Bringing home a new cat is an exciting time. You get to bond with a sweet little ball of love and create memories you’ll treasure forever. If you have resident cats already, it may seem daunting to try to introduce the newcomer to the resident cats. The majority of my work is helping people introduce cats or fix cat introductions that aren’t working. Here are eight of the most common questions I get asked to help you have a successful introduction between your cats.
How Long Do Cat Introductions Take?
It’s completely normal for cat introductions to take weeks or months. It ultimately depends on the cats so you should not have a specific timeline in mind for how long it will take. You may have heard of the “rule of threes” when it comes to bringing home a new cat. Basically, the idea is that it takes a cat 3 days to adjust to the change in environment, 3 weeks to settle in, and 3 months to feel safe.
Well, I think the rule of threes is a bunch of cat poop.
There may be some truth to it, the amount of time it takes cats to adjust to a new space and new people can vary drastically. You may be doing things perfectly and your new cat will still need longer to adjust than other cats.
Don’t Have A Timeline
For both bringing home a single cat and introducing a new cat, having a timeline will set you up for failure. You’ll be more likely to rush through the process and end up with a bigger, very hard to fix problem on your hands. Be prepared that it may take a while, but don’t let the specifics weigh you down. It’s normal for it to take time!
How Do I Know If A Cat Introduction Is Working?
It can be challenging to tell if your resident cat or cats are accepting a new cat during an introduction because cats may show subtle body language indicating distress or you might misinterpret something as being a positive sign when it really isn’t. It’s part of why we are moving away from feeding cats near a closed door or near each other as part of the introduction process: your cat likes the food or treats, not the other cat. As soon as the food is gobbled up, the tension comes out full force.
Generally, though, the process should be very boring. While you some cats will be excited about new comers and touch noses, that shouldn’t be the standard you’re going for. You should look for:
- The cats ignoring each other
- Both cats choosing to do other things when not distracted
- Ability to focus on other things (treats and food don’t count because your cat just wants that Churu, not to be near the other cat)
- Outside of meetings, the cats are both happy and relaxed
- No fixation on the other cat, most commonly manifested by staring
What Are Some Body Language Cues I Should Look For When Introducing Cats?
First, body language in cats depends entirely on looking at the overall picture so rarely is there one thing that signals that you’re not going to have a successful introduction. However, some signs I look for that are not a positive sign:
- Staring for more than a few seconds. This is very commonly missed by clients of mine before they start working with me and should not be ignored as it’s a very threatening behavior in cats.
- Growling, yowling, or excessive vocalizations. Hissing is also a “pink flag” and should indicate it may be time to give the cats a break.
- Inability to be distracted or have their attention drawn away
- A thrashing tail
- Ears pinned back and to the side
I strongly recommend the book Kitty Language by Lili Chin to learn more about body language in cats. It’s easy to read and you’ll learn to understand your cat much better.
What Do I Do If My Cats Have A Fight?
First, don’t panic. You will make things worse if you’re not careful. The absolute best thing you can do is take something solid like a flattened cardboard box and stick it between the cats. This stops the cats from seeing each other and reduces the source of the stress. Gently separate them into another room and let the cats have a cooldown. Do NOT keep trying to have them interact.
While reaching for a spray bottle may seem like a good idea, it can damage the process or make the situation more dangerous. If one cat is attempting to play with the other cat (even if the other cat doesn’t look at it as friendly or fun) and you spray them, it may increase their level of arousal. This can either worsen the attempts at playing or turn it from fun to fearful. It can also damage the relationship between the cats because if the other cat is associated with stress, you’re not building up a positive association between them.
After you separate them, it’s best to have a cool off period. I don’t like giving specific amounts of time as what you really need to look for is the cats not seeming on edge, pawing at the door where the other cat is, having strong reactions to noise, or other concerning behavior changes, but usually you want to separate them for at least a full day.
When they both are completely calm again, you can try having them meet again with a barrier such as a full door height pet gate between them. This interaction should be shorter than your last interaction and the cats should be distracted with fun, positive things. In some cases fights indicate needing to start over again, but it’s not always the case. You may want to consult a professional for help at this point.
How Do I Know If A Cat Introduction Isn’t Going To Work?
There isn’t one single sign and cats can overcome some very challenging situations with enough time, effort, and patience, but a sampling of things I look for that make me start thinking the introduction may not work out:
- A complete lack of progress while doing best practices for a cat introduction or frequent, repeated setbacks
- Severe injuries to the cats or aggression toward humans
- Inability to even see the other cat briefly and at a distance
- Severely complex situations involving unusual living situations, complex medical conditions, or other things that make the introduction extra challenging
- Their initial meeting in the same space involved a severe fight
- Extreme differences in personality or age
Additionally, while there isn’t a hard and fast rule about how many cats can comfortably live in a space, having too many cats in a smaller home (in some cases even a large home) becomes challenging. I am hesitant to work with people who have 6 or more cats as clients because they are such challenging situations to make work.
Ultimately, you have to look at the overall picture and ask yourself whether the cats are all happy and whether you have the capacity to keep going with the process.
Should I Feed My Cats Near Each Other During An Introduction?
No. This is outdated advice and we now know that cats don’t love eating near other cats. This often results in food related tension or people misinterpreting their cats doing well with each other when really, they’re just hungry.
The same goes for just tossing (or squeezing) treats at your cats or reinforcing “good behavior.” This might work or it might distract them, but “good behavior” isn’t a concept cats will understand. You need to be more specific. If you are using treats, it should be during clicker training sessions designed to help both cats feel secure, that the world is predictable, and in response to specific behaviors your cat is doing.
Better tools? Playing with the cats, attention, brushing if they love it (especially if they’re a glove brush cat so it’s just like petting), or something else to build a positive association without relying on tossing food at them. While it may seem like more work, you’ll get better results.
Seriously, I get a lot of business from people who rely mostly on feeding their cats near each other and it doesn’t work.
Do I Have To Separate My Cats During An Introduction?
Introducing a new cat into your resident cats’ space is extremely stressful. Some cats may tolerate it better than others, but most cats aren’t going to love it. Not slowly introducing the cats is going to risk the resident cat feeling threatened and will lead to them feeling the need to defend their space from the invader.
Methods like putting the cats in carriers or just letting your cat figure it out rely on something called flooding. Flooding is likely to result in the cats later not fully acclimating and later on having their relationship deteriorate. It’s also extremely stressful so honestly, trying this method even if it works, has worked, or is something people have “always done” is kind of rude to the cats.
Plus, if you don’t have space to separate the cats, you may want to consider if you have enough space to keep the cats happy and meet all their needs in your home. I know it’s not fun to think about and that you may really want another cat, but it may not be what’s best for the cats.
I Have Two (Or More) Resident Cats. How Do I Introduce Them?
This gets really complicated as it depends on how many resident cats you have, your space, how well the resident cats get along, and how many new cats you’re introducing. Generally, though, the process will be very similar to a regular cat introduction.
The most important step thing to do is to introduce the cats one by one to the new cat or cats (at least at first). Remember that cats find newcomers potentially threatening and the new cat may or may not feel similarly about your resident cats. One at a time means that you have more control and, should things go wrong with one cat or set of cats, you’re not going to have a bigger disaster on your hands.
Eventually, once the cats are clearly ready, you can move on to group introductions.
You also, unfortunately, need to think of it as doing an introduction with each of your resident cats and the newcomer. The cats will each have individual relationships with each other so just because things are going well between one pairing doesn’t mean that will be the same across groups. Start with the pairing that’s going the best then move on to the more challenging ones.
