How do I introduce a new cat into a home that already has two cats?

lalalogic: How do I introduce a new cat into a home that already has two cats?
I have a young cat and I’m moving away. Sadly, my cat can’t come with me and she is going to go live with my mother who already has two older cats, one is very skittish and the other is very bossy. We don’t want anyone running away because they think their territory has been invaded or there’s no place for them. How can I introduce the new cat to the other two without upsetting any of them too much?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Valentine
go to petfinder.com it has free videos to show you how to do this.

Answer by Awsum~Pawsum
VERY SLOWLY!!!!

This is critical to the way all three will behave. You should bring the new cat into the house and immedietly place into a room that it will stay in BY ITSELF for atleast a week.

Let the cats smell, play, hiss and growl under the door till the hissing and growling stops (usually after 4-5 days) then allow the new cat out ONLY while you are home and can give 1005 attention.

Here are some websites

I’ve been fostering for over 10 years, over 60 cats introduced to my house and cats with ZERO problems.

Answer by kittygrandma
Very slowly. Keep the new kitty isolated for a day or two, then gradually introduce her to the other cats. There will be a certain amount of growling and hissing, but be patient. They will get used to one another if you give them enough time.

Answer by Bob N
Here’s how we introduce new comers to our gang:

Cats need to be introduced very slowly.

First of all, we do not allow a new cat to have any contact with our other cats until a vet has given the new cat a clean bill of health. This includes tests for such things as FIP and Feline Leukemia.

Cats can be successfully introduced to each other regardless of their ages.

We have successfully added adult cats to your family containing both young and old cats as well as introducing very young kittens to the other cats.

It has to be done slowly. If you simply put them together, you will fail the vast majority of the time.

The new cat has to be given time to get used to you and the new environment.

The existing cat has to get used to the smell of the new cat.

We introduce cats by keeping the new cat in the back room for up to a month. My office is there as is my wife’s sewing table. There is a sofa and bookshelves.

We spend a lot of time with the new cat to get them used to us, the new environment and the new smells.

After they accept us with no problems, we put a screen door on the back room door frame and let everyone see each other for a week or so.

It may take a lot less time than a month to get to this point but we just take it slow and easy.

Once we judge it safe to do so, we let the new cats out into the house and chaperon the first encounters.

We’ve only ever had one problem introducing cats like this and that problem was resolved in a couple of weeks.

We’ve had 25 cats over the past 22 years and many of them were adults – 12 and older – when they joined our family.

We’ve also introduced several kittens, ranging from ages of 7 weeks to 4 or 5 months, to the rest of the crew with no problems.

You have to take it slow.

If you can’t put up a screen door, perhaps two baby gates, stacked one on top of the other, will close off the door but still allow the cats to see each other.

If you can’t use a screen door or baby gates, try letting the existing cat into the room with the new cat for a few minutes while you chaperon.

If things get bad, take the cat out of the room.

You just have to introduce cats slowly

There are cats who could be thrown together and become pals but they are few and far between.

Answer by k.i.m.m.y, loves you :]
step.by.step.

i have done this once before and if this happens with all cats
i must warn you the other two cats with hiss at the new one.
its all natural. they’re just marking their territory.

when the cats hiss just ignore it.
it may take 3 weeks or so until the two cats get used to the new cat.
as soon as you know it they’ll all be cuddling :]

good luck & have a nice night!

Answer by dilani
If you like read this article,which will provide you some tips
about introducing cats.

Answer by Soupy
What I have learned is that you might need to slowly introduce them, keep your kitty in a separate room, with her own box (preferably the one with you), her own toys, and maybe her own bed. And slowly let the others get to know her. Also I suggest giving her a bath once she is in the house, every time I introduced a new cat into the house, bathing them first once they got into the house sure seemed to help them get over that “odd smell” freak out phase.

Answer by Majestic Lizard
Have these cats have all been fixed and de-clawed?

Like others are saying, you have to slowly introduce the cat into the new environment. Put him in a room alone for a few days. Gradually socialize him with the other cats, etc.

Most likely the bossy cat will lay the rules down and the little cat will have to back down and respect territory.

However, I once took my cat, Clyde (when he was little), to a friend’s house for a few days. They had a big cat that was very aggressive tried to scare Clyde away.

Even though Clyde was de-clawed he punched the big cat in the eye and knocked it down a flight of stairs. For the rest of the time the big cat hid in the laundry closet and Clyde ate his food.