Getting a new cat to adopt can be thrilling. Cats are, however, quite selective about the company they keep. Stress and behavioral issues can arise from an unexpected new presence in your cat’s environment. Because of this, it’s crucial to be careful with how you introduce your two cats to one another. If done poorly, they can have a lifelong animosity toward one another.
A cat may need eight to twelve months to make friends with another cat. In particular, unfixed male cats take longer to adopt a new feline. Additionally, they are more likely to get into physical fights. Female cats are less likely to fight one another, but they do regularly challenge one another. They might need less time to accept one another, but more time to resolve these quiet disagreements.
When introduced at an early age, kittens or cats may get along within a few weeks. While normal individuals are more inclined to loathe one another, older cats are more likely to disregard one another. Of course, depending on how you introduce them, your two cats may get along much better (or worse). Giving them space, discouraging aggressive behavior, and making an effort to keep a regular schedule should all be helpful. This could happen in as little as two to three months if you have two amiable adult cats.
How Long Does It Take Two Male Cats to Get Along?
Compared to their female counterparts, male cats prefer to spend more solitary lives. They will also set aside bigger areas of land for themselves. Unfixed males are much more territorial and protective of their space, according to the Journal of Veterinary Behavior. Your first cat might perceive a new male cat you bring into the house as a threat. The length of time it can take for male cats to get along is not predetermined. Male kittens or older males who have been neutered tend to get along much more quickly.
Cats will first show aggressiveness before getting into a physical altercation. By adopting this posture, the older cat is being intimidated into submission. Your cat may hiss, yowl, or puff up its fur at the other cat to get it to back off. However, if your new cat does the same, it might then start fighting with:
- Chasing
- Biting
- Scratching
- Swatting
- Screaming at one another
Additionally, your cat could become hostile if its area is being intruded upon. It may show other indications that it is prepared to attack rather than directly engaging the other cat. This may consist of:
- Pulling its tail close to its body and hunching down
- Rolling on its side slightly
- its ears are pressed against its head.
It’s best not to approach your cat or the other cat if it is in this position. Instead, keep the other cat and yourself apart from it until your irate cat calms down.
How Long Does It Take Two Female Cats to Get Along?
The Cat Care Clinic claims that female cats typically live in groups in the wild. In this colony, most of the females are frequently linked to one another in some way. This indicates that they are used to one another and depend on the group for resources. In their colony, a brand-new female cat would not be accepted at all. When you adopt several female cats, they might initially be wary of one another. They will however learn to get along much more quickly than if you put two male cats together. If both females are spayed before the meeting, this is especially true.
Yes, female cats may be just as aggressively territorial as male cats. They often posture and hiss at close rivals instead of fighting directly. Even if your cats get along and tolerate each other’s company otherwise, this can endure for a number of months. Nevertheless, you should make sure that every woman has a private area where she can hide if necessary. If a single female gives birth to a litter of kittens, one or more of the kittens can grow increasingly hostile against anyone who approaches them. That includes you and any previous friends the cat may have had. This is really a fundamental mother instinct acting. Once the kittens have been weaned, the aggression should subside. It is best to spay your cat as soon as possible after this as well.
Why Don’t Cats Get Along With Other Cats?
Cats are mostly lonely creatures when compared to other companion animals. They are capable of going on their own to hunt, eat, drink, and sleep; some even prefer it. This is particularly true if your cat was a stray or came from a violent household. In these situations, learning to be around you and your family is already quite the challenge. Your cat might become even more stressed if there is an additional cat in the mix. If you’re considering getting a new cat friend, there are a number of things to think about. These factors will influence your cat’s openness to receiving a friend:
- Your cat’s age
- If your cat has experienced cat and human socialization
- Your cat’s gender
- Where will you put your new cat’s enclosure
- Your cat’s personality and temperament
- How you introduce both cats to one another
- Your cat’s health conditions
- Territorial behavior
- Stress
- Lack of personal space
Will my cats ever get along?
One of the most challenging parts of owning numerous cats is teaching them to get along. You cannot make someone like what they already know they don’t like. Naturally, this does not imply that your cats will never get along. Just a little bit of patience on your part will do. Maintain a positive attitude toward your cat’s desire for a new pet. Your first cat might eventually learn to either ignore or tolerate the presence of the other cat.
You must let your cats create their own areas for themselves all over your home. Your cats will understand that they do not need to compete for resources if you provide multiple food bowls, drink bowls, litter boxes, and toys out for them to use. Instead, they can coexist peacefully knowing that they will be taken care of and provided for. Unluckily, some cats won’t even accept a new cat. Every time they even see the other cat nearby, they might actively try to bully, chase, or engage in combat with it. Everyone may experience stress as a result of this. If so, it might be best if one of these cats moved to a different house.
