Your cat will not greet the new kitty by saying hello on their first meet, right? You have to be the medium so that both the felines stay on their best behavior. If you let them get introduced on their own, a fight is inevitable. How to introduce two cats
Cats are very concerned about their territory. They can not let any new kitty enter into their kingdom and this often causes trouble. But if you systematically initiate the bond, the two cats will end up being friends.
In this article, I will share tips on how to introduce two cats in the shortest time frame possible. If you are worried about the friendship of your existing and newly brought felines, this is just the article you need right now.
How to Introduce Two Cats
You can let two strange felines share sight at their first meet. This will cause nothing but chaos. So, how to introduce two cats so that they get along? Here are the perfect steps to meet your cats’ friendship goals:
1. Putting a Partition is Mandatory
You can not predict the first impression of two cats on their first meet. If even one of them acts aggressively, the other one will live in terror to be with that pet. That is why experts believe you have to keep the new feline in confinement for a couple of days.
The separation period is also important for the new cat. Some of you may wonder how to introduce cats to a new home. This is your answer. Put your new kitty in a cat-proof room. Provide the pet with enough water, food, and places to hide. Offering toys will be a good source of entertainment for it. Well, do not forget the litter box.
During the confinement, go and play with the new cat. This will make the kitty comfortable with you and the place will smell more like home. Within a couple of days, the pet will go easy and cope with the environment.
2. Sharing Brings Out the Love
Do you know cats choose their friends by smelling them? The scent of a person, a fellow kitty, or a toy has significance in each feline’s life. They blindly trust their smelling intuition. Once they get familiar with a smell, they consider that thing as their own. You can also relate this incident to territory marking.
Trading toys between the existing and new cat may create the bonding faster. Each toy will contain the scent of the particular cat. So, after trading and playing with the traded toys, the felines will get familiar with each other’s scent. It eventually makes them think the other kitty is trustworthy.
3. A Little Peek Won’t Do Any Harm
After a couple of days, both the felines will smell the presence of each other. To observe their reactions, you can try a distant interaction. At the first sight, both the cats will act awkwardly. After several interactions, the felines will get easy with each other. Do not let them play together right away.
4. Switching Places
By now, your new cat should be familiar with the room it is staying in. The next step will be switching places between both the felines. Let the existing cat live in the room, while the new can explore the rest of your home.
After a couple of days, the new kitty will be comfortable in its new home. On the other hand, the existing feline will get used to the scent of the new one. This step has proven effective in introducing two cats.
5. It is Time to Meet
If you follow all the steps properly, both your cats already know the existence of each other. You might feel those tips unnecessary, but trust me, it will smoothen the introduction part. However, if your felines are not eating, drinking, playing, and using the litter box normally, they are stressed and not prepared for interaction. Otherwise, both your kitties are now ready for a face to face meeting.
The face to face meeting can go in 2 ways. One, everything will go smoothly and both the felines will become friends. Two, there will be a fight. Let’s discuss both scenarios.
As both the cats are familiar with each other’s scent and have seen each other, chances say they will get along. But you can not guarantee anything because it depends on the cat’s mood and psychology.
If the pets seem to create a bond, let them play together for some time. Offer them toys and other accessories to play with. Observe their behavior throughout the time. In case of any fight, separate them.
Again, two introducing cats hissing at each other is a common scene. Hissing along with growling may turn into a fight if you do not interfere. No cat parent wants their pets to fight in the very first meeting.
Growling, spitting, flat ears, crouching are the signs that indicate one of the pets will initiate the attack. Distract the felines if any of them is showing aggression. In this case, you may have to start the steps all over again.
Here is one thing you must follow even if your cats get along together. Do not leave your pets together when you are not present in the room. However, if one feline keeps on hiding from another one, do not force it. Rather seek advice from a vet or an expert.
How to Introduce Two Cats When One is Aggressive
An aggressive cat does not get along with another fellow easily. You may have to work a bit harder for them. For example, find the common interest between both kitties and let them spend time during that session. It may bring out the friendship between them. Also, provide enough food, water, and toys for both pets.
Cats consider litter boxes as their property. So, make sure there are several bowls for both cats. Do not forget to give special treats to the felines when they behave well.
Establishing a bond between cats can be challenging. Knowing how to introduce two cats might make the task a bit easier. Never force two felines to be friends. Rather follow the systematic ways to make them behave well.
