Tagg and Shilo came to us in September, small Maine Coon mix cats. Their people had moved and left them behind. A neighbor contacted the rescue group and they were brought from Missouri. With about a bizillion fleas each.




They got healthier and remembered how to play. Shilo got cuter and perkier and even started to rush the big boys, scratching when she finished like a teeny tiny bull. Tagg got sleeker and bigger and loved to run up our stone stair wall to bat at me from the top. Sometimes he paused on the hitching post. He never missed a chance to rub my hand in thanks whenever I put down his food dish. He was just starting to learn to target.

We live in a canyon. In December, the sun dips below the mountain ridge for 40 days, our Shadowtime. Everyone seems to eat less and sleep more, to hibernate a little. Tagg seemed to be doing that too, until I noticed he was losing weight. We bounced back and forth between vets over the holidays but he got sicker and sicker. Finally, they tested for Feline Infectious Peritonitis, with the results expected in 2 days. We made one last try at the emergency vet, hoping his immune system would kick in and that the test would be negative. He responded with more suffering. We had him put to sleep January 2nd. The test was positive.

Conventional thought about FIP is that it is highly contagious and virtually untreatable. But it’s a tricky disease: born of a benign gut virus that most cats seem to have, it mutates into the killer form seemingly randomly. Stress and poor nutrition are big factors. It masquerades with other symptoms so it’s hard to diagnose. Some cats get it; some don’t. All our cats were exposed to Tagg. We can only keep them healthy and happy and pray they’re in the group that doesn’t.

Bye Taggimundo.

INTRODUCING THE DOGS

It’s even more important to go slowly when introducing dogs. As Dr. Suzanne Hetts says, “Dogs can kill a cat very easily, even if they’re only playing.” Of course this is even more true when introducing a kitten.

Some cats have never been around dogs or have already had a bad experience with them–that fear response is what they remember. So if a cat has already learned to be afraid of dogs, you’ll probably have to go even more slowly.

Even a cat that has grown up with dogs and overcome its instinctual fear of a predator (usually) several times its size won’t necessarily generalize that your new dog isn’t something to fear. And of course, it doesn’t matter if your dog is comfortable around the new cat–it’s the new cat’s response that’s most important in these introductions. If it shows fear, you’ll have to back up and work with that.

The new cat will probably have to learn that this huge predator it now lives with is safe. Include the dog in the eating and scent-switching techniques, above. Then pick a room with you, a friend, the dog and the cat. To keep the cat’s fear level down, you’ll need to make sure the dog isn’t making big movements or noises. Leash the dog and put it in a Down Stay, if it’s had any training. If not, leash and keep it calm.

Start with the home dog and new cat on opposite sides of the room, each with a person giving treats (use clicker play if the dog knows how to do that) so they both associate good things with the new animal. Build up exposure to each other with many short visits so neither animal gets antsy.

Once the cat is comfortable, allow it to approach the dog at its own pace, keeping the dog in the Down Stay. If the cat gets fearful or aggressive, you’re going too fast. Go back a couple of steps and start over. Repeat this process in small steps–probably over days–until they are clearly comfortable with each other.

I hear people say “My new cat attacked my dog.” If you let the dog get close enough for the cat to go into attack mode, you have already pushed the cat way past its fear threshold. These pictures show a cat’s body language from beginning fear to fighting for its life:

This cat is just beginning to feel threatened, with the dog starting to focus on it and the cat freezing with its ears down. (thanks to James for the picture)

This was probably set up to be amusing, but if you really study it, you’ll see the kitten is afraid and the dog could attack at any moment, especially if it perceives the kitten as challenging its food.

This cat is trying to make itself bigger to fend off a dog that is already barking and challenging it, the same technique that wildlife officials recommend to humans encountering bears. (thanks to Tom for the picture)

The owner has allowed the dog to get too close too soon, forcing the kitten–probably 1/10th its size–into attack mode and entrenching its fear response to dogs.

This terrified kitten–probably only a couple of months old–is using every technique it knows to fend off this pup: arched back, fluffed fur, vocalization. Even though the dog is a pup, you can see the big difference in size.

This dog is in near-full attack mode and the cat is fighting for its life here, with its only advantage being slightly higher than the dog.

Always be sure the new cat has an escape route and can get to its safe room, and keep your dog leashed until you’re sure the new cat is no longer fearful. Of course if you have more than one dog, introduce them singly just like the cats.

It goes without saying that actively punishing any of the animals for being aggressive will link the new cat to that fearful response in everyone, setting up everyone for failure.

