I am often asked, ” We have a cat and a dog at home. Do you think they will get along?”
I firmly believe that if you spend 14 days doing it properly after quarantine, they will quickly be sleeping, playing, and eating together.
Step 1: It is essential to have a 14-day quarantine when your new kitten arrives home!
You may have the healthiest cat, and the kitten you picked up might also be the most nutritious, but they grew up in different homes and are accustomed to completely different antibodies.
Meeting a new family member can be stressful for cats, as stress can cause health issues. To avoid this stress on both sides, we need to ease them very slowly and at a very comfortable pace.
Step 2: A new family member needs to be put in a small area, such as a bedroom, where their food, water and litter box will also be placed (temporarily).
They may act intimidated or frightened, or they might even hide under your bed. This behavior is completely normal!
New smells and surroundings, with nothing but a blanket and a familiar scent, can be overwhelming for them. Be patient! Allow them to get comfortable, and they will come to you, I promise!
Step 3: The antibodies will automatically start transferring because you are going in and out of the room, and their immune system is building new antibodies without physical contact. Does that make sense? Your pets will know that there is a new cat in the house and will sit by the door, wondering who is in there. They will interact in their own safe manner.
Step 4: After 14 days of quarantine, your furkids will be so excited to put a “face to the smell” that they won’t have time to be aggressive toward each other, which is what we aimed for!
On day 14, we switch them. You take your new family member out of their room and allow them to roam the house while the other explores the room with the closed door. Half a day is usually sufficient. You can also place treats in the swapped rooms so they associate this transition with a positive experience. Every interaction must be positive.
Step 5 & Final: The moment we have been waiting for *drum roll please* introduction!
Open the door and sit on the floor nearby to observe. They will puff their tails out and may even make aggressive meowing sounds. Please do not intervene, as this is a critical moment in determining who will be the dominant one. As long as there is no aggression, everything is fine. If they start fighting or attacking one another, you need to separate them.
If you have more than one cat that needs to be introduced, I strongly suggest introducing them individually. Once you see that they are running around and happy, take the other one and do the same thing as the first.
I strongly suggest deworming all your animals, including the new family member, about 3-4 weeks after the introduction and maintaining this preventative routine every 4-6 months for two cats and 3-4 months for 3+ cats.
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