How To Introduce Your New Cat To Your Old Cat

How do I introduce my new cat to my old cat?

You're ready to bring another cat to your one-cat household. Well, you can't just go up there and think they're going to shake paws and be like long-lost buds. It doesn't happen that way. You know, cats like to be able to meet other cats on their own terms. Your role is to be the benevolent mediator. You do that by having the new cat spend a day or so in a really cool room with all the little kitty amenities in there while your other cat, the king or queen of the household for now, gets to still have the rest of the run of the house. And its kind of neat to watch because they really meet each other by smell. They smell each other under the doorway, and you might even see a little paw stick out and the other paw touches. And what they're doing is they're kind of checking each other out. After a day or so, switch places. Have your cat spend a few hours or so in that room while the other cat gets a chance to explore safely some of the other parts of your house. What you're doing is your kind of getting their scent in different places. Cats mark with their cheekbones. And finally, you need to take a little cloth and dampen it a little bit and rub it on your first cat then rub it on your new cat then rub it on your first cat again and let them exchange smells a little bit. Finally, when you are ready to have them have a face-to-face greeting, don't be alarmed if you hear a little hiss or something a little bit. And as long as the cats have escape routes and places to go that will be fine. It may take a few weeks or so for the cats to feel comfortable and check each other out, but be patient. Unless the cat is being physically injured, you should maintain a feeling of calmness and confidence around these cats so that they know, "Hey, we can get along. It is okay".