Adding an additional pet to a household can be a great way to give your current pets some friendly companionship and entertainment. However, in many cases, a smooth transition can be a challenge for pet owners.
When families take the time to help new pets get acquainted and coexist, the age-old phrase ‘fighting like cats and dogs’ doesn’t have to apply! In this guide, we’ll explain how to introduce a new pet into a multi-pet home using a patient, careful approach. This is the best way to ensure an easy transition and a lifelong bond between your animals—even if they’re different species.
Tips for Introducing Pets for the First Time
If you know from the beginning that you want to have multiple pets, especially if you want both cats and dogs, the easiest way to ensure a good relationship is to get both of them together when they’re young. Young animals will find it far easier to adjust to living together, and are much more likely to be friends for life.
While young animals definitely adapt the fastest, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to introduce animals of different ages, too. The main thing to keep in mind when introducing a new cat or dog to an older pet is to learn all you can about the breeds of your animals and their previous experience. If the shelter where you adopted your dog tells you that they don’t like cats, for example, it’s probably not wise to adopt a kitten. Likewise, if your cat was terrorized by big, scary dogs in a previous household, it’s doubtful they’ll coexist happily with a puppy.
If there’s nothing in your pets’ histories to suggest that they can’t get along with a new animal, you can go ahead and try to make the first introductions. There are three main principles of doing this to keep in mind:
- Take Your Time – Getting a cat and a dog (or even two cats or two dogs) to like each other can take a long time. Set your expectations accordingly, be patient, and don’t force things or rush them along.
- Supervise the First Few Meetings – This is especially important during the first introduction, but you should be present every time your pets meet until you’re certain they can coexist. This prevents fights, sparring, and injury.
- Get Help – In some cases, you might need to physically separate two animals from each other at first. The best way to do this is to enlist the help of a friend or relative to supervise and protect the animals. You may even need professional help to train all parties involved.
With these principles in mind, let’s dive into specific strategies to help with a smooth introduction. By keeping these strategies and best practices in mind, you’ll increase the odds of your new pet getting along with your current ones, ensuring a tight bond, or at least a harmonious coexistence.
Keep Pets Separate
At the introduction, hold the animals or leash them, have them meet at eye level, and keep them some distance from each other. Gradually allow them to come closer, but not within reach of each other. Don’t worry if there is some hissing or barking. You can also guarantee the safety of both pets by putting a baby gate or another obstacle they can see and smell through between them.
Restrict the Time
Limit the initial meeting to five or ten minutes and then separate the new animal from the others. Over a few days, gradually lengthen the amount of time that everyone is together—eventually unleashed but not unsupervised until you are sure everyone is safe.
Halt Hostilities
If the animals seem hostile, don’t yell at them or punish them by yanking on their leashes. You don’t want them to associate each other with anything unpleasant. If the antagonism becomes worse rather than better, stop the meeting, and try again another time. When your pets do start to interact in a more friendly way, reward them both with praise, treats, pets, and playtime.
Have Dogs Meet in a Neutral Place
If you are introducing a new dog and have one already, you and a friend should take them on a walk together or meet in a park. Dogs are very territorial, and your resident dog may consider any new dog an intruder that must be kept away. If they get to know each other beforehand, it is much easier to introduce the new dog into the household.
Make Sure Cats Feel Safe
If you are introducing a cat, expect them to take a week or two to adjust to their new home and family. Make sure they have a room to go where they feel safe from the other resident pets. Also, keep an eye on the dog(s) for a while and remember that it takes time for a dog to understand that a cat doesn’t consider being chased a form of play.
Familiarity Through Scents
Animals get to know and remember each other by their scent more than anything else, and you can use this trait to help them accept each other. Rub a cloth over the new animal and put it by the beds of the other pets, and do the same for the new pet.
Patience is Important
Be patient, reward positive behaviour, and manage the negative behaviour while everyone is adjusting. This can be a long process, but the more time you spend now, the less drama you’ll have to manage later!
Reducing Rivalry in a Multi-Pet Home
Make sure you give your pets an equal amount of attention so that they don’t become jealous of each other. Include all your pets in playtime and training so they all feel they are important members of the family.
To reduce competition around food, we recommend keeping food dishes separate. Keep cat food bowls high and out of reach of your dogs, as many dogs are more than happy to eat cat food when they can. Also be sure that your cat’s litter box is in a private place and away from the dogs so that your kitty feels perfectly safe when using it.
If you are cautious and patient when you introduce a new pet into a multi-pet home, give everyone all the time they need to accept each other, and make sure all your pets receive lots of love and attention, you can help them live happily—or at least in harmony—together.
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