Hi Lee,

Where do you live? (The no-kill where I volunteer has a beautiful set
of 2 year old brothers - lol). I echo what Mary said - sounds like a
good set-up and you will be doing a wonderful thing by keeping together
a pair who love each other. Do use Petfinder as well, it can totally
help you identify a likely suspect or two .... (and e-mail me if you're
anywhere near the Bay Area).

Thanks for the guidance!  Our intent is to find a pair.  I know from
Petfinders that they are out there in our region, and since age is not
a factor, I expect our biggest problem will be narrowing our choices.

I am, however, concerned about keeping them confined for the first few
days.  Our house is open concept. The only rooms with doors are the two
bedrooms and the bathrooms.  Would it overwhelm the cats to let them
wander and discover (and hide if they feel like it) at their own pace?
And how do you "teach" an older cat where the litterxes are, anyway?

Thanks for the guidance!  Our intent is to find a pair.  I know from
Petfinders that they are out there in our region, and since age is not
a factor, I expect our biggest problem will be narrowing our choices.

I am, however, concerned about keeping them confined for the first few
days.  Our house is open concept. The only rooms with doors are the two
bedrooms and the bathrooms.  Would it overwhelm the cats to let them
wander and discover (and hide if they feel like it) at their own pace?
And how do you "teach" an older cat where the litterboxes are, anyway?

Stress is very often a factor. There was a little Persian at our vets that
sucked the tip of her tail raw. She was an "ornament" in her home.The people
did not want to "deal with" why she was doing this. So my vet took her in to
adopt out. The day I saw her, I found out my supervisor's parents beloved
older cat had passed away the week before. The mother was bent on getting
another Siamese type, but I told her about this *adorable* tiny persian lady
kitty. She called her mom who came in and did not pass go to adopt this
kitty. The cat is now a *pampered* pet who is allowed to go where she wants
in the house and travels with them in the camper. No tail sucking issues
have ever surfaced again. Obviously, this cat was totally stressed in her
former environment and her only way of dealing with it was sucking the tail
until raw. Now, there can be other reasons, and certainly allergies can play
a part, but it is quite possible is just the stress of being a shelter
kitty. Congratulations!

Congrats on your new boys!  The Maine Coon probably does have some stress
licking.  Usually when the hair loss is in the back like that, that's what
it is.  It can also be from rubbing against the cage.  Of course, have the
vet look at it and check him for fleas.

Good luck :)

-Kelly

Lee, wonderful news!! Your new cats sound great. I wanted to tell
you that I do have a cat that grooms herself bald when stressed. She
may pull some of it out, but the way it looks when "in process" I really
think she just licks it out. As you say, the skin is perfectly pink and
smoothe. My guess is that once your boy is home and settles in, he
will be fine. (I solved my cat's stress situation and all her lovely
fur came back in! We have another cat that was invading her "turf"
in order to be closer to me. I stopped this by spending more time with
the other cat elsewhere so she stopped coming up to where the
bald kitty likes to call her own.)

Please, if you have time, keep us apprised of how it goes. And
we love kitty pics! You can make an album at Yahoo or any
number of free web sites. I am so happy for you, and for these
deserving boys. I hope they bring your home lots of joy. I
can just imagine how happy they will be to be out of the
shelter.

I wrote:

They boys have been in their new home with us for about three weeks
now, and have adjusted well.  They like to be together and have been
perfect gentlemen.  They haven't jumped up on counters (off limits to
cats in our house), and are only scratching/clawing where they're
supposed to.  We took them to our vet, and both got treated for ear
mites and got their rabies shots.

Alex, the Maine Coon mix, is estimated to be 2-4 years old and weighs a
solid 14 lbs.  He's a bit high strung and is always on full alert, but
in time we think he'll relax.  His fur is starting to come in again,
but it will be awhile before it's all back.  Apparently Alex was a
rescue from a cat hoarder and had been at the shelter for over a year
because he was part of "evidence" for the ongoing legal case. Alex
loves all his toys.  Every morning I put them all back in a basket
under the cat tree, and by the afternoon, most of them are scattered
througout the house.  He's a joy to watch when he plays!

Smitty, our huge boy, weighed 20 lbs., but is down to 19, probably due
to increased activity and not living in a cage.  The vet said that he
doesn't need to be on a diet - he's just extra large.  His age is
probably 9-10, not the 6 years the shelter thought.  He's going in for
dental work next week for some serious gingivitis and tarter.  He's a
totally laid-back cat, and I can't believe that he was turned in by his
original owner.  He is the sweetest cat I have ever known, loves to get
on any available lap (not that he fits), and he rolls over for tummy
rubs.  He clearly has some meezer in him, because he has dark points
and blue eyes, but he rarely talks, and when he does, it's a tiny
little high voice - hilarious coming from such a big boy!

In general, Alex tends to hang around with Smitty.  He just seems to be
more at ease when Smitty is close by, and they haven't fought at all.

We couldn't be happier with our decision to adopt hard-to-place adult
cats.  These two guys are the best!  Thanks for the words of wisdom
from you all that helped us make this wonderful decision!

Lee