Worried about introducing a new cat to mine

by Glenn Graham
(Queensland. Australia)

I have a 3 year old Ragdoll female and a friend wants me to take her 2 year old male Burmese cat, they have both been fixed up.

The owner of the cat is an old lady and she is going into a nursing home, she has smothered the Burmese and is always nursing it and it bites her to get put down...
My question is, should I bring this cat into my home and how will it treat my Ragdoll.....


Reply
Hi
Ah well the answer could be how long is a piece of string.

Unfortunately there are no guarantees how two cats will get along. Sometimes the best you can hope for is a sort of truce where the cats just keep away from each other. However sometimes cats do just get along.

Cats who have been brought up with other animals all there life are more likely to get along with a new cat in the home, however it is worth a try.
One possible problem you may have is that if the other cat has been babied and allowed to behave in ways that are not conducive to a happy home, ie the hand biting, then you may have some general issues for yourself and the cat.

But the new cat is only 2 so he is very young still and so may not be totally set in his ways so there may be a possibility that with time these bad habits can be changed. Please see my page about cat discipline and how to teach a cat not to bite.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

As for how the two cats will get along. Well to try and make things easier for them you will need to take them through a period of introduction. I suggest that you keep the new cat in his own room for about a week before you start introduction. This gives him time to calm down and get used to the new home smells etc. Then you can start the process which should last for at least a week to give them a good chance of getting along better. The process is described here on my web site
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

As i say there are no guarantees and if after all your efforts they still do not get along then you may have to consider trying to find the new cat another home where he will be the only pet. But i wish you every luck and hope that the two cats can live together. Don’t worry too much about your own cat, she will need a period of adjustment as mentioned but she will be able to stick up for herself if need be.

Best wishes kate

PS Bella is gorgeous, you're very lucky to have her, I'm so jealous. :)

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