Hi! I'm new here--with some questions!

Hello, I'm new to the site, but not new to kitties. I grew up with kitties around me, and had had one special calico kitty named Punky throughout all of my childhood. Unfortunately, she was killed by a car (more than likely by my psychotic ex-stepfather), and I was heartbroken for years. I was unable to bring myself to adopt another friend for the past 8 years, but I finally felt ready and visited a shelter a few weeks ago.

My husband and I chose a 4 month old Maine Coon mix, and she is a complete nut. She's still settling into our household, but she seems to be more comfortable with me so far. We hope that she will warm up to my husband soon, but we will see. It's taking lots of patience with training her to not claw and bite. Either she thinks we are her toys or she's just not used to being handled (or maybe she was taken away from her mommy at a young age?). She's already doing much better and has resorted to just pawing at us when she gets irritated.

We are already thinking of getting a second kitten (thinking of getting a ragdoll) she can bond with, but are unsure if it is a good idea yet. Will the cats get confused over their separate litterboxes and use the floor? Do we give them separate food and water bowls?

I forgot to include some pictures of her. Her name is Seth-chan!

Unless your current cat thinks he's a person (like some cats do) he would probably love a playmate to bond with. I got my two cats almost a year appart. They are now inseperable. I might give it a tiny bit of time until your current cat seems compleetly at ease, then the transition for the new cat can begin with Seth-chan showing the new addition around the house.
I currently only have 1 litter box for the 2 cats, I clean it at least once a day and have had no problems with them even mistakenly missing the litter box.
I do however feed the cats seperately because of their dietary needs, Duke is a little overweight and Sibohan is normal weight. Duke would however if given the chance eat all of Sibohan's wet food. The dry food we feed them is the same and they eat out of whichever dish they are closest to at the time they are hungry. They both drink out of their cat fountain.

Hello! And welcome!!

I only have little experience with bringing a new cat into your house....But I will share what I know..

They can definatly learn to bond with each other. That's just a cat thing. But it will take some time for your current kitty to learn to deal with the new one. Make the transition slow, and be very patient.

Confine the new kitty to one room for a while, dont let them come face to face right away or your current kitty might become territorial, and want to fight the new kitty. In this room that you put your new kitty in, give him food, toys, litterbox, and water. Go in there to play with it many times throughout the day. Put his food near the door, and put your current kitties food outside of the door that your new kitty is in. This way they can associate each others smell with something they like (eating). They can smell each others scent under the door while eating.

After a week or so, I suggest you open the door a tiny bit, and stand between the two kitties, so they can see one another. Only for a bit, see how your current kitty reacts towards that. If he looks interested, keep it open for a bit longer, if he hisses, or growls, speak in your kitty talk and let him know it's ok, and shut the door. You will know whether or not to speed up the process, or take it a little more slowly by your cats reaction.

After that week, take new kitty out of the bedroom, put Seth-chan in the bedroom, and let the new kitty roam the rest of the house for a few hours, and Seth-chan will check out the room that the new kitty has made his scent known in. Seth-chan might be mad about it, but it's all part of the process. Then put the new kitty back, and take Seth-chan out if the room, let them see each other VERY BRIEFLY before putting them back.

Be patient, and go at Seth-chan's pace...he will let you know whether or not he likes this or not, if he does not like this, take it slowly, at HIS pace.

After they come to know each other, and like each other (it may take a month, that's why I say be patient), they can use one litter box, and the same food bowls etc. That's no problem.

Also, maybe invest in some "comfort zone" it is a thing you can plug into the wall, that gives off pheremones (the kittys facial hormones that give off friendly scents), and it helps your new kitty and Seth-chan with the change. It helps cats under stress, check it out on the internet. There is the spray called "feliway", which is the same thing as comfort zone, just in a spray. Comfort zone you plug into the wall, that constantly gives off the pheremones, and feliway is the spray you spray the room with 2 times a day. Here's a link to it, you can read about it and see what you think.

http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.html

Good luck, and please let us know when the new kitty arrives, and get pictures, and keep us updated on the transition!

Hi and welcome to TCS!!!!!!!!

what a great pics!! ..thank you for share!! ...

See you on the forums !!!

Hello, and WELCOME here at TCS.
We have 2 cats that are just over a year old,,,the only regret I have is that we did`nt get the 2nd one when we got the first one. They are BEST BUDDIES!
Linda

Thanks for all the friendly welcomes! I will talk to my husband more about adopting a second kitten. We may wait another few weeks so she (seth) can do some more adjusting though!

My 2 kittens are inseperable. The best thing is they can rough-house all they want and leave my fingers and toes out of it! They can really wear each other out. A ragdoll is a great choice, just remember they get big! You will need to keep in mind the size when choosing a litter box - probably the biggest one you can find will be good.

Yah, we were expecting another big cat. We don't mind, as long as they are loveable!

Seth-chan (a maine coon mix) is already going to be huge we think. The people at the shelter were laughing and saying she could possibly get up to 15 lbs.

With two larger cats, should I be getting two separate litterboxes?

By the way, I love your Bengal kitty! We were planning on getting a bengal kitty sometime this next year, but we ended up adopting Seth (we just knew she was right for us). Maybe sometime in the future! (my husband is going to kill me if we end up with a household full of kitties!)

Hi welcome to the site, she's adorable.

Love the pics!

a bit belated sorry but...

Welcome to TCS

how wonderful you have adopted a new kitty into your home & into your hearts. I am however so sorry to hear about the loss of Punky. It always is hard to loose a loved one

If you get to cats its a good idea to get 2 litterboxs.
You have already recieved some great advice re: introductions of another cat into your home but please let me know if I can help any further and I can direct you to some good articles.

Please send me or another mentor a message if you need any help at all in the forums.

welcome again from me and my boys

Welcome to TCS!!!

thanks everyone! *big hugs from the family*

I might sound a bit dumb but whats a kitty fountain it sounds great!

I love your kitty picl. I had a main coon, adopted from my son who had a siamese who could not bond w/her. Her name was Tucker, she loved to tuck her head under my arm and sleep. She bonded well with my mixed, stray cat and they played constantly and slept curled up together. Your kitty will be the most loving cat you will ever have. My tucker was a love bug. It will take a little time for him to trust you so be patient. Try talking baby talk to him and touch him every chance he gives you. Soon he will seek you out to love you. No jerky movements in the beginning and no loud talk until he gets use to your home. I think you should give him time to bond w/you and your home before getting another cat. I'm afraid another cat will slow his bonding w/you. Be sure to give him special hugs from me as my Tucker ran in the road and was hit by a car. I still have my Kitty Boy, the stray but he is not a cuddle bug like Tucker. Lots of luck.

Hello it's nice to meet you!

Thanks for all the warm welcomes!