posted
As I mentioned in an earlier thread, C and I are going to be buying a house soon, and because we're moving to an urban area our cat, who can currently go outside at will (although she spends 80% of her time inside as it is) will become an exclusively indoor cat.
She's young--a little more than a year, I'd guess, and very playful. We'd like to get her a companion, probably another cat, to keep her company. The thing is, when I was a kid we did the same thing, and it was horrible. Both cats, although great companions, despised each other, and the dominant, older cat proceeded to torment the younger beta cat for the next 13 years or so. I don't want a repeat of that.
It has occurred to me that the best time to introduce a new cat might be right when we move; that way neither cat would feel like its territory was being invaded. On the other hand, it strikes me that the presence of another cat might keep our present cat from really bonding with the space and considering it her territory.
Also, would it be better, in terms of their getting along, to get a kitten or a full grown cat?
Finally, there's the fact that C and I are both allergic to cats. We'll be getting the 2nd cat from the pound, of course, but does anybody know if there are any observable traits that are correlated with less-alergenic cats? We lucked out with our current one, and it would be nice if we could do the same with the new one.
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quote: Also, would it be better, in terms of their getting along, to get a kitten or a full grown cat?
In my own limited experience as as owner of a pair of cats many years ago, I found that an introduction of a kitten was a smooth one. No dominance struggles. The patterns were set early.
Not sure, but it might have helped that the older one was a male and the younger one a female (both neutered at the earliest appropriate age).
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posted
I'm allergic to cats and I married into having 2 of them. I have had very few problems and I've been told it's because they are both long hair cats.
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Whenever we've gotten another cat, the first cat has always had issues with it. But then they've learned to get along together after a little while. I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that it's best to have a male and a female (neutered, of course) so that they don't feel threatened by each other. Oh, and I think it helps if the new cat is a kitten. My family's oldest cat has taken it upon himself to "mother" the younger ones.
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Fair question. Our current cat chose us. We had no intention of ever having a cat, but she started coming to our door early last summer, peting herself on our hands when we were sitting outside, climbing into our laps whenever possible, etc. When it started getting cold we decided that we couldn't let her spend a winter (her first) outside, and she became a primarily indoor cat.
We've thought about getting a ferret or a dog as our second pet, and honestly now that we'll be owning our own place I wouldn't be surprised if, a year or so from now, we had aquired something of a menagerie, but for now, it seems like it would be best to get a cat, just because it seems like they'd be more likely to be to be a good companion to our current cat. The allergies aren't all *that* big of a deal. I'm allergic to cats, dogs, horses, cows--you name it, if it's got fur I'm allergic to it--but I grew up surrounded by pets, and I like having them enough that it's worth it to me to have to deal with the allergies.
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posted
You know, a prairie dog has occurred to me. The main reason why I might be disinclined to go with one would be that I probably couldn't get one from a pound or other animal rescue place.
How would you describe the personality of prairie dogs you've known? To what degree do they interact with people? How well do they get along with cats? How well equipped are they to defend themselves if the cat gets too rough, and there aren't any convenient holes to duck down?
posted
Seriously, Noemon, you will have to consider your current cat's disposition.
Spayed female cats are solitary, and very possessive of their humans. I have never seen, in all of the cats I raised while I was growing up, a spayed female play with another cat. Usually they are very jealous, and bond to you rather than other cats living with you. The best I've seen is tolerance of each other when sleep in the same room as another cat.
On the other hand, there has to be an exception to this behavior. Odds are, though, that your cat is perfectly happy with just herself and her humans, thank you very much.
Neutered males stay kittens their whole lives by contrast. They do blow up like hot air balloons, but play through the entirety of their lives.
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As funny as they look, Rex cats are good for people who have allergies, since they tend not to shed much. Don't necessarilly go for the idea that long-haired cats shed more and short-haired shed less - our short hair sheds WAY more than our semi-long hair does.
