An elderly cat and a kitten?

I have a 14 year old burmese named Bimmer. In March, he was diagnosed with liver failure and was not expected to live past the weekend. He is still here. About a week ago he started to lose weight, and the vet once again expected him to not make it through the week. And once again, he is still here and is recovering again. I volunteer at a shelter, and right before Bimmer started to lose weight again, I met a little kitten named Tiger who I really bonded with. I talked to the owner of the shelter and she told me she would hold Tiger for a few weeks until I was ready to take Tiger in and adopt him for myself.

Now, Bimmer is making an unexpected turn around. I obviously cant and wouldnt expect them to hold Tiger for me for another 4 months, so im curious, would bringing Tiger into the house while Bimmer is still around, and HEALTHY, be a bad idea? Tiger is around other cats all the time at his foster home, and Bimmer gets along great with other cats, seeing as we had 2 before and we have never had any problems. Obviously I will put Bimmer and his best interest before anything. Would this be a bad idea? I thought if anything, it may give Bimmer a boost, having someone to hang out with, because hes been very energetic, but im not sure. Thanks!

I think, knowing Bimmer likes other cats, it might be a nice change for him. How old is Tiger? If Tiger is small enough (in other words, not a major territorial threat yet) Bimmer might take him under his wings, which would be the best scenario. I have seen older cats become friends with kittens this way (and seem to get a second wind in life), but only when the adoptees were small. In cats that are more anti-social (cats that do not care for other cats) things turned out not so rosy, so do tread carefully. As the kitten gets older, older cat will try to hold on to his alpha status and the younger cat will challenge that. (This is also an added stress on the older cat.)  If they are friendly enough (and the younger one submissive), this won't be much of a problem, but other wise, you will be breaking cat fights on a daily basis as the kitten gets older. So in short, you probably want a kitten who likes other cats and somewhat submissive, unless Bimmer doesn't mind being bossed around-but all this is still just a guess: Cats often figure things out on their own, and it often surprises us too.

And yet again, wouldn't Bimmer enjoy quiet time with you in his old age, just him and you, without a rambunctious kitten annoying him? No little up-start to hog your attention, steal his favorite napping space or bugging him for a energetic play when he just wants to sleep?

One thing you can do is to ask Bimmer. Why not have a quiet chat with him tonight and hear what he wants to say?

If you decide to adopt him, do have the kitten fixed as soon as possible to avoid any kind of territorial aggression.

You will also have to make sure the kitten isn't overtaxing the still frail gent, so provide him his own space he can get his much needed rest in.

Bringing Tiger's scent home first will acclimate Bimmer to the stranger's presence. Wrap Tiger in your old shirt, give him a good rub and bring it home for Bimmer to sniff at. Do the same with Bimmer's scent for Tiger. This way, when they finally meet face à face, it won't be a huge shock.

Tiger is about 9 weeks old, so hes still a little guy. Tiger is in a foster home right now with probably 20 or more other older cats, and younger kittens, so I have no idea just how territorial he would be, but I feel like he may not be too territorial, because of that. Bimmer was the first cat, or any pet in the house. We have had 2 cats since. One was older when we adopted him and passed of old age about 5 years ago. The other died of diabetes about 3 years ago. Seeing as Bimmer was the first in the house, you would think he seemed to be in charge, but I really didn't see any of the cats take a 'leader' role in the house.

Bimmer for sure gets his alone time with me. Every night he comes into my room, at about 11 on the dot, and he curls up under my blanket with me with his head in my armpit and he cuddles and sleeps for a few hours. I guess, the important thing for me is to be positive that Bimmer knows that this kitten coming in is not to replace him in his old age, not to be a fun new little guy to play with, but to hopefully help Bimmer, and obviously help me with Bimmer, my emotional state, of course. But its very important to me that Bimmer knows he is not being replaced. Tiger can surely join me and cuddle in bed at night, but Bimmer will always have his spot.

Thats a very good idea, too. The one thing is, ive also got a chinchilla at home, and 2 gerbils. The woman who runs the rescue agreed to let me bring Tiger home as a bit of a 'trial run' because if he is going after the small animals, that would obviously be a problem, but it could be a trail run with Bimmer as well.

A trial run sounds like a great idea.. Especially to expose tiger to small animals while he's still young. He will learn to accept them better at an early age. I'd give it a shot. I am sure Bimmer will tell you "no" if he's unhappy with Tiger

Awesome, im glad you think its a good idea. I was a bit weary of it, I felt a bit bad bringing him into a new environment then bringing him out of it if things don't work out, but I guess at the end of the day its the best thing. He's a great little guy, I hope it works out. It seems to be a situation where he chose me, so I have a feeling it will. I will keep you guys updated, haha.

Another question for anyone reading this, do any of you guys use Soft Paws for youre kittens? Ive heard from some people that theyre great, and others that the cats constantly pick them off and theyre all around the house, etc etc. I was wondering what youre experiences were.

My main concern is if your elder kitty pulls through long enough for the kitten to start getting big.

Bimmer sounds a bit fragile at this point. It would be very easy for a full-size cat with a kitten brain to hurt him.

My mother actually got a kitten when my father's cat was about 14 or 15. She wasn't as sick as it sounds like Bimmer is.

She was a little on the petite side. And the kitten turned out to get pretty big.

He was only playing, but he wound up beating her up pretty badly, and ultimately, my parents decided to rehome him for her safety.

This is the main reason I didn't adopt another cat during the last year or so of my elder cat's life. I wanted to, not just because I love kitties, but also because I sensed she was a little lonely while I was at work.

But she was also very fragile physically. And when I weighed the risks vs. the benefits of bringing a young, strapping cat into the equation, I just didn't feel comfortable with it.

A trial run while Tiger is still to small too cause harm might be a good idea. Who knows, perhaps he will intuit Bimmer's health problems, and take to him gently. But personally, I'd be careful.

That is something I never even thought of. Though, at this point we do know that if Bimmer has a downfall, it will just keep getting worse for him. I hate to say it, but I think that if the point came where he couldn't completely fend for himself (lets take that statement pretty loosely) that it would be very close to the end for him.

Wouldn't you rather Bimmer has quiet last few months with you in that case, in the environment he is used to and comfortable with? Rather than boisterous youngster trying to beat him up, even for a play?

Do you think, perhaps the reason why Bimmer keeps getting better even after written off by the vet is because you can give him your total, undivided attention? (and because he feels that too?)

I have certainly thought of that, I have. He is just so active all the time, I really do think he would be happy with a buddy, knowing him.

We had a senior cat (male) who was 18 years old. He was slow (arthritic legs) and only had one eye. As a young cat he had been very aggressive, hissing and scratching at strangers (people and other animals) a like and a fighter. As he got older (10+) he mellowed and by that age he didn't seem to really care, so we adopted two kittens (girls). He got along very well with the girls, and acted almost fatherly to them (which cat fathers really don't take on a parental role usually). He lived 2 years after that and I think the kittens really improved his quality of life.