Is it a good idea to get a new buddy for my geriatic cat?

that guy

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I posted this in the health forum because I concerned with the help of my current cat so I posted it here. My cat is 19.5 years old and has arthritis, pancreatic issues, IBD, and renal failure so I am concerned about his health with another cat. He is doing pretty well but his immune system is pretty much destroyed but he is pretty stable.

Maybe I am making too much about what I think is him looking for a buddy to hang out so this is my reasoning. Scratchy was born in a litter of 4 and he lived his life with his sister who came down with cancer and had to be put down on her 17th birthday. Scratchy was in a cat fight when he was 16.5 years old and had a claw that got stuck  in his side and got infected. The claw was removed after a few days because he was starting to get sick so I brought him to the vet and they found the claw and cleaned the wound out. He never really got better and then started to come down with the IBD or the renal failure and then things just went downhill slowly over about a year. During this year his sister passed on which was a big hit for him because one day she went out the door and then never came back. He seemed to get over this over the next few months as he got sicker but he never really forgot and would go looking from time to time.

My tenant downstairs was given a cat who was very gentle and in his teens that Scratchy had seen from his deck upstairs. He would go down the stairs every week or so and sniff around and maybe make some noise or not. Because the cat downstairs was really gentle I carried my guy into the suite and the other cat came over to see what was up. Neither cat reacted so I put Scratchy down and the two cats kind of sniffed each other and maybe hissed a bit but no bad reactions. I left the door open and Scratchy ended up leaving and walking back upstairs but he was not upset or acting strangely. A few days later he wanted to go back and went back downstairs so I carried him in again and let them see each other. They did some sniffing the second time and Scratchy kind of looked around a little bit and then went back upstairs. It turns out the cat downstairs had cancer but before this was known he started to have cough attacks so I didn't bring Scratchy back downstairs. It didn't take long before the cancer really started to flare up and he had to be put down because there was no fixing it.

Since then Scratchy would want to go downstairs a few times a week so I let him go down and sniff around but he never finds the other cat. He will sniff around and sometimes he will lie down in some of the spots the other cat apparently hung out on and just sit there. This kind of behaviour makes me think he wants a pal to hang out with but I don't know if this is a good idea or not. I am worried that a new cat may introduce some virus or something similar in an old and sick cat. My concern is with Scratchy and his health and I think he would like a buddy from his behaviour but I could be wrong. I would get a cat from the local cat shelter and the basic plan was to take it to my vet and have the basic tests done such as blood and urine test to look for anything obvious and they would board it for me. If there was nothing obvious then I would take her home an set her up in a spare bedroom where she would stay for two weeks to see if anything came up. My vet said there were some sicknesses that could take up to a few weeks take effect. If nothing popped up then I could try a slow introduction and see how they got along.

I found this cat, this is almost a carbon copy of Scratchy's sister who passed on.... http://www.delta.ca/services/animal-shelter/animals-for-adoption/suki

Scratchy is very gentle as well but he is old and fragile so anything hyper, aggressive, or dominant is not going to work out for him. Suki sounds like a great cat and personality wise she would act similar to Scratchy's sister which is also a bonus. I am hoping that having a friend will be a good thing for Scratchy especially if the female likes grooming and can help Scratchy with this task. Scratchy gets oral pain meds, digestive enzymes in his food, and all of his drugs come through in his sub-q which he gets daily.

If Scratchy was your cat would you have a concern with a new cat? My main concern is for Scratchy and I only want to make him happier so if there is any risk to him I would not take it. I wasn't planning on introducing any new cats into the house until after he passed on because I didn't want to stress him out. It seems like he is looking for a companion. Neither would be outside cats other than a second floor deck so I don't see either picking up some strange sickness but I am still concerned.

If you read this far I thank you but I always think too much information is better than not enough.

Thanks for any input.
 

zoneout

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Hi.  There are too many possible drawbacks to getting another cat for Scratchy to recommend it.   If you do go ahead it would have to be with the understanding that if it does not go well then you be allowed to return the new cat back to the agency.
 

catpack

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I agree with @zoneout. I have an arthritic, IBD 16.5 yr old and if he were my only right now, I wouldn't consider bringing in a new cat. As it stands now, he shares a home with several others, though I feel very confident that he would be just fine as an only.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I tend to agree with the other two posters.  Cats are, by  nature, actually loners.  My old kidney cat actually wants nothing to do with my other two younger cats.  She just wants to be left alone, even though one of them is constantly trying to cuddle with her, etc.

