Did I bite off more than even I can chew?

Well I had 6 cats ... one ran away or died not sure still searching for her.

Miss Chief had adopted my youngest son (age 31 so not so young). After she left he cried a lot and said he would never love anythiing again.

I have avoided getting any new cats or kittens since Miss Chief has been missing (almost 6 months). My family still has dreams and/or nightmares as to where she is.

I answered an add in the paper about some kittens and made an appointment to see them. I took my oldest son (age 34) with me to pick out a kitten for his brother.

This is my son whom is terrified that I will become the crazy cat lady down the street everyone talks about. But he agreed that his brother needed something to love of his own. We can not replace Miss Chief but maybe we can take away a little of the pain. I knew that the kitten we got would be female because we have three male cats already.

I was shocked to see the kittens (5-6 months) to me is not quite a kitten. Covered in fleas and looked that they were starving. They had two females left. OK Menuo Lover pick ONE.

I just sat there staring at them. My son walks over to me and whispers mom take them both. I was shocked to say the least! He told me that it would be cruel to separate the runt from her sister and they would have a better life with us.

I agreed with him, at this point the owners were going to have a problem getting rid of the kitten/cats as they grew bigger. Also, I was shocked to learn they didn't believe in spaying So if left their they would be kitten factories ALREADY TO MANY UNWANTED KITTENS IN THE WORLD.

I have gone through the process of indoctrinating cats/kittens into a new environment with existing cats. So they have been in a safe room (my youngest ones room) hahaha

The went to the vet last week and tested negative and started on their shots. The vet said they were kinda old for the entire package and would work something out with me when time to spay them.

Well I have turned the house upside down it seems. The males all want to make sure the kittens don't belong to me. The females could care less.

I am giving my boys lots of love and attention. Letting the kittens out of the safe room at the times of day the boys are napping. But it seems that one white male has stopped napping so much so he can watch them. He wants to play with them but if they get to close he hisses and swats them. I tell him not to hit the kittys and he knows that that means. I pick him up and give him some extra loving.

Is there anything else I can do to assure the boys they are not being replaced?

I talked to my mom last night on the phone and found out that her cat had kittens and she wants to keep them all because she does not trust people to give them good homes. It dawned on me where I inherited these intense feelings I have about animals.

My husband is the best guy in the world my oldest son spent an hour trying to explain to his dad why we got two kittens. When he left the living room my husband turns to me and says with a chuckle... did he think I would get mad, he is the one always giving you hard time about cats!

My husband trusts me to make it all work somehow, deep down he loves all the babies too. And eventually they all find his sitting spot on the floor in front of tv for pets.

hugs to all
Menou lover

Good for you for taking both kittens. They will have a much better life with you than with the previous owner.

It sounds as though you are doing all the right things introducing the new arrivals. You've obviously been through this before. As you say, make sure the boys gets lots of love and attention from you and the rest of your family. I'm sure everything will work out fine.

I'm sure everyone would love to see pics of your entire kitty family when you get a chance.

One of the white male twins (cuddles) hits them everytime he gets a chance. I watch the kittens closely and when he gets near them he sniffs them and next thing i know he smacks them doesnot look like his claws are out.

I tell him cuddles don't hit the kittys! He looks at me then walks away. I call him to me and pick him up and give him lots of pets.

I would never have thought to have a problem with cuddles... he seemed to careless about attention or pets. Well having gotten two kittens it seems he wants atention now.

His twin brother Bawana is terrified if they move toward him and runs and hides. If they don't move he is ok but seems they move to fast for him and he don't want to get run over.

I have been spending more private time with bawana in the bedroom trying to get him to come out of his shell. He has always been shy but this seems to have made it worse.

hugs
menou lover

Is Cuddles your alpha male? It is quite common for the alphas to smack down a kitten to show them their space in the house. Not that I'd leave them alone together to work it out, but it isn't uncommon. I've seen other adult cats run from kittens as if they were intimidated by their "lack of size".

Have you bit off more than you can chew? I'm not a good judge - I live with 13 cats and 2 dogs.