New Cat Owner and First adoption of 2 cats

[Firsttimecatowner1]

Hi,
We plan to adopt on weekend 2 tabby cats from 2 different refuge housing. A 7 month and 5 year. Both are neutered, vaccinate and both mention they were good with other cats. There 2 never meet each other.
I do have 2 separate transport bag. I plan to pick 1 cat first and go to the other refuge and pick up the second.
Not sure if I’m allow to let 1 cat out of the bag to smell the other car, or maybe there to much cat around, so it’s better to do it at home?
If so, at home, how should I proceed to meet them? Should I separate both of them or maybe let them in their transport bag for a few minutes at home and let them smell each other?

please let me know.
I’m excited but at the same time, scare they don’t get along.

Thanks!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on the new kitty adoptions. Sounds exciting!

Not sure about using the same carrier for both cats. Maybe if you use it for the older cat first, then the kitten, the chances are better that the kitten won't get stressed by the smell of the other cat. But, if you can, it might be a good idea to have 2 separate carriers, just in case you ever needed to transport them both at the same time.

As for once they're at home, I think the best thing would be to keep them in separate rooms / parts of the house, and then do the slow cat introductions, as explained in the following TCS articles.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite

Because they'll both be new to the home, these articles might be helpful, as well.

9 Tips That Will Help Your Kitten Adapt To A New Apartment | TheCatSite
How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home | TheCatSite
Kitten Proofing Your Home: 13 Practical Tips | TheCatSite

Let us know how it goes, once they're home and settled.

 

[Firsttimecatowner1]

Thank you. I will review these link

 

[rubysmama]

Hope the links will be helpful.

 

[susanm9006]

You definitely need two different carriers (I would toss a blanket over each carrier so they don’t see one another) and you do NOT want to let either out until you are at home. To make the adjustment as easy as possible each should be kept in a different room than the other for a couple days without any intros so that they can relax and become more comfortable with their surroundings. This also gives you the opportunity to slowly introduce yourself before they meet one another. I would say they need to be not hiding, interacting with you some, eating and using the litterbox at a minimum before you can start introducing them slowly using the introduction steps.

Every cat is different in how long it takes to adjust to a new place - it may move much quicker with the kitten but you never know so you need to see how they react to you, your home and then each other.

 

[Alldara]

Congratulations

You'll want to learn the differences between fighting and playing as well. Playing to new owners can look agressive and they will break it up. Then cats tend to not play so much.