Keep the Fur From Flying - How do you introduce a new cat into your home?

A new cat or kitten has stolen your heart and you want to adopt!  That's wonderful until you think about the adopted cat already at home in your house.  How will he or she react to a newcomer?  Why do problems arise when a new cat comes into a home?  There are some scientific reasons for it.

To better understand the mind of a cat, we need to look at the evolution of cats over thousands of years and how they survived all that time.  It's also helpful to take a look at dogs, too, for comparison.  Before being domesticated 30,000 years ago, dogs were pack animals that ranged over a wide areas looking for food.  Cats, on the other hand, went the other way.  Their nature as hunters taught them to stick to one specific territory where there is little competition for prey.  Going outside that established "home turf" could put a cat in danger from the cat whose territory they wander into as well as from larger hunting animals.  Both of those possibilities could mean serious injury or death to a cat.  So, cats learned that staying within their known home area is good and that it needs to be protected.

Modern cats carry this instinct in them today.  Paws.com describes it this way:
"Free-ranging and feral cats lead complex and busy lives. They maintain far larger territories than most people realize, and these territories often contain a variety of environments, such as forests, farmlands, urban gardens and yards. Within these territories, cats explore, hunt and scavenge for food alone. They only occasionally interact with other cats. They don’t live in groups or even pairs, and they don’t seek out contact with other cats. In fact, they actively avoid it. Considering this natural behavior of cats, it isn’t surprising that it can be very difficult to introduce a new cat into an established cat’s territory, even when that territory is your home."

Today's domestic cats have territories that might be a house or apartment with four walls and lots of rooms, but to them it's the same as the open space their ancestors lived and hunted in thousands of years ago.  That makes it easier to understand why a resident cat might not react well to a new cat in his territory.  The gender of the cats plays a role as well.  A rescued female cat may feel particularly threatened by male cats in the home - even neutered males.

To those inherited cat tendencies we need to add what's changed since cats become domesticated 10,000 years ago.  The love and affection between a cat and his human is another aspect of life that can be threatened when a new cat comes home.  Each cat has an individual personality that is shaped by genetics as well as the kind of life they've led.  Some cats get lots of love and human attention from the kittenhood on.  Others have led a much harder life.  It's true that most rescued cats have completely hidden pasts that can include lots of things that influence their behavior, like injury or fighting with other cats before being rescued.  Both of these factors influence how cats act in our homes today.

Your cat may be very loving and sweet to you, but when you bring home another cat, all that may change.  You want to love and care for both cats, so what do you do?  There are so many suggestions and products out there to help that it can be confusing to even know where to start.  At the heart of all of them is this:  the keys to introducing a new cat into a home where another cat is firmly established are time, patience and watchfulness.

The most important thing is to make that introduction a very slow one.  Don't assume your cat will be thrilled to have the company of another feline!  One successful strategy is to bring the cat home and put him in one room of your house keeping the door closed.  Make sure the new cat has a litter box, food and water, and any blankets or beds that he's familiar with.  You may want to keep a radio on turned down low in the room for when you aren't there.  For your other cat, it's critical to maintain his routine and to offer extra affection.  As this is going on, each cat will begin to smell the other cat.

This stage should go on as long as it takes for the cat of the house to get used to the idea of a new cat being there and to understand that his life is not changing - food and attention will still be there when he want and expects them.  When you feel both cats are comfortably aware of the other, move the new cat to a different room but leave the door open.  Your cat can go in and smell the bedding and litterbox.  If you can secure the existing resident cat, this might a good time to let the new cat have a chance to wander around parts of the house where the other cat has been.  Based on their reactions and your judgement, this could either be time for a face to face meeting or more time in separate spaces may be called for.

When a more direct meeting is possible, it's sometimes a good idea to place the new cat in a crate in the room where the resident cat spends time.  That offers protection for both cats and a way for the resident cat to feel his space is still his.  BCR sometimes uses this technique when introducing a cat to a new room.  Most of the BCR cats are used to living with many other cats so its not unusual when a new cat arrives, but for the new cat, living with other cats can be a huge adjustment.  A good example is BJ, our new leukemia positive boy.  He was living as a stray and most likely had to compete for food with other cats.  He's going in Room 1 and, to ease his adjustment, he's spending time in a large crate (with food and a litter box) to allow him to get used to the cats there and they him. (BJ is in the photo above with Alyson.)  When the staff feels it's time, BJ won't need the crate and can live with the cats in his room.

One great suggestion during face-to-face time is to give both cats a reason to feel positive about each other.  Giving them treats is one frequently suggested way to do this as is playing with them.  When they're in the same room, do something with each of them that you know they both enjoy.  Throughout this process, you need to pay particular attention to the signals both cats are giving you and each other.  ASPCA.com has a great list of things you can do to keep this process moving forward in a positive way:
    •    Never let the cats “fight it out.” Cats don’t resolve their issues through fighting, and the fighting usually just gets worse. Interrupt aggression with a loud clap of your hands or spray from a water gun.
    •    Neuter the cats. Intact males are particularly prone to aggressive behavior.
    •    Separate their resources. Reduce competition between the cats by providing multiple, identical food bowls, beds and litter boxes in different areas of your house.
    •    Provide additional perches. More hiding spots and perches will allow your cats to space themselves out as they prefer.
    •    Don’t try to calm or soothe your aggressive cat, just leave her alone and give her space. If you come close, she could turn and redirect her aggression toward you.
    •    Reward desired behavior. Praise or toss treats to reward your cats when you see them interacting in a friendly manner.
    •    Try pheromones. You can purchase a product that mimics a natural cat odor (which humans can’t smell), that may reduce tensions. Use a diffuser while the aggression issue is being resolved.
We all hope that the long and focused introduction of two cats will work, but sometimes that's not the case.  A new cat can bring so much past trauma with him into a new home that it makes the adjustment seem impossible.  Aggression can flare up between the cats and the tension might also trigger behavior in the usually calm resident cat.  That's the time to call in additional help.  Your vet can rule out any physical problems and may recommend that you contact a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB or ACAAB) or a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (Dip ACVB).  These folks are trained to look for subtle signals in animals that we might miss and to point out where we can help our cats de-stress.

Wanting to adopt a cat in need is a wonderful thing, but should always be done keeping the pets you already have in mind.  The goal is a happy, peaceable kingdom in your home.  Cats are complicated creatures who every day live out thousands of years of behavior and their own life experiences, whether they're strays or happy in a loving home.  It takes patience, love and, when you need it, extra help to bring cats together happily and safely.  Click on the links below for some extra insights and resources.

CLICK HERE to read a detailed timeline for introductions from Paws.com.

CLICK HERE to read the ASPCA story on different kinds of feline aggression and how to address them.

CLICK HERE for some general information on cat introductions from the Humane Society of the US.