I have 4 kittens...3 males, 9mos, 6 mos, and 4mos and 1 female, 7 mos.
About a month ago, a stray male (adult) cat started hanging around our condo complex. One night when it was pretty cold, I let him in, but kept him isolated in my bedroom in case he had some type of cat disease that might be transmitted to my other kitties. I took him to my vet, where he got a clean bill of health, along with all shots and flea control (he was already neutered). He is extremely affectionate with me and seems to be very smart. I believe he had an owner somewhere in the vicinity who dumped him. I was hoping he would successfully merge in my family, but he is quite terrified of my kitties and hisses, growls and hits them, upsetting them very much. I realize that it takes a lot of time and effort to introduce new cats into a household with current resident cats, but there are some other factors involved:
1. The older cat does not want to stay inside. He is very, very
insistent to go outside after being inside for a while.
2. I would always worry about him, for obvious reasons, but I
would also worry that he might develop some illness that he
would infect my kitties with.
3. There is another stray male cat in our complex who terrorizes
him at every opportunity.
The local no-kill shelter is way overcrowded and can't take him. If I send him to the "Humane" Society, its a death sentence for sure.
I really hate to see him hurt in any way, but I don't want to jeopordize my other kitties, either.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? It's starting to get cold at night here. Thanks.
About a month ago, a stray male (adult) cat started hanging around our condo complex. One night when it was pretty cold, I let him in, but kept him isolated in my bedroom in case he had some type of cat disease that might be transmitted to my other kitties. I took him to my vet, where he got a clean bill of health, along with all shots and flea control (he was already neutered). He is extremely affectionate with me and seems to be very smart. I believe he had an owner somewhere in the vicinity who dumped him. I was hoping he would successfully merge in my family, but he is quite terrified of my kitties and hisses, growls and hits them, upsetting them very much. I realize that it takes a lot of time and effort to introduce new cats into a household with current resident cats, but there are some other factors involved:
1. The older cat does not want to stay inside. He is very, very
insistent to go outside after being inside for a while.
2. I would always worry about him, for obvious reasons, but I
would also worry that he might develop some illness that he
would infect my kitties with.
3. There is another stray male cat in our complex who terrorizes
him at every opportunity.
The local no-kill shelter is way overcrowded and can't take him. If I send him to the "Humane" Society, its a death sentence for sure.
I really hate to see him hurt in any way, but I don't want to jeopordize my other kitties, either.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? It's starting to get cold at night here. Thanks.