Many cat lovers think about having more than one pet. The reasons may be different, for example, when choosing a kitten you liked another one.
Or there is a stray cat on the street and you want to take it home, but your pet is already waiting for you at home.
But owners often hesitate whether two cats will get along in the same apartment.
The nature of dislike
Each cat has its own territory, which it jealously guards. Fighting for their territory is more typical of male cats.
Because of this, two male cats in the same apartment may not accept the presence of each other at all and constantly fight, despite all the efforts of the owner to make them friends. This is especially true for cats with a fighting instinct.
Two female cats living in the same house can also compete with each other, especially for the love of the owner.
Reconcile or make friends?
How to get a male cat and a female cat living on the same territory to get along? And is friendship even possible between them? Of course! It is believed that spayed and neutered cats get along best, since they are not so fiercely guarding their territory. The chances of success of a couple consisting of a female cat and a small kitten are also high.
However, there are exceptions to all the rules. Relationships between female cats may not work out. But the situation can be remedied.
Before you reconcile two female cats, you need to isolate them from each other for a while, and then re-introduce them, following all the advice of experienced owners.
The question of how to make friends of two male cats in the same apartment can be unambiguously answered as follows: have two male kittens at the same time.
It is best to take kittens from the same litter. At the same time, the fact that cats have grown up side by side does not guarantee the complete absence of periodic conflicts between them.
But most likely in this case it will be possible to avoid many difficult situations. When kittens grow up together, they often share a bed and even a toilet. They play a lot together.
It is also noted that cats who have grown up together are not very picky about food. What one eats, most often the second will eat.
If you settle another kitten or even an adult cat to the pets that have grown up together, they will take it easier than a pet that was the only owner of the territory.
How to adopt a newcomer
The situation in which another pet is put in to the territory of the other sometimes causes much more difficulties.
Wrong actions of the owner can lead to mutual hostility of cats.
For a new pet, you need to buy your own: bowls for food and water; litter tray; scratching post; toys.
You also need to arrange a sleeping place for the newcomer. It should be far from the place where the old-timer usually sleeps.
The perfect choice is to isolate the new cat for the first time in a separate room with everything it needs.
The next step to reconciling two cats in the same apartment is to get to know each other’s smells. Take two soft rags (you can use two clean socks). Stroke the newcomer with one of the rags, paying special attention to the area of the cheeks, chin, nose. Then stroke the old-timer with the second rag in the same way.
Place the rag of the new cat on the territory of the old-timer, and vice versa. The cats will be able to sniff the source of the scent in peace.
After the smells of each other have been studied, you can give the new pet the opportunity to explore the territory.
To do this, the old-timer should be locked in a separate room, and the newcomer should be released. After it sniffs everything and examines the situation, it should be closed again in the room chosen for it. The next day, you can exchange rooms between pets.
Introducing a new cat
Gradually, you can increase the time when cats are with each other. The owner should be extremely careful: at the slightest signs of dissatisfaction or irritation, the newcomer should be isolated for the time being.
Getting to know cats can take a long time. But getting to know each other gradually, pets are likely to find a common language.
Erroneous actions
Here are some mistakes that the owner can make when introducing cats to each other.
- Give animals the opportunity to get acquainted themselves, not to interfere with the process. For a newcomer such an acquaintance will also be a big shock, because it does not know that the territory is already occupied. A fight can start between the animals, and in the future persistent hostility appears.
- Don’t prepare for a new cat everything it needs. It is naive to think that a cat who lives in the house and considers itself the owner will want to share its food bowl and litter tray with a new pet. Also, each animal should have its own bed and toys.
- Allow a new pet what is forbidden to the old-timer.
- Pay less attention to the cat that lives in the house longer. If the owner is more attentive to the new cat, jealousy will arise.
Was it necessary and worth it?
Facing the difficulties of introducing cats to each other, some owners regret having made the decision to have another cat. However, if the cats get along with each other and are friends, they will give the owner twice as much positive, love and affection.
Conclusion
So, it can be difficult to reconcile such wayward animals as cats with each other on the same territory. The owner must be willing to make an effort and spend some time on it.
We have an adult male cat and a young female cat. I remember how some years ago my mother brought home a homeless kitten. We introduced them to each other gradually, but since it was a harmless kitten, the cat treated her well, without aggression. Now she licks him often and they play together. They have fun together while the owners are not at home.