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Would they be okay split?

post #1 of 9
6/12/11 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone! I joined up because I have a question I need to ask.. I own two indoor cats that are just about five years old.. they're a male and female from the same litter. When they were little they used to cuddle together often, but now they are more independent.. they get along when they cross paths but they don't seek each other out in our house.

Shylo, the male, is incredibly attached to me and follows me everywhere. If I get up from my desk he follows me downstairs.. he sleeps in and under my bed, cuddles with me on the couch, and it always right at my feet. I'm the only one in the house he does this to (no one else can even really pet him, he just walks away from them). When I go away for a couple days my parents tell me that he sits at the window waiting but otherwise stays upstairs in my room, presumably waiting for me to get back.

I'm planning to move out about three hours away in September (far enough away that I won't be able to visit every weekend or so), and my mom suggested that I may have to take Shylo with me because he seems so distraught to them whenever I'm away for more than a day or two.

My question is, would splitting him from his sister be a bad thing, or would it be worse to split him from me? I'm not 100% sure how a cat's brain functions.. he gets along with his sister but doesn't really interact with her unless they happen to cross paths.

Thanks for any help/advice you can offer!
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post #2 of 9
6/12/11 at 5:52pm
This is such a case-by-case issue, but it sounds to me like Shylo would be much less devastated to loose his cat sibling than to loose you. I've seen cat pairs that I wouldn't dream of separating, but your Shylo sounds a lot my Pandora. She couldn't give less of a hoot about her sister, but stays glued to my side when I'm home.

That said, some cats actually prefer living solo with their human. Shylo might just be one of them!
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post #3 of 9
6/12/11 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much for your thoughts.. I will definitely keep that in mind. (: Takes a little bit of weight off my chest, hahaha.
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post #4 of 9
6/12/11 at 9:53pm
I agree. I would never have split one of my previous bonded pairs, but now I have 3 who are all independent from one another and they would all be ok on their own as they all spend their time alone, not snuggled up together!

Plus, you don't want him to be distraught the whole time you are away... That would be heart breaking!
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post #5 of 9
6/12/11 at 9:59pm
I agree. I would never have split one of my previous bonded pairs, but now I have 3 who are all independent from one another and they would all be ok on their own as they all spend their time alone, not snuggled up together!

Plus, you don't want him to be distraught the whole time you are away... That would be heart breaking!
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post #6 of 9
6/12/11 at 10:02pm
Let me add another perspective here...

My oldest cat is now 17.
Several years ago I lived with my boyfriend and his 5 cats, my girl was friendly with, but not bonded to any of them.
When he and I split up, I took my cat with me, making her the only cat in the house.
She spent a good deal of time depressed and calling out, looking for the other cats.
That's what actually prompted me to adopt Jade, imediately after Jade moved in, Spaz returned to normal.
Even now I have three very independant cats, friendly, but mostly having nothing to do with each other.

The dynamics of cats' social relationships are extremely hard to understand.
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post #7 of 9
6/13/11 at 3:09am
I too have siblings, boy and girl. Very similar to you, boy loves me and on me all the time. Girl is independent... But, they do interact together, play, sleep sometimes, etc and I can't even think of splitting them. Imagine when you live alone, how distraught he will be when you are out of house and he's alone?

I say if you can, take the pair with you.
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post #8 of 9
6/13/11 at 4:58am
I agree, perhaps we can brainstorm and try to figure out a strategy that would allow you to bring both of them with you.

Where there is a will, there's a way.
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post #9 of 9
6/13/11 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
Sadly taking both is out of ther question. ): My parents are really attached to his sister and she to them.. she sleeps between them in bed every night and while she is much more social to everyone else in the house (compared to Shylo) she is really close to my dad.

What are some other possibilities to solve this..? Is it out of the question to get a second cat after I move, or would that be too stressful to Shylo to meet a new face? He and his sister really have only met each other before, I wouldn't have a clue how to introduce two new cats.
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