I have a male, neutered cat,...

Question
I have a male, neutered cat, about 2 years old.  I will soon be moving into a household with a 4 year old, spayed female cat.  Both cats are only cats, spoiled, mostly outdoor cats.  How can we introduce them to each other with the least amount of stress and anxiety for cats and owners?  Thank you for your help.  Jimmy

Answer
James,

Congratulations on being pro-cactive.  Usually I get asked the question after the fact when the cats have been introduced improperly and trouble has occurred.

Here is a tried and true method we have used and advised poeple on for years on introducing a new cat to a household with already established pets (note in the below, the new cat is referred to as the cat who is coming into the household as the "new" cat:


Start out your new cat in one room with a litter pan and water dish. Ideally, the one room should be a bedroom with yourself or another human resident. This accomplishes a couple of things. Your new cat will not be overwhelmed by its new surroundings and get "lost", and thusly will have no problem finding the litter pan (often kittens or rescue cats have been confined and are somewhat daunted by wide open spaces!). You will feed the new cat in this room and keep the established cat out. It allows the new cat to bond with you or another human being and also build up some self assurance in its new surroundings since it will not have to compete for food or attention right away. Finally, it allows the new cat and the established cat to sniff each other under the door and get familiar with each others' scents.

After 3-5 days of being in its one room, it is time to let them meet each other. Be prepared for some posturing, some spitting and hissing, and the like. IGNORE IT! After a while, they should begin chasing each other about and still have the occasional hiss or spit as they get acustomed to each other. Cats tend to make a whole lot of noise and even loosen up some fur. Rarely will two cats hurt each other.

Once they are introduced, there are a couple of things you must remember. Do not separate them again, they will get along! Do not interfere in their "discussions" as they need to sort it out amongst themselves!

It does not hurt to give the established cat treats and extra attention after the new cat is introduced (yes, cats do get jealous!).

A couple of things you may have to do are to feed them on separate dishes. Provide more than one litter pan in different areas of the household (as cats can be very territorial about litter pans).

All, in all, this method seems to have had great success in the past and makes for a fairly smooth introduction. Please remember that they may make up immediately, or it may take a few weeks.


Two last caveats, the age of the two cats may make this a bit longer a process for them to warm up to each other, but they should if you persevere. Also, like people, there are cats who take an immediate dislike to each other and will never get along.  Fortunately these situations seem to be rare.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.