Getting a new cat, but I don't know what to do!

Today I will be going to the humane society to get a new cat to (hopefully) become friends with Scratch and our dog, Butch. We've never had two cats together.. always one cat and one dog. I don't know how to introduce the new kitty to Scratch! Any suggestions/advice?

this might be a better thread to be put in the behavior board, but introduce the new cat slowly, allow the original cat to remain in it's 'territory' and maybe put the new baby in a bathroom or some other room where the old cat can sniff the new one......and get to know each other through closed doors.....and then introduce them a little bit more each day....until they really get to know each other.

It'll take time and patience.

As with the dog...no advice there, wouldn't know.

This was my strategy for introducing my kitties:

Go very slowly with the introduction process. Rub the new kitty in a towel or blanket, and leave it for the resident kitty to smell. Do the same for the newcomer. If that doesn't provoke more growling, try brushing both kitties. Keep them separated for several days. When the growling dies down, try confining your resident cat and letting the new one roam a little. Then put the new kitty back and let the resident roam. When they get comfortable with that, let the new one roam and put the resident in the new kitty's room. With mine, I also let one cat roam, while I held the other cat so that the cat in my arms could see the cat on the ground. Later, I switched cats. That way, both were aware of the other's presence. Eventually, you can have a face-to-face meeting

You will definitely want to take this process slowly. Listen to your resident (and the newcomer) cat's responses at each step. That will help you determine when to go to the next step. It may take several days to several weeks, depending on how the cats react. If you have any major hissing/growling incidents, step back and try again.

We got our new cat (Yet To Be Named) this afternoon and brought her home. We let the new kitty eat, and we rubbed blankets on them to let them know each other's scent. We brought the new kitty into the basement to show her the litter box, and somehow Scratch got down there and there was a huge fight. There was some bloodshed and both Scratch and YTBN both have cuts on their face but luckily it's not severe. We're keeping YTBN downstairs and Scratch upstairs, then we'll switch and see what happens from there. I just hope they can get along and stop fighting.

I'm about to do the same thing. On this site, go to "cat behavior" and read the article "i'd like you to meet...introducing cats".