Socializing Cat to Cat

If you want your cat to get along with new people, new cats and new animals of any kind then it’s very important to start socializing it at a young age while it’s still a kitten. If a cat isn’t properly socialized when it’s young, it can tend to be very defensive leading to aggression when it’s older because it doesn’t understand what the new beings want. It won’t understand how another cat communicates wanting to play vs. wanting to fight so it’s immediate reaction will always be fear leading to aggression as a defense.

If you have already missed that window, things will most likely happen a bit slower.

When introducing two new cats to one another you want to try to avoid “territorial” area. And never introduce them when they are both hungry when food is involved. Many cats will feel like the other cat is there to take all of its food and one cat may become dominant enough that it will keep the other from eating.

Starting at a good distance away is always good and never forcing the two animals to be together. If they are curious about each other (which they will be) they will go to one another.

It’s also not the best idea to introduce a small kitten to a dominating adult cat. Try to keep the playing ground even and always watch to make sure things aren’t getting escalated. Most cats will bat it out a little and then leave one another alone.

When my cat met my mom’s she was not a fan. Darby, the orange cat, was younger and much more spunky than my cat. They were still the same size and honestly, Darby was just like Ninja when she was a bit younger! But Ninja is used to being an “only child” and didn’t exactly like the idea of sharing.

However, with their two personalities, it just seemed to work out. Darby tried and tried to earn Ninja’s friendship while Ninja shunned her by ditching her in random rooms around the house. They would surprise us and come around the corner playing, but then Ninja would feel threatened and get mad and leave again. It took weeks for them to really play together happily without Ninja changing her mind mid way through! So be patient with your own cats.

Tags: cat, cats, darby, idaho, ninja, social, socialzing cat, socialzing cats