Processing the New Cat
There is no rushing the process.
Engrave it on the door, blizzard the kitchen with notes, or tattoo it on the hand that is reaching for the doorknob of the mysterious room. We are ready for the new cat. We picked out the new cat. We can’t wait to play with them and discover all the facets of their personality. But we are not the issue here.
There’s others whose world is being rocked far more greatly than ours is, and if we don’t want them to return the favor, we will give them all the time they need. The new cat is dealing with enough just by arriving. Play with them in their room to get to know them while keeping their new input to a minimum.
If we push the established cats into an opinion, they will err on the side of caution and decide this was a tremendously bad idea. They can’t help it. They are cats. They are always going to go with “the devil they know.”
The key to happy introductions is to let curiosity trump all other emotions.
Realizing the mysterious room has created another cat will start a storm of thoughts in the established cat’s heads, and, being cats, their first impulse will be to regard this development as a negative one. They will need time to sort through all their reactions, come to conclusions, and see what happens next.
What should happen next is: Nothing.
Life goes on. We go in and out of the mysterious room. The new cat’s scent is on our hands and clothes, and we allow them to smell it, but only if they want to. The food still shows up and the playtimes continue. Any dreadful expectations the cats might have will fade as the cats conclude that, at least as of now, nothing has really changed. Their fears will quiet with nothing to feed them, and curiosity will start to dominate their thinking.
Once they exhibit interest in the door without displays of fear or irritation, this is the point where we allow a cat to declare, “I’m going in.”
We don’t even have to figure out which cat will first venture in. If we have more than one established cat, the cats will allow the bravest, that is, the least frightened, to be the cat who keeps asking to come in.
We should choose a time when the house is quiet, New Cat is fed and played with, and things are generally as calm as possible. This time, when we go in, a cat will come in with us. It’s important to see how New Cat reacts to this invasion of their territory. If New Cat is young or eager for social interaction, New Cat won’t care. They will immediately start making overtures to Brave Cat. How Brave Cat responds is up to them.
If things go well, let them go well. If things don’t go well, open the door to let Brave Cat out. They will want to go. If we think it’s a possibility that New Cat will want Brave Cat to leave and Brave Cat won’t want to go, stand by with a spray bottle to help persuade Brave Cat it’s time to leave the room.
We can let the two cats interact until tensions start to rise, then we let the cats part. No matter how well things are going, we must call an end and let each cat back into their own space for overnight or when we are not there to supervise. We should not leave them alone together at this early stage, because our presence soothes both cats and lets them feel nothing too bad is going to happen.
So it goes. If Brave Cat emerges from the mysterious room intact, this will reassure any other cats. Each time cats interact and nothing bad happens, everyone feels better. Soon, New Cat is, at least, no longer new. The mysterious door is opened more and more, and finally left open so New Cat can, if needed, retreat to their territory.
Even if we feel are taking two steps forward and then one step back, that is progress. It will eventually get us to where we want to be; a home with one more cat, and no added problems.
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A cat training philosophy that stresses communication.
