How to introduce new cats to each other? | What a Veterinarian thinks you should do?

Haven't you seen cats live in cat colonies where they play, sleep, groom, cuddle with each other and look out for one another. And bonded pairs of cats become dependent on each other to stay happy and calm. Therefore, cats do still like company! Even though cats are known as being solitary animals, who don’t need a lot of attention, they still do however enjoy the company of other cats!

There are many ways to do this and a lot of information circulation on the internet so I’ve broken it down into 3 easy steps you can start with to help ensure your cats will get along.

Before we get into it I want you to know that some cat relationships take 12 months and some take 2 weeks. So don’t give up!

First off, you need to know what a “cat stare down” is and this is something you want to avoid at all costs for the first week or however long it takes to get your cats introduced. A stare down Is a high-tension state between cats when the dominant cat will stare down the other cat until his opponent fleas, or until the dominant cat decides to attack. You want to avoid a stare down at all cost in the beginning stages of introducing your cats.

It may seem obvious but to avoid a stare down from happening your cats cannot make eye contact. In order to do this, you have to separate your cats in different rooms of the house before introducing them to each other.

And this brings me to Step 1: Keep your cats separate and feed them alone separate.
- Your other cat at home will smell or sense someone else is in the building but don’t give them the right to stare them down yet.

Step 2. Let the cats roam the house rooms at different times to get used to the other cats’ scent. This will slowly begin to mix their scents and integrate them without them even knowing it. The cats will start to become more relaxed smelling each others scents.

Step 3: Finally, let your cats see each other but between a fence, baby gate, or a screened door.
You can also use positive reinforcement by feeding both of the cats at same time while they get to see each other between the barrier.

Once your cats start to act relaxed with seeing each other through a barrier, it is time to let them meet each other. This means no hissing or growling goes on before letting them meet on the same side. You want them to be calm, sniff each other calmly,
The first time you let them meet, you can play with them with a feather wand or a lazer pointer to keep them happy and distracted from a stare down. If a bad stare down or attack occurs, start over again with the barrier between them.

Each pair of new cats introduced to each other is different and takes a different amount of time. My recommendations is don’t give up. The longest ive had a client uses these techniques and even seek help from cat specialists was 2 months until the cats could be in the same living space. So be patient and kind to the cats and they will be cuddling soon enough.

If you guys have any other recommendations for cat owners, please leave a comment below! And if you have had success introducing your cats, I would also love to read about it in the comments and how you did it!

Alright guys, subscribe to my channel and I’ll see you next week!
~ Dr. Lindsay Butzer