You may think that taking couple of weeks to introduce animals is time-intensive. Remember, that’s nothing compared to the time and emotion you’ll have to invest down the road, undoing fear that has turned into aggression.

So to recap, if you’re bringing home a new kitty:

Change one thing at a time.
Go slowly.
Seriously.
Really slowly.

INTRODUCING THE CATS

I think the biggest mistake in introducing a new cat is simply going too fast. If the cat gets afraid, you can undo so much positive reinforcement so quickly. As Karen Pryor says, the fear response goes quickly and deeply into the most basic part of the brain.

So it’s very important to try to prevent encounters that make any animal fearful. Repeatedly putting an animal in a fearful situation is actually training it for aggression. Go slowly and stop if anyone–home pet or new cat–shows more than mild aversion. If that happens, separate them and start over.

If you have both cats and dogs, start with the cats first. While you’re introducing the new space, move the home cats into the safe room so the new cat can explore at its own pace without any other distractions (one thing at a time). Depending on whether the new cat has lived with other animals or is naturally social, a couple of days of this won’t hurt. Again, return the cat to its safe room, especially at night.

Then try to introduce the home cats one at a time, starting with the most cat-friendly one. Of course, being already clicker trained can help the transition immensely by focusing on the fun of training and rewarding non-aggressive behavior. Then you can add cats at a level that feels comfortable to the new cat.

For most cats, some hissing, growling and possibly stalking by the home cat will be normal. As long as no one ends up in bloody combat, that will probably lessen over time. Getting used to the home cats singly should make it less likely that the new cat gets ganged up on. If you can make some play barriers, like draping a sheet over some chairs or making a little bridge like this to hide under, that will let the cats get used to playing with less direct confrontation. Again, try to prevent major fearful situations and return the new cat to the safe room at night.

How to introduce a new cat: step 5.

INTRODUCING THE REST OF THE SPACE

Now it’s time to learn about the rest of the house and its home pets. Again, one thing at a time.

Once the new cat is comfortable in its safe room, try moving its food closer to the door. At the same time, put a food dish on the other side of the door for the home pets. Pay attention to signs of fear in the new cat, ready to back the food up if it refuses to eat. Your goal is to get all the pets to eat without fear on both sides of the door.

Another way to get them used to each other is to switch around their sleeping blankets, so they’ll have a chance to get used to each others’ scents. If they like to be petted, you can also use a small towel to pet one, then the other, switching back and forth.

Then identify the part of the house you want to introduce the new cat to, the smaller the better (like a single floor rather than a whole house). If you have no other animals, this part is a cinch. Just be patient until the cat shows you it’s ready for new stimulation…like Tagg here, who’s completely relaxed, with soft eyes and body position. At this point, continue returning the cat to its safe room after it’s finished exploring and repeat a couple of times.

How to introduce a new cat: step 4.

INTRODUCING THE NEW PEOPLE

While it’s acclimating to the space, the new cat needs to learn to trust you. Once that happens, you can become the bridge to everything else, the sure thing it can rely on even when everything else changes.

Excepting feral cats, for whom there are specialized techniques for socializing (without or with a clicker), you need to go extremely slowly with an especially fearful cat. This is especially true for a cat that has been through the shelter system, hit with noise, overcrowding and neglect.

For a cat like that, simply being in the room with it can create stress. You can increase your time spent with it calmly and quietly. You might want to just read a book, then slowly add normal household noises, such as a phone conversation or a quiet television. Even if the cat isn’t shy or fearful, let it initiate contact with you.

Once you start to interact, you can add reinforcements such as treats, play or petting, but pay attention to how the cat responds. Some cats don’t like to be petted, some cats don’t like certain toys or food. Some cats, like Merrlin here, will come out to play right away and be pawing under the door for their new friends. Again, let the cat tell you.

If you want the new cat to sleep with you, you might want to spend some nights with it after it gets adjusted to you. But do this right before Steps 3, 4 & 5, introducing it to the new space and home pets, since it will probably increase your bonding dramatically. You don’t want the safe room to become an aversive, a prison that keeps it from you, its newly positive connection.

How to introduce a new cat: step 3.

THE NEW SPACE

With most cats, it’s extremely important to start the cat off in a safe room where no one else goes, so it can start to get familiar with its new space. Of course, it will need its food and water, plus its own catbox.

If the new cat’s food and catbox are from its previous life, you’re a step ahead. Also helpful is something comforting from its previous space, like a blanket. See that it’s settled, then leave it alone for a few hours.

