Your new cat needs a safe room first

Before your new cat comes home, set up a separate room just for them. This is their safe space.

It might be a spare bedroom, study, laundry or bathroom. The room should be quiet, secure and comfortable, with everything your new cat or kitten needs.

Set up:

• A litter tray
• Food and water bowls placed away from the litter tray
• A cosy bed
• Hiding places
• A scratching post or mat
• Toys
• A perch or elevated resting spot
• A soft blanket or towel that can hold their scent

This room is not a punishment. It is your new cat's first safe little world inside your home.

For new cat owners, this step is especially important. Your new cat needs time to understand the smells, sounds and routines of your home before they are expected to meet another cat.

Let your new cat settle before any introductions begin

When your new cat arrives home, take them straight to their safe room in a covered carrier. Do not let your cats see each other yet.

Open the carrier door and let your new cat come out in their own time.

Some cats will walk out quickly. Some cats will hide. Some cats may not eat much at first. Some cats may only explore when the house is quiet. This can all be normal in the first few days.

It can take your new cat or kitten at least 3 days to decompress and start to understand their new environment. Some cats will need longer, especially if they are shy, overwhelmed, recently rehomed or coming from a rescue, shelter or busy household.

Do not rush them out of their safe room. Let them stay there until they are showing signs of confidence, curiosity and interest in what is happening outside the door.

Your new cat's safe room may need to remain their main space for several days and, for some cats, up to 2 weeks. Even once they start exploring, keep this room available as their retreat space.

For the first week, avoid letting your new cat freely roam the whole house. Give them time to adjust, build confidence and slowly show you their personality.

Close bedroom doors for at least the first 2 weeks, and only allow access to bedrooms under supervision. Bedrooms carry very strong human scent, especially on beds, rugs, clothing, shoes and soft furnishings.

A new cat who is overwhelmed or trying to make an unfamiliar space feel familiar may toilet on these items. Once a cat has urinated on a bed, rug or piece of clothing, they can be drawn back to that same area again. In some cases, this can become a toileting habit that is very difficult to reverse.

So go slowly. Keep their world small at first. Let them build confidence one safe space at a time. And always make sure they know exactly where their litter tray is and how to get back to it.

Your resident cat needs reassurance too

Your existing cat did not choose to have a new cat move into their home. From their point of view, their familiar world has changed.

So while your new cat is settling in, make sure your resident cat still feels loved, secure and important.

• Keep their routine as normal as possible
• Feed them at the usual time
• Keep their favourite resting places available
• Play with them and spend time with them
• Give them attention without forcing them near the new cat

• Do not remove them from their favourite places
• Do not push them off your lap because the new kitten has arrived
• Do not change everything they know all at once

This helps your resident cat feel that they have not been replaced. A calmer resident cat will usually cope much better with the introduction process.

If you know your cat is likely to struggle with change, it may also be worth speaking with your Vet before your new cat arrives. There are calming supplements, diets and pheromone products that may help support some cats during stressful periods.

Some Veterinary options that may be discussed include products such as Zylkene, Protexin SereniCare, Royal Canin Calm and Feliway. Always speak with your own Vet about what is suitable for your individual cat.

Scent comes before sight

Cats feel safest when their world smells familiar. Their scent map helps them understand what belongs, where they are safe, and when something new has entered their space.

When my kitten Ky first arrived home, Kenji did not even need to see him to know something had changed. For the first few days, Kenji would hiss at us when we came near him because we smelled like the new kitten.

Not because he was being naughty. Not because he was a bad cat. And not because the introduction had failed. He was simply responding to a completely new scent in his familiar home.

Start by swapping soft items between them. Place a blanket, towel or bedding item from your new cat's room into your resident cat's area. Then place something that smells like your resident cat into your new cat's safe room.

You can also gently rub a soft cloth around one cat's cheeks and chin, then place that cloth in the other cat's space.

Keep this positive. Use treats, gentle praise or play nearby so each cat starts to associate the other cat's scent with something calm and safe.

