Whether you are bringing a bonded pair into your home or you are adding a new cat to your household, requiring an introduction to a formerly solitary cat, you need to make sure that you treat your cats with the care and respect they deserve. Here are some of the ways to ensure that you are looking after them properly.
Do the Paperwork
No matter how many cats you have, it is vital that you take care of some of the admin that comes with owning them. After all, you need to ensure that they are having as good a life as possible, and the only way to do so is to do your duties as a pet owner and ensure that you have what you need to take care of them.
For example, it is vital that you have a cat insurance policy on hand to help with some of the vet bills that you might accrue when looking after them. You should also look into other basics like microchipping your cats so you can keep track of them. Little tasks like these might seem inconsequential when you think about the myriad of things that goes into owning a cat, but they do all make a difference.
Introduce Them Slowly
If you are bringing a bonded pair into your home, you don’t have to worry about them needing to be introduced to each other. However, you do need to make sure that they are allowed to explore your home on their terms. Let them have a look around and a good sniff – they need to get a feel for your home and find some places where they can relax and feel safe.
If you are introducing two strange cats to each other, make sure that you take it slow. Keep them separated but allow them to smell and hear each other through the door. If they react positively or neutrally to each other’s presence like this, you can slowly work to introduce them and get them comfortable being around one another.
Watch for Bullying
You do, unfortunately, need to watch out for signs of bullying amongst your cats. You should want to live together as one happy household, but one cat might decide to take out its aggression on another. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your first cat will be the bully – sometimes it can be your new one!
There are plenty of signs of bullying that you could watch for, so make sure to keep a close eye on your cats. While play-fighting is pretty common, these fights can escalate and become quite nasty. Likewise, a bully cat might try to force another off of beds or other safe spaces. They could even try to prevent them from eating if you feed them together. Likewise, mutual washing and curling up together to sleep could be signs that your cats are indeed getting along. Don’t be put off by them appearing to fight a lot as it could be nothing more than play, but you do need to watch closely to make sure nothing else is going on.
Though cats are solitary creatures, they can benefit from a companion – especially if you will be out of the house working for most of the day. Don’t be disheartened if your cats take a while to warm up to each other – how would you like it if a stranger appeared in your home one day claiming to live there? Take your time and work with all of your cats so that you can live together in harmony.
