You might be considering getting a furry little companion for the cuddly kitten living in your home. Remember that your feline friend is naturally territorial, so you’ll need to move slowly when introducing another kitten to him. Let them get to know each other before you put them together.
Items you will need
- Cat crate
- Cat bed
- Litter box
- Food and water bowls
- Cat toys
- Scratching posts
- Synthetic pheromones
- Heavy doorstops, 2
Keep your new kitten in her crate until you get her into a room where she can get used to the environment, sounds and smells.
Provide your new furbaby with her own bed, blanket, food and water bowls, litter box and waste scoop. Give her some toys and a scratching post so she can play and relieve stress. Keep the door to her room closed at all times so she and your resident kitten don’t get involved in a cat fight.
Position your resident kitten’s food and water bowls close to the new kitten’s room. This allows them to pick up on each others’ scents as they eat. Gradually move your resident furbaby’s food and water bowls closer to the new kitty’s room, but don’t put them so close that both kittens get too upset to eat.
Switch their toys and allow them to get used to each others’ scents this way. Again, they should begin associating the new scents to fun activities, making the “getting-to-know-you” process a little less stressful for them – and for you. Tie one ball on each end of a long piece of string. Then slip the middle of the string under the door that separates the kittens, allowing them to play together from opposite sides of the door.
Switch each kitten’s blanket. Move your resident kitty’s blanket to the new furbaby’s bed and vice versa, allowing them to get used to each other.
Confine your resident furbaby in one room with his food and water bowls, toys, litter box and waste scoop, and give the new kitty the run of your home. This part of your “slow-and-steady” introduction process allows her to get used to even more new scents, humans and sounds.
Spray furniture, doorways and other items with a synthetic pheromone. These mimic the kittens’ own pheromones, helping them to relax in each others’ presence.
Position the doorstops on either side of the door to your new kitten’s room. Keep the door cracked open just enough so your furbabies can see each other, but not get to each other.
- This introduction process should take several days, so don’t worry about rushing it. Cats are creatures of habit, so changes in their routine will take time.
- When you do introduce your new furbaby to your resident kitty, expect them to react with hissing, growling and spitting.
- Make the face-to-face introduction process more fun by dangling a cat fishing toy in between them. They will indulge their play and prey instincts.
- Expect the sniffing and hissing to go on for several days. As they become used to each other, you might find one kitten grooming the other – or wrapped around each other as they nap.
- Do not physically get into the middle of a kitten fight. Instead, toss something, make a loud nose or toss a blanket over each cat and separate them. Keep them apart for at least 24 hours and try another face-to-face introduction.
- If your new furbabies have not been spayed or neutered, and if you have one of each gender, make sure the getting-to-know-you process doesn’t get too familiar, or you’ll find them “in the family way.”
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