How to Get Kitty's to Bond

My dad is a vet, and I have asked him this same question. He says that you can try some prolonged thing where you put one cat in a room, let the other cat get used to the smell, then slowly introduce them for longer and longer periods of time. And then he says that will only make more work for you and maybe feel like you did things "right." In reality, cats are likely to hate each other at first, hiss at each other, and eventually either work it out and be friends or avoid each other. And nothing you do will change that, so just throw 'em together and hope for the best :) He typically has between 4 and 6 cats in his home at any given time.

I have been known to say, "OK, cats, here's the new guy. You all need to get along!" There is always some hissing and fussing. That's just the way cats are. They also have to get some sort of hierarchy worked out. So don't worry too much. Just keep an eye out for one cat *always* picking on the other and give attention to both. Some cats are very territorial. Most of the time, though, it comes out all right.

Okay, today seems to be my You Tube day!

Here are some good videos and ideas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx4Ox5T-EiI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grLyTX8Dpso

I really like the first idea, but I have dogs now if I ever have cats again I think that might be my new method. I have used very successfully the second method - it can take 1 day to 1 week for the bonding to happen - and they may NEVER bond to be honest, just like people may never bond.

I have never had trouble bringing a second cat home. I think it is more of an issue with some cats and for different reasons. I would say get the second cat and then if you have problems, address them.

You cannot force cats to bond or to develop affection for each other. They either will or they won't, and if they do, it will be on their own terms and in their own time. We have a cat who adores my daughter but generally hates other animals. When we rescued a kitten, she constantly attacked her. Then one day, out of the blue, we walked into the room to see Grumpy Gwen grooming the kitten, and they were buddies after that.

Part of it depends on the cats and their ages.
Way back my husband and I got our first cat after moving in together. About a year later we were discussing getting another one so they had company. We went to a friends bridal shower one day. The ones living in the house hosting had rescued a stray that had kittens. They were old enough to separate from mama. One of them sort of made the choice for us and we came home with a new kitten. It was super late by the time we got home and we had no where to separate them in our one bedroom place so we just put her down and that was that and went to bed. There was some fussing for a day or 2. After that they were extrememly close right up until the oldest one died of old age.
A few months before loosing the oldest we rescued a mama cat and her 2 kittens off the street in the neighborhood and decided to keep all 3. We had to keep the trio separated in the bathroom full time because the new mama was too agressive with our older 2. As everyone got older we moved them into the downstairs bedroom and kept the door closed and let the out only when we supervised them. Because the oldest was sick and the other older one was so protective they relationship was always strained. The trio had to go into the bedroom at night up until the day she died.
Of course we somehow ended up adopting another cat a week before we lost the second oldest. His first night we had to put him in the bathroom by himself. Second night he could go into the room with the trio. A week later the 4 got run of the house permanently and all 4 get along fantastically.
So the short of that long is, it really depends on the cats and their ages.
They may get along within the first day, they may never really get along and simply tollerate each other. So long as there is no dangerous aggression and no one is hurting each other you'll be fine. Just make sure you will be home for a couple of days with a squirt bottle of water if things get heated.
Feeding them treats together goes a long way. Giving them both some canned food togehter or something.

It works best if you get a kitten, and it usually works best if one is a male and the other is a female.

I've had 1-3 cats at a time and we've had success with bringing new kittens home. Ours have all been females. In some instances after the hissing they will politely ignore each other. In other instances they will bond and sleep together and lick each other. It just depends on the temperment of the cats. Right now our 2 females are both friendly and they love each other! We didn't need to separate them at first, they hissed for a day and then the older one started acting like a mama to the younger one.

It's cute how older cats seem more tolerant of kitten antics than grown cat antics. Our older cat was very tolerant when the kitten pounced on her or bit her tail, but didn't like it if the other adult cat did it. She cleans the younger one's ears and butt sometimes LOL!

Good luck!

(You should also get 2 litter boxes, at least for the bonding time in case the one you have really doesn't like the new one. They can have a litter box war if you don't and one may pee outside the box. You can later move to one box if the cats will let you.)

When I introduce a new cat to the house I segregate it in a room for a few days so that the other cats can get used to it's scent. The I start letting it out supervised. Usually there are a couple of days of hissing, followed by a couple of weeks of avoidance, then they bond.

I foster for a local rescue group in addition to having my own cat (who was a rescue from the same group). Usually I let the new cat/cats have the run of a large bathroom. They get use to the sounds of the house while having an area that's their safe place. After a couple days they get pretty comfortable so I open the door to let them venture out and my cat venture in.

You can't make them be friends. They'll usually figure out how to co-exist. I find that playing will usually knock out a lot of their energy and help them interact.

Make sure you have an area for an additional litter box since some cat's don't like to share boxes. Also separate food bowls are a good idea. You can use 1 water bowl and may be able to go down to 1 food bowl once they start to get along.

I kept the new cat in a crate in the same room as the old cat. Then after an hour or so, open the door, but don't remove the cat crate/carrier. The the new cat explore. It may just run under the bed, or under some furniture for a while. That's totally normal. It may also howl (as will the old cat), totally normal too. The adjustment is usually better if the new cat is a kitten when introduced. The old grown cat is generally more accepting.

Depends on temperment, age and gender. They either will ro won't like each other and you cannot make them do anything. You will have to let them develope their relationship. Youe will need separate litter boxes and food bowls. Good luck.