Single hen

[dancing cloud]

It's the whole head/heart thing, so sound advice appreciated and I know I'll get it here!

 

I already have two cats - Puddy is about 9 years old and Loki is about 2 1/2 - and I live on my own, so only have 2 hands! Loki is really playful and has always tried to get Pud to play with him, without any success. He has a local playmate cat, but his playmate is now starting to look a little old and is more interested in sleeping than playing chase round the garden. In the last week or two, Loki has intensified his efforts to get Pud to play to an extent that is starting to look like bullying. He will play with me, but I am at work all day and, if Loki was honest, he'd rather play with another cat and come to me for cuddles. So, heart says get him a playmate .

 

Head however says I do only have 2 hands, spoiled princess tubby Pud won't like it one bit, and there's no saying if I pick him a playmate that Loki will like my choice (or that the playmate will like Loki!) .

 

Heart says there's lots of cats in the local shelter that would love a good home and I've plenty of room, and if I ask them to recommend an inmate that initiates play with other cats, I'd probably be on to a winner ...

 

Head says I'm adopting three more ex-batts this weekend and my home is in danger of becoming a zoo, and my chances of ever getting a foreign holiday again are increasingly slim ...

 

So, thoughts and advice please. Many thanks

[Falkor]

I say go for it!

 

We have three cats (as you know), Midge is about 16 and just wants to be left alone, Molly is 6 and playful sometime but mostly and little Oscar is full of beans and loves to play! We got Oscar as a friend for Molly but TBH she tolerates him rather than likes him.

 

You would be taking in a cat in need of a home and as long as intros are well planned like they will be for the chooks your zoo should at least be a calm one

 

Perhaps let the newbie ex-bats settle for a while first? Or do it all at once and get it over with?

 

I think in your heart you want a third and you will get a third you just want us all to approve

[dancing cloud]

Am I just seeking approval? Oh dear , but at least I know you'll speak sense as well and would not give approval to something that was madness! (would you?)

 

I've never had more than 2 cats before , but in my heart, I'd like Loki to be happy again and not a frustrated cat who wants to play and has no one to play with. I also don't want Puddy to feel she has to hide under the cupboard to get away from him - especially as she is very much used to being top cat !

 

Since posting I have spoken to the local shelter Loki came from. They also talked good sense about not expecting too much, and that I need to consider that Loki and his potential playmate might not hit it off, and I may get 3 cats that muddle along but are not best friends. They said that, while they have lots of cats wanting to be the only cat in the family, they certainly had two or three they thought might fit in with my little zoo, so I'm feeling a viewing coming on (and you know as well as I do that that means I'll be bringing one home - no chance of getting out of there without a cat! ).

 

Intros with cats cannot be as gradual as chooks, as Puddy cat doesn't do closed doors and will rip up carpet and deeply scratch doors to indicate this, so it's very much a case of open the carrier and here's your new home. Last time, Pud was the one that went under the bed to sulk, as Loki strolled round exploring his new home purring his little head off! I am however on holiday for the next 3 weeks, so can supervise cats and chooks for the initial stages. It can't be worse than supervising my staff!

 

Thanks for the encouragement Emma - you're right, I probably will be boldly going where I have not gone before!

[Redwing]

I have to say I think its a brill idea however I would be worried about the older cat who does not want to play with one cat already and the effect that a second bouncy cat may have

 

We added a third cat and it was a nightmare, we ended up with a segregation situation to stop the fighting even though we initially did persevere and let them get on with it but the older cat was very anti the whole thing but I guess it does depend on the character of your older cat and its ability to adapt to change

 

Unfotunately our new cat passed away after just six weeks which was terribly sad but did restore the peace - I am not sure what I would have done longer term

 

The two cats we have now are years apart in age - 17 and 9 but we have agreed that until the older cat is no longer with us we will not get another even though the younger cat would probably love to spend his days playing

 

To try to balance my comments above it was very nice to have three cats and if they had got on it would have been great

 

Sorry to be a voice of doom amongst all the enthusiasm

[dancing cloud]

Not at all Tasha, this is the sort of thing I need to hear

 

Whilst Puddy will undoubtedly sulk, I've never seen her actually fight with any other cat. She's very prone to hissing and growling when displeased, but then she tends to run away . The closest she's come to real violence was giving Loki a smack round the ear when he jumped on her when she was asleep - even then it was just a cuff and there were no claws involved. Now that I've seen her actually hide from Loki when he tried to get her to play, I'm bit concerned about her being bullied by him if he can't find a playmate.

