A new cat or kitten has stolen your heart and want to adopt! That is wonderful until you think about the adoptive cat that is already at home at home. How will he or she react to a newcomer? Why do problems arise when a new cat enters a home? There are some scientific reasons for it.
To better understand a cat’s mind, we need to observe the evolution of cats for thousands of years and how they survived all that time. It is also useful to take a look at dogs also to compare. Before being domesticated 30,000 years ago, dogs were packing animals that extended in wide areas that sought food. The cats, on the other hand, were on the other side. Their nature as hunters taught them to stay to a specific territory where there is little competition for the dam. Leaving that established “homemade territory” could put a cat in danger of the cat in whose territory they wander and larger hunting animals. Both possibilities could mean serious injuries or death to a cat. Then, cats learned that remaining within their area of known origin is good and that it must be protected.
Modern cats carry this instinct in them today. Paws.com describes it in this way:
“Wild and free -range cats carry complex and occupied lives. They maintain much larger territories than most people believe, and these territories often contain a variety of environments, such as forests, cultivation lands, urban gardens and courtyards. Within these territories, cats explore, hunt and hunt alone. They can only occasionally interact with other cats. It is to consider this natural behavior of cats, it is not Surprising that it may be very difficult to introduce a new cat in the territory of an established cat, even when that territory is its home. “
Today’s domestic cats have territories that could be a house or apartment with four walls and many rooms, but for them it is the same as the open space that their ancestors lived and hunt in thousands of years ago. That makes it easier to understand why a resident cat might not react well to a new cat in its territory. The genre of cats also plays a role. A rescued cat can feel particularly threatened by male cats at home, even castrated men.
To the hereditary trends of cats we need to add what has changed since cats domesticate 10,000 years ago. Love and affection between a cat and his human is another aspect of life that can be threatened when a new cat arrives home. Each cat has an individual personality that is formed by genetics, as well as the type of life they have led. Some cats receive a lot of love and human attention from the kitten. Others have led a much harder life. It is true that most rescued cats have completely hidden past that can include many things that influence their behavior, such as injuries or fights with other cats before being rescued. Both factors influence how cats act in our homes today.
Your cat can be very loving and sweet to you, but when you bring another cat home, all that can change. You want to love and care for both cats, so what are you doing? There are so many suggestions and products to help it can be confused to know where to start. In the heart of all of them is this: the keys to introducing a new cat in a home where another cat is firmly established are time, patience and surveillance.
The most important thing is to make this introduction very slow. Do not assume that your cat will be happy to have the company of another feline! A successful strategy is to bring the cat home and put it in a room in your house keeping the door closed. Make sure the new cat has a sand, food and water box, and any blanket or beds with which it is familiar. You may want to keep a radio on the room for when you are not there. For your other cat, it is essential to keep your routine and offer additional affection. While this happens, each cat will begin to smell the other cat.
This stage must continue whenever necessary for the house of the house to get used to the idea that a new cat is there and understands that your life is not changing: food and attention will continue there when you want and wait for you. When you feel that both cats are comfortably aware of the other, move the new cat to a different room but leave the door open. Your cat can enter and smell the bedding and garbage box. If you can assure the existing resident cat, this could be a good time to let the new cat have the opportunity to walk in parts of the house where the other cat has been. According to his reactions and his judgment, this could be the time for a face to face or more time can be requested in separate spaces.
When a more direct meeting is possible, it is sometimes a good idea to place the new cat in a box in the room where the resident cat spends time. That offers protection for both cats and that the resident cat feels that its space is still yours. BCR sometimes uses this technique when introducing a cat in a new room. Most BCR cats are used to living with many other cats, so it is not unusual when a new cat arrives, but for the new cat, living with other cats can be a great adjustment. A good example is BJ, our new positive leukemia child. He lived as a street and probably had to compete for food with other cats. He goes to room 1 and, to relieve his adjustment, he is spending time in a large box (with food and a sand box) to allow him to get used to cats there and them. (BJ is in the photo above with Alyson.) When the staff feels that it is time, BJ will not need the box and can live with the cats in their room.
A great suggestion during face to face is to give both cats a reason to feel positive on each other. Giving them sweets is a suggested way of doing this as they are playing with them. When they are in the same room, do something with each of them that you know they enjoy. Throughout this process, you must pay special attention to the signals that both cats are giving you the others. Aspca.com You have a great list of things you can do to maintain this process in the future in a positive way:
• Never let the cats “fight”. Cats do not solve their problems through the fight, and the struggle generally worsens. Interrupt the aggression with a strong applause from your hands or sprinkle a water gun.
• Neutral cats. Intact males are particularly prone to aggressive behavior.
• Separate your resources. Reduce competition between cats by providing multiple and identical food bowls, beds and sandboxes in different areas of your home.
• Provide additional hangers. More spots and hidden hangers will allow their cats to separate as they prefer.
• Do not try to calm or calm your aggressive cat, just leave it alone and give it space. If you approach, she could turn and redirect her aggression towards you.
• Reward the desired behavior. Praise or throw the treats to reward their cats when he sees them interacting in a friendly way.
• Try pheromones. You can buy a product that mimics a natural cat smell (which humans cannot smell), which can reduce tensions. Use a diffuser while solving the problem of aggression.
We all hope that the long and focused introduction of two cats will work, but sometimes that is not the case. A new cat can bring so much trauma beyond a new home that makes the adjustment seem impossible. The aggression can explode between cats and tension could also trigger behavior in the generally quiet resident cat. That is time to call additional help. Your veterinarian can rule out any physical problem and may recommend that you communicate with an applied certified animal behavior (CAAB or ACAAB) or a veterinary behaviorist certified by the Board (DIP ACVB). These people are trained to search for subtle signals in animals that we could lose and to point out where we can help our cats be dismissed.
Wanting to adopt a cat that needs it is something wonderful, but you should always end up taking into account the pets you already have in mind. The goal is a happy and peaceful kingdom in your home. Cats are complicated creatures that thousands of behavior and their own life experiences live every day, whether they are lost or happy in a loving home. You need patience, love and, when you need it, additional help to unite happy and safe cats. Click on the links below to obtain some additional ideas and resources.
CLICK HERE To read a detailed timeline for Paws.com presentations.
CLICK HERE To read the story of Aspca about different types of feline aggression and how to address them.
CLICK HERE To obtain general information on the presentation of CAT of the human society of the United States.
He reached the rescue with one wounded legBestdfiendsfelines
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He loves curling up in his adoptive motherBestdfiendsfelines
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Baker and IrwinBestdfiendsfelines
He has cured very well and should not need surgeryBestdfiendsfelines
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Happy and lovedBestdfiendsfelines
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