Best Way to Get Acquainted with Your New Cat

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This is part two on the series on strategies for bringing home a new cat and creating an effective and smooth transition. Unfortunately, over the years doing pet rescue we did encounter some adopters who were too impatient. These folks just did not follow our directions and more often than not we ended having to go pick up the pet and try to rehome them again. All other adopters who followed our instructions never failed.

In the previous article we discussed strategies for prepping a safe zone space and making it super comfortable and very safe for the new cat or kitten. After this step comes the time to get your new kitty used to YOU.

The single greatest mistake new cat owners often make is they try to get acquainted with the new cat by initiating the contact. A common tactic is to reach under the bed to try and pet or grab the cat or kitten. This almost NEVER goes well. Another approach is to move towards the cat to pet them or pick them up which also often ends in the opposite result than what the human wanted. Sometimes just making direct eye contact for too long can make a cat uncomfortable.

The absolute best strategy that I have used for decades with ALL new cat encounters is to let the cat come to me first. I let them start the intro process whenever they feel comfortable enough to give it a try. Your best move with a new cat introduction is to go into their safe zone room and just sit or lay on the floor. Take in a book or device and just quietly read while sort of keeping an eye out for the kitty. This process can take a few minutes, hours, days, or possibly weeks. It WILL work you just have to be patient and let it happen. While doing this strategy a single person at a time will see results the quickest. It should be just one person and preferably the SAME person each time. During this period it is a great opportunity to observe your new family member to begin to get a sense of their personality. You won’t get a full view of their personality until later when they are more comfortable, but early on you can get a sense of it. It is also helpful that this person is the person bringing in the food too.

The ultimate goal is for the new cat to feel comfortable with a person and then use this person as a bridge to introduce other people and eventually other pets and the rest of the home.

Some scenarios that might play out is the new cat might come out and sit across the room and just watch you for awhile. They might position themselves under the bed or behind a chair or box you set up where they can keep an eye on you, but not be too exposed. In these situations it is best to restrain yourself from reacting too much and just keep relaxing and observe them back. Remember direct eye contact from you can be perceived as threatening by some cats. Watching them, but not directly facing them early can be more inviting for the cat to come closer. We want them to come close enough where there can be at least a little physical interaction. This will allow them to realize you are not a threat.

At some point in this delicate game the cat will get close enough where they can stretch to sniff you. This is a good sign and your patience is about to soon pay off. If they happen to be sniffing your hand I might extend one finger a bit and see what they do. If they stand their ground and continue sniffing you are making great progress. If they step back or retreat back to their safe spot, then just keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t get frustrated here it’s a process. Whenever the cat is initiating any interaction or contact you are definitely making progress. This part can go back and forth a bit or can progress fairly quickly depending on the cat’s history and personality.

If you are making some progress, but things seem to be moving super slow or even stopped you might try introducing a toy. A good toy to start with is a toy that encompasses a long handle with a toy at the end or even better a string attached to the handle with a toy connected at the end of the string. Sometimes a cat’s instincts to play/hunt kick in and you are no longer the primary focus. This allows them to interact in a positive fun way with you nearby. The cat will often then associate you with fun. This technique can be tried earlier in the intro process if you are dealing with a kitten. A kitten can often be distracted from their fear by engaging in play. Many kittens just can’t resist a chance for play. If you use a toy with a string just make sure you don’t leave it where the cat or kitten has access to it when you are not there with them. Other toys like a fuzzy mouse, ball, or similar items are fine and encouraged.

Eventually, especially if you are patient you will have success. Your new kitty will be approaching you more routinely and even allow you to touch and pet them. I really like to just sit on the floor and let them climb in my lap maybe while playing. This is a great way to engage and build up some serious trust.

Once you turn the corner and your new cat begins to trust you, then the fun starts as they start showing more of their personality and bonding with you. This is when you can start to introduce other family members or friends to your new family member. Just have them go in and sit next to you first. The kitty will most likely be shy or even scared. Just use the same techniques we have been discussing in this article. This introduction should go much faster because you have already built a foundation of trust. Since the cat trusts you and they see you trust the new person it makes things fairly quick and easy. However, some cats can get a little thrown by too many people nearby, especially in a smaller space. Some cats are not real fond of having more than a couple of people very close at any one time. If you sense this might be an issue just keep interactions to a couple of people at a time and then rotate if needed. This will probably improve over time, but it’s not 100%

A good rule of thumb is to let the cat set the pace on all interactions. Some love people others just prefer one or two. Cats are all different. One of the fun things of having a new cat is seeing what their personality is like and working with whatever works best for them.

Now that your cat totally trusts you it’s time to introduce them to any other pets you might already have. You need to do this step before you introduce them to the rest of your home. That will be the topic of the next article.