Question about getting a Kitten....

cyber cat

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I just moved into an apartment with my fur kid Katie, she has been an indoor/outdoor cat; now that she can not go out side she seems extremely bored and I try to entertain her when I can, my boyfriend and I are away working all day and when I get home Katie is starving for attention.

A little about Katie: Katie is 15 years old and is a one person cat, so she is glued to me. She had a younger brother, Simba and he passed away 3 years ago. So itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just been Katie with all the attention from her meowmie. I have been thinking about getting a kitten for Katie so she would have a companion and hoping that she wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be lonely any more when Andrew and I are not home. Do you think it is a good idea or do you think she would be extremely upset and threatened by a new kitten?
 

gingersmom

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I think a kitten's energy level would be much too stressful for a 15 y/o cat to take.

I would suggest adopting an older cat from a shelter to keep her company - you'd be helping her AND a cat that would love to have a home with you.
 

graciecat

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Originally Posted by GingersMom

I think a kitten's energy level would be much too stressful for a 15 y/o cat to take.

I would suggest adopting an older cat from a shelter to keep her company - you'd be helping her AND a cat that would love to have a home with you.
I agree 100%.
I think a kitten or very young cat might be just a little to much stress for an older kitty to deal with.
I'd check the shelters for an older cat to keep your girl company.
 

larke

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I would suggest getting a male cat - a female would be more threatening to her 'territory' but get one well known to be unaggressive, as a lot of males think of females as they get older as something to practice dominance on.
 

cheap sushi

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I respectfully disagree. I think a 9 month old kitten would be great for her! I feel it would energize her a bit and also have a friend to look after.

i say get the kitten!
its a great idea.
 

ldg

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There's no way to know if she'll take to a new cat - but if you decide to do it, I would get an older male.

I can tell you that I'm pretty certain she will NOT be happy about it at first. We have a female that is bonded really closely to my hubby, and she HATES it when we bring in new cats. It takes her six months to stop growling and hissing at the new kitty, and a full year to accept new kitty as part of the crew. After that, she will sleep with and groom the "new" cat - but there is a long period of adjustment. She will not understand that you are bringing in a cat for HER - she'll just see another cat as something invading her territory and as competition for your affection.

Do you and your BF live together? If so, I'd suggest that if you do decide to bring in another kitty, that he be the one to give new kitty most of the attention.

I would also REALLY recommend that you be prepared for potentially a long period of adjustment (I hope it wouldn't work out that way!), and that you keep the new kitty separated in his/her own room for at least a couple of weeks if not more while you let her get used to the scent of a new cat in her home.


Laurie
 

ldg

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Originally Posted by Cheap Sushi

I respectfully disagree. I think a 9 month old kitten would be great for her! I feel it would energize her a bit and also have a friend to look after.

i say get the kitten!
its a great idea.
This might be a good idea - but I'd still think about a kitty that's a year or so.

I just think everyone was thinking "no" to the idea of a kitten that's 3 - 4 months old - just way too "kitteny" for a 15 year old - probably drive her nuts!

Laurie
 

sakura

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I would get a male cat that is older than a kitten but still fairly young (like 4-5 years old).

I have a lazy cat, Matilda. She's not old but she's very inactive and I thought a kitten would be a good idea to keep her company. I thought it would be easier to integrate a kitten into the house instead of an older cat. I was very very wrong!
My kitten has way too much energy for Matilda, she is always harassing her wanting to play. Matilda pretty much hates her.

I would look for a cat that is similar to your cat, personality-wise, more than I would narrow down my search by age.

Yay for getting a 2nd cat though


When you do bring the new cat home, you'll want to keep it separated in its own room for at least 1 week, but ideally 2. That way they can sniff each other through the door and you can slowly introduce them.
 
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cyber cat

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Wow... everyone here has been a great help for me, thank you so much for replying.

Well I was thinking about a couple of things as I was reading the posts; when ever Katie sees another cat outside what her reaction is, and it is bad… she gets so angry!! And also I was think of when I brought Simba home for the first time he was only 3 months old and Katie did not like him at all, but as time went on you could not ever separate those two. So I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really know what to do. Would Katie feel more threatened by an old cat even if it was a male? or a cat that is 1 or 2 years old?

Andrew and I live together so he could give the new cat most of his attention while I give Katie my attention, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want her to feel like anything has changed between us.
 

mews2much

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I can help I did that last Nov. We got Oreo in Nov when she was 3 Months. Coco my Cat that will be 16 took to her the first day. I caught Oreo trying to Nurse on her. I think it depends on the Cat. Coco would hold Oreo down when she got to hyper to her. They are real good friends. My Sister got a male Kitten the Brother of my Oreo and her Cat went berzerk. She even cut my Sister up. Midnight her Male was fine with him. My Kitten will be 6 Months in a few days. She is so close with Coco and Meeko. Sasha hated Oreo at first and hissed. Now they play chase because they are only a year apart.
 

ldg

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I've been thinking about this. Our kitties weren't very old when we were bringing new cats through - but the younger the cat was, the better they were about it.

I think maybe if you want to give it a try it's not a bad idea to go for a male kitten that's 3 or so months old. The kitten energy might drive her crazy - but better than angry. Most older cats don't seem to view kittens as the same threat to their territory as they do older cats.

The downside is the kitten energy might drive her crazy - but if the intro is done slowly (if you have a room she doesn't really use much that you can keep kitten separate) it might just bring out the mom/friend in her - if it's there.


And if BF is willing to spend lots of time with new kitty to use up lots of that kitten energy....

I actually think this is a better idea and would be more likely to work. Just do be prepared for a long period of adjustment if you decide to do it (just in case it works out that way). I think the worst case is that Katie isn't happy for a few months, though with lots of love from you she makes it through the kitten crazies - and then the two of them work out a truce, and you live with a "negotiated" peace between them.

Laurie
 
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