I want a kitten

Sicy-

I would think having her meet a kitten is a good idea. You can gauge her reaction that way. But if she bonds with your neighbor's kitten and then the playmate goes away? You have that to consider. If you do go ahead and let her meet. I would put her in a carrier and take her over there. That way, she won't be expecting the kitten to be in her place and go looking after playtime is over.

Cats are generally very social animals. They do like to be together. The only reason I raise the caution flag is because of Zoey's unsettled history. And it is so clear that she adores you and that you are so good for her.

Sicy

When Oscar(he was about 4 weeks old)first came into our household, Sammycat was not a happy camper. After a week of letting them sniff each other thru the carrier and the door to the bathroom I introduced them face to face.

At first there was a little bit of the hissing and spitting from Sammycat, after about 2 days Sammycat basically ignored me and Oscar. He finally warmed up to Oscar and now they are buddies with an occassional fuss but nothing life threatening. I thnik that Zoey would like to have a companion to keep her company when you are at work.

Originally posted by Sicycat
Well.. I was thinking a kitten because then Zoey wouldnt feel as threatened. I certainly dont want to jepeordize my relationship with Zoey.. I just *sigh* always wanted a cuddle cat and Zoey is not one

Hissy what do you think of letting Zoey meet one of my neighbors kittens? When their cold is gone of course.

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I'd be inclined to agree with you on the kitten score, i.e. IF you decide to do this a youngster would be less threat to Zoey -- she would know that she could tell this young whipper snapper just who is the boss. And kittens are on the one hand quite ready to accept the authority of an elder, and on the other quite spunky little people.

We've brought cats into our house three times to join an only cat, and on two of those occasions we had similar reservations about how it would turn out. In each of those cases, we made a point of getting the agreement of the person from whom we got the cats (actually one time cats, the other kittens) that the resident feline had the deciding vote and if she said no, they would take the critters back and find other arrangements for them. In neither case was that step necessary.

The first time, my old lady Shasta (then 14) took not too much time to accept two 6-year old guys. She gave me a bit of a hard time, but I just persevered, being super loving and super available, and she came around. She never admitted publicly that she liked the guys -- gotta keep the human in her place, ya know! -- but several times we happened on her and Nibs, having a perfectly friendly time, and it was quite obvious that we weren't supposed to have seen this.

However, all that said, every cat is an individual -- I should tell you something you don't know! -- and you are the best judge of Zoey's potential response. Not an easy decision.

I thought Rocky would hate having another cat, but he didn't...Him and Fluffy hit it right off...If you ask me, I believe one of the opposite sex get along better than 2 of the same sex....so if I were you, I would get a male kitten....it takes to for cats to get use to each other and there is an introduction pattern people should go by, but I guess it all depends on the cat...I can understand why you worry that Zoey would hate you...she will still love you, but she may take time getting use to the new kitten first...It took Rocky around 2 weeks before he was actually back to his normal self..I guess he just wanted to make sure she wasn't a threat to him..I wish you all the luck, and I do think Zoey would like it very much...just don't expect it right off..it takes time......

That's interesting… I was told that I should adopt the opposite sex, too but I ended up with little boys instead. They behave as if they grew up in the same litter, LOL! Then again, maybe I lucked out that 4 males ended up getting along so well… who knows?

Honestly Sicy, I don't think you can know what Zoey's reaction will be until you try. And just letting her visit a neighbor kitty......no matter waht, there will be hissing and defensiveness between 2 cats that do not know each other.

I adopted Joey when Squirt was 3. There was hissing, and Squirt was PLENTY pissed off with me. He accepted Joey pretty quickly, but it took him months before he back to being himself with me. That is why I am leery of bringing another cat in after having Squirt mad at me for a long time.

My best friend adopted 2 kittens from the shelter on the same day. They were from different litters, and there was still some hissing when they got home together.

I think you should try it.

Sicy,
Sounds like you really want a kitten. For what its worth, I say go for it..I think it just depends on the individual cats, Zoey might love another cat, or it might take a period of adjustment. You won't know until you try..Good luck I hope you find just the right kitty for you and Zoey.

Thanks everyone. I'm glad I started this thread because I want a lot of opinions. I'm not making any decisions right away. I was just thinking it would be nice to have a kitten. It may be months before I really decide. Just want to think about it really thoroughly

btw does anyone know how long kitty colds are contagious for? The kittens have been on medication for a week.

