New Addition, questions about breeds, etc

Hi All,

I need some advice. Our current Cat cody is 7 years old. He was picked up from a rescue shelter. He is an awesome cat, very loving, sleeps with us every night, etc. I am considering getting him play partner, kitten. I know he is lonely during the day when we are at work. My concern is he will resent
us or not like the new cat. My goal would be they sleep together, play together etc. Our requirements or wants are listed below. I'm undecided on a pure breed or another shelter cat.

Must be shorthair/low shed
Loving and gentle, prefer a lap cat.
Non-destructive
Doesn't need to be dominant cat
Somewhat playful
Will do fine with children, baby on the way soon.

I have considered Havana Browns and Russian Blues, I have ruled out
the blues. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

Originally Posted by Gaprofitt

Hi All,

I need some advice. Our current Cat cody is 7 years old. He was picked up from a rescue shelter. He is an awesome cat, very loving, sleeps with us every night, etc. I am considering getting him play partner, kitten. I know he is lonely during the day when we are at work. My concern is he will resent
us or not like the new cat. My goal would be they sleep together, play together etc. Our requirements or wants are listed below. I'm undecided on a pure breed or another shelter cat.

Must be shorthair/low shed
Loving and gentle, prefer a lap cat.
Non-destructive
Doesn't need to be dominant cat
Somewhat playful
Will do fine with children, baby on the way soon.

I have considered Havana Browns and Russian Blues, I have ruled out
the blues. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

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Welcome to TCS. If you have questions about breeds, you can always post them in the breeders corner forum.

I would put in a vote for a shelter cat. There is such a need these days to find homes for cats. You can work with the shelter/rescue people to help choose a cat/kitten that comes close to your criteria. As for something like shedding - feeding a high quality, low filler/grain food goes a long way to reducing that issue.

Welcome to TCS!

Welcome To TCS.

Rob & Sport

Hi there

we're so happy to get the chance to welcome you and your furfamily to TCS. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay with us - we're one great big family and you'll find loads of friends here. If I can help at all while you're finding your way around TCS just click on my username and send me a Personal Message - I'll do what I can to answer your questions

Go to cat shows and look at breeds there and talk with breeders.

After reading your list of requirements, I strongly advise against your adopting a bengal. For the most part they are not lap cats, although they are affectionate.

They are a very dominant breed, especially the males, for they are elitist cats and think they are better than every other breed.

They can become destructive if not given the right amount of attention and playtime, and if you have a new baby on the way, then I can easily see you not having the time or being too tired to give a bengal - especially a bengal kitten - the amount of attention that they not only require, they DEMAND.

Bengals are fantastic animals, but they are not for everyone, and again, after seeing your needs for a new cat family member, I would strongly advise that you consider adopting a DSH rescue from the shelter to be friends with your current kitty.

There are many, many much more experienced people than me on here, but....

I adopted my Bengal from a shelter in May 2008. I love him completely and cannot imagine not having him. He was 2.5 years old when when got him and he is still absolutely CRAZY

One of the volunteers at the shelter had taken him home with her the afternoon he was brought in. She kept him for two weeks and brought him back in the same afternoon we saw him. After we had had him for a couple of days I called the shelter to ask a few questions before we took him to the vet for his checkup. The lady that had had him happened to answer the phone and told me that she had had Kody. I asked how she could have brought him back!!! Turns out that she had two other cats, and even though he is as sweet and loving as can be (well, not a lap cat, but a sleep right up next to, or ON you cat), he was just too crazy and rough with her other cats. He would stalk them and jump down at them from the mantle, etc. He was only playing, but they were terrified!!! So unless your Cody is extremely energetic I would worry that bringing in a Bengal would be intimidating.

I don't want to discourage anyone from having a Bengal, but I know you don't want your Cody miserable either.

Anne (Kody's Mom)

I would not get a kitten for a 7 year old cat, unless you get 2 kittens. Kittens of any breed are playful and would likely just bother your 7 yr old.

Burmese are always a popular choice for families with children.

What about an Abyssinian? They are very sweet affectionate cats. One of my guys loves kids, cats, and dogs! I have never had problems with introductions with them.
I recently adopted a cat from the shelter and she gets along really well with the abys. It took awhile for her to become friends with our Bengal. Our Bengal is very outgoing and needs to have the attention spot of the house or she gets jealous. Our Bengal is not a lap cat and really dislikes being picked up. I don't think I would have a small child around her. She has captured my heart in many other ways I love her so much. Everyone has a special pet they bond with in life and our Bengal has become my very special little girl. Bengals are not for everyone.

Shelter cats need homes too! I am really happy we adopted Felix at Christmas time to be a part of our family. She has adapted to my home and is a very happy little girl who shows us how much she appreciates us everyday! It breaks my heart that everyday cats like Felix are being euthanized because they had nobody to bring them home to love them.

Greg, welcome to the board and welcome to the very tough job of choosing a breed that suits your (and your other cats) needs / wants. I am in the same boat in terms of deciding on a breed, but I've narrowed my choices down to a "short" list of about 3 breeds at this point...

I've got a couple other questions you might want to think about...

1. Energy level...would you be OK with a higher energy breed that is sometimes a lap cat...but is also affectionate, or do you want a less active "always sits in your lap" cat?

2. Noise level... Do you like it when your cat meows? Want a breed that "talks" to you, or the silent type?

3. Do you want a breed that wants to be constantly involved with you (needy I guess you could say)? i.e. "helps" you fold the laundry, type on the computer, etc... Or prefer one that likes attention but won't demand to be a part of your activities?

