Opinion of Fellow Cat Owners

[trillium13 84]

Check this out for kitty stress reduction:

http://www.feliway.com/us

No I don't work for them. But I am a vet tech, and as strange as it may sound, this stuff actually works for the things they promote it for.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am a firm believer in Feliway - we have 2 diffusers in the house and they do work. And once again, I agree with Christeen about handling the over night.

Edited October 24, 2009 by Kathryn41

[natty bumppo 297]

what no comments from mags?

platy ... can you let her put the mop down for a few minutes so she can add her .02 ?

[Mags 112]

Sorry, been at a rehearsal dinner tonight for a wedding I'm in tomorrow!

All I can offer here is a suggestion to perhaps leave the new kitty in his carrier for a couple of hours when you get him home. Let him sniff the older cat, and vice versa, and because there is a barrier between them it might help with the introduction.

Another option is to get him set up in a room on his own for couple of days so he can adjust to the new smells and people. Then, after a period of time, introduce him to the rest of the house.

Me? I'm a firm believer in just chucking them in together and letting them battle it out for themselves, stepping in if things get too rough, obviously.

I do ask that you consider getting a cat that isn't a kitten. Plus, it isn't kitten season right now - you might find that there are only older cats available. Older cats are always pushed aside for kittens. Older cats desperately need homes, whereas a kitten will, 9 times out of 10, will find a home no problem.

Shelters all over have older cats that don't get adopted due to the fact that they're no longer small and cute looking. Older cats are less destructive too. A kitten will systematically scratch everything.

Good luck!

[trillium13 84]

I do ask that you consider getting a cat that isn't a kitten. Plus, it isn't kitten season right now - you might find that there are only older cats available. Older cats are always pushed aside for kittens. Older cats desperately need homes, whereas a kitten will, 9 times out of 10, will find a home no problem.

Shelters all over have older cats that don't get adopted due to the fact that they're no longer small and cute looking. Older cats are less destructive too. A kitten will systematically scratch everything.

Good luck!

Very good points.

[MrsCat 6]

what no comments from mags?

platy ... can you let her put the mop down for a few minutes so she can add her .02 ?

We got an adult cat from the shelter a few months ago. He peed on the mattress his first night in the house. But, he was an adult male around the same age as our current one so we figured they'd manage something. The first two days, I kept the new one, Oscar, in a separate room with his food and potty. After two days, I put the other cat, Thomas, outside and let Oscar roam the house. After a week, I let them have access to each other. They hissed at each other for about a week. Now the get along, play outside and sleep together. It all worked out.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Kitties can survive if the house has been buried with feces. This happened two cities away.

Edited October 24, 2009 by Niels Bohr

[Susita 175]

Get the cat! I have two cats, the first one was king of the house until we got the baby cat. They beat the ####### out of each other for like a week but now they get along. They're buddies.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Shelters all over have older cats that don't get adopted due to the fact that they're no longer small and cute looking.

WORD!

[sera77 35]

I've been wanting to get a second cat since one of mine passed away a year ago, and I wanted to get an older cat as well simply because there are so many wonderful ones put down because ppl go for cute little kittens first. My vet actually advised against getting an older one as long as I still have my old (18yr) beloved silver tabby. She said that I should get a young kitten if I'm adding to my pet household because it'll be much less stressful to my oldster when it comes to territory and dominance.

S.

[Mags 112]

I've been wanting to get a second cat since one of mine passed away a year ago, and I wanted to get an older cat as well simply because there are so many wonderful ones put down because ppl go for cute little kittens first. My vet actually advised against getting an older one as long as I still have my old (18yr) beloved silver tabby. She said that I should get a young kitten if I'm adding to my pet household because it'll be much less stressful to my oldster when it comes to territory and dominance.

S.

Any addition to your family will stress out an 18 year old cat.

[Not Available 0]

I have three cats and none of them liked each other at first, but they worked it out. I get my cats declawed and I made sure my first cat was de-clawed before I got my next kitten. It's always the older one that had an issue and the kitten just wanted to play, so if he tried to attack my kitten, my kitten could scratch and defend himself. My older cat learned quickly of this advantage lol.

[Mags 112]

Well, de-clawing is a barbaric, cruel, selfish and inhumane procedure (it's like cutting off your finger at the first knuckle and is actually illegal in the majority of other countires). I beg the OP to NOT do this to their cat.

Edited October 25, 2009 by Persephone

[broma25 2]

Well, de-clawing is a barbaric, cruel, selfish and inhumane procedure (it's like cutting off your finger at the first knuckle and is actually illegal in the majority of other countires). I beg the OP to NOT do this to their cat.

I totally agree....if your afraid of the scratches don't get a cat....however contrary to popular belief, you can train a cat to scratch only the things its supposed to.....God gave them claws leave them intact!

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Just an update. We went to the local shelter on Saturday to have a look and when we got home my wife got a call from her parents. Her British cat was at the vets ill. She died on Sunday (14 years old). Her parents live in a thatched cottage in a small village outside of Stratford upon Avon and the cat had slowly been expanding her territory catching mice and rabbits mostly. Apparently she had eaten multiple mice that had rat poison in their systems from a farm somewhere. Normally she realizes I guess because she vomits the mouse up right away. This time I guess she digested them and it did her liver in.

At any rate, getting a second cat right now isn't really the best timing so I imagine we'll wait 6 months or so now.