Introducing a New Cat

A little over a year ago, we introduced a new cat into the family.  My first cat had recently passed away, leaving us with just one, when my sister found this little guy cowering in the gutter on a busy street.  Someone had thrown him out a window while they were driving by, and he was too terrified to go elsewhere.

As he became comfortable in our home, though, another side of him emerged -- no longer scared of everything, he became aggressively playful, with a perverse enjoyment of doing stuff he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing.

Introducing a new cat into a household of cats is much more difficult than introducing, say, a new dog into a household of dogs.  Dogs are pack animals, and tend to work out things like pecking order pretty quickly.  Cats, on the other hand, are by nature loners, so they don't often do well -- whether they are the new cat, or the old cat, though I think the old cat usually has a tougher job of it, especially if the new cat is a young one.

Here are a few quick tips for helping a new cat to settle in with the least amount of fighting possible:

• Break up fights.  Very very important -- your old cat needs to feel like you aren't going to let the new one push them around.  Remember, your old cat was here first.  She should always get fed first, greeted first when you come in the door, etc.  Do not let her feel like she is being replaced by the new guy.
• Provide space for both.  Multiple food dishes, water dishes, and litter boxes may be necessary, at least at first, to prevent one cat from blocking the other, or lying in wait to attack.  Allowing each cat their own area, where they can feel safe, is also sometimes a good idea.  When we first got our new cat, his area was the guest bedroom in the basement, where he could hide and it was relatively quiet -- good for soothing frazzled kitty nerves.
• Give all cats -- old and new -- plenty of attention.  Don't succumb to the urge to pay all your attention to the cute new kitten.  Be sure to give your old cats plenty of attention, and maintain any of their routines that they love -- giving treats, feeding times, and that sort of thing.
• Give it time.  It's not uncommon for it to take a year or so for the new cat to truly settle in.  It may take even longer before they actually like one another.  Don't get frustrated, assume it's not working, and get rid of one cat!  It's a big adjustment, but most likely they will get accustomed to one another with time.

Introducing another cat can really stir things up for a while, but be patient and try to make all your cats as comfortable and happy as possible, and eventually things will settle down again!