Sicy, I had many of the same worries, when I brought home my new Bengal kitten, because I have a two Siamese cats, one who is elderly and just wants to be alone, and the other who is really feisty, and tends to be mean to my dog Strutter, as well as to my recently passed over the Bridge, Persian, Stanley. However, and this is the amazing part, Shane the feisty one, loves my new Bangel, just loves him. They play together, and groom each other, it's just amazing. I honestly think that this new kitten is doing a world of good for Shane. So, it very well could work out, for you. I didn't even have to seperate this kitten. He blended in with the family right off the bat.

That's pretty amazing. How do you get them to not eat each others food? Like if you have to have kitten food and adult food.

The kitten doesn't have to eat Kitten Chow - I asked them where I bought him. He was already on a diet of Healthy Balance. So, he eats right along with the other cats, although he's getting less and less interested in the dry food. He only wants to eat the wet food. They do eat from each others dishes. It's funny to watch them. The same food is in each dish, but they each check out each others dishes, like they think the other one has something better.

It's your desiction Sicy.

Sounds as though you can only give it a go.

If so what kitten are you after?

Sicycat, this is a very tuff decision and as many have said before, u are the best person to determine this cuz u're the one who knows Zoey the best.

Let me share some of my experiences- some good and bad..

I adopted a calico kitten named Rusty when I was still living at home about 8 yrs ago, and ADORED her. About 3 years later, I was driving home from work and saw a orange tabby sitting near the road. He was sitting too close to the road so I pulled over to shoo him away but as I walked up, he remained sitting (breadbox position) and I realized he had blood in his mouth. To make a long story short, I brought him home from the humane society where I had taken him to because they were going to put him to sleep. I had promised my dad that i'd find another home for him since dad REFUSED to have more than one cat but after a couple days of searching for a new home with no luck, Sammy won my and my mom's hearts so we pleaded with dad to let us keep Sammy and dad finally gave in.

The sad thing is Rusty has not forgiven me for bringing Sammy home. This shows how SMART cats can be. Rusty knew it was ME that brought Sammy home. I tried to give her extra attention so that way she wouldn't feel neglected but it didn't work. Up to about a year ago, she would still hiss and swat at me if I came too close to her and she'd still hiss at Sammy. Fortunely, they have not gotten in many physical fights and now has learned to exist in the same house with each other. Recently I went home to visit for 10 days and to my surprise, Rusty let me pet her without hissing for a while! Rusty has become my dad's "cat" and Sammy has become mom's cat so it has worked out okay..

Positive story- all 4 of my cats adores each other.

Zebra was about 1 yr old when I brought Spike and Buddy home (they were about 3-4 wks old) and she immediately adopted them. It shocked me! I was planning on keeping them separate for a while (I live in a 1 bedroom apt same as u do). Within an hour of arriving home with the boys, I was cleaning out the carrier to get it ready for them to sleep in and as I did, the kittens tottered up to Zebra without me noticing. Zebra started licking them before I could get to them and I was soo surprised! I still kept them in the bathroom and/or bedroom while i was out for the first week but never had any problems. Poor Zebra HATED it when I put the boys in the bathroom or bedroom and would park herself at the door waiting for me to open the door then she'd go crazy licking them!! Remember that Zebra was already used to having another cat as a companion..

I had rescued a feral pregnant cat from a blizzard in Feb and she gave birth to 5 kittens in my bedroom before I could get her to a foster home. (remember I live in a 1 bedroom apt so that meant I had NINE cats/kittens)!! When I brought the kittens out of the bedroom to introduce slowly to my cats, Zebra immediately accepted all but markedly favored Pepper while the boys HATED all kittens. The boys would HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS like crazy... It took about a month or so before the boys got used to having the kittens around. Unfortunately Sweetie (mom cat) didn't like my cats and kept attacking my cats so I finally had to give her to a cat rescue group to foster and try to find a home for her while I found homes for all kittens but Pepper who was adopted by me and my other cats. My cats ADORES Pepper now..

It really depends on various factors in determining whether Zoey would accept another cat. The age of the "new" cat is definately a factor.. I have noticed that hissy has talked about the "bad history" of Zoey and that could be another factor also. (I'm curious about the history of Zoey so could u share that info?)

It's really great that u are really thinking this throughly and doing research before making a decision. Hope this helps..

Another idea is to "foster" a cat/kitten- you can go to a cat rescue group and apply to be a foster mom. They are always SCREAMING for more foster homes for cats.. This might be ideal because this way u can test Zoey with another cat and see how it goes but at the same time it can be for a temporary period of time then if it doesn't work out, u can always return to the cat organization...

