Getting A New Kitten

[Elisabeth83]

My boyfriend and I got a little male kitten about 1 1/2 years ago. Some of you might remember me posting pictures of him. His name is Moby. Anyways at the time we weren't sure if we wanted him to be an only cat or get another kitten but at that time just having him was enough so we opted not to get another kitten.

Now 1 1/2 years later my boyfriend and I were thinking of getting another kitten to keep Moby company and for him to have a playmate. He loves to play and run through the house and we're not always in the mood to play with him and then we feel guilty and think it would of just been best if we adopted one of his siblings at the same time we got him so he would have a friend.

I know many sites say cats are solitary and do fine on their own but we think it might be better for Moby to have a friend. My boyfriend works long hours and soon I will be going back to school (learning Swedish) so Moby will be spending up to 5-6 hours a day by himself and we kinda feel bad about that.

Do you all think it would be ok to get another kitten? Is getting a male kitten better or female or maybe it doesn't matter? Moby is still pretty young and he's neutered so I don't think we'll have too hard of a time introducing a new kitten in the house. What's the best way to go about introducing them? I think I read somwhere that it's best to keep the new kitten confined to a room and then have like meetings between the older cat and the new kitten?

 

[Timberview]

I think you should get another kitten
Yes That is how you introduce them.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Yeah i'd get another , our little boy loved having a new friend for when we went out... he's got 3 to play with now

I read the opposite, the new kitten explores the house for a day or two while the other is left confined. After the new kitten has explored everywhere you introduce them and supervise them for a while until they become friendly. Took our 2nd kitten 2days to make friends but the other 2 took about 10days

Goodluck and post pics of them both when you get the new one

Dan

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i only have two suggestions: (1) getting a female should be less likely to spark serious competition and (2) look for an older kitten just to be on the safe side (male cats have a natural instinct to "eliminate" young kittens that aren't theirs)

 

[cutie mcwhiskers]

Hi Elisabeth,

a couple of years ago i had to make the same decision as you, wether to get a male or female kitten as a friend for my 2year old baby boy fidget. i decided to get a girl, actually ended up getting 2 sisters cause their mother died when they were 4weeks old and the people couldnt cope looking after all 4 in the litter so we took 2 of them, heidi and fifi.

we kept them in the spare room with the door shut for a couple of weeks then we put a piece of wood across the door so fidget could come and see them if he wanted but they couldnt get out so he still had his own space. we did this under supervision for a while just to be on the safe side.

another thing i did before introducing them was to groom them with the same brush to mix their scents and get them used to eachother.

after a month or two everything was great, fidget would come and see them and wash them and curl up with them! he's such a sweetie! once he was ok with them we then let them have the run of the house and everythings been fine since, he still mothers them even though theyre 2 years old now! lol!

if you dont rush the introductions and let them do it in their own time then they'll be the best of friends like my babies!

 

[KathyM]

(male cats have a natural instinct to "eliminate" young kittens that aren't theirs)

Never heard of this before - interesting.

I've introduced a fair amount of young kittens to adult males and never had a problem, never heard of this with anyone else either.

If you male cat is young and neutered, it doesn't really matter what sex the kitten is, although a male/female neutered pairing is usually the best bet if you're not sure how your cat will accept a newcomer. I tend to go for male/male neutered pairings because I just prefer male cats for their temperament. We have one female here and she's a witch *lol*.

There are loads of kittens in rescue at this time of year - have a look at this link:

http/www.rykat.org/forums/index.php?act=idx

Good luck!

 

[Synirr]

That's interesting about the males killing kittens, pica_nuttalli. I know lions do it, and I vaguely remember it being mentioned on some show I saw a long time ago about feral cat colonies.

I did a little Googling and was able to find several sites that mention it, two notables being:
http/www.kittencare.com/askKC_Pregnancy_Birth.html#tomcats
http/messybeast.com/kill_kit.htm

From the second link... this is just a tidbit, there's a whole article about it:

A tom cat will normally establish a territory which contains a number of females or female groups, and it is in his own interest to repel other males and to destroy kittens which may have been fathered by another male and which contain the genetic complement of his rival. This is true of many social animals, relatively few of whom will expend their own energies in raising the offspring of another male.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Thanks everyone for your replies. You've all posted some really good advice!!!

cutie mcwhiskers that's really cute that Fidgit loves Fifi and Heidi so much. Your idea with the wood across the door sounds really good. I'm not sure how long it would work though say if the kitten was older say 7 weeks or so because maybe by that time it would learn how to jump over the wood itself. I guess if the wood was high enough Moby could jump over but the new kitten wouldn't be able to.

I would like to get another male kitten because of their personalities too. I've had (family cats growing up) female cats before as well as male cats and the females we've had always seemed to like to do their own thing while the males loved all the attention and wanted to be near you. I bet that's not true for all female cats though.

I never heard the thing about older male cats killing young male kittens. I too only thought that was in the Lion kingdom or with the bigger cats. I guess if we get a male kitten we'll really have to keep an eye on them although I couldn't see Moby having a mean bone in his body but then again you never know how he'll respond to a new kitten.

I'm going on vacation for 6 weeks and then once I get back I think me and my boyfriend will look on the net for kittens here in Sweden. I don't know if we want to get a certain breed or just a mix like Moby is. I guess it doesn't really matter though I've always liked the idea of getting a more unusual looking cat like a Burmese or I've always thought Russian Blues were gorgeous. Theres so many beautiful breeds out there that it would be hard to choose. The price is a big difference too though between a mix and a breed. Moby was basically free whereas a certain breed of cat is really expensive here in Sweden.

