By Cánie Brooks
What do you do when you bring a new cat or kitten into the home of another cat? It can be a stressful meeting for both. Generally, it is easier for a kitten to be introduced to an adult, rather than introducing two adults. An adult that has lived with other cats may have an easier time adjusting than if it has always been a solitary pet. In any case, it is very important to introduce them to each other very slowly. A quick introduction and the ensuing fighting may set the tone of their relationship for life.
Some of the most important items to remember are to make sure you do not allow the cats to have a face-to-face encounter at first and give lots of love and attention to the resident cat to keep it from being jealous of the new cat. Here are some good rules to follow for introduction:
Whether you have an adult cat or a kitten, it will be nervous moving into a new environment. I suggest enclosing it in a bedroom or other room with a litter box, food and water. Remember not to put the food and water near the litter-box, as cats don't like to do their business where they eat. You should have something in the room that has the scent of the other cat on it.
As the new kitty is looking comfortable, switch places with the resident cat. Put the resident cat into the room where the other cat was located and let the new kitty explore the rest of the house and smell the new scents. If you have a kitten, make sure it knows where it can find food and the litter box. You may want to place it back in the enclosed room after a few hours. Again, during this process, exchange items that may have the scent of the other cat on it so they get used to each other's scent.
After a few days, open the door to the room a bit so that the cats can now see each other but they can't yet make full contact. Once they seem to be tolerating this kind of contact, open the door a bit wider and allow more contact. If things don't go well and they start fighting, go back to separate rooms and just realize that you have to go a little slower. If you are having problems at this stage, you may want to get two of the 36-inch high plastic mesh baby gates and put them across the door, one on top of the other. This will allow the two cats to see and smell each other quite well but not allow full contact.
Once the cats start being comfortable, try feeding them on opposite sides of the room and then return them to their separate rooms. After a few days of this they should be ready to share living space. If they seem to be having problems at this point, separate them when you aren't home to supervise.
Some of the most important tips are to make sure they both get plenty of attention during this process and let them set their own pace. There is no hard and fast rule as to how long this process may take, adjust it to meet your own observations on how your cats are doing. It could take one to two weeks or even two to three months.