Another cat (or 2!)

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Phrin Vernon RVN — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:36:49 GMT

I too would be wary about taking on any more - I have mother and son, and whilst they tolerate each other mostly, they are by no means friends, have different outdoor territories, and have had the occasional spat.

I tried to rehome a kitten a while back and both resident cats and the kitten were not happy despite feliway etc. Grown cats just stayed out all the time, and poor wee kitten got cystitis :(

It was a difficult decision, but in her best interests, and I rehomed kiten to a stables, where she now has a ball mousing, and is the only cat!

A fellow VN has a horse at the stables so ensured she was neutered, and is wormed, flea'd etc, and also insured.

My two meanwhile have gone back to normal - just about get on enough to sleep in the same room & feed together, no signs of stress, but I have learned the hard way that it is a bad idea to try and introduce another cat, when the resident ones have a teneous relationship at best.

I certainly wouldn't go down the bengal route lol!

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Lesley Stinson — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:47:32 GMT

I tend to agree with Bizzy McClure.

You already have 2 cats that just tolerate each other so introducing another cat may only cause further problems. You said that Cleo is a bit tubby so why not try to increase her exercise to help her lose a little weight and adjust her diet rather than upset the household.

Bengals are beautiful cats but are quite headstrong in that if they want something they will get it weither you want them to have it or not. Yes they can be bullies and aggressive to both other cats and owners.

I have 13 cats all of whom are laid back and welcome new cats with out any problems. But i have to be careful to introduce the right type of tempermant to the gang.

Its great that you want to re-home an adult cat as everyone mostly wants kittens and the poor adults get by-passed for the much cuter kittens.With an adult you can see the tempermant of the cat which can make it easier to make a chose.

I would like to stress that you need to take care of the 2 you already have and consider that taking on an extra cat may greatly upset the balance. If Felix was upset about a kitten how upset will he be about an adult? How does he get on with neighbouring cats? Has he every had any urination problems?

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Sally Howe — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:23:32 GMT

I've gone from 8 cats to 9 cats, now aged between 5 years and dinosaur. Generally they all get along, all have their own area to chill in.

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

PHA86 — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:43:30 GMT

I have 5, the last 2 are strays from work that we've obtained over the last few months. My others are 17 and 15 and fairly laid back. It took a little while, but I'm amazed at how settled they all seem to be.

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Katie Mansfield — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:30:59 GMT

Or they might all get on....

We have 7 (were up to 11 at one point) all taken on at different times, different ages and with various different problems and apart from the odd few hissy fits nothing bad has ever happened.They all eat together and sleep together. 6 of them even get on with the dogs - 1 still hisses and runs away. My eldest is now 18 and the youngest ones 10.

K x

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Honeybadger — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:12:14 GMT

I have just got back from a weekend behaviour course run by the BVNA. Sarah Heath was a speaker and is very knowledgable. One thing discussed was how cats react to different stresses so I would be very careful introducing new cats to your house. It could open up a whole can of worms!

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Katy — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:36:49 GMT

Ooh! Maybe i'll just stick to a good old moggy then! Lol!

Hares eh?! Felix brought back a dead baby rabbit the other month,,,,,, not sure if he caught it, but he was very proud of himself!

Re: Another cat (or 2!)

Sal the 1st — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:00:33 GMT

As a Bengal owner I would think very carefully before taking one on. If you value your furniture, wallpaper, carpet ,other cats - if mine is typical of the breed . He has turned into a murdering little git and not content with wiping out the local rabbit population (and the odd baby turkey earlier in the year) he has now set his sights on something a bit bigger and brought home a fully grown hare the other night which sizewise was a good bit bigger than him(very dead but very tasty judging by how much he had eaten). He also has the potential to knock eight bells out of the other cat when the mood takes him. Think very carefully about Bengals!