training tips Archives - Ontario SPCA

Adjusting to a new home can be a frightening and anxious experience for any cat, particularly if there is already a resident cat in the home who may also be stressed by the changes. Below are some tips and tricks to help your adopted cat to accept – and be accepted by – the rest of your furry family. We’ll also share tips to help your resident cat feel more comfortable with the transition as well.

Important notes

Don’t be discouraged if your new and resident cat(s) do not become immediate friends. It can take many cats eight to 12 months to develop a friendship. Others may never become friends and simply learn to live together comfortably.

While there is no definitive way to determine whether your cat will get along with a particular animal, often the cats that adjust easiest are those who have previously with other animals.

Regardless of the age or background of the cat you’ve adopted, they should be introduced to other animals gradually to help encourage appropriate and positive interactions. Prior to bringing a new cat home, check with your veterinarian to ensure all your resident pets are healthy. Your new addition to the family should also receive a clean bill of health before you bring them home.

Note: Keep in mind that while some cats will be able to breeze through each step after a short time, other cats will require longer at each step before they are able to take the introductions further. Be patient and allow your cat the freedom to move through each step at his or her own comfort level.

Step one: Creating a good first impression

During the early stages of the introduction period, it’s important that your new and resident cats can smell and hear one another but not touch. Introducing a sanctuary space to the new cat and ensuring your resident cat also has safe spaces can be very important. To prevent accidental face-to-face confrontations, keep your new cat in a medium-sized room or “sanctuary space” with their food, water, litter box and a bed. Plan for your cat’s arrival by ensuring your resident animals are temporarily separated until your new cat is in their room.

To help your furry friends associate positive experiences with one another, start feeding their meals on either side of the door to this room so they are in proximity. At first, their dishes should be placed at least a few feet apart on each side. If they remain calm, gradually move the dishes closer until they can eat comfortably standing directly on either side of the door. If either animal has a negative reaction, move the dishes further apart and repeat the process at a slower pace.

Allowing your furry friends to gradually become accustomed to each other’s scents is an important part of the introduction process. You can do this scent exchange by rubbing a towel on your new addition and putting it under the food dishes of the resident pets (and vice versa). You can also switch beds or sleeping blankets between your resident animals and your new cat.

Once these methods have been used to familiarize your animals with each other’s scents, and your new cat is eating regularly and using their litter box, move to the next step.

Step two: Allowing for sight introductions

Once you’ve returned your animals to their original designated parts of the house you can start the visual process. Use two doorstops to prop open the dividing door enough to allow your new and resident furry friends to see each other while eating. Do this supervised to ensure they do not interact directly. Over a period of days (or longer if necessary) try feeding your animals at a distance from the door.

You can gradually bring the dishes closer together if all cats display calm behaviours. Continue the scent swapping throughout. If either cat begins to display fear or aggression, attempt to distract them with higher value food or play and try again later at a further distance. Close the door when you are not there to supervise and ensure to remove all food.

Step three: Making the introductions (cat-to-cat)

When you first allow your cats to meet each other face-to-face, keep your resident cat distracted with play, food or pets and allow the other cat to enter the room. If you have two people, have the second person do the same. If either animal becomes fearful or aggressive, distract them away from each other or separate them, and start back at step one taking small, gradual steps forward again.

Continue to do small sessions together daily and slowly increase the amount of time the cats are together, using distraction when possible if they become uncomfortable.

When the cats are actively spending time together you can begin to allow them freedom when supervised, being sure to watch for fearful behaviours. Slowly allow them more time together until they can be left alone. If you are having issues with introductions, separate your pets and contact your veterinarian or a positive reinforcement-based animal behaviour expert immediately for assistance.

To help ease the adjustment period for your cats, ensure that you have one extra litter box than there are cats (e.g. two cats = three litter boxes).This helps keep the resident pets’ schedules close to what they were before the newcomer’s arrival and helps prevent out-of-box elimination that may occur with sharing of litter boxes.

For tips on making cat-to-dog introductions, visit our blog here!

If this information was helpful, please help us continue to educate about pet health and well-being by making a donation. As a registered charity that does not receive annual government funding, the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society depends on the generosity of donors to change the lives of animals in need.

Planning to bring home a new dog? Here are some helpful adoption tips for dog-to-dog introductions.

Introducing two unfamiliar dogs can be an exciting and stressful event for all involved, but with a solid plan in place, you can help things go smoothly and facilitate a lifelong friendship.

Important tips:

Leave your current dog at home when you pick up your new dog. This is a safer idea for everyone involved. Managing the interaction of two new dogs while you are driving a car will not be possible and could cause tension in the confined space of your vehicle.
Don’t make any unnecessary stops on the way home.
Recruit a helper(s) for the introduction. You will need two people; one to handle each dog.
Have treats available to reward and encourage good behaviour!
Plan for the introduction to take place in a neutral setting (park, open field, parking lot). Allowing one dog to have the “home court advantage” is unfair.

Step 1: Introductions/getting started

Take a walk together. The goal of this step is to release some nervous energy and get the dogs feeling calm and happy around each other.

Take the dogs on a walk in the neutral setting, keeping a safe distance between them (two to four metres) to prevent the leashes from tangling and the dogs from greeting each other just yet. This will help them relax and adjust to each other’s presence.
Both dogs should be on sturdy leashes handled by calm, relaxed adults.
Try to keep the leashes slack as you walk. Tension or tightness may translate as stress on your part and cause the dogs to become anxious in response.
Provide treats or praise to both dogs to reward good behaviour while walking.
If all is going well, allow them to meet, sniff each other, check each other out, again ensuring you keep the leashes as slack as possible. Provide verbal encouragement such as “Good dogs” or “Good job.” Keep your treats in your pocket for this part.
When first meeting, dogs will gradually sniff down one side, to the rear, and back up the other side, both sniffing each other at the same time. Beware of nose-to-nose greeting, as this can be intimidating for some dogs.
Continue the walk closer together, allowing short moments of contact between the dogs as you walk.

Step 2: Initiate a short, monitored play session

If the dogs have made it this far without lunging, growling or showing signs of distress towards one another, you can proceed to letting them interact more freely with each other. Keep your treats in your pocket for this part; a dropped treat could cause conflict between the dogs.

It may seem counterintuitive, but it is best to drop the leashes and allow a bit of freedom here. Take them to a large, enclosed area like a fenced yard or quiet park – the more space, the less tension there will be.
Drop their leashes, resist your urge to micro-manage, and allow them to investigate each other. As they approach, watch their body language closely. They may puff themselves up or even vocalize a bit, but neither dog should appear frightened or overly aggressive.
Try not to hover over the dogs and keep yourself moving – both people should walk around separately, keep things light, and continue to offer verbal praise.
Give them about two or three minutes to get to know one another without interference.
If play is initiated between them (i.e. the dogs try to play by pawing or play-bowing with their legs stretched out in front of them), allow them to continue, and give praise for each nice interaction.
Even if they are playing and getting along well, keep it short. It is best to end these initial sessions on a positive note.

Step 3: Taking things inside

Once at home, allow the new dog to enter the house first so he can have some time to explore the new space without the resident dog interfering.
Make sure all treats, toys, food bowls and bones are out of reach and out of sight to prevent conflicts.
Be sure to feed them and give them treats separately until they have developed a secure relationship.
Set the new dog up with a safe space blocked off from other pets and family members so he has a place to decompress when feeling overwhelmed. Keep each interaction between the two dogs short and pleasant and separate them immediately if tensions arise.

With these tips in mind, we hope you enjoy this special time with your new furry family member!