Introducing a new cat to existing pets is our focus today. But first, I’ve been asked to introduce myself, so perhaps some of you missed the intros in the first blog. I’m Anneke Malan, and I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. I’m passionate about all animals, but especially cats. More bio details are to be found in Cat Blog 1 – https://iamcat.blog/hey-cat-lover-this-is-for-you/.
In these Cat Blogs, I would like to share everything I’ve learned about our beloved cats with you. I’m doing so in the form of responses to questions I’ve received in the past, or questions that I receive from YOU! So please keep your thoughts and questions coming! Each Cat Blog also contains a Cat Story about specific cats or cat colonies and about new or on-going cat welfare projects in South Africa.
Cat Blog 5b
Introducing a new adult cat
You’ve taken the leap of kindness and brought a new adult cat home. Firstly, thank you and bless you! There are so many adult cats sitting for months or even years in shelters, waiting in vain for that special person. Thank you for being that special person!
Preparing a room
To ensure that this adoption goes well, keep your new cat strictly indoors for at least two weeks. This is essential for their safety. Begin by confining him or her to one tranquil room of your house for several days – perhaps a guest room or a study. Remember to keep windows completely closed – cats can, and will, escape through the smallest crack! Sprinkle valerian powder all around the room (sold under the trade name Happy Cat – https://www.takealot.com.) More info in Cat Blog 3 – https://iamcat.blog/how-do-i-move-house-with-my-pet-cats/ Don’t let him or her come into contact with your existing pets at all. Negative first impressions can be difficult or even impossible to correct later.
When we adopted Lily, my hubby constructed a simple, large cage for her in our living room. Initially I covered the sides with blankets to allow her to settle in without being disturbed by our other pets. Then gradually they were all allowed to see and eventually also sniff one another. After several weeks we begin leaving the door of the cage ajar, so that Lily could come and go as she pleased while we were present.
Provide the new girl or boy with fresh food and water and a clean litter box, and if possible a radio. Spend as much time with her or him as you can without neglecting your other pets. After several days, slowly introduce your new cat to the rest of your house. Don’t let her or him come into contact with unfamiliar pets yet, however, until they’ve become used to all the smells, sights and sounds of their new home.
Go slowly – very slowly
When introducing a new cat to existing cats, the biggest mistake we can make is rushing things. Begin by exposing the ‘old’ cat to the smell of the ‘new’ cat by rubbing a piece of cloth over the new cat and letting the old cat smell it. Then rub another piece of cloth over the old cat and let the new cat smell it. Subsequently apply both smells to the same cloth and present it to both the old and the new cat. Keep doing this until neither of them react to it. Lastly add your smell to the piece of cloth (push it down your T or bra and keep it there for a while).
Your next step is mixing a teaspoon of used litter with the other cat’s litter.
When the new cat has settled down a little, allow the old cat and the new cat to see one another for short periods. Try to ensure that this happens through a barrier of glass or mesh. (Installing a mesh door in the room the new cat is in or in a passage is an inexpensive yet effective method. This allows the cats to get used to each other without feeling threatened.) If possible, sprinkle Happy Cat (see details above) on both sides of the barrier. This will ensure that the cats associate a blissful, calming experience with one another.
Then give both cats treats in full view of one another, to ensure more pleasant conditioning. (Make sure they’re hungry beforehand.)
Later, apply ‘timesharing’ overnight. Keep one cat in the room and let the other one out in the rest of the house, and swap them around the following night. Allow them to see each other through the barrier of glass or mesh for gradually longer periods until they settle down completely. At last, after several weeks, remove the barrier – and try to remain calm yourself!
Introducing your new cat to your dogs
If you have dogs, introduce them one by one to the newcomer after the initial settling-in period described above. Keep boisterous dogs on a leash at first. Make sure that you are present when the animals first meet as well as for the first several weeks thereafter, until you’re completely sure they’ve accepted each other.
If you’ve been planning a holiday, it’s a great plan to put the old and new cat(s) in a cattery together. Do this before bringing the new cat home. Cats tend to accept one another much more easily on neutral ground. Remember to explain the situation to the cattery owner, though, so that he or she can keep an eye on your pets. Then, when you take all your cats home, keep the new one indoors as described above. You could then allow the ‘old’ cat(s) to visit the new cat several hours a day.
Introducing your new cat to the great outdoors
After several weeks, start introducing your new cat to the garden, an hour or so at a time, under supervision. It’s also a good idea to teach your cat which window to use to get into and out of the house. Physically guide him or her through the window several times. Once your pet is completely at home, keep this window ajar at all times. Alternatively, have a pet door installed in one of your outside doors.
Lastly I can really recommend that you also watch the inimitable Jackson Galaxy at https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=jackson+galaxy+introducing+cats#kpvalbx=_ELJwY-KcIKeEhbIP9eiIuAE_25 and on other sites.
Now all that remains, is for you to enjoy your new cat!
[Our thanks to Dr Quixi Sonntag for her valuable contributions.]
Cat quote of the week
One cat just leads to another.
Ernest Hemingway
Cat Story 9
Harties Feral Cat Rescue and the story of Maya
This is a feel-good story, but like many feel-good stories, it begins badly.
Maya was found in a rubbish bin with her siblings. She was the only survivor. So we won’t dwell on how they came to be there or who had left them there. Rather we will look at what happened to Maya after she was rescued. Because then her luck changed completely. Her kind saviours took her to the home of Joanne Kontaxopoulos-Rabe, founder of Harties Feral Cat Rescue. This truly remarkable woman and her team had taken on the care of the community cats in the greater Hartbeespoort Dam area in South Africa.
Even though Joanne (known as ‘Jo’ to her colleagues and her many admirers) was already drowning in rescued kittens, she took Maya in without a moment’s hesitation. And although Maya was clinging to life, Jo was determined to pull her through. And she did!
After lovingly nursing Maya back to health and happiness, Jo decided that she was ready to join the other kittens that were up for adoption. But there was a problem. None of the kind people who came to adopt kittens noticed Maya. It seemed as though she was simply not remarkable enough – the other kittens always seemed to outshine her.
But then one day, a special lady named Marietta came to adopt a kitten. She was struggling with some health issues of her own, and so a wonderful thing happened – she really, really SAW Maya! In that moment, Maya’s future was decided. She would go home with Marietta, and the two of them would live happily ever after.
They’ve been loving one another ever since.
Of course Maya is only one of the thousands of kittens and cats that Harties Feral Cat Rescue have helped since their inception in 2017. Their achievements are myriad. Caring for approximately 1200 community cats in the Harties area, they have already sterilised over 4000 as far away as Brits and Rustenburg. This in itself is truly an almost super-human achievement! They have also homed 500 kittens rescued from their colonies.
The organisation is fully volunteer run – a registered non-profit, public benefit organisation devoted to stop the uncontrolled breeding of free-roaming cats.
They formulate their vision as being to live in a community where no kittens are born on the street and where no free-roaming cats lack food, water and shelter. Their mission is ‘to improve the lives of feral cats and eliminate the suffering of uncontrolled breeding by humanely trapping, neutering and returning (TNR) them to their outdoor homes’ (https://hartiesferalcats.co.za/).
‘We will never give up the fight to provide them with a better life,’ they vow.
Can you help them? See https://hartiesferalcats.co.za/donate/
Contact details:
Harties Feral Cat Rescue
072 681 5556
info@hartiesferalcats.co.za