I'll definitely post pics of the new kitten if (more like when ) we get him/her.

 

[Synirr]

From the way it sounds, I think it's mainly unneutered toms that are known to kill kittens, and it happens more often in feral colonies, so I think it should be fine

 

[vancouver]

We have a 10 year old male cat.. and it was gaining a lot of weight, getting really slow, and sleeping all the time.. so we decided to get it a kitten to ''play with''..

first we got a female cat.. it constantly attacked the female cat.. even when the female was 2 years old.. the female was scared to be in the house.. was hit by a car at 2 yrs..

we decided to get another kitten for the old male to ''play with''... we went for a male... the old male now pees all over the house all the time... marking its territory... they do get along quite well.. but the peeing on things is really annoying.

so it's really hard to say whether to go with a male or female.. but the spraying thing is really really annoying.. especially when expensive couches and carpets are the favorite spots to spray on. lol

 

[KathyM]

Is he definitely spraying or just weeing? Spraying in a neutered cat is rarely about territory, as is weeing in inappropriate places. He could have FLUTD/cystitis, especially with him being a porker (male, neutered, overweight cats being high risk).

If your cat isn't neutered, then that's the likely cause of his territorial behaviour and dislike for others in his home.

Hope that helps

 

[wodesorel]

I'm a feline adoption councilor at an animal shelter, so I wanted to just say a few things!

Vancouver, what probably happened was that your cat was used to being alone for so long that with the addition of a new cat he kind of "lost it". We recomend that when a cat that has been raised alone and is over 6 years, that either the cat should be kept alone, or a pair of kittens/cats be brought in and the introduction process be done over the period of at least a month. It's very common for older cats who aren't socialized to living with other cats to develop behavioural problems when a new addition comes to stay. Now, I am assuming that your male is fixed (if not, there's your problem right there) and has been vet checked (because it could be something like a chronic bladder infection brought on by stress from having a new cat in the house). If both of these are true, call your vet back up and tell him in detail about the spraying - when, where, how often, and what you've done to try and get him to use the box. They can put the cat on prozack (I swear!) for a few months and see if that'll calm him down. Anti-depressants can control unwanted behaviour in cats, like spraying and aggression, and most of the time they don't need to stay on the medication permanently. My friend's cat has issues with my friend's mom, and they put the cat on prozack and the cat stopped urinated around the house and now everyone is happy. (It would only pee when it saw her mom - which was every day because they live together. We figure mom did something to the cat, but can't prove it.) They reason why we suggest two cats/kittens instead of one, is that the new cats will most likely play together and for more the most part leave the older cat alone. New cats tend to pester the old cats, and the stress from being annoyed can make the old cats sick or aggressive.


I don't know who started that rumour that cats need to be by themselves. I think it's the most rediculous myth in existance. Cats do better in groups - I mean, would you like to be alone all day? Two to three cats is the perfect number for them to be happy. It really pains me when a person adopts one three month old kitten, has no other pets and works away from home 40 hours a week. That kitten is going to end up loopy at some point!

Elizabeth, you should be okay with either a male or a female kitten, though because males tend to play rough, I do recommend male/male pairings. (Okay, and I only get along with male cats, so that could be something. ) Females are a little prissy, and they tend to like to do their own thing and may not tolerate playing with an older and larger cat very well. Brother/sister pairings usually work better if you want to mix kittens, and with older cats it really doesn't matter what gender they are - as long as the males aren't super dominant. You could probably get any age cat and it be okay. I know everyone wants kittens and think it'll work out easier on their cat at home, but that's not always the case. I've personally found that cats that are about the same age, when introduced, will get along a lot better, and a lot quicker - so please keep that in mind. There are a lot of adult cats that need homes as well as kittens, and they will bond with you as well, and probably better, than a kitten becuase they "know" that you saved them.

As for introductions, set up a "safe room" for the new addition - with food, water, litterbox, bed, toys. Keep the door closed and let your cat find the new cat. Your current cat knows your house is his territory. You have to make him think that he's "allowing" the new cat to live there. By keeping a door between them, your cat will "discover" the new cat, and after a few days to a few weeks, will be so curious as to who is on the other side of the door that he should not be on the offensive that there's someone new in the house. It also gives the new cat time to get used to you, and the new surroundings, and the new litterbox, and the new smells, and your current cat. I've always introduced cats by using a room with a three inch gap under the door - I know people who have done it with carpet that came up all the way. Seeing the other cat isn't always a good thing - smelling it first will help. Depending on where you get the new cat, if there is a wait on bringing it home, get a washrag and rub the new cat and bring it home for your current cat to smell. (Leave it around the food dishes so he associates the new cat's scent with something good.) It'll help the adjustment period go a little easier because the new cat won't smell as new. You know your cat, he'll let you know when it's okay to open the door and let them see them face to face for the first time. If there's fighting, close the door and wait longer. I've done introductions in as little as one hour, but I've also had a lot a foster cats and kittens come through my home, so my cats are used to strangers. What you never want to do is just throw the new cat into the house. Your current cat will come around the corner, see an intruder, and all heck could break loose.

Hope this might help answer some questions! Good luck!

 

[Captain Retardo]

A domestic cat is just a miniature version of a tiger, all cats are basically the same.(other than the lion who actually likes his own kind near them, and other examples)