Let them explore each other's spaces before they meet

Once both cats seem calm with each other's scent, you can begin gentle space swapping.

This means your new cat gets to explore part of your home while your resident cat is safely in another room. Then your resident cat can explore the new cat's room while your new cat is somewhere else.

They are learning about each other without the pressure of direct contact. Cats gather so much information through scent. They can smell where the other cat has slept, scratched, eaten and moved through the home.

Keep these sessions short at first. Then return your new cat to their safe room.

Allow space swapping only under supervision and only when each cat is showing interest and confidence. If either cat seems overwhelmed, go back a step. Slow progress is still progress.

Keep routines steady before expecting shared space

When you are introducing a new cat, it can be tempting to focus all your attention on the new arrival. But your resident cat needs reassurance too.

During the early stages, keep your resident cat's routine as normal and predictable as possible. Feed them where they are used to eating. Keep their litter tray where they expect it to be. Keep their resting spaces available.

Later in the introduction process, once your cats are more confident and can spend calm, supervised time in the same room, you can start using mealtimes more intentionally.

At that stage, you may start feeding them in the same common area, but on opposite sides of the room. Do not place them too close together at first. Start with plenty of distance, and only move them closer over days or weeks if both cats are relaxed.

Visual introductions should be short and protected

When both cats are relaxed with scent swapping and space swapping, you can begin short visual introductions. The time to reach this stage could be days or weeks. Take it at their pace.

Use a barrier. This may be a baby gate, screen door, glass door, mesh barrier or a slightly opened door with a secure divider. The cats should be able to see each other, but not touch each other.

Keep the first session very short. A few seconds to a few minutes may be enough. Offer treats, food or play on both sides of the barrier.

End the session while things are still calm.

If you notice staring, tail flicking, growling, hissing, crouching, chasing behaviour or one cat trying to hide, calmly end the session and go back a step. This is not failure. This is listening to your cats.

The first time in the same room should be supervised

Once both cats are calm seeing each other through a barrier, you can try short supervised time in the same room, but make sure this is a neutral space, not the new cat's safe space.

Set them up for success:

• Choose a larger room where both cats have space to move away
• Have treats ready
• Have toys ready
• Have escape routes available, especially close to the new cat's safe space
• Have hiding spaces available
• Have something nearby that can safely block their view if needed

Keep each cat engaged separately. One person can play with one cat while another person rewards or plays with the other cat. Keep the session short and positive.

Gradually increase the time they spend together, but only if both cats are coping well. This may take weeks. It may take months. Do not rush it.

Every cat needs their own resources

In a multi-cat household, cats should not have to compete for the basics. Competition can create stress, even if it is subtle.

Each cat should have access to:

• Separate food stations
• Separate water stations
• Separate resting areas
• Separate hiding places
• Separate scratching areas
• Multiple litter trays

For litter trays, the general rule is: one litter tray per cat, plus one extra. So if you have 2 cats, aim for 3 litter trays.

Litter tray stress can become a real issue in multi-cat homes. This can lead to unwanted behaviours such as urinating in abnormal places, aggressive behaviour around the litter tray, stalking, spraying and even stress-induced cystitis.

A clean, low dust, odour control cat litter can make everyday cat care easier, especially when more than one cat is sharing the same home.

This is one of the reasons I created MATCHA. MATCHA™ was developed for real cat homes, including multi-cat homes, where odour, dust, tracking and tray stress can become everyday frustrations. It has a small pellet size that is gentle for sensitive paws, especially for kittens. It clumps firmly, neutralises odours naturally and helps keep the tray easier to maintain.

Slow progress is still progress

Some cats adjust quickly. Others take weeks or even months. Some cats never become best friends and simply live separate lives while tolerating each other.

That does not mean you have failed. It means you are respecting the cats in front of you.

Not all cats become cuddly companions who share beds and groom each other. Some become best friends. Some peacefully share a home. Some prefer their own space and simply tolerate each other. That can still be a successful outcome.

Only leave your cats together unsupervised when you are genuinely confident they can tolerate each other calmly. Until then, keep sessions short, positive and supervised.