HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR CATS TO GET ALONG?

How long does it take for cats to get along? Really? If you plan to get another cat, or if you did already, you may wonder how long it will take for them to become friends. It is a good question, and we are going to give you some useful tips.

Most cats can get along with each other already after a few days. Others never do. Cats typically become friends after 4 or 5 months that they are together. In fact, after a few months of living together, cats become close. Some cats would not get along, and if they live together, they will keep away from each other or fight often.

Let’s see the specifics.

WILL MY CATS EVER GET ALONG?

Cats are totally unpredictable. It is difficult to judge or know before time how they will behave with another cat around. However, there are some clues one can learn to look for.

Cats also have their own set of personalities, making the possibility of two cats to get along like spinning a roulette wheel and hoping you win.

But is it really that difficult? I would not say so. Some cats have really a particular personality that makes them unfriendly. But commonly, cats can and will get along after a while and given proper introductions.

I grew up with a multi-cat household; rarely would they fight. Later on, I had my own cat, and I can tell you that a cat alone in the house will not be that happy. I know that there is a lot of writing about cats being solitary and wanting to be alone. But are they?

Yes they are territorials, but they want to spend their entire life alone?

The chances are that after you bring a new cat home, there will be an initial fuss, which then disappears. After that, cats would start to interact with each other, play with each other, sleep with each other, groom each other, and so on.

Sometimes it takes months to see them sleeping together. They may just be starting plying chasing each other and sleep on the same bed or couch. With time they become more close.

If you have 2 cats that are together for a while and do not get along, give it a bit more time. In some instances, it is not possible to get some cats to get along. In that case, they will do a separate life. Nothing to worry about, we also do not like specific people, or we prefer to be with people we like.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR CATS TO GET ALONG?

Here is what you can expect when you bring a new cat into the house, and a typical time frame for two cats to get along with each other.

The first few days or a week, there will be some fuss, growling, and meowing. Initially, your cat doesn’t like this invasion in his territory. You may have to keep them separated and introduce them slowly. You may have to do this until you can let the new cat roam around without being attacked.

After a few weeks, they may start to play with each other, be more tolerant of each other. If they are both friendly cats, they may already sleep near each other, not touching yet, but in the same room, couch or bed.

After a few months, let’s say 4 or 5 months, you can already observe some signs of real friendships. You will spot them grooming each other, sleeping one on top of another, playing a lot, chasing each other, switching sides. Meaning one is the prey being hunted one time, the next time is the opposite.

How long does it take for cats to get along for a multi-cat household? Each cat may have a different reaction, but you can expect the above to happen.

Cats have different personalities. You can find cats that get along right away and cats that will be hard to become friends with.

Response can vary based on the sex and age of the other cat, but I would say that typically you can expect this time frame.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR CATS TO GET ALONG? 3 EXAMPLES

I can provide 3 examples so that you can have an idea.

My first cat is a timid medium hair black cat. He is a mail. He is sweet, shy, scared, picky, doesn’t like being touched. Only I can do it, and not for long. He is also territorial.

After two years, I observed that he needed a friend cat, not only to keep him company and active, since I saw he was getting lethargic but also to make him a bit more social by interacting with other cats.

I already assessed my cat’s personality and looked for a specific cat friend for him, mainly a sweet, social cat, not afraid to interact.

Example 1: I adopted a sweet kitten, a lady. She wasn’t shy. Once I brought her own for the first time, my cat started to hiss, growl at her, chase her, to meow. He wasn’t happy at all. I had to keep them separated into 2 rooms.

He wasn’t happy with the closed doors, since he is used to all doors opened. He would stare at the door and listen to the other cat move around in the other room for hours.

After a few days I could leave the door opened, he would not hiss anymore, he would stalk the new kitten, but since she was smart and curios she would not even bothered to get the stalking. She was also fast to jump, and she would hit him with a paw if he would be too aggressive.

