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Introducing Two Cats - Cat Siblings & Cat Play Dates
One of the toughest things to do may be to bring a new cat into your home with an existing cat at the house. It could take a bit of getting used to, especially for the cat who may consider his home invade by the new coming feline.
Some experts say it could take eight months to a year for cats to develop a healthy friendship that doesn't end up in a cat fight.
Occasionally cats can become close friends and learn to snuggle with each other. Some cats never socialize well. You can do a few things to help encourage them to become buddies.
Some key things to do:
1. Give Cats Their Own Space. Check out the cat houses, cat perches and other cat living spaces that have spots for multiple cats in our collection and find one that you think will suit the number of cats in your home.
2. Give Cats Their Own Bowls. We also have a unique collection of decorative cat bowls, and you can get one for each cat, or some with multiple cat feeders that they can eat next to each other without any issues.
3. Give Cats Their Own Litter Boxes. Check out our unique collection of large or double-cat sized litter boxes or pieces of furniture that double as creative cat litter spaces, so that your cats will feel comfortable having their own place to relieve themselves.
It takes a lot of patience to introduce two cats to the same living area. If the original home cat gets angry, and becomes aggressive, keep them separated in different parts of the house, but when together always supervise. Give them both cat treats or back rubs for good behavior.
Play with them together, with string or wand or with a ball but don't make the games competitive.
Obviously, the more cats you have the more likely there will be some conflicts, and just like humans, some cats simply don't like other cats. It is much harder to socialize older adult cats who are set in their ways, but read your cat's cues and try to compensate or make them feel comfortable.
Pick a neutral area for introducing both cats, like in a common living room area, not in a place where feeding or litter boxes are located.
Let the cats see each other, but stay separate at first, using maybe a screen door or childproof gate, until they sniff each other out and get used to each other.
When taking the screen down between the cats, it may be great to have a friend or family member hold the other cat and let them investigate each other as they get used to one another.
Keep the cats distracted, let them play with you and play with both of them equally.
Cats like to feel secure, and comfortable, and don't like to be challenged, so the more secure they feel, the more likely they will be in welcoming another to their home.
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