Animal Welfare Professionals

Does anyone have a surefire way to introduce a new cat to an established multi-cat family.  We are right now at the wheezing/slashing stage and would like to progress beyond that without injuries to anyone.

We have a protocol we follow that seems to help. We put the new cat in their own room, separate from all other pets in the home. They stay separate until all animals are calm and relaxed when around the door/each other through the door. Some tricks to help that along are to use feliaway calming diffuser, and to feed the cats on opposite sides of the door but at the same time. Once calm has been established (can take anywhere from an hour to over a month, depending on the household), then move to putting up a barrier like a baby gate. That way, they can see each other but not interact. Start over with the feeding, praise if they are calm near each other, etc. You may have to backtrack if looking at each other is too aggravating. Once the baby gate stage has consistently been going well, you can start letting them interact directly. All of this takes time and patience, but it typically works out. Once everyone has been integrated, you'll want to make sure there are multiple ways to get to "resources" like litterboxes, food and water. Every cat should be able to get to a resource without worrying about another cat. Hope this helps!

Thank you - this is great advice.  I will try to follow.

I have tried this protocol and recommended to adopters at my previous job as well.  While the cats are separated, I would also add to switch out their bedding.  Take whatever the cats are sleeping on and trade it.  I have a super cranky cat who does not like anyone, including her son cat who she has lived with for the past 14 years.  When my cat was about 7, we had a new roommate move in with her cat.  I totally thought it was going to be a disaster, but we went very slowly...very slowly....very, very slowly.  We put the new cat Zoe in my roommate's room while Mama had run of the rest of the house.  We switched out their bedding and feed them on their respective sides of the doors.  Mama isn't huge on food, so we also put catnip (which she loves) outside of Zoe's door.  The key is to find whatever the cats like to create a positive association with what is on the other side of the door--food, treats, toys, you, a special bed, Feliway, etc.  After about 3 weeks, we let them come out and sniff each other.  Of course, Mama swiped and hissed at Zoe and Zoe hissed back and ran away.  We separated them again and tried later that day.  After they were calm around each other, we let them have supervised visits ending in catnip.  After a week of supervised visits, we let them be together unsupervised.  They co-existed but were never friends.  We lived with Zoe and her mom for about 2 years without any major incidents.  

I do a very similar protocol, but would add what eby recommended about switching bedding.  I also like to plan for the worst and hope for the best, so I have added harnesses and leashes when taking the baby gates down (be sure to acclimate the cat to them beforehand!) and also keep some things handy just in case things get a little heated between the kitties.  I like a heavy blanket that I can toss on top of the agitated cat and then (carefully) scoop up cat and blanket to remove from the situation.  I had another client that used a clothes basket turned upside down to "catch"  the aggressor so that she could safely contain the situation if it got out of hand.  Remember cats need a long period of time to cool off if they get upset.  Don't expect them to be ready to make friends again in an hour.  Sometimes they need days to decompress first. 

(BTW, your "intruder" is adorable!)

My thoughts, 
Sara

BTW - here is the intruder.  She looks much sweeter than she acts with the residents.

She's quite the relaxed "intruder"!  

Remember too that there is a Feliway Multi-Cat now that is supposed to help more with this type of situation than the standard Feliway. How many other cats are in the home? I sometimes have success integrating first with one or two mellow cats before trying to integrate the whole group at once...

We just had this same challenge for one of our adopter families - we reached out to one of our team members and this is the response:

I was able to resolve it by installing two child gates providing a six-foot barrier between the cats. I fed them on each side of the barrier so they would get used to being next to each other and I was lucky with only a few instances they eventually learned to accept each other (they lived together for 12 yrs).  I looked up my recordings of Jackson Galaxy and he deals with aggressive cats in the episodes 5/20/17, 6/04/17 and 7/22/17. I presume there is a way to view those episodes on Animal Planet network (My Cat From Hell).  

Introducing a new cat to an established multi-cat family can be a challenging process, but there are steps you can take to help ensure a smooth transition. Here are some tips:

1. Isolate the new cat: Keep the new cat in a separate room with food, water, litter box, and toys for the first few days. This will allow the cats to become familiar with each other's scent without direct contact.

2. Exchange scents: Swap bedding or toys between the cats, so they can become familiar with each other's scent.

3. Controlled introductions: Once the cats seem comfortable with each other's scent, you can start supervised introductions. Allow them to interact for short periods of time, gradually increasing the duration.

4. Positive reinforcement: Reward good behavior with treats, toys, or praise. This will help the cats associate each other's presence with positive experiences.

5. Gradual integration: Once the cats can be in the same room without fighting, you can start to integrate them into the same living space. Be patient and take things slowly, allowing the cats to get used to each other at their own pace.

Remember that cats are individuals, and their personalities and temperaments can vary widely. Some cats may take longer to adjust to a new cat, while others may be more accepting. Keep a close eye on their behavior, and be prepared to separate them if necessary to avoid injuries. With patience and persistence, most cats can eventually learn to live together peacefully.