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My cat is an only child. How to introduce a new cat safely?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 2 years and 8 months old

Lucy has always been our only child.we didn't have any other cat except her.but now if I want to bring another cat will they get into fight and hurt eachother?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 21st, 2018

You can bring another cat into the home for Lucy, but you just need to make sure to slowly introduce them to each other. I'd also recommend getting Lucy spayed and any new cat brought into the home fixed. This will help reduce aggressive behaviors between them, and prevent unwanted litters of kittens if you bring a male cat home. I will put the method of introducing cats to each other below: I would slowly introduce them to each other. Take the kitten, and put her in her own room with her own food, water, and litter box. Keep the door closed, and for a few days, feed them both treats on other side of door so they associate each other's smell with a good experience. Then let the other cat in the kitten's room while the kitten is in a cat carrier. They can smell each other, but not be in contact. If either becomes upset or show signs of aggression, remove the second cat from the room, and try again later. Praise them when they interact appropriately. When they are interacting well with each other through the carrier, you can let the kitten out of her room, and see how she interacts with the other cat. Praise them when they interact appropriately, and separate them with any sign of aggression or upset. I would get a cat tree with lots of shelves to give the cats vertical space to get away from each other. I would keep the kitten in her room when you go out until they are comfortable with each other. Good luck, I hope this helps!

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