cat too old for playmate?

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Camilla Cracchiolo - 22 May 2006 04:32 GMT

Is our cat too old to add a kitten to our family?

A year and a half ago, a 5 month old kitten walked into our lives.
Very sweet and incredibly smart cat. So we fixed her, vaccinated her
and kept her. She's now about 2 and an indoor cat (well, we take her
out on a leash, sometimes.) Very social to humans.

For the longest time, she was all over us to play with her.
24/7...this was one active cat. Not big on cuddling. PLAY. NOW! ALL
THE TIME.

I'm sick and sleep a lot and my husband is usually out. So, I kept
wanting to get another kitten so she would have a playmate. I thought
it would make our kitty happier plus save another cat. My husband
was opposed, even though we've had two cats before.

My husband has finally agreed to get a kitten. However, recently our
cat has settled down. I don't know if this is because she's older, or
if she's just resigned to being bored a lot of the time. Now I don't
know if she will pick on the kitten instead of play with it. She's
had a year and a half to get used to owning two humans. I don't know
how she will take to sharing.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

___________________________________________________

Camilla Cracchiolo
Registered Nurse
Los Angeles, California

camilla4@mindspring.com webpage temporarily down

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Matthew aka NMR - 22 May 2006 04:42 GMT

> Is our cat too old to add a kitten to our family?
>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Any thoughts? Thanks.

Yes cat are ones to adapt to any situation given time. Get a kitten make
sure you introduce them correctly and your cat will have a playmate and you
will have a new source of oh my god which one of you did this
;-)

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BulletProof - 22 May 2006 09:24 GMT

> Yes cat are ones to adapt to any situation given time. Get a kitten make
> sure you introduce them correctly and your cat will have a playmate and you
> will have a new source of oh my god which one of you did this
> ;-)

I agree, even a mean senior cat will have hours of fun "training" the
new kitten as to just how little or much "kitten" can tamper with him.

course... at some point, kitten is going to do what da hell it wants
cause that's what cats do... like pounce on a sr cat while sleeping
eating pooping... and.. well that pretty much covers a cats activities

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stan beck - 22 May 2006 13:49 GMT

The older kitty just needs time and space to adapt. I think once older
kitty and younger kitty figure out the pecking order, things will go
fine.

Stan

http://Kitten-Pictures.com
Adorable Kitten Pictures

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2pharmacists@rogers.com - 23 May 2006 01:19 GMT

I got a new kitten when one of my cats was 15. It was hilarious! The
older cat was like a grumpy uncle. In fact, we called him "Uncle
Grumpy" to the kitten. "Doesn't Uncle Grumpy want to play?" Whenever
the kitten wanted to play he flipped his tail, sighed and looked away,
or just laid down under the bed or in a closet. It was sort of like
"Go away, kid, you're bothering me". So we spent many hours playing
with the new kitten. However, the older cat did tolerate the kitten as
he seemed to understand that he was a "young'n" and when he died, the
kitten, grown up by then, seemed missed his "Uncle" .
Just make sure you take the introduction slowly to see if the older cat
is territorial. Get some good advice on that.
You'll have fun!

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chas - 23 May 2006 18:44 GMT

Are you sure your cat really NEEDS a playmate? I was once told it can take
an adopted cat up to TWO years to fully settle in. Then you really see the
true personality. I have found this to be quite true - in my own experience
of having rescue cats. It sounds like your cat may now just be really
settled and happy anyway. If she already has plenty to keep her amused
indoors and lots of love from you, adding another cat may upset the status
quo.

On the other paw however, she might be glad of the feline company - but as
you know her better than we do, only you can really gauge what her reaction
is likely to be.

chas

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Rhonda - 23 May 2006 06:18 GMT

Our cats seemed to settle down around age two.

How about getting another adult cat to be friends with yours? Your cat
will probably become kittenish again after they are friends, but the
playing field will be more even instead of an energetic kitten pouncing
on an adult cat all day long.

Rhonda

> Is our cat too old to add a kitten to our family?
>
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>
> camilla4@mindspring.com webpage temporarily down

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