After 3 weeks, they started to play, sleep near each other. I guess they started to be friends. She would go and lick him, but he would not let her initially. In fact, he wasn’t used. After 3 months, they would be wonderful.

They would play chasing, jumping, grooming each other. I made it. He would not sleep next to her, meaning he would still not tolerate touching the other cat in sleep. But the rest was excellent.

Unfortunately, after 8 months, the new kitten passed away from an unknown illness. The vet could not do anything, and we both missed her a lot.

Example 2: I took courage and adopted a new kitten about six months later. My cat is now three years old. When I brought the new kitten home, I did not even need to close the door and separate them. He hissed at her for the first hour. She was another sweet kitten, very curious and gentle. Coco, my cat, was stalking her, but he did not growl or attacked her.

I was surprised; the experience with the first cat friend changed him into a more social cat. They got along already the first week. She is adorable, and while he started to groom her already in week 3, she is also grooming him a lot, and he let her do it.

It seems that he likes the attention. He became more tolerant of others touching him. Just the other day, I spotted him sleeping with his head on top of her. This was a BIG change for Coco. Finally, he was letting go and become a real friend with another cat. I see him more ofter sleeping with her.

Example 3: Coco and I, and the first kitten, in example 1, had to live with my brother for 4 months. He had another cat. A male. This cat was very territorial but also very mischievous. He would create any mess in the house.

I could already see the sign of his actions touring the house. It surprised me since my cats have always been very behaved. I am lucky, maybe, but also I teach them manners from the beginning.

The fact is that my cat, Coco, did not get along at all with my brother’s cat. They would fight. My cat would get the worse each time and had scratches all over. He would not start the fight, even though he would retaliate after a while when he was hit.

The kitten was still ok, with the new cat, and she would get along with him too, maybe not the same way as she would do with Coco.

The situation has not improved with time. Finally, we moved out.

What I took away from all those experiences?

• A new cat can help another cat to become more friendly and social
• Cats can adapt to be friends with other cats, and they should interact with other cats
• Cats learn to be social with other cats once they learn how to be friends with another cat
• Not all cats will get along

SIGNS THAT CATS ARE STARTING TO GET ALONG

You can read between the lines and understand as your cat’s new relationship is going. Are they getting along? Or are things just worsening?

You can spot when your cats are getting along from the following points:

• Growling has stopped
• No more hissing if one cat goes near the other
• No more attacks
• They mind to their businesses without being upset about each other presence.
• They sleep in the same room.
• They sleep near or in contact with each other.
• They groom each other.
• Play with each other

TIPS TO GET CATS TO GET ALONG WITH EACH OTHER

If you want to help your cat get along with each other, you can try different things and see if they work in building a relationship. Here are some things that you can do:

• Bring them in a room together and play with both of them, see how they react, see that they both play, and see that they are together each day for some time.
• Make sure there are enough toys and things both cats can play with around the house.
• Any activity that makes your cats be together and not be afraid of each other; they need to get used to the presence of the other cat.
• Give both the same amount of attention.
• If you see that they start fighting (not playing), calm them, pick one and calm them.
• Ensure they have separate beds of hiding place if they need to, they will feel less stressed.

RELATED QUESTIONS

Here some related questions and answers:

• How do I know if my cats will get along?

Besides the points listed above that manifest when you already have gotten a new cat, there are ways to see if your cat can potentially get along with another cat and the best type of cat to adopt.

For example, if you have a shy cat, it is better to adopt a sweet cat getting along easily with other cats. If you already have a sweet cat that is trusty of others, pretty much any other cat would do.

• How long will my cat hiss at the new kitten?

Usually, the hissing lasts for a few days, sometime a week. After a week, your cat may hiss at a new cat if he comes near too suddenly.

• Do cats get jealous?

Cats can get jealous if you do not give them enough attention, but instead, you give attention to another cat, dog, or even another human. Cats seem not to mind if you give them attention or not, but actually, they want attention (on demand).

CONCLUSION

I hope we were able to bring you some good data and information. If you have any questions or want to add anything, leave it in the comments below.