For Cat-Lovers Only

I think he'd be fine being introduced very slowly and surely to a new kitty. I suggest limiting the newest cat to a bathroom (obviously with food and water always available) or some smaller area the first few days, and let them investigate each other with just pawing underneath the door and get used to each other's smells. Then perhaps gradually introduce them, giving the new cat more free roam of the house and showing the other cat there is nothing to fear.

Sometimes it takes weeks or months for cats to accept each other. Our youngest, Hank, still doesn't get along the best with his older sister Lily, but it's mainly because he's much more needy and she's much more a loner. Just keep an eye on them obviously, but give it time and patience and don't force anything, and I'm sure before long he will be very close with his new housemate.

-m.

 

I don't know that we would want to subject him to weeks or months of unhappiness. The HS does have a "try before you buy" plan. Take the animal home for the weekend and see how things go.

 

Some cats who are quite friendly toward people can be hostile toward other animals (thinking of my own 7 lb kitty here, who tries to attack the outdoor cats through the window and jumped a dog that came into the house). I think it's a territorial thing (at least for her). We do have a second cat, but they grew up together (he is possibly her son--his name is Noel too, but not the Christmas Noel, which is how the vet pronounces it and I bet your cat too since he was a Christmas present, the male name Noel). There are a lot of articles about how to introduce a second cat into the household--I bet if you do a google search you'll find some advice (I know I've looked, when contemplating getting a dog, but I don't think that will happen with killer kitty). In the beginning, I think it's generally recommended if you keep the cats separate, unless you're around to monitor the interaction. So this means locking one or both of the cats away in separate rooms and gradually introducing them. I've heard that if you have a lone female cat, you can't introduce any more female cats into the household, but males are fine and lone males don't care. Don't know if how true this holds though.

I think two cats are better than one, because then they can play with each other and beat each other up instead of your belongings!

 

As far as advice goes, the animal rescue group that I'm a consultant for has an advice column online where you can ask any and all questions about any kinds of pets or animals.

http://www.animalallies.com/lilly.aspx

In fact, you might notice that she looks familiar - my partner is the one who answers the questions on her behalf.

-m.

 

It's very common for cats to have a fit when other cats come into their yard, especially if the neighborhood cats are unneutered and spray around the outside.

My cat Scooter (a Main Coon look-alike, but he was just a bum off the street) hates it when other cats come around, but he's gotten used to housemates. The first addition was a very mellow black cat (Simon) who I also found on the streets. Since Simon was very content to be "low man on the totem pole," and didn't react by hissing or growling when Scooter hissed and growled at him (and was a kitten at the time), they got used to each other quite quickly.

When I adopted Bobsie (a grey and tan/orange tortie with a bob tail), he hissed and growled and made the "cat in a blender" sound when she was near, for about two weeks, but there was never any physical confrontation. Now she washes him every morning, like he's her baby (even though he's twice her size) and he puts up with it.

I just adopted a new cat yesterday, and there is quite a bit of hissing and growling when they get too close (Simon is still mellow, but Bobsie rumbles and hisses, and scooter grumbles, while Mandy, the new girl, yeowls threateningly). I spent the first day keeping an eye on them, talking to them all, making sure everyone got petted and didn't get jealous of her (at the same time exchanging their scents by petting each one around the face and at the base of the tail, going back and forth between Mandy and the other cats so their scents mingled). They are keeping their distance, but no serious conflicts have arisen. One thing I would have done differently if I had remembered, would be to give Mandy a bath (though cats don't need one) to get rid of the odor of the other cats she was at the shelter with, which may be freaking out the others a bit...how many cats is she, anyway??)

A one-on-one introduction is much easier than a one-to-three introduction. Just realize it may take a while. If you want to do a more gradual introduction, I suggest getting a baby gate and putting it up between two rooms. Then the cats can smell each other to their hearts' content without getting into any fistacuffs (though if they are declawed---which I think should be illegal, as it is in most every other civilized country--not much harm will be done).

From what I've seen, male cats are more accepting of other (neutered) males or females, while females will accept males, but sometimes are really bitchy with other females. But every cat is different. I see a lot of different cat personalities at the shelter where I volunteer, and where the cats are kept in three different communal rooms: adults, kittens and adolescents. Some adult cats love people, but hate other cats with a passion. Some love other cats. Some are rather indifferent.

 

Sinf you guys make wanna have cat, I always wanted 4leg friend. But due to my work schedule neve had chance(A.K.A I never home).... well at least I own nice car :roll:

 

Actually cats are better pets for those who work all day. They do a fine job of taking care of themselves. But you might want to consider two of them though to keep each other company while you are away at work.