Something that keeps popping into the back of my mind, though, is perhaps a dog.  Call me crazy, but if you think he might want a companion, maybe an older,  dog might be the trick.  'Course, they're a lot more work, especially if you live in an upstairs apartment
 

lcat4

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It's only been a week since my Clark passed...he was in a similar health state as Scratchy, and I thought I'd share from my perspective.  Two years ago, we added a new kitten to our fold.  My elderly brother cats were 15 years, when one, Clark, was diagnosed with cancer, hyper-t, and renal failure a couple months later.  Clark loved his brother and tolerated our other cat, but was none too happy to embrace the new kitten.  Definitely added to the stress in his life.  Eventually he accepted the new one, but they never snuggled. Although the new cat is a great addition to our family, she did not add anything to Clark's situation. 

Time moved on and as the health condition of Clark worsened, he definitely withdrew from the other cats, most noticeably his brother.  These two were inseparable for 16+ years, and it got to the point where he only allowed his brother to clean or snuggle for short minutes at a time.  At the end he barely acknowledged his brother.  It's not like Clark removed himself from the household.  His final couple months were spent camped out under the coffee table in the family room.  I think he wanted the activity around him.  He just didn't want to actively participate. 

From reading other posts written by you, it sounds like you spend lots of time with Scratchy, not only giving attention, but care.  Clark took up a lot of my time and attention getting him to eat, sub-q's..., and that was time away from the other cats.  Fortunately I had other family to step in to play with and give attention to the others.  Regardless of how well adjusted the new cat is, she will require your time to get settled. Just something to think about. 

I wish you all the best!
 

micknsnicks2mom

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@That Guy -- while i had thought the same as the others who have replied, for my snick (14 years old and has IBD and CKD stage 2) it's turned out that she has really missed having a feline companion and seems to be looking forward to getting to know our foster, jasper.

i'm fostering because i could not commit financially to adopting with snick's medical needs, and jasper was in a foster home where he was very unhappy. i was approached by the adoption coordinator from the shelter and was asked if i would consider adopting, but because i cannot at this time i asked if they would consider allowing me to foster jasper. they immediately agreed to allow me to foster jasper. i couldn't have chosen a better match for my snick. jasper is 2 1/2 years old and is extremely sweet, shy and scared of other cats (only because he was being attacked by another foster at the foster home), and loves people and getting/giving affection and snuggling.

we completed a 10-day isolation period where snick and jasper had no contact with each other, as recommended by my vet. it's now 29 days since our jasper arrived, and no signs of any illness with him.

we're starting a slow and careful integration now.

so my experience with my snick is that with introducing the right cat, the right purrsonality, it can be a good thing to adopt a "buddy" for a senior cat -- especially when the senior cat seems to want to seek out feline companionship.
 
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that guy

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Thanks for the replies everybody, I gives me something to think about. My concern is really for Scratchy's health and what he may catch from the other cat. A slow introduction would be done after a few weeks of separation and because the new cat would come from a shelter they would always take her back if they couldn't get along. I think he is looking for a pal by searching out the other cat and hanging out where the other cat would hang. I guess if he is not going to catch anything then it may be worth a try. If his behaviour starts to change for the bad then I can always get rid of the other cat before the introduction.

My guy is an old guy and for 17 years of his life he had his sister and the last few it has been just himself and in many ways they haven't been the best for him. He has been doing really well the last few months and has only thrown up a few times which is amazing for him. I keep a diary with issues he has, drugs given, his weight, and how many days he goes before he throws up. In the last 2 months his average has been every 12 days and for a year and half it has been 3. Currently he is on day 27 of not throwing up and his stomach has been pretty good as well. He still eats a lot for a small cat but his stools are good, his appetite is good, and he is not throwing up every few days. I had the vet change his Cerenia dose from a pill to an injectable and as soon as I did this he went a week then threw up, and repeated this twice more then made it to 21 days and then the current running record which is 27 days and going. Because he gets a 150ml sub-q every day it is easier to just inject his meds so he gets a steroid every day, Cerenia every other day, B12 weekly, and a shot which helps reduce joint inflammation which was every week and is now every two weeks. Because of the IBD his body has a hard time taking anything in and this seems to include the drugs.

Thanks for the input everyone.
 

zoneout

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If he has IBD and health issues I would really caution against bringing in another cat.   Especially since the vomiting has been improving.   The new addition could possibly stress him  and bring on an IBD flareup.   I never thought stress was that big a deal - that a cat could get over the stress quickly.   But  through experience I found that is not the case.   It can trigger a health decline in an already fragile cat.    
 
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