Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
shelter, a large multicat household or a cattery, it would be wise to iso-
late her from other cats for a minimum of a week to control the spread
of any contagious diseases.
Jealousy is a problem to address whenever a new cat joins the
household. Dogs and other cats are generally reluctant to share you
with somebody else. Give the existing animals lots and lots of attention
to ease the transition.
Proper cat introductions reduce conflict and stress. The first time
you bring a new cat home, you should confine her in her own room
with her own litter box, food and water.This enables the other animals
to sniff under the door to begin the introduction. If there is growling
or hissing from either side, talk gently and try to calm the animals.
Ideally, the initial separation should last a week.The next step is to place
the new addition in a carrier in the middle of a common area and allow
the other pets to see and sniff her. If all of the animals are calm, let the
new addition out of the carrier while you supervise everyone. After a
few incident-free, supervised meetings, let the pets to remain in contact
and leave the room; be sure to listen for any trouble. If things go well,
the successful introduction has been completed.
If you have a dog and are introducing a cat, start with the dog on a
leash.Your new cat may have never seen a dog before, and your dog may
never have had a cat in his house before, and it is hard to predict how
either will react. Most dogs are just curious and may quickly approach
a cat, but doing so can scare the cat. Don't leave dogs and cats alone
unsupervised until you are sure neither animal will cause problems.
Dogs like to eat cat food and cats like to eat dog food. Everyone
always wants what the other guy has. This is not dangerous, but each
species has different nutritional needs that must be met. In particular,
cats need a lot more protein than is found in dog food, and cannot live
on a diet that is predominantly dog food.
Another point to mention is that dogs like to get into litter boxes
and eat cat feces, so getting a covered box or placing it in an area less
accessible to the dog is recommended. Why does this unappetizing
habit occur? Probably because feline diets have higher fat and protein
contents, which leads to richer wastes!
There is no standard acclimation period with animals. Until you
feel totally comfortable with how all parties are handling the situation,
the new addition should be confined when not being supervised. Any
resident cats should not be immediately forced to share their food,
water or litter box with the new addition. This is another reason for
