New kitten to tomcat.

bulla

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
3
Purraise
0
Hi,

We currently have a tom cat who we love. He's about 4 years old, very affectionate and as far as we know he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t spray so we've never taken him to get neutered.

Recently we have been asked by a friend to take on a kitten from her new litter. We immediately ruled out a girl for obvious reasons but we were wondering if it should be possible to introduce a boy to our tom without any problems ?

Obviously we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to upset our tom cat and we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want him to start spraying. Does anyone have any experience of this or advice ? Or should we can the idea and leave our tom cat in peace ?

Thanks for any advice.

Bulla
 

jennyr

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
13,348
Purraise
593
Location
The Land of Cheese
Just a question - why do you not get the tom neutered and then introduce the new one? Then everyone should be happy!
 

bonnie1965

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
3,973
Purraise
3
Location
Portland, Oregon
I agree. Get the tomcat fixed first. There really is no good reason to keep him intact. Then a kitten of either gender will do. Make sure the new kitten is also spayed/neutered, receives its shots, has a complete vet checkup. We do love photos here
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

bulla

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
3
Purraise
0
Originally Posted by jennyranson

Just a question - why do you not get the tom neutered and then introduce the new one? Then everyone should be happy!
The main reason was that we didnt want his personality to change.

Bulla
 

chausiefan

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
686
Purraise
12
Location
Ontario
his personality will get even better after hes nutered

I use to have a cat like urs he was so sweet and he never sprayed as a tom cat we kept him like that for a few years but got fed up with him always comming home beat up with his ears torn so we got him nutered he stayed the same but just stopped getting in fights and stopped wondering so far away
 

bonnie1965

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
3,973
Purraise
3
Location
Portland, Oregon
I know just what you mean! Growing up I always heard this, too. When Seb came to live with me, he came from a home that kicked him outside all the time and was abusive in other ways. He has never sprayed but he did get into a lot of fights.

Here is a link the the Humane Society about neutering myths:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/my...neutering.html

Seb's personality did not change. I have had him for over 10 years now. He is older but he is still himself just without the desire to fight every male he sees and mate with every female. He is onery, silly, rowdy at times, loveable and sometimes a pain
But he is my best friend.

There is a reason that domesticated cats do not live so long when they are strays. The continual mating/fighting cycle is really hard on their bodies. So many die from wounds and diseases that happen when fighting and mating.

Once they are spayed/neutered, it allows their real personality to shine through without all that overwhleming horomonal drive.

Thanks for listening to all this
and welcome to TCS


Edit: for males, the neutering procedure is simple and they heal quickly. For females, the spay surgery is a bit more complicated but they are okay in about a week.

Edit again: ( I am chatty today!) I got Daphne a couple of months ago to keep Seb company. I was very worried that he may not like her. It has turned out to be the second best thing I ever did for him. He loves her a lot and cares for her like a sweet big brother. She loves him to pieces, too. I think your guy would probably love to have a friend around. He could start spraying though if he isn't neutered. I would talk to a vet you trust and look through the threads here in TCS. Okay, I'll be quiet now
 

chausiefan

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
686
Purraise
12
Location
Ontario
but back to the orignal question regarding getting a kitten, I personally would not risk bringing in a kitten in a house with a fully intact tom cat because you really dont know what could happen. Some tom cats are sweet and still would never hurt a kitten but they are so unpredictable when they are tom cats, your chances of having a happy relationship between 2 cats is so much higher if he was nutered that way you could get another female instead of a male if u wanted to! (Female cats are funner)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

bulla

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
3
Purraise
0
Thank you for all the advice it's been really helpful. I think we are going to get him netuered.

Regards
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
First of all I'm very surprised your male has not sprayed. But since he's an "only" cat, that may be the reason. If you want to keep him HEALTHY then you need to get him neutered before you bring in another cat (of either sex). Unneutered males are prone to cancers if they are not kept as breeding cats.

And bringing in a younger male, whether or not he's neutered when you bring him in, WILL cause your male to start spraying, fighting, etc.

So for peace in your house - get him neutered now and then consider a 2nd cat (who also is neutered/spayed before you bring him/her home).
 
Top