Introducing a New Cat into Your Home
Introducing a new cat into a home where one or more cats already live can be a tricky task. Many cat lovers want to introduce a new cat at home because of the desire to welcome another animal or because they think that their cat will be better accompanied than alone in the house. However, the marked territorial nature of cats makes coexistence between felines often a delicate matter.
Considerations Before Adoption
Cats coexist better when they are relatives or have been raised together, so if you plan to adopt several cats, it is recommended that they be from the same litter. Also, try to find one that has a compatible personality with the one you already have. This can only be done if you adopt an adult cat or a purebred cat, since these have a fairly predictable temperament according to their parents and the care of the breeder from birth and during the socialization stage.
Guidelines for Introducing a New Cat
It is possible to expand our cat family if we follow a series of basic guidelines to introduce a new cat at home. Some rules that will allow us, in more or less time, to be able to enjoy a peaceful animal coexistence.
Health Check
First, it is always recommended before introducing a new cat at home, to take it to the vet to check it out, do the tests the vet considers necessary, give it its antiparasitic and its vaccines. This way you will avoid any type of contagion to your other cat or cats.
Familiarizing with the Smell
If possible, a week or a few days before introducing the new cat, start bringing home a blanket or bed from that cat so that the others begin to recognize its smell.
Separation at First
Once in the house, one of the first pieces of advice is to keep the new cat separated in the house from the start, with different spaces to eat, mark or relieve themselves, so that they get to know each other slowly, without rushing.
Exchanging Scents
Next, we will exchange scents. We can pass objects from one room to another or we can exchange the cats so that they get used to the smell of the other but without seeing each other.
Visual Contact
The following step is letting them see each other but with some distance. The best way is to use a carrier or crate and we will place it in a high place, such as a chair.
Physical Contact
Then, after a period of positive eye contact, we will allow physical contact but it should always be supervised.
Unsupervised Contact
The last step is to leave them unsupervised. If the relationship is good, we will move to allowing unsupervised contact for a few minutes.
When Things Don't Work Out
On the other hand, the desire to bring together more than one cat cannot always materialize successfully, and sometimes coexistence in a house is not possible and it is best to separate them. If, having made a slow and gradual introduction, we see that our cats are unable to adapt to each other, and the tension and conflicts are constant, it is best to contact a Pet Expert or talk to Mavyn pet expert by submitting a request through our Mavyn website.