On the whole, dogs make friends pretty easily. Cats, on the other hand, are not quite as sociable when meeting new feline roommates.
Generally, cats are territorial creatures who like their routines and environments to stay exactly as they are. Any change can be scary, but a new cat in the home can be particularly disruptive to a cat who is used to being on its own.
All hope is not lost though and these facts shouldn’t dissuade you from adding a new cat to your home. If you carefully manage the transition, they could end up being the best of friends.
1. Isolate the New Cat
When you bring the new cat into your home for the first time, be sure to put your resident cat in another room while you get the new one situated. The new cat’s space should have a door that fully closes (no windows or openings), a litter box, bed, toys, food and water bowls.
This will be their home for the first few days or weeks while you follow the process, so it’s important that it’s comfy. For the next step to work, be sure to include several soft items that can absorb their scent like blankets, towels, beds and scratchers.
2. Swap Scents & Spaces
Once the new cat has acclimated, you can start by swapping an item from each space so that both cats can smell the other cat without actually meeting. The next step is to allow them to swap spaces to really get an idea of who the other cat is based on his or her smell.
3. Eating Together
Next up, feed the two cats at the same time on opposite sides of a closed door. If all goes well, you can gradually remove the barrier by cracking the door just a bit or having them eat on opposite sides of a gate or screen. This way they can see each other while eating without any chance of coming too close or touching.
4. Play Together
If all is going smoothly with the eating routines, move on to playing with both cats in the same room. The point is to keep providing positive experiences that they share in order to create positive associations with each other. Keep this routine going every day before feeding.
5. Be Patient
There is no set timeline for this process. For some cats, the whole thing can happen in a matter of hours. For others, it may need to be a gradual thing over days or weeks while they adjust to the idea of a new roommate. Try not to rush things, and understand that the cats will tell you when they’re ready to move forward in the process.
One important thing to note is that you can always go backward in this process. If, for example, one cat refuses to eat with the door cracked then maybe you need to go back to eat on opposite sides of the closed door. Backtracking isn’t failing – it’s just following your cats’ lead and respecting their wishes.
For more tips on introducing new cats, check out Jackson Galaxy’s many resources on this process. And never hesitate to ask your veterinarian for tips as well. Good luck!
