new arrival wednesday.. preperation

OK im recieving a 8 month old solid black girl this wednesday...
i have everything i need..
just curious am i best leaving her in her carrybox for an hour or so to let the others sniff round and get used too her.. or do i let her straight out?



And how do i re rope the scrathing post?

Others are much more expert than I, but most say to keep a new cat separate from other cats for several days by keeping them in one room with their own food and litterbox.

OOOH cool ok will do that i know shes all vaccinated not neutered, but shes an indoor and all boys are thouroughly spayed and vaccinated....
ill do that unless anyone else says diff:/

I never really follow the rule of keeping them separated. I just go on the cats behavior. When we introduced Ramsay and Gus they hissed for a few minutes, within an hour they were playing together, and by the next day they were sleeping together and grooming one another so keeping them separated was completely unnecessary.

When we introduced our cats to my in-laws cats we put ours in a room with their food and litter for a day or two, then we let them mingle with one cat at a time (they have 3) so it wasn't too overwhelming and kept a close eye on them. The plus and minus to that method was that our cats established that room with their litter and food as their territory. It was good because they could use that space as a retreat or a safe place to go nap. It was bad because when one of the other cats went in there there was occasionally major problems. One of the in-laws cats came in the room and ended up getting into a fight with one of ours, and at another time one of the in-laws cats came in and peed on some of our things.

So, my advice is to go on what you think would be best for your cats. You know them better than anyone here. If you think your boys are gentle or submissive enough to be good with another cat coming into the house, just try introducing them right away. If you think there might be problems, separate them. If things are iffy, keep them out together when you can watch them, and separate them when you're not around.

I would set the newcomer up in a room by herself with litter box, food/water for a few weeks. If you want, let the others sniff the carrier. There will be hissing and growling for awhile. You can do a few things, but take everything slow.

First let everyone alone for 2-3 days - do not let them face to face. Then switch areas. Let the others in the room where she was and let her out to explore a little while. This will get them more used to scent.

When you feel everyone seems calmer, then either sprinkle them all with cornstarch baby powder or use vanilla extract on their nose/chin and base of tail. This is to smell the same.

Do not let them together unsupervised till they are accepting and not fighting.


Also when will she be spayed. You will have an easier time with all cats accepting each other when she's done.

I personally would say keep her separate overnight, at least, so the others can get used to her smell. I've never done the slow introduction thing. But females can be more territorial; you're more likely to have trouble with her staking out her territory than with the boys defending theirs.

cool, i thought id check, when i introduced teaser to the others we kept her in a travel box with water and food, and left her for 1/2 an hour then let her wonder round under supervision, at nights we put her in box linked too her litter tray...
till we felt safe... so ill do it properly leave new girl in room for 2 days till the others are used too smells etc

You have to gauge the reactions of all the cats and go by that. Ling hated Charlie in the house - would not have a thing to do with him for weeks. But Charlie made friends with Keno (our lab) within 2 days