Question on getting a 2nd cat

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aisleb - 06 Jun 2004 04:28 GMT

Hi,

We have one altered male cat, "Pete," in our apartment. His companion
of 2 years had to be recently removed from our apartment due to
medical and behavior problems. Pete is an extremely outgoing, nosey,
vocal, and playful cat of 6 years. He is also lonely for a companion
and playmate on his own. We recently found a cat at a shelter that we
would like to bring home - a 2-3 year old, altered, female tortie cat.
I am told she is an Alpha, but she is very small, especially compared
to Pete who is tall, long and lean.

We are concerned about introducing an alpha female into our household,
as Pete has ruled our roost for several years now. Would this be a bad
idea? I am not too familiar with alpha females, but I suspect that
they vie for pecking order? By fighting??

Do you think we may have better luck with another altered male? Are
adults generally ok to introduce, or would kittens be a better choice.
(I am only concerned that with kittens you never really know the
personality until it could be too late).

Thanks for your help,
amy

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Ryan Robbins - 06 Jun 2004 07:34 GMT

> Do you think we may have better luck with another altered male? Are
> adults generally ok to introduce, or would kittens be a better choice.
> (I am only concerned that with kittens you never really know the
> personality until it could be too late).

In my family's experience, established cats are more accepting of new cats
of the opposite sex than they are of cats their own sex. Put the new cat in
a closed room for a few days, then perhaps open the door and put a gate up,
and see what happens before allowing it into the rest of the place.

Reply to this Message

Laura R. - 06 Jun 2004 13:15 GMT

circa 5 Jun 2004 20:28:58 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
aisleb (amyisleb@yahoo.com) said,

> Hi,
>
> We have one altered male cat, "Pete," in our apartment. His companion
> of 2 years had to be recently removed from our apartment due to
> medical and behavior problems.

What medical and behavior problems? To where, exactly, was the cat
"removed"? Are you going to get rid of the next cat if it becomes
ill, too? When you get a pet, you're supposed to be making a
*commitment* to that animal, not dumping it as soon as it does
something you don't like or becomes sick.

> Pete is an extremely outgoing, nosey,
> vocal, and playful cat of 6 years. He is also lonely for a companion
> and playmate on his own. We recently found a cat at a shelter that we
> would like to bring home - a 2-3 year old, altered, female tortie cat.
> I am told she is an Alpha, but she is very small, especially compared
> to Pete who is tall, long and lean.

Cats aren't "alphas". They have complex hierarchies that aren't as
simple as a single alpha and a bunch of submissives.

> We are concerned about introducing an alpha female into our household,
> as Pete has ruled our roost for several years now. Would this be a bad
> idea? I am not too familiar with alpha females, but I suspect that
> they vie for pecking order? By fighting??

If you introduce the cats gradually and correctly, it really won't
matter what sex the cats are. Their personalities may or may not gel,
but it's not like you're afraid to dump a cat when it proves
difficult anyway, so you could just try another one.

It's entirely dependent on the cats in question and how you go about
introducing them.

Laura

Signature

Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.
-Oscar Wilde

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Barb - 06 Jun 2004 20:28 GMT

Do not get a second cat. What if the new cat develops medical or behavioral
problems? The longer you have a cat the more likely these things are to
happen. Both of my older (13 & 14 yrs) cats recently developed medical
problems that had to be dealt with both in the same week and more than $1000
later they are both back on track but I've heard of people spending much
more and dealing with much more severe problems. Your 6 year old cat has
many (hopefully) years ahead of him and I hope you won't need to "remove"
him from your home in his times of need.

--
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.

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MacCandace - 06 Jun 2004 21:14 GMT

<< Your 6 year old cat has many (hopefully) years ahead of him and I hope you
won't need to "remove"
him from your home in his times of need. >>

Exactly. And who will remove the OP from her home if she develops a medical
problem? Hopefully, whatever happened to the other cat was not as harsh as the
words describing it were.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Reply to this Message

Mary - 06 Jun 2004 23:42 GMT

> << Your 6 year old cat has many (hopefully) years ahead of him and I hope you
> won't need to "remove"
> him from your home in his times of need. >>
>
> Exactly. And who will remove the OP from her home if she develops a medical
> problem?

I volunteer!

Reply to this Message

aisleb - 07 Jun 2004 04:02 GMT

I did not mean it too sound harsh. We did everything we could for our
little cat, unfortunately, he had several medical issues that could
not be taken care of due to other medical issues (medications, etc.,
interfered with each other and/or caused different medical issues to
worsen) and behavior problems that caused him to mutilate himself
terribly or attack. Our household turned out not to be best for him,
and this hard decision came only after having numerous house call vets
to our apartment, visitations with cat psychologists/behaviorists,
etc. over the period of about a year. In the end, he needed a VERY
stable and calm homelife where the owners could afford to continue to
treat his many ailments. Because our environment would not continue to
be stable - having a child and moving, the behaviorist and our vet
felt that he would not improve in our household and offered to find a
stable, childless home for him.

This decision was not based on money or us simply not wanting to deal
with his issues. We do not take cats into our household lightly, nor
do we take our responsibilty to them lightly.

-amy

> << Your 6 year old cat has many (hopefully) years ahead of him and I hope you
> won't need to "remove"
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
> than human." (Loren Eisely)

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MacCandace - 07 Jun 2004 04:27 GMT

<< the behaviorist and our vet
felt that he would not improve in our household and offered to find a
stable, childless home for him. >>

Did he wind up getting a good home?

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Reply to this Message

Laura R. - 07 Jun 2004 05:25 GMT

circa 6 Jun 2004 20:02:11 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
aisleb (amyisleb@yahoo.com) said,

> I did not mean it too sound harsh. We did everything we could for our
> little cat, unfortunately, he had several medical issues that could
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> with his issues. We do not take cats into our household lightly, nor
> do we take our responsibilty to them lightly.

Thank you for this clarification. I'm impressed and glad to be proven
wrong.

Laura

Signature

Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.
-Oscar Wilde

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~*Connie*~ - 07 Jun 2004 23:02 GMT

> I did not mean it too sound harsh. We did everything we could for our
> little cat, unfortunately, he had several medical issues that could
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> -amy

I applaud you for taking the necessary steps to ensure the cats happiness
and well being!

as for introducing a new cat to the house, I have found gender to have very
little to do with it. I have four males and a female. Adopt the new cat,
bring her home, put her in a room with food and litter. See how your cat
reacts. If he is aggressive, leave the new kitty in the room for a while,
going in a couple of times a day to give attention, and to get her scent on
you. The more aggression he shows, the longer this step will be. If your
cat is interested and curious with out being aggressive, then do the
introductions. Make sure to show lots of love and attention to the resident
cat, and make sure he gets lots of treats and play time to show him he is
not being replaced. also.. make sure you keep 1.5 litter boxes per cat in
your house hold.

Good luck!

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Sherry - 08 Jun 2004 10:57 GMT

>as for introducing a new cat to the house, I have found gender to have very
>little to do with it. I have four males and a female. Adopt the new cat,
>bring her home, put her in a room with food and litter.

I agree. I've never noticed gender to be a factor, either. Mostly just the
specific personality of the cat. My two old boys are so cool about newcomers.
They've seen dozens and dozens of fosters/rescues come and go. Now they just
sniff the newbie like, "Oh. Another one."
My Bootsie, OTOH, is just a 3-year-old former rescue. She is always my problem
with introductions.
Sherry

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