Mary Allen
Getting Cats Used to Each Other
Have you decided to add a second cat to your household? Patience is required because you have to bring the cats together first. The situation is equally exciting for you and the cute newbie. The integration process usually takes around two months. Possible initial difficulties usually resolve themselves after a familiarization phase. A little hissing and growling during the getting to know each other is considered normal. Serious aggression, on the other hand, should no longer occur, especially after about three weeks. Although cats are generally sociable, like us humans, they don’t like everyone straight away. To ensure that you and your newcomer move in comfortably in the long term, you only need to take a few tips from cat connoisseurs to heart.
Bring Cats Together – This is How It Works
You can alternately rub both cats lightly with a towel – especially on the temples and chin because this is where the scent glands are located. This is how you familiarize each other with the smell of their roommate kitty. The new cat also gets used to the smell of the house in a gentle way.
Newly moving cats will overcome any homesickness more easily if they can sleep in their new home on the cozy blanket that they used in their former home. You can also use the new cat’s cozy blanket to introduce the new cat who is already living with you to the smell of the new one. Your new roommate can use the scratching furniture of the cat, which is already a permanent member of your family, to get used to the smell of the cat who has been living with you for a long time. It should also be noted that every cat wants its own bowl and litter box.
Of course, you should have both cats neutered. Otherwise, after sexual maturity, male cats can become very intrusive towards their female counterparts. This can lead to disputes and tangible problems. And of course also to the next generation. Because males are sometimes not squeamish with their kittens, the mother would have to strongly defend her young from the father. That would put the mother cat under a lot of stress.
If a kitten comes to you from a different household, it is normal for the cute newcomer to experience the acclimatization to the future home a little stressful and at the beginning possibly shows symptoms such as diarrhea. To minimize possible stress for your cats, you can use artificial pheromones. These are available in the form of pheromone plugs and sprays. You can use it to spray scratching furniture and sleeping places. Warning: Please never spray your cat with it. Before you bring the cats together and during the acclimatization, they can be effectively supported with Bach flowers specially developed for animals.
Tips for Acclimatizing Cats
- It is positive for cats and their owners to have littermates in the family. If you adopt cats from the animal shelter in order to provide them with a beautiful new home, you should of course make sure that the two have already harmonized well there.
- If you have previously had two or more kitties and suffered the loss of one of your beloved cats, for example, if one of your furry friends dies, the new cat should be similar in character to its feline predecessor. This way, both of them will definitely make friends quickly.
- If your cat has lived with you as the only feline four-legged friend up to now, you should also make sure that the new cat corresponds as far as possible to its old character. A calm Persian cat and a powerful-voiced Siamese do not go well together in most cases. Also with European domestic cats and others, before you bring the cats together, you should empathically assess whether the two cat characters are compatible. Character differences within a tolerable framework, on the other hand, can be enriching for all sides.
- Your newcomer should initially stay in the house for about four weeks after moving in and only then slowly explore the entire area. After this period, you can ideally let your kitty discover the secrets of your garden using the cat harness.
It can be interesting and lead to funny insights to make us aware that our meowing roommates sometimes mirror us, humans, with our idiosyncrasies. If you follow all the tips and show patience and love, a new cat is sure to bring a lot of extra joy to your house.