July 16, 2019
How Do You Integrate and Introduce a Kitten to Your Family? ðū
Bringing a new kitten into your home could be a special and exciting time for all members of the family except for your current cat. No matter how good-natured your current cat is, it can be quite territorial when it comes to accepting a new member to the family. Your current cat can become jealous when the new member is getting all the attention of the family. There are many ways of introducing your new kitten to the family without casing any sibling rivalry. Here is how to integrate and introduce a kitten to your family.
The first step is to prepare your home for the arrival of the new kitten. You can do this by either taking a blanket or a new toy to the pet shop and get the kitten's scent rub on it. Leave the blanket or toy around the house for your current cat to become familiar with the scent of the new kitten. This is important because when the kitten and the cat first meet, the cat will be familiar with the scent of the new member. That way the sibling rivalry will diminish to a certain extent. The new kitten should be kept in a separate room for the first couple of days of arrival. The kitten should have her own water bowl, bedding, toys, and food bowl for the first few days.
On the arrival date of the new kitten, keep the existing cat in another room with her favorite things. Give the new kitten a quick tour of the premises in order to make her familiar with the environment and settle her into a separate room. Now get the resident can out of its room and let it smell your hands - covered with the scent of the new kitten. Give the cat some treats to comfort it and show that there is a connection between the new scent and good things happening. Swap the food bowls and bedding of the two cats and let them become familiar with each other's scents for the next couple of days.
As they become comfortable with each other's scents, allow the cats to explore their individual territories while still keeping them apart. The best time to make both cats meet is at mealtime. This should happen at a time when the desire for food overcomes all other distractions. As the two cats meet for the first time, you should expect some hissing and growling. You should be ready to separate the pets in case they go into a full-scale fight. But if you have done the preparation work correctly, the pets will recognize each other to co-exist under such circumstances.
After the first mealtime, you should separate the two cats once again until the next mealtime. You should gradually increase the time the cats spend together. Treat both cats equally at all times. These are important things to consider when introducing a new kitten to the family when you already have a cat in your home.
The first step is to prepare your home for the arrival of the new kitten. You can do this by either taking a blanket or a new toy to the pet shop and get the kitten's scent rub on it. Leave the blanket or toy around the house for your current cat to become familiar with the scent of the new kitten. This is important because when the kitten and the cat first meet, the cat will be familiar with the scent of the new member. That way the sibling rivalry will diminish to a certain extent. The new kitten should be kept in a separate room for the first couple of days of arrival. The kitten should have her own water bowl, bedding, toys, and food bowl for the first few days.
On the arrival date of the new kitten, keep the existing cat in another room with her favorite things. Give the new kitten a quick tour of the premises in order to make her familiar with the environment and settle her into a separate room. Now get the resident can out of its room and let it smell your hands - covered with the scent of the new kitten. Give the cat some treats to comfort it and show that there is a connection between the new scent and good things happening. Swap the food bowls and bedding of the two cats and let them become familiar with each other's scents for the next couple of days.
As they become comfortable with each other's scents, allow the cats to explore their individual territories while still keeping them apart. The best time to make both cats meet is at mealtime. This should happen at a time when the desire for food overcomes all other distractions. As the two cats meet for the first time, you should expect some hissing and growling. You should be ready to separate the pets in case they go into a full-scale fight. But if you have done the preparation work correctly, the pets will recognize each other to co-exist under such circumstances.
After the first mealtime, you should separate the two cats once again until the next mealtime. You should gradually increase the time the cats spend together. Treat both cats equally at all times. These are important things to consider when introducing a new kitten to the family when you already have a cat in your home.