4. Do you fancy any particular cat body type? i.e. long & skinny, medium, or "cobby" (round) looking?

Although we can adjust based on what your answers to the additional questions are...based on what you said in your first post, I'd look at the british and american shorthairs, the exotic shorthair, the burmese, the european burmese, the tonkinese, siamese, and oriental shorthair, and also the two rexes (cornish and devon)... The last 5 breeds are higher energy (but still very affectionate) and the rexes either don't or shed very, very little. The plusher coated breeds...british, exotic, and american shorthair would shed more. The manx might also be one to look at (similar to a brit, but cobbier body and no tail on some of the manx).

For me, I'm still stuck between a burmese, C Rex, and oriental shorthair (I decided that I liked the big ears after all).

Art

If you are looking for a pet, I would recommend you adopt a kitty from an animal shelter. There are so many wonderful animals there who will never experience the love and companionship of an owner. I personally wish I could adopt more cats from shelters myself.

Originally Posted by artgecko

Greg, welcome to the board and welcome to the very tough job of choosing a breed that suits your (and your other cats) needs / wants.

I am in the same boat in terms of deciding on a breed, but I've narrowed my choices down to a "short" list of about 3 breeds at this point...

I've got a couple other questions you might want to think about...

1. Energy level...would you be OK with a higher energy breed that is sometimes a lap cat...but is also affectionate, or do you want a less active "always sits in your lap" cat? I think a sometimes lap cat would be the best choice.

2. Noise level... Do you like it when your cat meows? Want a breed that "talks" to you, or the silent type? We prefer a vocal cat.

3. Do you want a breed that wants to be constantly involved with you (needy I guess you could say)? i.e. "helps" you fold the laundry, type on the computer, etc... Or prefer one that likes attention but won't demand to be a part of your activities? We prefer a needy cat that requires attention.

4. Do you fancy any particular cat body type? i.e. long & skinny, medium, or "cobby" (round) looking? No preference here, we are open in this category.

Although we can adjust based on what your answers to the additional questions are...based on what you said in your first post, I'd look at the british and american shorthairs, the exotic shorthair, the burmese, the european burmese, the tonkinese, siamese, and oriental shorthair, and also the two rexes (cornish and devon)... The last 5 breeds are higher energy (but still very affectionate) and the rexes either don't or shed very, very little. The plusher coated breeds...british, exotic, and american shorthair would shed more. The manx might also be one to look at (similar to a brit, but cobbier body and no tail on some of the manx).

For me, I'm still stuck between a burmese, C Rex, and oriental shorthair (I decided that I liked the big ears after all).

Art

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Originally Posted by StarrDazl

If you are looking for a pet, I would recommend you adopt a kitty from an animal shelter. There are so many wonderful animals there who will never experience the love and companionship of an owner. I personally wish I could adopt more cats from shelters myself.

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Not to start an argument, but aren't you the very same person who has posted in this Breeder forum, that you want to start breeding pedigree'd cats??

It's wonderful to adopt from shelters to give a moggie a home, but please make up your mind where you stand. It's nearly impossible to play in both courts as a breeder.

And, please don't confuse Breed Rescue with shelters, because all good breeders are actively involved in Rescue.

I'm getting confused.. You want to adopt the Bengal kitten from this post you made ?http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187010

I would adopt that cute little guy in a second if I had the chance. He is adorable! My Bengal girl gets along well with my established cats in the house. We got her when she was a kitten.

I didn't get the connection between the 2 posts until now....

Aside from you wanting a short hair... Have you considered Ragdolls? They are wonderful cats, and don not shed as much as the usual long hair... They still shed though... She proof you would look for a Sphynx!

First of all, are you absolutely sure that your current cat is unhappy during the day?

I would assume a 7 year old cat would simply sleep most of the day and be quite happy as "King of his Castle". Cats are not human and while they are social and a lot of cats like other cats they're not nearly as dependant on company as we are. It's something that's quite hard to grasp for us since we're hard wired into the very social primates we are.

Anyway if you're first and foremost thinking about your current cat, keeping him as a single cat might very well be the best thing for him.

If you're going to add a second cat your best bet is to get another mature cat that's known to get along with other cats. Kittens are very high energy, kittens from high energy breeds like the Bengal are unbelievably high energy. Odds are that adding that type of feline to your household will simply make your current cat miserable.

That's all stuff that can be worked through. If you can separate their living areas to give the older cat a rest from the manic kitten, play a lot with the kitten yourself. Get two kittens instead of one so they can play with each other and leave the mature cat alone etc. These are all options, but in terms of what will give most happiness to the existing cat, that's probably staying a single cat.

To elaborate a bit more on the "high energy" thing. Here's a video of my bengal when she was 1 year old.


This video is just 1 minute. She would stay at that play level for hours. Every single day. (She's three years old now and has calmed down a bit now) I love cats and all my friends think I'm nuts with the amount of time I'm willing to put into taking care of my cat but even then it was something that I found just exhausting at times and if I didn't put the work in and play with her, she'd keep me up at night or get destructive and break things or otherwise find herself something to do that was almost always something I didn't want her to do.

A bit off-topic... did you rename your cat, or was "Totis" a different one?

Judging by your answers in post #13, I would recommend Tonkinese or Burmese - very people oriented cats that thrive on attention, Tonks are a breed developed from Burmese and Siamese and many are talkative like Siamese, but tend to have the more laid back personality of the Burmese. Siamese/Oriental are more highly strung and can be destructive if not given appropriate outlets for their excess of physical and mental energies so I would not recommend them for your particular set of requirements.

My concern really is that if your existing cat has been an 'only child' for 7 years he may really not take well at all to sharing his well established territory - I would strongly advise that you consider the stress he may feel at the introduction of a newcomer after being king of the hill for that length of time - cats are not the most flexible of animals when it comes to change in circumstances!

Originally Posted by Going Nova

A bit off-topic... did you rename your cat, or was "Totis" a different one?

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His real name is Cody, but we call him totis as a nickname.