I always get asked ” We have a cat/dog at home, so you think they will get along?”
I strongly believe that if you actually spend 14 days doing it the proper way, after quarantine they will be sleeping/playing and eating together in no time.
Step 1: 14 day quarantine is a MUST as soon as your new kitten comes home!
You can have the healthiest cat and the kitten you picked up can also be the healthiest kitten but they grew up in different homes and are used to completely different antibodies.
Because cats can have stress induced health issues, meeting a new family member is very stressful so to avoid this huge stress on both ends, we need to ease them very slowly and at a very comfortable pace for them.
Step 2: New family member needs to be put in a small area such as a bedroom where her/his food, water and litter box will also be placed (temporarily).
They might act intimidated and or scared, they might even hide under your bed. This behavior is absolutely 100% normal!
New smells and surroundings with nothing but a blanket with a smell they know can be overwhelming for them. Be PATIENT! Let them get comfortable and they will come to you, I promise!
Step 3: The antibodies will automatically start transferring because you going in and out of the room and their immune system building new antibodies without the physical contact, make sense? Your pets will know that there is a new cat in the house and will sit by that door and wonder who’s in there? They will exchange in their own way in a safe manner.
Step 4: Once quarantine is over after 14 days your furkids are so excited to put the “face to the smell” sorta thing that they will not have time to aggress against each other, which is what we were aiming for to begin with!
So day 14 we switch them. You take your new family member out of his room and allow him/her to roam the house while the other explores the room with closed door. Half a day is usually enough. You can also put treats for them in the switched rooms so they associate this transition as a positive one. 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 near by and observe!! They will puff their tail out and might even make aggressive meowing sounds, please do NOT intervene because this is the critical moment where they determine who will be the dominant one. As long as there is no agression everything is fine. If they start fighting or beating each other, you need to separate them.
If you have more than 1 cats that need introduction, I would strongly suggest to introduce them 1 by 1. Once you see that they are running around and happy, take the other one and do exactly the same thing as with the first.
I would strongly suggest to deworm all your animals including the new family member about 3-4 weeks after the introduction and maintaining it as a preventative routine every 4-6 months for 2 cats, 3-4 months for 3+ cats.
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