 

When Loki came, Puddy did a bit of shouting and swearing, and then went and hid under the bed - I would expect a similar reaction this time. Whenever I've seen Loki interact with other cats, both in the shelter and here, he's always been the one to go over and say hello, and invite them to play with him.

 

I think you are quite right that it could make things very difficult if three of them decide they really don't get on and I need to balance that possibility along with my desire to make my current two happy. Wise advice indeed and many thanks

[Seagazer]

Best of luck if you do decide on another cat. Since I've been married we've only ever had 2 cats at a time (apart from when they had 4 kittens ).

 

It sounds as if your two are like mine. Sophie just about tolerates Dave (2) but growls at him if he comes too close. He's very gung ho and his head rubs are quite hard. I'm sure he's going to bruise my face one day! Sophie got on fine with our cat that died before we got Dave (Molly) and they would frequently cuddle up together and play in the garden.

 

We all just think Sophie is a grumpy old woman now (11). I'll be interested to hear how you get on as I think I'm destined to have to wait until you know what happens

[Chickvic]

Tricky this one. Kirby was an abandoned cat he was about 9 weeks old when we took him to get checked out at the vets. He was on his own for 12 months when a friend's cat had kittens and Samus was 6 weeks old when he joined Kirby. They got along famously and still do. Then in my infinite wisdom (and the fact that my sister had just had a new kitten ) I got Link. He is nearly 2 and Kirby nearly 7 and Samus nearly 6 and he has upset the harmonious nature of my cats.

Kirby ignores him mostly but Samus really dislikes him, they growl at each other and Link has a habit of attacking Samus I can't get rid of Link and don't want to. All my cats are loving towards us just not to each other. They can tolerate each other and avoid each other. Samus sleeps on my DD's bed and Link on Ds's bed and Kirby on mine. I have never known Link to cuddle up with Samus although he will with Kirby and Samus and Kirby lie together often. No damage is done between cats but they do not get on.

I'm not quite sure where this ramble is going but I know if I went to 'visit' rescue cats I would bring one home too

 

It's just pot luck really, my cats will be together and will just have to get on with it. If there was real viciousness and damage being done then I would definately have a re-think.

[bellekatz]

I have a nearly 19 year old cat that we had from the RSPCA as an adult 16 years ago. He can be very grumpy but settles down eventually and seems to have really taken to Alfie. He has seen many cats come and go over the years and we have found that adult cats will tolerate a kitten where they may not tolerate an adult cat so maybe a young rescue would be a better bet than an older one??

[dancing cloud]

So hands up anyone who thought I might come back wthout another cat? No one? You're quite right, she's been here almost two and a half hours!

 

I've no photos of my own yet, but if you click here:-

 

http://clactonanimalaid.com/

 

and look fourth from the bottom, Cleo is sitting watching me as I write

 

She looks a little odd, rather as if she has a hare lip, but I think she's gorgeous - she's very gentle, very purry, rolls over to have her her tummy tickled if you smile at her, reaches out to you with her paws to persuade you to stroke her some more, and demonstrated at the shelter that she will play happily with other cats (I did the string test!) She's not yet met Loki, who's asleep in the greenhouse, and has met Puddy who's growled and grumbled but by and large behaved quite well (for a thoroughly spoiled princess Puddy!).

 

Because of Cleo's ongoing medical condition, I've only been able to foster her, not adopt, so I have to tell the shelter when she needs more medication or any visit to the vet, which they then arrange and pay for. Since neither Cleo nor I care whether the piece of paper says adopted or fostered, she's ecstatic to have a home after being in the shelter for 8 months and the shelter have found a home for a long-termer, I think we've all got a good deal out of it (and I'll make sure there are regular donations to cover the vets bills).