Dan

 

True. Cats are very independent, but you should still give them as much activities as possible, maybe some food, and always lots of fresh water. With enough toys and places to move around and climb to, they are going to be just fine. Then add lots of intentional surfaces to scratch and teach the cats to use them, and they'll leave you valuable stuff alone. I don't know about declawing in Japan - it's seems to be quite common in USA - but I myself take it as animal torture. In Finland it's strictly prohibited, and I advice you to forget about it. Males have a bad habit to mark places with urine, but that can be avoided with careful teaching too. If you plan to take a cat, be sure to have lots of time for it in the first days and weeks. After it has adjusted to the surroundings and learned what to do and what not to do, it's going to be okay. If you're planning to take two cats, take two kittens from the same litter. If you add the second one afterwards, make it a kitten, especially if the first one is a female. That way it's going to be the easiest.

As an owner of neutered females I'd still like to point out the fact that cats might get a lot different after neutering. One of the things that usually happens is a growing appetite. We cannot leave our cats alone for more than one day simply because of the fact that we can't leave them any food to eat as they will. One of the cats, the black and white Norwegian, will instantly eat everything and then throw it up. Someone might take this lightly, but we are more than fanatic about our cats' wellbeing. They have a better life than many of todays young kids, and a relatively large part of our apartment for their own use, compared to us merely humans.

 

Cats sleep about 80% of the time so they do make good pets for busy people. You don't need to walk them like you do dogs. You can also buy automatic feeders so if you go away for a few days, the cat can eat without having access to it all at once.

 

OK, the girls and I went to the shelter yesterday and picked up Samantha. Tony, If the rest of Nina is jet black like your avatar, she and Samantha could be twins, right down to the little white 'bib' on her chest!
We kept her in my older daughter's room (oh the complaints - NOT! ) Sat night and swapped the cats about 8 AM. So they got to smell each other's scents. Then we got brave or stupid, you decide and put Samantha on the enclosed porch with my older daughter and let Noel see her from the inside with the window opened a little at the bottom. HUGE fit, his tail was the size of a bottle brush, lots of nasty noises.
We gave up on that and are now trying the "feed them on opposite sides of a door" thing. Unfortunately, as I put thermostats in every room upstairs, I also put in raised thresholds so as to keep the rooms tighter. No room for 'footsies" and not much for smelling under the door. Better in a fire though! He did smell and show interest when she was on the other side so hopefully his curiosity will get the better of him. The best we can do later is tie the door so it can't open more than a crack and they can sniff there.
I'll keep you all posted!

 

Okay, let's see if I can get these photos to upload properly.

I adopted my cats about 2.5 years ago from the SPCA. Mia, the black and white cat, is supposedly the black cat's, Noel, mom. They were found abandoned in an apartment after the tenant moved out. Noel's gained about 10 lbs since I got him (he was only 3 lbs to begin with) while Mia has barely gained an ounce (she's a petite 7 lbs).

Mia isnt' too fond of other animals (as mentioned previously), but as you can see, she gets along with Noel.

 

Awww, lookit the pics! I love cats. I've got a half-Siamese. She looks like a solid black Siamese with a white diamond-shaped 'bib' on the base of her throat. She's 17 YO, and still every bit like a full Siamese....... :mrgreen: If DanH's avatar was solid black with a white bib on his throat, he'd look like my cat.

Siamese are awesome. Even when they kill your foot because you walked around a corner....! :lol:

 

Betshsu - There is NOW WAY IN HECK our Noel would ever lie in a sink! Must be some previous owner traumatized him with baths ;-)

 

Hee hee hee... my Noel can be a very strange cat. We got him at only 3 months, so I did try to acclimate him to water (his mom, Mia, claws up your shoulder and over your back if you carry her anywhere near a sink). Whenever I let him into the bathroom, one of his favorite places to lie is in the sink. Even if I run the water to try to wash my hands, he doesn't move until I nudge him out of the way. My boyfriend's favorite game is to drip water onto Noel's head (Noel just kind of stares up and shakes his head). The unfortunate downside of this is that the whole squirt bottle as discipline doesn't work too well with him.

 

I think Noel likes the coolness of the sink as well. He often makes a great show of plopping down on the tile floor. He also likes to lie on the glass-topped dining room table (which he knows he's not supposed to do) and on my glass desk (though he usually only does that while I'm working on my computer). But he does have a strange fondness for water.

 

My Siamese of DOOM doesn't like water. Your hands will be mangled if you get her near water. Would be like putting your hands into a wood chipper. But, a cat we used to have DID like water. She'd purr as you bathed her. She also liked car rides. She was weird (but cool).

 

My dearly-departed Frisco used to love to curl up in the sink when I lived in an apartment. When I moved, the sink was smaller, so he couldn't do it anymore (he had a hard time with the previous sink, since he was a huge--but not fat--cat. Like a baby panther. But he somehow managed to get himself under the faucet and in the sink.)