Introducing Cats to a New Home

Adding a cat to your life is certainly an exciting time, one that needs to be a smooth transition for everyone! Moving home is quite the change for a cat, and it’s important not to be surprised if at first they’re not comfortable within their new surroundings. 

Remember, patience is key! Take it slow, give them time, and do your best to understand what their needs are, and what they’re comfortable with. With the right care, and nurturing, there’s no doubt that your cat will become accustomed to your home, and will soon start to show their personality.

We understand that it’s not common knowledge to know how to properly introduce cats to a new home, especially if it’s your first time. That’s why we’re here to give a helping hand to those who are unsure of how to ensure a stress-free transition, keep reading to find out more.

Create a Cat Sanctuary Room

Prior to bringing cats to a new home, you’ll need to ensure you’ve set up a safe room for your cat to stay in upon their arrival. A spare bedroom, or perhaps an appropriate-size bathroom, will serve as a worthy sanctuary in the opening stages of introduction.

This safe room should give your new cat privacy, and alone time to explore their curiosity, serving as a base to build up their courage leading up to them exploring the rest of your home. Their sanctuary shouldn’t have lots of people coming and going out of it, and it should ideally be quiet; interactions should also be kept to a minimum. Your cat should only need their safe room for the first few days, occasionally weeks - be patient!

Everything You’ll Need in Your Sanctuary

Your sanctuary should contain several essentials that your cat will need during their time spent there. This will make for a much more comfortable, positive experience for your cat, which is vital early on. Discover our list of essentials below:

• A litter box

• Food and water bowls

• A comfortable bed or a cat tree (dependent on the age of the cat)

• Scratching post

• Toys to play with

• Hiding spots (eg a cardboard box)

• A calming pheromone diffuser (optional)

Initial Introductions

When you first arrive home with your cat, it’s important not to overwhelm them. You should place them in their safe room as soon as you arrive home, and you should leave them there for a few hours, checking on them sporadically during this time. Your brief initial interactions with them should be gentle; speak to them in a soft voice, and provide them with treats to help build trust.

This will give your cat some time to adapt to their new environment on their own terms - some will remain shy and frightened, while other cats might immediately start exploring! Both outcomes are very normal, and all cats are different. If you find that your cat keeps hiding, this is something that you must let them do, try not to interfere, and remember to never force them away from their spot.

Gradual Easing

If your cat now seems to be a little more comfortable in their surroundings, you can start gradually easing them out of their safe room. This stage will begin depending on when your cat is ready to begin exploring the rest of their new home, but this usually comes after they start eating, using the litter box, and showing greater trust in you.

You can start by leaving their safe room door slightly open so that they can explore at their own desire - your cat won’t explore if they aren’t ready, meaning you should wait until they decide to leave their room themselves. Once they’ve decided it’s time to explore, you’ll need to supervise them through their first few ventures. 

These first few expeditions should be between you and your cat only, providing you’re the one who they’ve interacted with so far. Other family members, or pets, should not be in these rooms, as this can overwhelm your cat. To make exploring a little more inviting for your cat, you should make sure these rooms have something of interest for them, such as a bed, treats, or simply a place to hide. If you’re looking to find out how you can create a cat-friendly home, visit the article here.

Once they seem comfortable exploring your house, it’s time to get them accustomed to their new family!

Introducing Cats to Their New Family

This is the exciting part! There’s nothing like seeing a friendly first interaction between pets and your family, but first, there’s a few tips you’ll need to know to make this experience a positive one, which you can read below!

• Introduce family members one by one.

• Let your cat make the first move.

• Ensure your family members don’t become over-enthusiastic - keeping calm is important!

• Teach family members (especially children) to be gentle with your cat. (Especially make sure they don’t pick up your cat)

• Keep an eye out for aggressive behaviour, and intervene where necessary.

For additional information on introducing cats and children, read the article here!

Introducing Cats to Other Pets

If you already have pets in your home, you’ll also need to ease them into their first interactions. It’s important to remember that when introducing cats to a new home, this experience is not only stressful for them, but also to your other pets.

As your cat begins to wander out of their safe room, it can be a great idea to do what’s known as a “scent swap”. An example of this would be to place an item of your other pet into a room (e.g. a bed), and allow your cat to sniff out their scent so that the smell becomes familiar. While you’ve got your cat out of their sanctuary, you should also get your other pet(s) and place them in your cat’s sanctuary, letting them get used to your new cat’s scent.

Once you’ve followed this step a few times, you can now introduce your pets to one another! This should be done initially via a visual interaction, with you keeping control of both your new cat, and your other pets. Providing this interaction goes well, you can now start to allow short, supervised physical interactions. You should keep a close eye on these meetings, rewarding good behaviour with treats and praise, until you’re confident that your pets are now used to one another, and can live in harmony! 

Visit the link here for further guidance on introducing cats and kittens to other pets.

Establishing a Consistent Routine

Once your cat is settled, it’s time to start establishing a consistent routine that they can start to get used to. A balanced daily routine for cats should include:

• Consistent meal times - Feed your cat a high quality, meat-based diet in retrospect to their age, and health. Feeding times should be frequent, and consistent.

• Water - Your cat should always have access to fresh, clean water.

• Naps - You should allow your cat plenty of time for rest daily.

• Play time - Engage with your cat; you should spend time talking to them, playing with them, cuddling with them 

• Give outdoor cats some fresh air - If your cat is naturally more curious, and doesn’t like being stuck in the house, you should give them some time to explore the outdoors. Make sure they’re equipped with an ID tag at all times when outdoors.

• Grooming and hygiene - Incorporate a grooming session every so often to keep your cat clean and healthy. You should also ensure their litter box is scooped and cleaned regularly.

Keeping Your Cats Safe As They Explore

As you might be aware, cats are highly curious animals! Part of your preparation for introducing cats to a new home should be preparation, and safety precautions. One of the most important considerations should be for you to make sure that your cat is equipped with a durable ID tag displaying your contact information, so that your cat is identifiable in the case they find themselves lost! Even for cats around the house, ID is important - you never know if or when your cat is going to escape.

If you’re looking to keep your cat protected throughout years of adventures, check out our range of highly durable cat tags, designed to last through anything your cat throws at them! With our deep mill engraving, you can rest assured that their tag will remain readable no matter what. Make sure to explore your options here!

Other important safety precautions include:

• Creating an outdoor enclosure for your cat to get used to the outdoors.

• Training your cat with a harness or lead initially and taking supervised trips to a safe environment.

• Ensure that your cat is microchipped.

• Make sure they have up-to-date vaccinations.

• Consider spaying or neutering your cat.

Summary

We hope that we’ve managed to help you understand how to introduce cats to a new home! Most of the time, you should expect a smooth transition, especially when you follow all the steps that we’ve listed. That being said, be patient, be gentle, and give your cat all the time they need to adapt to their new circumstances.

Once again, we’d like to highlight the importance of enforcing your cat’s safety. If you haven’t yet thought about it, make sure your cat is retrievable in the case they wander off with a durable tag showing your contact information. If you’re looking for a durable solution, protecting your cat through years of adventures, visit the link here.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, make sure to get in touch with us at: sales@engravingstudios.co.uk or 01642 688990.