The kitty just became the kitties!

brick

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I haven't been around much, but I wanted to check in to report on a new family member. My girlfriend and I have talked about finding a brother for Mocha, our ~1yr old tabby whom we adopted last summer after her litter was found living under a house. She's doing great...still very particular about the terms on which she accepts human affection, but very sweet when she feels like it.

Well, yesterday my GF comes home and excitedly asks "Can we get another kitty?!?" I asked why and she explained how a stray had either shown up or been dumped at the barn where she keeps her horses. Apparently the poor guy is scared to death of horses, had a fight with another barn cat, and was cowering up in the hay loft while the other cat wouldn't let him near the food. But he clearly wasn't a feral because he absolutely soaked up attention. Anyway, I had a good feeling about it and told her to bring him to the vet this morning to be poked and prodded. Turns out we have a healthy (but skinny) 1-2yr old male on our hands.
Unfortunately nobody cared enough to have him neutered, which we will rectify ASAP.

Right now we have the little guy set up in the dimly-lit bathroom while he gets used to the idea of having a home. The vet said that he had probably been roaming for quite a while based on his condition. He's a little grimy, a little sleepy, incredibly hungry...and one of the sweetest cats I've ever met. I was just in there giving him a scratch behind the ears while he purred his little head off. I managed to entice him with a little food and he really went after it...good apetite on this one! He's 8.5lb today and I figure he should be at least 10...maybe more, as he's really skinny.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'm pretty excited, and really hope that he and Mocha will get along OK. Maybe in a day or two we'll make a proper introduction.
 

catsrnmom

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Congratulations on your newest addition..What a wonderful thing you did for him..Have you thought about a name for him yet? When I recently added Emily to my family, I just kept her in a spare room for a couple of weeks, to get used to the sounds, smells, etc. with the introductions made very slowly..give him some time to come around, it sounds as if he has had a very rough time of it...Again, Congrats!
 

jean44

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Congratulations on your new baby. How wonderful that you were able to give him a home.
I hope he and Mocha become good friends.
 

jugen

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Congrats on your new little boy! Any names picked out??
We recently added Neffie to our household (well back in Feb anyway).
She was a terrified of humans, little partially hairless basically feral cat that was in the basement of a friends house. She wouldn't come up to anyone and freaked out like a wild animal if you managed to catch her and try to hold her.
When we brought her here, she blossomed into a loving attention starved "cat" that she was never before for at least 7 years.
She is very quirky and she decided that she wanted to introduce herself to the other cats. It's still on occassion a rocky road, since she thinks she is in charge and the other cats seem to disagree, but for the most part they seem to get along pretty well.
 
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brick

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We're struggling for names at the moment, but I'm sure we'll think of something. And despite being a little grimy and needing a good brush, he's an incredibly pretty cat. I thought he was black but it turns out he's just very, very dark brown with all the tabby markings, but muted and hard to see except in direct light.

He did not like being stuck in the bathroom once he'd finished a good meal and a nap. Last night while he was yammering to be let out (vet said he needed at least 18 hours to ensure that a minor flea problem was totally gone, so no dice) he discovered that it's lots of fun to make noise with the springy doorstop. So at about midnight I had figured out a way to damp the spring so that it didn't make noise, but he complained on and off for the rest of the night. But hey, that's probably not such a bad sign!

This morning he managed to escape for a few minutes, and at least for now Mocha just doesn't know what to do with him. She hissed and ran away, not too thrilled about the new roommate. He initially tried to go see her and then changed his mind and walked away. So he saw what's under the bed, walked around the other room for a minute, and eventually he was put back in his bathroom. We'll try the vanilla trick to see if they chill out when they smell the same. If worse comes to worst he can move into the bedroom, which at least has a nice window.

So, yeah. Fun times!

**EDIT**
In case anybody else encounters the springy doorstop problem, the solution is bits of folded-over duct tape between all the coils. He can still play with it but it stops the rattle.
 

kittydad

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Congrats on the new addition. Hopefully you get a name for him soon. Sugar, Spice and I cannot wait for pics of this little furry friend.
 

yosemite

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That is exciting. It's wonderful that you've taken this little sweetie into your hearts and home. I too shall look forward to pictures.
 

alleygirl

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Bless you for taking this little guy in! He sounds adorable and I can't wait to see a picture of him. Have you picked out a name yet?
 

white cat lover

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Congrats on the new addition! Sounds like he was miserable at the barn. Poor boy... Now he's got a loving safe home!
 

peachytoday

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Congratulations!!
He sounds like an absolute love. I have found that slow and sure introduction are the best way to go. I hope Mocha and he become fast freinds in no time.

Tricia
 
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brick

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Name picked, and pictures taken! I give you...Porter! (Named after one of my favorite frosty beverages, because he's almost exactly the right color.
We also thought he needed a grown-up sounding name since his general expression just says "Relax, I'm way ahead of you.")





Right now they're both roaming free and doing just fine. Mocha still grumbles a little but she's content to just hang out and keep an eye on him from a few feet away. He has since learned to do the same. This is great, no fighting! This morning we woke up to about a half second of angry kitty noises, and found them sitting in the hall staring at each other looking confused. I think they must have come around the same corner at the same time in the dark and startled each other because all was well after that. Nobody seems stressed out in the least. And despite her mild protests, Mocha does seem to be a happier kitty. I swear she's nowhere near as much of a troublemaker now that she's got a big brother to keep tabs on.

Oh, and Porter says thanks for all the e-gifts!
 
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