What do you think ?

[PayItForward]

Looking for comments

How to introduce a new cat to your home

http://www.piftails.com/Solo_IntroducingNewCat.html

[Craftlady]

Very good article. Allot of the techniques we used to introduce Thumper to Butterscotch than Skinny to both Thumper and Butterscotch.

[RedHedd]

A few edits (spelling) - my legal-eagle-eye proofreader coming out:

Allow new cat a minimum of four hours to investigate the room. Do not be surprised after reentering room to have lost the new cat.

Confirm existence of the new cat by monitoring the level of food/water bowls and checking for paw prints or deposits in the litter tray.

In the meantime the resident cats will have smelled (smelt is a fish) that there is someone new in the house.

Our cats usually ignore the spare room for a couple of days, hoping no "e" in hoping that the new cat will leave !!!

By this stage our resident cats are usually playing paws with the new cat under the door. i.e. They take turns sticking their paws under the door and the new cat of the other side of the door smack the paw !!!

Wait until until the new cat is comfortable enough to want to leave the spare room. This can vary a lot Treacle wanted out after 30 minutes, whereas (one word) our latest cat 6 year old Sandy stayed in there happily for four weeks.

The average is about a week but it is important not to rush this stage, the new cat must feel confident enough to want to interact with the house and other residents.

Monitor the fighting but do not interfere unless blood is spilt ? a British-ism?, cats need to find their natural place in the household in this way.

Looks good! Thanks for doing this!

[PayItForward]

RedHedd,

Thankyou. All corrected :D

[Logan]

I guess I'm not the only spellchecker, huh??? Thank you for being such a good sport! LOL!!! :)

[boscibo]

One thing I'd like to see at the beginning is some instruction about how you shouldn't introduce a new cat to your herd until after they have been vet checked for spreadable diseases. I haven't read all your other articles so maybe you have already covered it. Also, maybe add a bit about how much time it can take for some cats to tolerate each other - so many people expect their cats to be best friends in a week, in reality it can take much longer!

[RedHedd]

Originally posted by boscibo
Also, maybe add a bit about how much time it can take for some cats to tolerate each other - so many people expect their cats to be best friends in a week, in reality it can take much longer! 6 months .... a year .... :rolleyes: My two are FINALLY getting more tolerant and loving to each other. I even caught Mitzi trying to "kiss" Mishi the other day (Note to self: Camera needs batteries!) Every day I'm getting treated to new signs of kitty love - it's SO sweet! Last night I got home late; they were almost dancing with each other - it was hilarious!

[jenluckenbach]

I really like it a LOT!!!

I have these 2 comments:

You state:
Our cats usually ignore the spare room for a couple of days, hoping that the new cat will leave !!!

I actually find that the resident cats are drawn to the door like magnets to metal!!

my point is that there are many ways the cats could react.

and
leave the door ajar and let him start to explore the rest of the house and allow him to encounter other resident cats.

Good step except usually prior to allowing the new cat out I invite the resident cats in, one at a time, for introductions so the new cat is not taken by total surprise when he exits.

[catnapper]

Wow. I actually did everything right when we introduced Allen 3 years ago and when we introduced Pouncer this year!

A good article and very informative! Most people are clueless when it comes to pets, so this is straightforward and helpful! Pat your self on the back!

[PayItForward]

Article has been updated.

I wanted thank everyone for their comments. I found them very helpfull


:D

[NoahsMommy]

Very good article and site! I just joined! :)

[catcrazylady]

Great advice!! I'm sure that this will be very helpful to many people!! So many people bring home a new cat and just sit it down and expect everything to be great! There was a poor young cat returned to the shelter the other day because she wouldn't come out from under the couch for three days. I doubt that they did anything to help relieve her stress and let her adust. Poor baby. Maybe if they had been given this information things might have gone better for them all.
Great job!!!