by mockingster

Created on: February 06, 2009   Last Updated: February 07, 2009

Introducing a new cat to an existing cat or cats can be one of the most difficult things when you consider feline behavior. It could probably be compared to the human behavior of two people who have been married before and who have kids, getting married to each other and having to introduce their respective kids to each other. Expecting the kids to take to each other and being the best of friends almost immediately would be asking for too much. However, the only difference between humans and cats is that you could sit down and explain and discuss the situation with your kids, (sure there might be tantrums and out breaks of opinions etc) now can this be done with cats!

Sometimes everything might be tickety boo, where the cats are content and feel secure and will not feel threatened, and in this instance a confrontation of the cats will occur usually until they come to accept that the situation is going to be long term.

However, if this is not the case, the result will not be very pleasant. There will be plenty of aggression, spraying and toilet problems. The cat who ends up being the loser will generally tend to want to hide in the nearest hiding place and become absolutely stressed.

This situation can not only become stressful for the cat but can be extremely stressful for the owner too.

Some ways you can help them to get along would be to put the cats in their carry case or better still in a crate as a crate is much larger and would have more space to separate them but at the same time keep them close to each other.

It might be very progressive if the cats ignore each other during feeding time and can be fed together.

It is very important that the owner remains cool around the cats as this fear or nervousness can quickly be transmitted to them.

Another point would be not to cuddle, pet, talk, fuss or encourage a cat to sit close to you in this type of situation. When you pet the cats you are transferring their scents by marking them and this might result in competition between the cats.

When the day comes to let them out of their crates or carry case, there should be a number of cardboard boxes or any other similar objects so that when there is a confrontation there are enough of hiding places for the bullied cat to retreat to for protection and security.

I have experienced a similar situation of having to introduce two cats to each other but mercifully it was not going to be long term only 2 months so since their first confrontation was not on a very good note I opted to keep one cat locked in a room while the other cat was let out and vice versa.

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