Another cat -a great idea or a nightmare?

Adding another cat to your household can be either a great idea and a nightmare .  The end result depends on many factors:  the size of your home including vertical space, the number, health, and temperament of your present cats, and your own patience and expectations.
 
First, chose the right newcomer.  It is MORE important to chose a new cat for their  personality than their beauty.  The newcomer should be friendly, confident, and relaxed around other cats. Kittens are less threatening to a resident adult cat, but their youthful exuberance may not always be appreciated. If you have an older resident, they may appreciate a more mature, less energetic adult friend.  Young male cats tend to play rough at times, and also weigh more, so consider this with an older female cat.

Have PLENTY of vertical space for your cats to perch and observe. This allows even a small home environment to be  multiple-cat friendly.  Padded window seats, multi-level cat towers, access to tops of shelving, are all examples of vertical space, and cat friendly perches should be present in most rooms in your house.

Cat society is a delicate balance of solitude and sociability and you are now messing with the balance.
A newcomer will be viewed as an invader of the territory.    To decrease the liklihood of fighting, housesoiling, stress and  hiding, confining the newcomer to their own space (room) initially  is ESSENTIAL, and so is TAKING THINGS SLOWLY.  The newbie sanctuary should be equipped with all the needed comforts of home, but well away from the resident cat(s). Spend quality play time with the newbie every day.   This will allow the new cat  time to adjust to you, and his room, his new food, his new litter box, and will greatly decrease HIS  overall stress level.

This is the perfect  time to use FELIWAY.  Feliway is a spray or plug-in  to use in your home, that helps cats to relax and relieves anxiety.  Want more more information on Feliway? , click here.

Remember, your newcomer is a source of potential disease: fleas, ear mites, ringworm, lice, intestinal parasites, herpes virus , feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, and more. Confining the newcomer until after they have been examined by your veterinarian, and given the "all clear" signal is a smart move, and may prevent you from having to treat your whole menagerie for a disease or parasite.

During this ESSENTIAL confinement period (days to weeks) , you have work to do.  First,  STEP ONE:  scent swapping. Scent swapping allows the cats a non-confrontational way to become acquainted.  Taking a towel, give the newcomer a  daily rubdown around the face and back (assuming no contagious skin diseases), then leave the towel near a spot that your resident cat frequents.  Repeat in the opposite direction for the newcomer.  Do this daily and place the scented items in a variety of places, and gauge the responses. Go to step two only when you are seeing NO NEGATIVE responses with step 1.

STEP TWO, allow the newbie to roam the house AFTER CONFINING ALL RESIDENT CATS.     Depending on newbie's confidence level, this exercise may need repeating several times before the whole house has been explored in a relaxed manner.  The opposite of this is confining the newbie to a carrier, putting the carrier in a closed room, and allowing the resident cat access to the newbie's sanctuary.  Remember,  do this daily until you see:  NO growling, no puffy back hair, no flat-to-the-head ears -just relaxed happy inquisitiveness from ALL cats.

Once you are seeing no negative responses, it is time for STEP THREE, visual introductions, in a controlled manner.  Again, using your cat carrier, confine the newbie, and set the carrier in the middle of the family room, allowing the resident cat a slow, gradual, non-threatening view and smell of the newbie.  Stay close and use a calm relaxing encouraging tone to your voice.  Do not reprimand or say "NO" to growling or hissing.  This is an expected response initially.  Reverse the scenario the next time with the resident in the carrier.  Be positive and relaxed, as the cats will pick up on your reactions.

LAST STEP, they meet.  You will need 1 person per cat for this, each with food treats and control of their cat.  Stay separated in a large room  where the cats can see each other, but at least 5+ feet apart.  Using food treats, gauge the response of the cat(s).  If everyone is eating and happy, you can let them interact. If not, separate and attempt this again the next day.  Be patient. Go as slow as necessary.

Even after the introduction, I would recommend separating the newbie when your are gone (to work) and when you are sleeping at night.  This will help to control their interactions until you are certain that everyone is behaving appropriately.

Taking these steps slowly -days or even weeks -will help insure that your new family member will be accepted as one of the gang.    Congratulate yourself on a job well done!  Now you can honestly say, "adding another cat was a GREAT IDEA"!
Dr. Maureen Flatley
Fox Valley Cat Clinic