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how are spcas able to tell if a cat can or cant live with another

post #1 of 17
4/23/10 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
cat? I see petfinder listings and spca listings on some cats it will say "no other cats"

Does this mean the cat is just exceptionally aggressive? I dont get how they can test it becasue wheenver 2 cats meet they usually scrap a bit.

Same with dogs how do they knnow if a cat cant live with a dog? I mean every cat meets a dog its gonna puff up swat the dog or hide from the dog.
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post #2 of 17
4/23/10 at 4:16pm
Typically you can tell a cat that can not live with any other cats, they are not necessarily aggressive, some become withdrawn around other cats but the majority are just outright aggressive around other cats and ok without them. They see cat interactions every day and can tell the ones who are just intro puffs and real fighters. We had one cat at the shelter that would pin other cats against a wall in a corner and bite their throats - we would never have let her go home with another cat.

That being said, some shelters are button happy when it comes to the not ok with children / cats / dogs options and it does depend on the animal they are being introduced to. Autumn was fairly nasty with other cats at the shelter, but we never had a real issue when we brought her home, but had circumstances been different, I wouldn't have taken her home.

With dogs, we have a volunteer who fosters guide dogs in training in, we introduce the cats to them because they couldn't care less about cats, we do tell people how they reacted to a dog, but do not usually say no dogs as a slow intro can make a difference
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post #3 of 17
4/23/10 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
my cat is wierd if she sees another cat sometimes she pretends that cat is not there but then sometimes she will all out attack it

i wonder if shes one of those cats that cant be with other cats? sometimes shes so fearless and other times cowardly
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post #4 of 17
4/23/10 at 4:50pm
We often have cats surrendered as they do not get along with the other cats. But we also label them as needing a home without other cats if they hiss/growl/freak out even at the sight of other cats. They *may* eventually do OK with other cats in a home, however it is clear they are not comfortable with them so we make the decision to adopt them to homes as only cats.
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post #5 of 17
4/24/10 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chausiefan View Post
my cat is wierd if she sees another cat sometimes she pretends that cat is not there but then sometimes she will all out attack it

i wonder if shes one of those cats that cant be with other cats? sometimes shes so fearless and other times cowardly
She could well be, some cats, as Natalie said, can live with other cats, but they are obviously not happy about it
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post #6 of 17
4/24/10 at 8:39am
^I have one that falls into that category. She doesn't hate cats, she just doesn't want them in her personal space or to make eye contact. Often she'll walk up to another cat to sniff them, then get mad and growl and swat at them.


Sometimes it depends on the cats being put together. Some cats will tolerate certain cats, but not all. I have one outside that tolerates a young submissive male cat because he defers to her. She's still grumpy towards him and if he can get her to play she'll often get rough with him. Other cats she attacks on sight - if she sees them and especially if they make even accidental eye contact, she's after them. She gets really upset over seeing other cats around us as well, even her yard mate Boo. So she is a jealous/possessive kitty, too.
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post #7 of 17
4/24/10 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
strange is she a tortie or have any red on her? do u have a pic of her by any chance
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post #8 of 17
4/24/10 at 9:10am
Indoor cat is black and outdoor cat is orange. Color has nothing to do with it - being female does, though.

white cat lover's cat Ophelia is pretty extreme about not tolerating other cats (females, isn't it?) and she's white.
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post #9 of 17
4/24/10 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
im starting to think usually nnutering a male will effect their temperment big time but i dont think spaying females makes them less tempermental


kinda like horses mares are usually more fiesty then guildings but stallions are a whole nother story
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post #10 of 17
4/24/10 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chausiefan View Post
im starting to think usually nnutering a male will effect their temperment big time but i dont think spaying females makes them less tempermental
I think I told you as much several days ago. It can make some female cats more playful, they don't have to worry about breeding so they can enjoy just being a cat. But I'd have to say that once a fussy girl cat, always a fussy girl cat.

And even though neutering will calm a male cat down. A lot of the core personality will still be there.
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post #11 of 17
4/24/10 at 12:38pm
It is much more difficult to predict if a cat is willing to live with other cats. Sometimes shelters rely on information in an owner relinquishment situation. If the shelter is lucky enough to have colony rooms there is some predictability that way. Most shelters tend to play it safe with their recommendations.
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post #12 of 17
4/24/10 at 12:45pm
Thread Starter 
has there been cases of adult cats killing each other? I know that to toms will kill kittens

cats fights dont seem to be as violent and to the death that dog fights can end up as i dont think ive ever heard of an adult cat killing another

maybe its just because cats have not been so genitically altered the way dogs have so cats are usually evenly matched while dogs vary so much u get a 100 pound dog that could just wallow a 6 pound dog whole
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post #13 of 17
4/24/10 at 1:53pm
Yes there have, cats, even females can be extemely territorial when they want to be - its not common but not unheard of.

The cat I mentioned in the earlier post would have easily killed another cat given a chance, the way she attacked them on the odd occasion she escaped her room and got into the other room

I think Autumn became an even fussier cat after spaying her
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post #14 of 17
4/24/10 at 2:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
white cat lover's cat Ophelia is pretty extreme about not tolerating other cats (females, isn't it?) and she's white.
Ask Gumby about how nasty Ophelia Rose is - she may be white with piercing blue eyes - but those eyes show the real devil in her (at least Gumby thinks so!). We must be extremely diligent to ensure Ophelia Rose is never allowed to sneak out of the office - as she will do everything in her power to kill Gumby on sight. Ophelia will tolerate the one male in the house - Dory - but other than that she's always slapping everyone else around.
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post #15 of 17
4/24/10 at 2:16pm
I thought I would have an Ophelia when I brought Autumn home

I will deal with her being a sucky princess anyday over that
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post #16 of 17
4/24/10 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
I thought I would have an Ophelia when I brought Autumn home

I will deal with her being a sucky princess anyday over that
Oh yes - one day she just up & decided she hated Gumby. Gumby has scars on her face to prove that.
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post #17 of 17
4/24/10 at 4:43pm
^Poor thing. She has turned out to be a lovely kitten, though. I'm really glad you persisted with her.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chausiefan View Post
has there been cases of adult cats killing each other? I know that to toms will kill kittens

cats fights dont seem to be as violent and to the death that dog fights can end up as i dont think ive ever heard of an adult cat killing another
You're right, it hasn't been breed into cats like it has many dog breeds. (ironically, with a lot of dog breeds it's suggested that you never leave two females together. Even spayed.)

With cats it usually isn't a fight to the death type fight. But it can get very violent, and one or both cats can end up with wounds that will get infected and cause death.
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