Introducing your cat to a new pet

back to articles

You may need to introduce a cat to other animals. Make sure all animals have been seen by a vet to reduce the risk of transmitting illnesses or parasites to your other animals. If this hasn’t been done, please keep your pets separate until your vet has tested them.

The key to a successful introduction is patience, patience, and patience. It may take several months for the pets to get used to one another. In other cases, it may just take a few hours.
Put the new pet in its own room, where the original pet can smell it (under the door), but not see it. After a few days, remove the new pet from the room and let the cat smell and explore the room thoroughly. Put the new pet back in and let them look at one another through a gate. If the initial reaction is hostile, let them continue to regard one another through the gate. Otherwise, let the pet out and meet the cat under supervision – and continue to supervise them until you are certain they can get along.

Be sure to lavish attention on the original pet, so that it doesn’t get jealous or feel threatened.
If you are introducing the cat to a dog, be sure the cat has a place to retreat where the dog can’t access it. This can be achieved by placing a childproof fence in the door of a room high enough for the cat to get under, but not for the dog. Do trim the cat’s claws to do minimal damage to the dog’s nose.

A dog introduced to a cat will view it as another dog and will probably try to play with it. The cat will eventually learn to ignore it or play with it, depending on the dog’s personality. Many dogs are good with cats – such as labs, newfoundlands or golden retrievers. Other dogs can be more aggressive and may need to be taught to leave the cat alone.

back to articles