How to Get Two Cats to Like Each Other
It must be a patient and steady procedure to welcome a new cat into your family. You may have a good understanding of how your first cat thinks and behaves. It is difficult to predict what to anticipate with a new cat, though. It’s crucial to understand whether your new cat has been appropriately socialized with both people and other cats. Animals claim that highly socialized cats are more likely to approach people or other cats within 2 feet as contrasted to less sociable cats. It will also be more likely to welcome the approach of strange individuals, with or without strange animals. In contrast, cats who are less socialized with humans or other cats will exhibit a higher propensity to:
- Slink
- Crouch
- tense up when they are around people they don’t know
How long it takes for two cats to get along will also be greatly influenced by age. For example, fresh kittens won’t be keen to make friends with older cats who are used to being the only pet in the house. They might need even more time to adjust to the new cat in the area. This is especially true if your cat has never been socialized with other cats before.
Indeed, a kitten and an older cat tend to get along far better than siblings or kittens brought together from a young age. An older cat that can’t keep up or requires more rest may find the kitten’s enthusiasm to be very annoying. Adopting cats with similar personalities is essential because of this. Compared to cats that appear to be polar opposites, they have a higher chance of getting along.
Setting Up a New Cat’s Room
Your new cat must first be placed in a separate room with a food bowl, water bowl, and litter box. While you help your first cat get used to the smell of the new cat, keep the new cat in the room for a couple of days. You can let your cats get used to each other’s scent in a variety of ways:
- letting your cats stand close to the door of your new cat’s room when it is closed
- By using the same hairbrush or rubbing a cloth on both cats, you can combine their scents and give them each other’s scent.
- spraying artificial cat pheromones around their spaces lightly and at nose level
The cats will learn that their new companion is nothing to be afraid of if they receive treats every time they react favorably to the new scent. Even before they meet the new cat, they might come to expect treats and positive feelings from it. You should have enough time during this separation to get to know your new cat’s personality a little better. Additionally, it will give the new cat time to adjust to its new surroundings.
Letting Your Cats Meet
After a few days, you can let the cats to see one another, but keep them from getting too close. A excellent place to start would be to install a baby gate, wire fencing, or another transparent barrier. It is best to keep them apart for a few more days if they begin to hiss or try to scratch at the other cat through the barrier. However, feel free to reward them with treats if they both continue to be alert and observant. Show each cat that there is no threat by playing with them.
If they respond well to this, you can remove these constraints and allow them to communicate freely. It is important to keep an eye on both of them at this time. Give each of them the freedom to withdraw to their respective areas if they so want. Even if they don’t immediately start fighting, your cats might not exactly get along with one another. You will need to keep them apart for a few days when they become aggressive in order to reacquaint them with each other’s scent. This procedure might be tiresome. However, it’s essential if you want your cats to get along with one another in the future.
Signs Cats are Starting to Get Along
Cats will show affection for one another in a similar way to how they do for you. They generally do this by touching each other’s bodies with their faces. Your cat is actually marking the other cat as a friend or one of its own by rubbing against it. A cat’s sebaceous glands will coat an object in the cat’s distinctive scent. This can aid in separating the known from the unknown. The scent released by these glands, which are situated near its lips and chin, lasts for a considerable amount of time.
Your cat will trill or meow like it would with you if it thinks the new cat is a friend. In particular if the new cat is a kitten, it might also groom the existing cat. Cats dislike having anything or anyone close to their belongings. As a result, if your cat permits the new cat to sleep next to it, they have developed a strong friendship and mutual trust.
It is wise to temporarily separate your cats if you find they are suddenly having problems getting along. According to Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practices, you might need to ask your vet to check into behavioral therapy for your cats if this issue continues. If you’re genuinely stuck for ideas, your veterinarian can be very helpful in making your cats get along.
Cats Not Getting Along All Of A Sudden
It’s important to remember that not all cat fights are motivated by animosity. If both cats are still young, this may just be your cat’s way of playing with the other cat. How aggressively your cats are fighting will determine whether the conflict is real or just pretend. You need to separate them right away if one or both yell in pain when the other tackles or bites them. Never allow your cats to fight each other. Both cats may sustain injuries as well as develop resentment in the future.
Redirected Aggression
It’s possible that this aggression is being redirected. This suggests that your cat may have been irritated by anything else and is blaming your new cat for its stress. This conduct is obviously unacceptable. Your cat’s current rage needs to be directed toward something else in a calm manner, so try your hardest to find a solution.
Sickness
Another possibility is that one or both cats are ill, and the pain is causing them act out too much. Cats often conceal symptoms of sickness until they get worse. That’s because they consider this to be a sign of weakness that they cannot tolerate showing. You should contact your veterinarian right away if they exhibit any additional unhealthy symptoms. Bad indicators include:
- Refusing to eat or drink
- Lethargy
- Different litter box habits
To make sure both of your cats are healthy, try to schedule their appointments with the vet at the same time. They ought to get along after they feel better.