About feeding kitten/catfood- I had the same problem since all 4 of my cats are various ages and Pepper is the kitten. At first, I'd feed Pepper in separate rooms so that way she'd eat kittenfood only but now am starting to feed them mixed kitten/adult food in the same room now since Pepper is now about 7 1/2 months old...After she's 1 yr old, I will start feeding adult catfood only to all 4..

SORRY THIS IS SOO LONG! Oopps..

Sam - If I got another cat I would like a striped gray tabby shorthair or a bengal (if I could find an adoptable one, I wouldnt pay for one) or an Abby.. same situation.

Pamela - That is really sad that your cat hated you for that long How scary. Zoey's history is just basically that she grew up around kids and when the owner turned her back in to the shelter she said that she bit the kids, and that she should be put to sleep Well, Zoey's biting is not malicious but she does bite hard sometimes. I think it is from the kids toting her around and probly messing with her.. and from the owner never teaching her not to bite. She is very socialized though, that isnt the problem. She loves people and everyone that comes over she runs to the door to investigate and head bonk their legs. She just doesnt like kids.

She doesnt bite as much as she used to because I have been working with her. She still bites my bf more than she bites me But she never uses claws, which is a good thing.

I think you should go ahead and make the decision to get zooey a buddy. Your neighbours kitten sounds good, as you'll be able to slowly introduce them. I'm sure you're neighbour won't mind if you are indeed planning on taking the kitten if you want to do it in stages... I'm thinking your screen door is an excellent oppourtunity. Because zooey will feel protected behind it, and the kitten will be protected from zooey on the other side. Slowly you can open the screen just a little bit so they can swat paws... This was always a good sign between our cats when we first introduced them all... The vanilla extract is a good idea.

What we did was we got an oil burner and some non scented oil, and dropped some rose extract in the oil and set the candle going. We kept it on all the evenings we were introducing the cats, what it does is it makes EVERYTHING smell like roses, so that zooey will get used to the smell... Then when she meets the kitten she'll be like, hey, this little guy smells familiar!

Frankly, i don't think you'll have any issues with zooey being scared of the kitten. That's good, but that can also be bad as she may attack it.

But at the end of the day, you'll be able to gauge whether she's going to attack it or not within the first few meetings. While you're at work, you can leave the kitten alone in the toilet, with the lid town. That's quite a bit of space for a kitten... Just leave plenty of toys and some boxes, food, water and a litter tray... You can probably do this until you know for sure that zooey won't hurt the kitten...

One other thing to think of is, if you do eventually leave them alone together, since there will be a size difference which you can use to the kittens advantage by providing it with a few hiding places that only it can fit into. Of course you'll have to make sure the kitten is well aware of these places.

So if any thing does happen at least she can hide.

I'm quite confident they'll be okay so long as you follow all the rules of cat/kitten introduction.

GOOD LUCK!


P.S. If you have any problems with zooey eating the kittens food you'll have to make a kitten sized hole in a box and put the kitten food in there so zooey can't get to it, but don't forget to weigh down the box well.

P.P.S. And i love grey tabbies! Zooey Zoo Nuts is a grey tabby too...

Something else i just thought of...
Em... You know, you're new kitten will probably be moulded in the exact image of Zooey... As you're kitten will pick up all her habits, and mannerisms as Zooey is the only cat she has to emulate...

That's what happened to Mythie.... At first she was all sweet and slept with us, and snuggled, and stuff, then she started haning out with zooey more and more and now... They even WALK the same!

This is a tough decission. But Zoey might do just fine. I don't feel like I can give you any advice one way or another. It's something you can best answer for yourself! But personally, I hope you get one.

Sicycat, don't feel too bad about Rusty. She's living the royal life being spoilt rotten by my parents!

Another factor I think could be that at that time I was not aware of this website or of the process of introducing cats slowly to each other. When I brought Sammy home, I just let Sammy out of the carrier and let him have the run of the house along with Rusty so now when I look back,I realize poor Rusty felt he invaded her terrority...So I think that's another factor in why Rusty don't like Sammy and me.

Also, I've heard that Calico cats tend to be very ornery anyway. I don't know if that's true or not...

I will have to post pictures of her so u can see how gorgeous she is even when being ornery!

This is very possible what Yzma said-

You know, you're new kitten will probably be moulded in the exact image of Zooey... As you're kitten will pick up all her habits, and mannerisms as Zooey is the only cat she has to emulate

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But again, Zoey might learn from the kitten/cat.. That's what I believe happened with Zebra, Spike and Buddy. She became more affectionate after I got Buddy and Spike..

Oh, what is an "abby"? What kind of cat is that?

Pamela, check out this thread:Abby's