Hello all,
Well, I've had Marlowe for a year now, and I'm starting to think it's time to get him a little brother...He's so people-oriented that he gets quite lonely when I'm at work, and he gets along tremendously well with my friend's cats when I've had to take him there...but he's a bit of a special cat, and I'd love some advice.
Marlowe is somewhere in the neighborhood of four years old, and he's blind. He was a shelter cat for two years, which may explain why neither moving house nor other cats perturb him much. He's definitely submissive around other cats from what I've seen -- and he also has difficulty keeping up with other kitties. He wants to be their friends, but I think he misses their visual cues and they don't always want to play with him.
There is one cat I've been looking at who is also a special-needs boy. He's about a year old and is missing a back leg. He seems incredibly mellow; he's been at a local vet's for a few weeks (where my friend interned as a vet) and has been unphased by the cats and dogs. He's now at a foster home with several other cats, recovering from a broken leg -- yes, some car managed to hit him and break his only back leg! The poor boy needs a home, and we already have two messed-up animals (Marlowe and our immuno-compromised tortoise, Ndugu), so we don't mind having a tripod cat.
On the one hand, I think these two could mesh well. They both have limitations, and neither will be quite up to normal kitty speed. They both appear to enjoy the company of other cats. On the other hand, Marlowe means the world to me and I really want to be sure I get him a buddy who won't make him feel left out or pushed into a corner. He's just such a gentle pushover...does anyone have any advice about how I might try making the best match possible? I know sometimes you just have to wait and see, but I'd like to go into this with as much knowledge as possible before I make any decisions. Thanks to all for your help!
Well, I've had Marlowe for a year now, and I'm starting to think it's time to get him a little brother...He's so people-oriented that he gets quite lonely when I'm at work, and he gets along tremendously well with my friend's cats when I've had to take him there...but he's a bit of a special cat, and I'd love some advice.
Marlowe is somewhere in the neighborhood of four years old, and he's blind. He was a shelter cat for two years, which may explain why neither moving house nor other cats perturb him much. He's definitely submissive around other cats from what I've seen -- and he also has difficulty keeping up with other kitties. He wants to be their friends, but I think he misses their visual cues and they don't always want to play with him.
There is one cat I've been looking at who is also a special-needs boy. He's about a year old and is missing a back leg. He seems incredibly mellow; he's been at a local vet's for a few weeks (where my friend interned as a vet) and has been unphased by the cats and dogs. He's now at a foster home with several other cats, recovering from a broken leg -- yes, some car managed to hit him and break his only back leg! The poor boy needs a home, and we already have two messed-up animals (Marlowe and our immuno-compromised tortoise, Ndugu), so we don't mind having a tripod cat.
On the one hand, I think these two could mesh well. They both have limitations, and neither will be quite up to normal kitty speed. They both appear to enjoy the company of other cats. On the other hand, Marlowe means the world to me and I really want to be sure I get him a buddy who won't make him feel left out or pushed into a corner. He's just such a gentle pushover...does anyone have any advice about how I might try making the best match possible? I know sometimes you just have to wait and see, but I'd like to go into this with as much knowledge as possible before I make any decisions. Thanks to all for your help!
