Should we get another cat?

[cruisescouter]

So, right now we have 3 cats. Lady Osha (2.5 years), Isla Birdie (3 years), and Mr. Oliver Bobbins (almost 2 years).

Osha and Bobbins play together (in fact we got him to play with her since we had 2 seniors at the time), but at times he can get really rough with her and so she started to growl and hiss. She handles herself fine, but Isla is starting to regress. We brought her in last year after being in a cage for 6-8 months at the county (she was on death row a few times). It has taken a lot of time for her to trust us and it is always a work in progress. She gets along with everyone, but Mr Bobbins tends to tackle her constantly. He is a very sturdy muscle boy. She got a little hefty and is not that graceful so he tends to flip her and chase her. We think he might have strained her leg because she was limping for a few days, but now seems okay, but just very introverted. Mr. Bobbins does not mean to be so rough, but he is and I think the girls are getting fed up. 

So, we have been toying with the idea of getting a 4th (no more after that!!!!) and thought maybe a male kitten would be good for him and they can work off their steam together.  Mr. Bobbins also has pica, which is a pain to manage because either he is sleeping, or crazy and eating everything and playing WWE with the girls. 

Thoughts? Think it would help the situation? Make it worse?

Lady Osha

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• cruisescouter
• Sep 23, 2013

Isla

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• cruisescouter
• Sep 23, 2013

Mr. Bobbins

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• cruisescouter
• Sep 23, 2013

 

[mani]

There's absolutely no guarantee that getting another cat will help.  It may be that Bobbins will just harass the new one.

I'd be looking more at behavioural modification for him.

But ultimately you need to make the decision.

 

[cruisescouter]

We notice a lot of times he bites Isla on the back of her neck. We are trying to correct his behavioral issues, but he is quite nuts.

 

[catspaw66]

If you are having behavior problems with one cat, bringing in another would not be a good idea. It would probably make the situation worse, and the new cat would be the object of the aggression.

 

[cruisescouter]

What can we do?

The thing is Osha and Mr. Bobbins are very open cats. When Isla came in they welcomed her with open arms. We thought they would be more territorial, but not at all. So much so I think it freaked Isla out. Our friend even brought a dog into our place last year and they had no issues after 10 minutes.

Could it be also that they lost the two seniors last year? Mr. Bobbins would often sleep and cuddle with Charlie and Cleo. He adored them more than they adored him, but they tolerated him, and when he would tackle Cleo, my 16 year old would put him down so fast he had no idea what hit him. They were the alpha cats and maybe they are trying to re-establish who is the lead. Or maybe they want Isla to take it.

Any ideas?

 

[cruisescouter]

Well, we did end up getting another cat in September 2013 and his name is Professor Maxwell Leonardo Underfoot and is the baby of our clan since he was 16 months when we got him. Mr. Oliver Bobbins was happy to have a new male friend. Those boys love each other, maybe too much. Look at Max spooning Bobbins. All is well with the two ladies as well. So, we are a happy 4 cat household!

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• cruisescouter
• Feb 3, 2015

 

[mani]

What a great outcome!! 

Thank you for sharing.

 

[cruisescouter]

We could not be happy with our boys. They are ALWAYS together. It is ridiculous how much they love each other. 

BEST FRIENDS FURRREVER

bys.jpg

• cruisescouter
• Feb 3, 2015

 

[betsygee]

That's wonderful!