How To Introduce a New Cat Into Your Household

January 22, 2023 12:00 am Published by

When planning to introduce a new cat into your house, you may not know where to start. Long-time cat owners will know that introducing a new cat into a household takes time, effort, and deliberate planning for it to go as smoothly as possible. While there’s no guaranteed way to make your new kitty feel at ease immediately, there are some tried and true methods to make your new four-footed friend feel as comfortable as possible in their first few days at a new home. There are also best practices for introducing your new feline family member to the existing crew of cats if you have multiple kitties at home already.

How To Introduce a New Cat Into Your House

When you first bring an adult cat or a young kitten home, you’ll want to have a separate room in the house set up with their own water, litterbox, food, sleeping area, and toys. This can help reduce your new kitty’s stress at a wide open space called “home.”

Whether you have adopted your new kitty from the shelter or a foster family, it’s important to have a few items that smell like their previous home, such as a toy or blanket. This way, your kitty will feel more at ease in the coming days. Be sure to spend plenty of one-on-one time with this kitty and your other cats so that they get the attention they want and need.

How To Help a New Cat Get Adjusted to Your Home

After a few days of letting the new cat settle into the isolated room, it should be safe to start introducing the cat to the rest of the house and the other cats in the house. If you have other cats, you should use a cat harness to keep the cats from getting too close to each other and having confrontations at first. When you introduce them, you can use feline pheromone spritzers, food, or other resources to give them positive associations with each other. Respect each cat’s need for space and ensure that the cats have somewhere to retreat, such as another room or a carrier if they need it.

Once your cats have exhibited calm demeanors around each other, you can start feeding them at the same time and slowly moving their food dishes closer to one another. You can also help the process by wiping a new cat down with a cloth or blanket and placing that piece of fabric in a room with the other cats so they can adjust to its scent. You’ll want to repeat this process between the new cat and established cats, so everyone gets used to the scent of their new friends. If the new cat is your only one, you can start letting your new cat explore other areas in the home after a few days.

 

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