 

Thank you everybody for all your good advice, and fingers crossed she and Loki will love each other on sight and we'll all be very happy together

[Chickvic]

She looks so sweet, and you're right fostered or adopted she's found a special home. i hope she gets on with Loki!

[bellekatz]

She's beautiful and has been a very lucky girl with her new home. I am sure that things will settle down and they will at least tolerate each other if not become good friends! Just give it time.

[Seagazer]

Fantastic news Cleo looks gorgeous and I'm sure she's not bothered that she's fostered and not adopted

 

I hope you all have a happy life together

[dancing cloud]

Puddy's now advanced to hissing and then looks all confused because Cleo doesn't seem in the least bit bothered (but she shared a pen with a somewhat big and temperamental cat, so is probably used to hissy-fits )

 

Cleo's certainly very human-focussed and will give me with her paw like a dog if she wants a hug and isn't getting one. She's fallen asleep next to me right now with her front paws wrapped round my leg and her chin on my knee. I would guess someone has loved her, but the sole thing I know about her past is the three words on the shelter form - "left outside vets" . At least they left her somewhere where she could get help,

 

She's now met Loki and, whilst it wasn't immediate adoration on both sides, Cleo went up to say hello and Loki went all shy and gawky, so there's certainly still hope!

[Falkor]

Cleo is gorgeous and well done you for only coming back with one!

 

It all sounds like it is going OK with intros, a bit of hissing is to be expected!

 

Keep us posted !

[Redwing]

Wow. congratulations

 

Cleo is a lovely looking cat and its nice that she is sweet too

 

 

I am glad that things seem to be going so well with your original two

[Olly]

brilliant - I really hope it all works out, well done for taking on an 'imperfect' cat - she looks really sweet.

 

I'm in the same dilemma - should I get a playmate for Wellington or not, I keep dithering, so your post is quite encouraging. Do let us know how she settles in.

[mostin]

She is truly gorgous , I hope it carries on going well and they sort themselves out soon. I loved the way they described her on the website, not quite a size 10 , bless her .

 

Keep us all updated on the intros.

[Aunty e]

Olly, both times I've gotten a playmate for an existing cat it's worked out really well.

 

When I got Saffy for Nero, I made sure to get the most boisterous kitten in the litter, who I saw pinning down her brothers, so that she could cope with a rough and tumble adolescent boy. This time, when getting Minnie, I made sure that she came from a multicat household, was keen on playing and liked other cats (rather than tolerated them). It's worked brilliantly. My 'mistake' with our cat household has always been the ones we ended up with, rather than chose. Dilly was too timid and frail for a large community of cats, and is now doing really well as one of two (both 'special) and Cleo should really be an only cat, or possibly have been rehomed with one of her kittens. She hates other cats, and only really tolerates the other maus.

 

If you were getting a playmate for Wellington, presumably you'd look for a cat that had lived in a multicat household, liked other cats, but wouldn't threaten his dominance. Probably a neutered boy, either five plus or under two would work I think. Pussies who've spent a lot of time at the vets are often very submissive, so a kitty who'd had a medical complaint, or say only three legs or no tail, would probably work well for you.

[Olly]

Well it's funny you say that, Aunty E - I hadn't thought about the impact that a lot of vet treatment would have, but I can see it would make a cat a bit more used to being handled. I've had a three-legged cat before, and I am naturally drawn to the slightly imperfect ones! I don't care about looks, and I sort of feel I ought to offer a home to one that other people might turn down, because I really don't mind.

 

I keep surfing the Chestnut Cat Sanctuary site, and they describe all their cats in accordance with whether they get on with other cats or not - the point about actually LIKING other cats is an important one. I'm also a bit wary of taking on the next cat that comes my way just because it needs a home and I have one - as you point out, that isn't really the best way to choose a cat.

 

mm, I've got a free weekend coming up. I might just accidentally put the cat-basket in the boot of the car, and I might just absent-mindedly find myself driving out that way on Friday ...