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.
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.