Siamese and Burmese

Hi there!
Just checking for any ideas or advice:
We have a spoilt Siamese girl who's 10 years old (only had her for two years though), and we thought she was destined to be an only child...but....we have come across a beautiful 8 year old Burmese boy who is in need of a home, and we are very very tempted to take him on. Does anyone have any idea of how Burmese and Siamese get on in the same household? (All I know - is that they are both very talkative.) Do you think the Siamese might be too old now to get a new playmate? Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

NO not too old... I brought a feral home to my then 16 yr old

Since the Burm is about the same age as your girl, they might get along. Just do the intro's slowly

Originally Posted by sharky

NO not too old... I brought a feral home to my then 16 yr old

Click to expand...

Wow! Did they become friends?

it took a yr ... but they were friends ( not close but)

There is an excellent article about introducing cats here ... the methods mentioned are tried and true if you follow the steps correctly and don't get impatient with the process.

Siamese are extremely social creatures and love to cuddle and play with their own kind. Burmese are exceptionally friendly cats (at least the ones I have known are) and take very well to the companionship of other cats.

I think regardless of what their breeds are, you will have to introduce them really slowly, as they are both older cats.
They certainly might not be happy at first. Expect hissing, etc. And they should not be just put into the same room together. And don't expect they will immediately like each other. I have two cats and even my cat (who was only a year old) hissed at first when I brought the other one home. But hissing only lasted one day or so, but then my cat was young.

It depends on the individual cat and not on the breed. Females tend to be more territorial and less accepting of new cats into her territory. But she may accept a male as long as he is willing to defer to her and respect her space.

Start off by isolating him completely from her, for health reasons and to let her get use to knowing there is a new cat around. Make sure he goes to the vet and has no communicable diseases that could be passed to her. Some cats can become sick when brought into a new environment due to stress. Symptoms may not show for a week so it's always a good idea to keep him isolated for at least 2 weeks.

After that period of time and if he's not showing any signs of illness then start the introductions slowly. If you have a babygate this really helps. I'll let my fosters see my other furkids (dogs and cats) through the babygate. This will be a good indication of their first reaction to seeing another cat. Keep it brief, only a couple of minutes at first. Swap bedding to let them get each others scent.

If they have the same energy level this will help so one will not be overwhelmed by the other. Never rush introductions, take it slowly.

What a timely question. I'm currently cat-sitting my neighbour's cats - one is a female Siamese (Sophie) and a male Burmese (Lennie). They get along very well, especially considering Sophie has major meezer attitude. Sophie is not partial to strangers at all (I have the teeth marks to prove it from yesterday ) but Lennie is an absolute sweetheart. I sat on their sofa last night and Lennie was on my chest and cuddled up immediately.

So - simple answer - this set of 2 seems to work well. I think the other poster was right on - it depends on the individual cats and they should be introduced slowly.

I agree with fuzzmom, it all depends on the individual cat. Some are 1 household cats, while others could care less how many there are. Just introduce them slowly and do not force the new cat on your current one. It will take time.. . .

Valerie

I wasn't suggesting that certain breeds get along better with other certain breeds, I was merely pointing out that both the Siamese and Burmese breeds were highly social cats as a matter of nature and disposition, which would hopefully make introductions that much easier ... but of course one would have to make allowances for individual personalities.