Fear And Worry Around Adoption Of An Additional Cat

[katieloo]

Just wondering if anyone else has wanted to adopt another cat but had a hard time going through with it. I am having a very tough inner struggle with this. I have 2 cats and that is plenty for me. But I had a third cat who I lost in September. He was very special to me and his brother Charlie. The loss hit us both very hard. I feel in my heart that Charlie would like another friend. His sister is not interested in him at all and sometimes puts him in his place.

I would love to see Charlie cuddling and playing with another cat like he did with his brother. But I worry. Every time you bring a cat into the house you are risking stress, illness, disease. When I adopted my second and third cats previously I never worried about these factors until I lost Petey. Now I am clinging to Charlie and so fearful of taking that risk.

I know I sound nuts. Has anyone else gone through this type of situation?

 

[verna davies]

I was in the same position a few years ago. I had 2 female cats of similar age but they didnt bother with each other even though one wanted to. It took me a year of should I, shouldn't I before I bit the bullet and adopted a 9 week old male. After a week of hissing and spitting they started to get on. Now they are all really close. It is a big decision as three cats take quite a bit of time and money and there are no guarantees that it will work out. Ultimately the decision has to be yours but I would suggest you go for a female kitten. Dont rush into doing it though. Ask at your local shelter if you could foster first with the intent of adopting. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[katieloo]

Yes that is exactly my situation. Should I? Shouldn't I? I can go back and forth multiple times a day. A week of hissing is not that bad. I'm so glad it worked out well for you!

I am looking at getting a male just because Charlie really bonded with his brother. Also, I know it can go both ways but my 2 male cats are/were very sweet and affectionate whereas my female is much less so and more independent.

 

[verna davies]

How old is Charlie

 

[katieloo]

Charlie is 8 or 9.. but he is very playful and has taken to play by himself getting a running start in and out of his tunnel.
Charlie Tunnel Run

Does anyone else worry that bringing a new cat in will make their existing cat sick? It seems cats get all sorts of health issues from stress. Not to mention coronavirus which is in most if not all shelter cats.

 

[verna davies]

The kitten I had was 6 months old when I adopted the second from a shelter. She was tested for a few things as the norm but at 5 months old she developed gingivitis. I had her tested for other illnesses but all came back negative thankfully. In that couple of weeks of waiting for the test results I was on a state of panic incase she had something contagious that my other cat could catch, so yes I know exactly how you feel. There are so many different illnesses out there it is a chance but if you go to a reputable adoption shelter they should carry out certain tests.
From the video(which is really funny) Charlie looks happy and can obviously amuse himself. Only you can make this decision and to me, it sounds as uf you may not be ready yet, so dont rush it. I'm sure Charlie is happy having you play games with him.

 

[katieloo]

Thank you for understanding. I wasn't actually playing with Charlie, I was doing dishes, the nest cam picked up the video of him running into the tunnel. A couple of my friends have said he looks happy there too but to me, it's sad that he has to amuse himself that way.

It's also sad to see him following his sister around from room to room and getting as close as she will let him when she obviously doesn't want anything to do with him.

I guess I'll never be ready. It's part of why I looked into a breeder, although I know there can be issues there too. But they are a bit more in control of the environment, do a lot of testing and really care about the health of the cats.