My personal experience from introducing a second cat into the household went really well - we had a male (neutered, declawed) cat that was about 1.5 years old. We introduced a female kitten into our home that was about 3 months old (and had her spayed and declawed a couple months later). The first day or so was a little weird (but we made sure to introduce them when they would be supervised for their first few days), but after probably 2 days, they got along just great. Now, both these cats are extremely easy-going little cats (the male had been an out-door cat in another state before I put him in a car for a day and a half and made him be an indoor cat and he was fine with it).
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posted
My sister's cat hasn't blown up like a balloon or stayed a kitten. He's more of a combination diva and surrogate mommy to the other cats.
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I've had two tux. cats(both male) for several years, but a few years ago I participated in an animal rescue league that was overloaded. I took in four kittens to hold until adopted. I adopted one myself, a creamy orangish colored one that would purr everytime you touched him, even if you were teasing him. However about a year ago he started cleaning the other cats, I wonder sometimes if he's gay. Anyway, about six months ago one of the tux. cats got sick and died.
And that's my kittie story.
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quote: Spayed female cats are solitary, and very possessive of their humans. I have never seen, in all of the cats I raised while I was growing up, a spayed female play with another cat. Usually they are very jealous, and bond to you rather than other cats living with you. The best I've seen is tolerance of each other when sleep in the same room as another cat.
The spayed female I had was definitely very different than this. She was affectionate toward everyone (came about as close as a cat does to dog-like sociability). She was also the one who would always initiate play with the older male. They played killer tag regularly, often using guests as ricochet points. Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
In my experience, there is no predicting whether or how well two cats will get along. Your chances for good pair bonding probably do go up if at least one is a kitten. Don't try to stop them playing, even if it looks sort of rough, or if one of them doesn't seem to be enjoying it very much. That is how they become friends. If you try to stop them playing you will definitely make them enemies for life. I made this mistake once. As long as there is no vocalization, (hissing, growling, screaming, or yowling), it is play, even it if looks pretty rough. Real fights are always accompanied by vocals. Sometimes (just as with kids) what starts as play can turn sour, though.
I've had cats who are strangers become close friends when they are both boys, both girls, and twice when they were one of each. And I've had them become sworn enemies, too, twice, (and both of those times they were both female). So I think if I could choose for you, I'd pick a male kitten.
My experience with perhaps a dozen different cats in my life over the years does not bear out my illustrious acolyte eslaine's theories about neutered females, by the way.
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Here is my (long) how-do-cats-get-along story.
A little over a year ago, Gollum had six kittens. She had them in my dresser drawer during the two days I was keeping her while my friends (B&J) moved. One of the kittens was automatically mine per the "Yeah, I'll take your cats for a couple days" agreement. After about a week, Gollum and the kittens got to go home with B&J until they were old enough to be given away. When that time came, two people who had spoken for kittens backed out, so B&J were left with Merri and Pippin. I brought Fizzgig home to my 14-year-old male, neutered cat. Yeah, they did not get along, but that's sort of a detail. A couple months later, I lost a job and had to move out of my apartment. Fizzgig and I moved in with B&J. Fizzgig did not go over well with the other cats even though she was from the same litter. They fought beyond just playing, and Fizz sprayed everything in sight. Once I got her fixed, she gained weight and wasn't a problem.
I have since moved out, and am waiting to fulfill another agreement. B&J get Pippin fixed, and I take her. I am very curious to see what will happen. I'm hoping that Pippin will gain weight (she's not an attractive cat anyway, but being lanky doesn't help) and that they will get along.
Anyway, that's probably not very helpful, and I think my long, drawn-out point is that you just never know how cats will get along. I would suggest having cats fixed after the ordeal I went through with Fizzgig, and while that definitely improved her disposition, I don't know if it relates to how well cats get along with each other.
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Fair question. Our current cat chose us. We had no intention of ever having a cat, but she started coming to our door early last summer, peting herself on our hands when we were sitting outside, climbing into our laps whenever possible, etc. When it started getting cold we decided that we couldn't let her spend a winter (her first) outside, and she became a primarily indoor cat.![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
However about a year ago he started cleaning the other cats, I wonder sometimes if he's gay. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
