How do I introduce a kitten to other pets?

Yes, that's very important. And you want to try to do that the least confrontational way. One thing we talk about is: is it possible to do that in a neutral setting? But that might not be possible if you have cats or dogs at your home, and your kittens come into your home. But you might want to think about doing it in an area of the house that's not the other pet's favorite chair, or favorite sleeping area, or around their food. Don't do it around those things that they might be a little more territorial of. And then you want to do it safely by making sure that both of them are not at risk of hurting each other.

You might want to do that with a cat, for instance, in a carrier setting. You can leave the kitten in its carrier. You could even put your other cat in another carrier. Let them see the other one without necessarily being able to touch or interact for the first meeting. And then, of course, gradually increase that distance or decrease the distance. So, you increase the face-to-face time. And then let them touch each other, smell each other. I would keep the dog on a leash. And that way you have some control of the situation if they decide they don't like each other at the first meeting.

If you were to find a kitten, depending on the age, you would want to, of course, look around and see. Is it possible the mother cat could have been scared and ran off and is coming back for the kitten? You may want to avoid touching the kitten initially and just observe the area at a distance. Observe the kitten and the area at a distance. If the kitten's in a safe place that it's not going to get hurt, come back and check on it a few hours later. The other thing I would think about is if the kitten is very vocal and acting very hungry. Then maybe it would be abandoned or orphaned versus if the mom had just left it, it might not be looking like that.

The biggest thing is making sure that your kitten has a safe place to get comfortable within your home that is away from where the other pets are—whether that’s a bathroom or a laundry room or maybe a spare bedroom where they've got their litter box, their food and their water, some toys, some enrichment, and things like that. That area will be their safe, secure space that these other pets aren't getting into. And then maybe you slowly introduce them by letting them kind of sniff each other under the door, setting up a baby gate. So that kitten still has the opportunity to get to that safe space if they feel like they need it, but they can slowly start interacting with the other pets in the home.

Introduce your kitten to other pets slowly. Start by isolating the kitten in a separate room, allowing it to get used to your home environment. Gradually introduce your kitten to your other pets, ideally with food rewards and short periods of interaction. If you have any specific questions about introducing your kitten to your family or about your new adoption, reach out to a local pet hospital or veterinarian for guidance.

Ensure the kitten has a safe environment where it's not feeling threatened. You can stage introductions between a closed doorway, feeding the pets on either side for a week or so, then changing it to a baby gate where they can still see each other. If you have a pet that is not very receptive to the kitten, you might want to do a staged introduction, gradually advancing from there. The Ohio State University has some great resources on this topic.