Introducing kittens to a home can be a difficult process. Not only will your new kittens take a few days, or even weeks, to acquaint themselves to their new home, but any current cats may take just as long to completely accept the kittens into their life. Never expect that your new kitten will be welcomed with open arms into your home, or that your kitten will embrace your household immediately. Relationships are works in progress so remain patient and nurturing throughout the entire transition process.

Before even letting a new kitten into your home, take care of veterinary issues. Be sure that both your current cats and your new kittens have a clean bill of health. Do not risk exposing either cat to illness or disease. If you are awaiting veterinary appointments, be sure to keep the cats in separate areas of the house until you are sure that each cat is healthy enough to interact with the other cats.

Even if your cats are clean and healthy, it is best to keep them separated for the first couple of weeks. This will give them an opportunity to adjust to the smells of another cat without adding the pressure of interacting with a new feline right from the start. After a couple of weeks of separation, begin acquainting the cats face to face. It may be best to feed each cat at separate sections of the same room so that they can associate the other’s presence with a positive event. Then, return them to their separate areas.

Over time, begin letting them into a common area together. Be sure that each cat can leave the scene if he feels threatened. They may need to work some of their issues out but over time they should get used to the company of each other. Remember to remain patient and loving with each of your cats. Even after they know each other, it is best to have separate dishes and litter boxes for each cat.