The Cat Farm

“I just adopted a new cat. I already have a cat. How do I introduce them?”

That is the second most frequently asked question I field. (The first involves  litter boxes, but that’ll be the subject of another post. Or two.)

So, to answer the question, let me give you a real-life example of how NOT to do it.

Several years ago we adopted a 2-3 year old neutered male cat named Socks to a home that already had a 2-3 year old neutered male cat. The resident cat, Charlie, had been living with his brother who had recently died from a heart defect. Charlie was lonely so his mom wanted a companion for him. The day came for Socks to be delivered to Charlie’s home. His foster mom was new to rescue so I needed to be there for this first “delivery” to get the paperwork done and answer any questions. I arrived two minutes after Socks and his foster mom. The first thing I noticed was his crate door was already open.

“Where is Socks?” I asked.
“Under the bed” was the answer.
“Um… Ok. Where is Charlie?”
“He’s under the bed too.”
“Is it okay if I go have a look at them?”

Permission granted, I went into the bedroom, got down on the floor and peered under the bed. Peering back at me were two sets of HUGE eyes stationed about a foot apart.

No growling or hissing. Neither of them came out during the time we went over the contract and medical report and got all the questions asked and answered. Just before I left I peered under the bed again. Two HUGE sets of eyes peered back at me. They hadn’t moved.

I was a little worried about upsetting them and provoking a fight if I tried to get either of them out, so after reminding her not to put anything she valued between them (like a hand or foot) if they fought, I headed on home. She was an experienced cat owner, and I knew she’d handle it okay if things got, um, interesting.

I got a call two days later. They spent the first night hiding, and apparently bonding, under the bed;  the second night was spent piled on her in bed after a full day of play.

This is the result you want. This is ordinarily not the best way to get it.

I’m going to describe a safer way to do this, but first I’m going to tell you what to do if things go wrong and a fight breaks out.

First of all, you really want to avoid a fight. They are noisy and messy and can lead to expensive vet bills.  They can also lead to lasting animosity.  So the whole point of the gradual introduction is to ensure they don’t spend their lives as sparring partners.

When the newbie first arrives, set him up in his own room.  A spare bedroom or bathroom works well. When cats are nervous they like to hide in small places so don’t feel you are being mean by putting him in one room.  Newbie will walk around and explore the room, and rub against everything to “mark” it as “inspected and approved.”  And, “MINE.”

Meanwhile Resident Cat will smell Newbie, and may hang around the door in order to get a look - or maybe a shot - at Newbie.  Resident cat may be irritated and make his/her displeasure known.  Don’t worry about it.  Just make sure they can’t get at each other while this phase is going on.  It’s a good idea to have a squirt bottle handy near the door in case someone darts in or out.  I’ve found you can’t out-quick a cat.  I’ve also found that water falling from the sky can get their attention, even in the middle of mayhem.  Another necessary piece of “safety equipment” is to have a large towel nearby.  Large, like a beach towel.  If they get to each other and start to rumble, use the water to separate them, and then the towel to guide one of them back into their room.  Use it like a curtain to “encourage” the wayward cat back to where s/he belongs.

Never, never, never pick up a cat who is in the middle of, or has just been in a fight.  If they are still amp’d up, you will find out the hard way that cat bites are both painful and dangerous.  If you get a bad bite (puncture or tearing) it is very important to get antibiotics started within the first 90 minutes (we call it the “magic 90″) or you may be chasing a train that has left the station.  A bad cat bite is very, well, bad.

Okay - enough of the bad stuff.  Let’s go back to our soon-to-be-best-friends.  Newbie has established himself in his little room. Resident Cat  (RC) has grown bored with pacing in front of the door to Newbie’s room.   Now you switch them.  RC gets locked into the room while Newbie gets to explore the house.  The point of this is to get them used to each other’s smell, as well as give Newbie a chance to get the “lay of the land.”  You can do this room switch thing any number of times. Give them at least a day in each side before swapping them.  Again, you are looking for relaxed cats verging on boredom.

Now, let’s liven it up.  Put Newbie in a large crate and put the crate in the middle of the living room while you are hanging out in the room. (or the kitchen, or wherever you spend a lot of time.)  RC gets to walk around the crate and see the newcomer.  This is their first chance at seeing each other.  There may be a bit of growling, and there almost certainly will be some hissing.  This is no big deal.  However, if someone gets really upset - you’ll know it by the blood curdling death scream - or the crate will start bouncing around the room - then a hasty retreat is in order.  Make sure Newbie is IN the crate before it’s brought into the living room/kitchen, and don’t let him out until it’s back in it’s room and calmed back down.  Most of the time there is some nose-sniffing through the grill followed by a hiss or two and them nothing.  If this is the case, you can just leave Newbie in the crate out there for a hour or more.  Otherwise, short and sweet.  Eventually they will either ignore each other, or they will chirr and sniff and “flirt” with each other.

When either of those responses are the norm, then switch.  RC goes into the crate, then let Newbie out of the room for a walkabout while RC sees this new kid checking out the place.  Use the same behavioral guidelines.

Once they are totally bored - or totally in love - with each other you can let them mingle, under supervision, with squirt bottle and towel handy.  If all goes well, then congratulations - you have successfully integrated two cats!

Each stage can take an hour or a week or longer.   Give it time - it’s worth taking it slow because it’s very difficult to undo the animosity that a fight can provoke.

I’m also asked if gender makes a difference.  The short answer is no.  The little bit longer answer is, maybe.  Cats are a matriarchal society. As such, the female holds the territory.  If you have an adult female, you may have more difficulty integrating another cat, and another female might be incrementally more challenging.  Pay attention to the italics - may and might.  It really depends on the personalities of the individual cats.

It is always easier to integrate kittens, and easiest of all to just send them out in pairs nwhen they are originally adopted out.

One of our adopters had two older (10-12 years) cats, a brother and sister.  She had previously added one more male cat, now 4.  The older cats did NOT want to play with this younger guy. So, she adopted an 8 month old from us.  A few weeks later she came back and got one of his brothers.  A few weeks after that she called me.

“I would have never
believed 5 cats could be less work than 4, or even 3!  But, it’s true.  Boss Tenaka and Johnny Mo play with each other, and the 4 year old.  But, when he gets tired and wants to nap, they still have each other to keep going.  It’s wonderful!”

“How are your older guys taking it?”

“Oh, they just stay out of the way.  I think they are relieved they don’t have to play with anyone!”

That is a successful integration.  Everyone is happy.