How to Introduce Your Pet To Other Animals

Posted by Rayanne on April 30th, 2021

Pets are domestic or tamed animals that you keep at home for company, compassion, and pleasure. Your pet can be either a dog or a cat. When you get a new pet, introducing it to the other animals in your house can be difficult. You will be excited to bring it home, but the dogs and cats you already have at home might not be happy to receive the new member. You will want your new pet to interact and live comfortably with the other animals. This can be possible if you take the right step when introducing the new pet. Here are steps on how to introduce your pet to other animals.

Keep the Pet Alone at First

When you bring a new pet home, first, let it stay separate from the other animals. If it is a cat, let it have a place where the other animals are not allowed. As time goes by, you can allow your pet to interact with other animals under your supervision. Steadily increase the time that the pet spends with other animals, and it will start feeling comfortable around the other animals. For the new pet, buy the best cat litter box, put it where it stays, and then train it to use the litter box. When it is alone, you can monitor its behavior. If it has inappropriate behaviors like urinating outside the box, take that time to train your pet before letting it stay with the other animals.

Feed the Pet and the Other Animals on Opposite Sides

The other animals you have at home might be harsh and refuse to share food with the new pet. However, you can easily manipulate your animals when feeding them. Most animals associate food with good vibes, and they are always calm when eating. When feeding your animals and your pet on opposite sides, you give them a chance to see each other and get used to one another. As time goes by, move their feeding bowls close to each other during feeding time. When you do the same process every day, the other animals will consider your pet like family. They will start playing together as they feed. Once you notice the calmness, you can now begin to feed them together.

Make the Introduction Slow and Positive

It would be best if you keep the introduction between the pet and other animals slow and positive. Do not force the animals to love each other the first time they meet. You can keep them in one room but separate them with leashes and gates to keep distance. When in one room, the pet will start familiarizing themselves with each other. Keep them separate until you notice that the pet and other animals remain calm when they see each other. After a while, you can remove the leashes and let the animals interact with the pet directly. If you notice any aggressiveness, separate the animals from the pet again until the day when the pet will be free and relaxed when with the other animals. However, only allow the pets to interact under your supervision.

Keep Precaution

After the pets have been separated for a while, you can allow them to meet. Once you notice that the other animals are calm and share meals with the pet without causing alarms, make them meet face to face. However, ensure you are always there to monitor them as they play with each other. You can go ahead and allow them to meet unsupervised after a month or two of supervised meetings. If you are going out of home for a while, keep the pet separate from the other animals because you cannot tell what will happen when you are not around. In addition, keep precautions by always consulting a vet and ensuring the other animals are healthy and free from any contagious diseases.

Cats and dogs can quickly live together in harmony. However, introducing them to each other will determine how long it will take them to interact peacefully. Understanding your animal's personality will make it easy for you to introduce your pet to them. Additionally, when you keep both cats and dogs, ensure you have a dog-free sanctuary where your cat can take refuge whenever the dog becomes aggressive.