If you already have a cat, and you’re bringing a new kitten home, it is essential that you plan on how to make your cats meet each other. This can be a very tricky process, but you need to be patient. Even though cats decide their own hierarchy, as a pet parent, you must not allow them to be aggressive with each other. Let’s learn more about how to introduce cats.

Tips on how to make your cats get along quickly 

  • Prepare before you adopt

While you cannot dictate how your cats will get along, you can do a few things to help this process. For example, a few days before your new cat comes home, select a corner or a room in your house that is not used by your pet cat. Set it up with new supplies such as toys, bedding, food and water bowls, litter box, et cetera. Once you set everything up, close the door, so your pet cat gets accustomed to the room not being accessible.

  • Keep your cats separated

As soon as your new kitty is home, take it directly to a different room without letting your cat come in contact with it. You have to make sure that they do not cross paths even while you’re taking it to another room, since visual contact between cats can also cause a lot of stress and start off their relationship negatively. 

  • Know your cats properly 

You already know how your pet cat reacts. In a few days, you will learn how your new kitten reacts. Now that you know how both cats react to things and situations, try to make sure that you do not put them in any situation which will give rise to conflict of interest.

  • Scent swapping

Scent swapping is a great way to help your cats get to know each other. During this process, you can use a lot of treats and snacks to help motivate your kitties. Let your cats smell each other from under the closed door and look out for negative body languages such as grinding teeth, dilated pupils, rigid body posture, and ears flattened against the head. Once your cats are accustomed to each other, take one thing of each of them and place it in each other’s space so that they get used to each other’s smell.

  • Supervise your cats when they’re playing 

Play time must be supervised to promote a healthy and positive relationship between your cats. You can engage them in games and play sessions together, using treats and snacks as rewards for friendly interaction and good behaviour.

  • Allow visual contact of cats 

Once your cats have gotten accustomed to each other’s presence in the house, start allowing visual contact between them. However, supervising them is highly recommended to make sure no unwanted accidents occur.

  • Maintain barriers 

Once your cats are accustomed to each other, you can let them play together and hang out together. However, you must keep their resting places separated so that they have their own space and don’t end up getting into fights more often.

How to introduce your new cat to your cat?

Young silver tabby cat and orange tabby kitten standing next to each other outdoors.

Cats often tend to be more accepting of kittens than adult cats to share their space with. However, seeing another cat will not be a pleasant surprise for your pet. After all, who likes to share their space and people with someone new? A cat may show its dissatisfaction through threatening behaviour like hisses, random attacks, and more.

The only way to deal with this is to have some brief supervised introductions regularly with your new kitten and your existing pet cat. Once they start seeing each other, their fear of losing territory will slowly start to fade. Even though you cannot force cats to like each other, you can try to help them get along. Whenever you decide to introduce your cats, make sure that they have ample space to hide and take their own time if they need to.

How to introduce a kitten to a cat?

While cats are more welcoming of kittens, you cannot be sure of how peaceful and calm their meeting would be. Make sure that you provide ample time for both cats to adjust to each other. This could mean that they may take days or weeks or months to get used to each other, so let them move at their pace. If you start to notice any sign of aggression, create distance and let them get comfortable on their own timeline. You can also use calming supplements and products to help this process. Get in touch with your vet to explore more options.

Now that you have an idea of how to bring two cats together, you can start thinking of bringing a second cat home. With patience and resilience, you will soon have two furballs in your family!