Introducing a New Cat Into Your Household

Coming into a new home can be a traumatic experience for a cat or kitten. She’s going to feel confused and frightened, and if it’s a kitten just separated from her mother, she might grieve some, too. The new cat has to cope with losing her former home in addition to learning a new home along with a whole new family, which might include other cats, dogs and children.

When you first obtain your new cat, if it needs a visit to the vet, do this before bringing her home if possible. Don’t start getting her used to her new place and then interrupt the process with an unsettling trip to the vet.

Providing a safe zone for your new cat

Once your cat is home, place her in a “safe zone.” This might be your bedroom or a guest bedroom. Any room that can be closed off from the traffic of the house will work. Provide the cat with a small enclosed “house.” This might be a crate with the door left open or even a cardboard box with an opening cut into the side. The house should be lined with a cozy blanket or towel. This will provide a place for the cat’s retreat. Have a litter box, food and water bowls, and toys nearby, and keep the door to the room closed.

The cat might spend most of the first day or so in her house. Eventually, she’ll come out to explore the room. This is the time for her to get to know you. Speak to her, pet her, and offer treats like diced chicken to win her over. After she’s used to you, introduce other family members in the same way.

Introducing other family pets to your new cat

After she takes a few days to interact with her human family, start working on the pet family. Place her food dish at the room’s door, and place the other pet’s food dish on the other side of the door. This will make the animals aware of each other, and they’ll associate that with pleasure—eating, in this case. The two will probably start sniffing and pawing each other underneath the door.

Another way to help the pets get used to each other before actually introducing them is to let them smell each other’s scents. This can be done by brushing them with the same brush.

After the new cat has spent about a week in her safe zone and is very comfortable with you and the other humans in the house, it’s time to make some introductions. Take her, in her crate, into a neutral room, like the family room. Let the other pets see her and sniff her for several short periods.

The next step is an introduction without the cage. If working with another cat, allow them to interact for short periods spread over a few days. At first, they’ll probably hiss and posture, but they should eventually become tolerant of one another. These sessions should gradually become longer and more frequent.

If your other pet is a dog, the dog should be leashed and taken to another part of the house. You should have the cat in your lap, and when the controlled dog is brought into the room, he should be allowed to sniff the cat and touch noses with her. By your holding the cat, you establish ownership to the dog. If your dog recognizes you as pack leader, he shouldn’t harm things that he sees as yours. He should respect your property. If he gets too rough, whether by overly zealous play or from aggression, the person holding the leash should remove the dog immediately and try the process again later.

If the cat needs to meet more than one pet, introduce them one at a time. Let her get used to one animal before you begin introducing her to another.

After the animals get used to each other, you still should not feed them together. Begin by placing their bowls at opposite ends of the room. If this works, gradually move them closer together. Cats might eventually be able to share the same food dish, but a dog may never be willing to share his food with another pet, even one he gets along with.

This process must be gradual in order to be effective. Some pet owners reading this will probably scoff and think, “That’s silly. I just brought my new cat home and set her on the living room sofa with the other pets, and they always got along fine.” And this does happen sometimes when you have just the right combination of animals. But why chance having a cat that’s so frightened she never feels secure in her new home? A couple of weeks of effort on your part is not long when you consider that you’ll most likely have your pets for years.