process

• as soon as kitty comes home, give Ram some treats so he associates the new kitty with good things
• get kitty its own room and toys (several days to 1+ weeks)
  • however, if kitty is not ok, could start introduction process earlier
• swap scents:
  • exchange bedding
    • watch for hissing or avoidance of other's bedding; would need to go slower
  • then, once OK, swap bedding again
  • could also use glove to pet them and then wipe glove on diff parts of house
• after about a week? allow new kitty to explore house and allow ram to explore kitty's room
  • only allow ram in the room when new kitty is fully relaxed
• feed them both at the same time on either side of closed door
• allow them to see each other through a door, mesh barrier, or children's gate; meal time good time
  • kitties should be comfortable playing with the other in view
    • or eating
    • or just going about their business
  • if there's negative behavior, distract ram
  • keep these sessions short; gradually increase
  • give lots of treats after a few successful minutes before anything stressful happens
• supervise and allow them to be together barrier-free
  • remove barrier while they're doing something else
  • if negative, go back a step
• allow unsupervised behavior for short periods of time (10 minutes?)
• allow unsupervised time for longer and more frequent
  • keep kitties' things separate

know kitty is ok if...

• rubbing legs
• chirping
• resting on its side
• playing with toys
• exposing belly
• facial rubbing on furniture and room
• normal eating/drinking/toileting

know kitty is not ok if...

• scratching at door or windows
• meowing for minutes at a time
• pacing at door
• rearing at door
• swiping when we try to leave