Need kitty advice
 

Hi Everybody, :)

We have a cat, Rocky, a male cat we adopted about 2 1/2 years ago from the local shelter. He's very social and follows us around like a puppy. He gets very lonely when we're gone for any length of time since he's so close to us.

He also seems to be sort of territorial. If a cat comes to the window (especially a male) he acts like he wants to kill it. :eek: If a female is out there he's not quite as aggressive but seems to be somewhat accepting but still on guard.

Well, my sister rescues cats all the time and she offered to give me this adorable little female cat they named Roxie. She's a semi-longhair tortie like a cat we had before Rocky. She's very sweet and has had a hard life.

She's 14 months old and has had two litters of kittens already. She has offered to get her fixed and checked out at the vets close to her (much cheaper than the ones in our area.)

Does this sound like a situation where we could get Rocky to accept a female cat? I think it might keep him company and she's very loving as well. I know of the problems of having two cats, other than the increased vet expenses, etc...

Please give me your opinions. :) :confused:

I think it all depends on the disposition of your cat. I have two cats, and the male (Tigger) is very docile and loving. The female (Gracie) is totally different. She acts like Rocky does if another cat comes into the yard........like she's going to go through the window after them.

I've always heard that adult cats take to a kitten more so than an older cat. But, again, I think it depends on your cats temperment. It might take a little while for him to get used to the other cat. Jealousy is also something to think about.

We got Tigger when Gracie was already an adult cat but he was just a kitten. She ignored him the first few days but he kept after her until she paid attention to him. They're inseparable today!

Good luck! Have you thought of a name for the new cat? :)

I guess cats are a bit like us Wiz, in that they all have their own temperments, likes and dislikes.

I don't know if your fur baby will accept another but I guess the only way to find out for sure is to go for it! If your sister already has this little one, could you try a weekend visit and see what happens?

As spoiled as our older male cat was, he accepted the new ones we later got without any problems. We got him at 6 weeks old and he was my daughter's first (and only) pet for many years so you can imagine how special he was made to feel! He went everywhere with us when we moved houses, when we moved states.

Later we got a dog, a big German Shepherd! The cat had no trouble getting on with the dog, and then we took in a stray cat. The cat was in the family way when we got her, so she had kittens, and all of a sudden we had one dog and 6 cats... and they all got on! :D

I have photos of the cats and kittens climbing all over our Shepherd and there were times when I actually felt sorry for the dog. He put up with an awful lot from those cats, and he never growled, never complained!

We eventually ended up with 3 cats....2 boys and one girl including the original boy cat and 2 of those little kittens ... all of them spayed, all of them friends.

All of them have crossed the Rainbow Bridge now but all of them lived a long and happy life (as in 14-16 human years).

:Off-Topic: Gosh... I got a bit off track there didn't I? :o

Anyway, back to the original topic.... I say go for it!

Well, Roxie has two kittens, Daisy and Lilly. Maybe Rocky would accept one of them more readily? Those are both 4 weeks old and just adorable. :D Lilly is a white tortie and Daisy more black but also a tortie. They're just so cute to watch. Roxie was nursing her babies tonight while we were there. I'd like to have them all... :) :rolleyes:

Males accept females much better than other males.

When you introduce the new kitty, put her in a room by herself, to let them get used to each others scent for a day. Go in with her and sit on the floor, and show her she is accepted at your home now.

For Rocky, he will be curious, and may hiss up a storm, but if he keeps his ears UP and doesn't flatten them, it is all show. Flattened ears, precedes aggressive attacks.
He will probably do what I call "revenge eating"...eating her food, etc. I have found over the years that FOOD is the way to keep the peace. I now give each cat their own "treat" once a day. (that has eroded now a bit, and they ask more often, but I give in. Our oldest two are not fat so I give them a snack as well here and there). When cats see that the FOOD will be plentiful and no changes happen with it, they usually accept the newbie.

Our middle cat used to scream at cats who came by the windows. She belted one out at 6am one day, and scared us silly! But she has mellowed a bit. We don't have many cats who come by but lately we have 3. I think the tree that fell across the river, is providing a bridge for them. They are also attracted to our bird feeders.

When we got Oreo, I bought a new cat tree for her, thinking 3 cats=3 cat perches. That really helped her, as she sat up there feeling safe.(she didn't feel well after her shots as a kitten, and was homesick when we adopted her..kind of "depressed"). After two weeks, my husband said-- "well, you picked a Dud". But you know, she is really the best cat we've had. She follows him around like a dog. It is so cute watching them outside together!
She prances around him with her tail up and happy... It never ceases to move me. So with time she is most certainly NOT a dud. LOL

Here is a picture of Oreo with hubby... keeping him company while he reads on the dock --under his chair...the other cat is our old Queen Sheba.

I agree, that it would be difficult not to take them all! ;)

Ok, I'm meeting my sister halfway tomorrow (we're about 55 miles apart) and she's bringing me Daisy, one of the kittens. We'll have lunch and I'll bring the baby home with me for Rocky. :D We're going to try it out (and I know I can make it work). ;) Rocky might have his nose out of joint for a week or two, but he'll be happy that he has a baby before long. She's 5 1/2 weeks old and petite like her momma. :circlelove: She's the darker colored tortie.

A
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too short; so AWWWWWWWWW!)

I think they will get on okay... Try not to be tense with Rocky, as he will feel that tension and think "something is wrong".

My son has a tortie...and the vet he goes to says, all torties are "crazy"...some generalization they have about breeds!

She was a very active kitten, she would fly thru the air literally, leaping here and there, and remained small for a long time. I thought she was a midget for a while there! LOL I nicknamed her microkitty.

But she has porked up now finally. She is strange...gets stranger everyday. She did not adapt so well, during his recent move. The other two don't seem to mind as much. But the Tortie is slinking around and acting strange still after 3 weeks!

So I hope your new tortie kitten is more "normal".... heheheheh.

Keep us up on the latest kitten news...for many of us, it is as close to a kitten we can get! ;)

We had another tortie, Sweet Pea, and yes, she could be a bit strange, lol. :) She was hilarious at times but such a lovey dovey. :D

I better get moving and get to the pet store to get some food and regular litter for her. My sister is bringing part of the "family blanket" for her. :icon_mrgreen: I also need to get her a little bed and some tiny dishes. :D

Haven't had a kitty since 1982--lost three sweethearts to an ex-husband through divorce. Current hubby doesn't have a good history with cats so we've had none while we've been married, since 1982. All to say, that I too am loving this thread; please keep us informed.

LJP