Some cats adapt quickly, some not so much, but the goal is to get the cat to where it’s calm, even bored. The cat will tell you when it’s ready for the next step with normal calming and positive behaviors like purring, kneading and grooming. It may ask to be let out, but make sure its fear is really subdued before you go onto step 2.

Also make sure the new cat is completely healthy before you make introductions. Cats can have serious communicable diseases, so you need to protect your home pets as well as protecting an unwell animal.

So we got us some new cats. We topped out at 7. (Don’t even say it.) All Fall, we added fosters to the catpack, some singly, some overlapping. Clicker training really influenced how we introduced them all. If you’re getting a new cat, we have some suggestions.

With a few pathological exceptions, most of us just want our critters to get along. Even better is if they can learn to actually like each other.

All cats are different, but any cat being introduced to a new home will have this to deal with. Whether it comes from a neglectful or loving breeder, was dumped at the shelter or comes from those great neighbors across the street, the new cat has just lost most everything it knew and loved.

In training, it’s really obvious how changing one small thing–even moving to face north rather than east–is perceived by most cats as a major distraction, if not a new environment. Often, the trainer has to back up a few steps and start again.

Your new cat now has a completely new environment–with new spaces, people and other animals…and all the new sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touches that go with it. It’s no wonder some cats want to shut it all out and dive into the first small, dark place they see, while others turn into snarling clawing dervishes.

This is what worked for us, with some guesses as to why it worked based on what little behavior modification I’ve learned. For us, the two most important things were:

Change one thing at a time:

the space
the people
the home pets

Go slowly.

How to introduce a new cat: step 1.

We ended up pretty deeply involved with the fostering world after Dylan, one factor that let to a little training hiatus in the Fall. Dylan, though, was a clicker success. This is what we’d been trying for all these months, with the addition of a foster only 5 weeks later: the home cats in Down-Stays on their mats and Dylan doing the same in his crate.

During this time, the cats were able to take turns going through their routines, excepting large-area tricks like Spins. Out of the crate, Dylan was also doing a darn good Sit and Targeting all around the room just like the big kids.

After about 3 weeks, he started to mellow out, slowing down on his near-constant play with Gus into snuggling and mutual grooming. Of course, 1 kitchen chair plus 1 largish Maine Coon plus 1 smallish Maine Coon equals the need for 1 more kitchen chair, even if the boys happen to like each other.

The morning Dylan left (to become Dillon at his new home in Silverthorne), he was Mr. Mellow in his happy crate, even generously sharing it with Gus for a time. The boys gave him a playful sendoff.

I cried, of course.

We’re at just over two weeks with clicker training Dylan, about 10 days since I introduced him to the catpack.

Since Dylan won’t be living with us forever, we’re doing the more recommended go-to-crate behavior for him. It will give him a safe place to go, one that he likes, should he feel threatened. It can also be used as a place to wait when the door opens, since he was obviously an indoor-outdoor cat when he came to us and may have a tendency to dash out the door and get lost again. Plus it makes trips to the vet a little more comfortable.

It’s given me a chance to compare go-to-crate with go-to-mat. Go-to-crate definitely has its advantages. Enclosing the space creates a natural tendency for a Down and the lack of distractions seems to naturally calm, for longer Duration. This is the fourth day with this behavior and we’re already up to 15 seconds.

Denise challenged me to give the 300 Peck Method another chance, so that’s why I’m using it on Dylan. In the video, you can see me get very close to clicking and treating at the same time, but I manage to wake up in time to fix it. Dylan hangs in there a long time, especially for being the new kid on the block.

Denise the dog trainer has been helping us again. She took a good look at the recent videos and noticed something startling, to me at least.

In the video of Thor’s Down-Stay where I’m using the 300 Peck Method for Duration, my timing is awful. I’m actually treating, then clicking, at some points. Denise pointed out that’s effectively rewarding Thor for eating. He’s a pretty good little thinker, so no wonder he’s so fidgety using this method; it’s confusing to him, even though rewarding.

All Duration techniques seem pretty boring…for everyone!…so it’s a challenge to stay awake and on count. Clearly I was asleep at the wheel here.

She challenged me to try it again, making sure both my timing and my counting improve. Unfortunately, Thor has gone through 3 different methods for Duration, so I can’t put him through it again. And the 80% seems to be working pretty well for Mox and Gus. Since we have a new little guy, though, I can try it on him. Dylan, here we come.