or considered one of my do-it-yourself cat meals recipes of their bowl.
Consuming is a constructive expertise for cats. By having the cats do one thing constructive in shut proximity to one another, they are going to affiliate the interplay as a constructive expertise. If one of many cats growls or hisses underneath the door, proceed this routine till the aggressive conduct stops. If the aggressive conduct continues for greater than per week, it’s doubtless that this introduction will not be going to work out.
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Step 4: Change locations
If all goes nicely to this point, it’s time for the cats to change locations. Your resident cat ought to now be saved within the room, and the brand new cat ought to get a chance to discover his new setting. This may enable each cats to get used to the opposite’s scent. It is going to get your new cat used to his new house, as nicely.
Every cat ought to eat and drink from the opposite cat’s bowls. Maintain feeding them near the door that separates them. They need to use one another’s litter packing containers, however make sure to clear every litter field earlier than the swap is made.
After 2-3 days, the cats needs to be getting extra snug with one another. The final step on this gradual course of is to permit the cats to see one another with out having entry to one another. Open the door, however preserve a pet gate there to separate the cats. Chances are you’ll have to stack two gates on prime of one another to make it excessive sufficient that they will’t soar over.
Be ready for the cats to hiss and growl at every for a quick interval. They could attempt to swat at one another by way of the gate. Normally, cats will work issues out on their very own after a day or two.
If the cats proceed to struggle or change into aggressive towards each other after a couple of days, it’s a fairly good signal that this mix isn’t going to work out. Nonetheless, if the cats appear to be tolerating one another, it’s time to allow them to work together with out something between them.
Even when issues are going tremendous to start with, it’s finest to maintain the cats separated when you’re away till you’re 100% snug leaving them alone collectively. You understand your pets higher than anybody, so observe their conduct intently and make your individual resolution on when it’s protected to go away them alone collectively.
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