I seem to have adopted a stray cat who has been hanging around my house
for some time. He is very thin and I have been feeding him outside
but, as I have had a week off work, I have realised that he is also
coming into the house via the cat flap and eating all my cats food. I
don't really mind this as Lily (my cat) is sort of a fussy eater and I
end up chucking a lot of her food away so he is really only eating the
left overs but the problem is this... Lily and the stray (who I call
Dave) do not get on at all. Lily is quite a timid cat and when Dave
comes in, she will hiss and attempt to scratch him but then will hide
behind the curtains. Dave doesn't seem overly aggressive or anything
but I suppose Lily sees the house as her territory hence the
shennanigans. Will they learn to get on? Dave is very affectionate -
he knows which side his bread's buttered I suppose - so I'm a bit
worried that, if I show affection to Dave, Lily will get the hump and
go AWOL (she was also a stray originally), is this likely? I would
like to live in peace and harmony with both of them but is this
practically impossible? Should just take him to the Cat Shelter and
get them to re-home him?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Vicky
Gail - 02 Aug 2006 20:32 GMT
I would take him to a vet to be checked for health issues and neutered. If
he is OK, you can take him inside and keep him in a room by himself with
food, litter, bed, and water. Lily should be exposed to him gradually and
over time. Usually, with a slow introduction, cats can adapt to another cat
in the house. You should supervise them and need to be patient!!
Gail
>I seem to have adopted a stray cat who has been hanging around my house
> for some time. He is very thin and I have been feeding him outside
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Thanks
> Vicky
jeannie - 02 Aug 2006 20:44 GMT
I will give it a try then. It's going to be a bit tricky as my house
is small and I haven't got a spare room for Dave. I will think of
something! How long will it take roughly?
He doesn't seem to have any health issues apart from possible worms
based on how much he eats although that could be becuase he's only
eating at my house, he hasn't even got fleas! He is a very happy cat
from what I have seen. How do you tell if they have already been
neutered or is it spayed...are there erm...bits missing?
Vicky
Gail - 02 Aug 2006 20:48 GMT
If he is a male, the testicles are missing. Bring a stool sample to the vet
and the vet will give you wormer for him. Also, you cannot tell if he has
health issues just by looking at him. He should be checked for feline
leukemia and FIV, another feline disease. How long it takes depends on the
cats involved. It's hard to predict. You are wonderful to take him in. (even
a bathroom will do for him with litter box, a bed, etc).
Gail
>I will give it a try then. It's going to be a bit tricky as my house
> is small and I haven't got a spare room for Dave. I will think of
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Vicky
Vicky - 02 Aug 2006 20:56 GMT
In that case Dave is definately "all man". He only seems to be about a
year old so I don't think there will be too many Dave Jnr's roaming
around...yet! I will get him to the vets asap. He is sleeping in the
porch at the minute so I will try and make some room for him in the
house somewhere..away from scaredy cat Lil. Thanks for the advice
Gail - 02 Aug 2006 21:01 GMT
That will definitely help with the integration (having him neutered). It
will increase the chances of no fighting.
Gail
> In that case Dave is definately "all man". He only seems to be about a
> year old so I don't think there will be too many Dave Jnr's roaming
> around...yet! I will get him to the vets asap. He is sleeping in the
> porch at the minute so I will try and make some room for him in the
> house somewhere..away from scaredy cat Lil. Thanks for the advice