OT: Advice about introducing a new pet

[JonInMiddleGA]

Let me start by saying if you aren't a fan of cats, please stop reading now & find another thread. This is hard enough for me to talk about right now & I don't really feel like having one of the dog vs cat arguments.

On Sunday morning, we lost our cat Rhett to what appears to have been heart failure brought on by sudden breathing/lung problems. He was a magnificent oversized orange Maine Coon/Persian mix with the sweetest & most loving personality I've ever seen in a cat. He was only with us for about three of his ten years but along with Callie who came to us at the same time from the same previous home he was a much loved member of our family & will always hold a very special place in our hearts. Having a cat that would place an arm around your neck & hug you will do that I guess.

I could easily go on about him for a very long time but what I'm wanting to ask for some insight about is about Callie, so let me try to get onto that subject before I start bawling again.

The pair weren't littermates, but had been together since she was born. Very closely bonded, very brother/sister sort of relationship. They came to us from my wife's best friend, who had ended up with 8 cats in the house but needed to reduce that number a bit when they moved into a smaller home. I quickly dubbed them "Moose & Squirrel", as he was (at one point) 23 pounds & about as laid back as you could be short of a coma while she's a lithe 8 pound calico shorthair with the attention span of a butterfly & a personality to match. Basically she's an adult cat with that thinks she's maybe 2 years old.

While she's extremely attached to my wife & needs a good bit of "people time" we've always felt like she was one of those cats who needed at least one other cat around to be happy. Certainly not all of them are like that but she very much seems to be. So, whether we're all really emotionally ready for another cat to be added to the house, we feel pretty strongly that it has to happen sooner rather than later for Callie's sake.

Thing is, I've never been in a situation where I've had to introduce a new cat into a household with one that's already there. I've had a single cat and then we've had the pair that came together, so this is new to us. I know that it's recommended that you introduce the newcomer kind of slowly, keeping them in one room/area of the house until they acclimate to their surroundings but I've found that to be something that happens pretty quickly with most cats, within a week or two at the most.

Initially, there's more than enough room here in my basement lair for a new cat to get settled in a bit but we've got a pretty open floorplan & there's no way to really separate the upstairs from the downstairs, so once the newcomer is out of the basement & into the rest of the house he'll pretty much have the run of the whole place.

What I'm wondering about is how to go about allowing the two cats to co-exist. Assuming there's no obvious issues between them (like a major cat fight in the opening seconds of meeting) I don't know whether it's better to maybe let them meet briefly when the new cat arrives, then sequester the newcomer for a few days before experimenting with letting him roam or whether they should be put together for short periods over a week before trying to open everything up or what.

What I'm looking for here is any experience you might have had, suggestions about what seems to work/not work, etc.

The reason this has come to the fore sooner than expected is that we had talked about this with a friend who works for the local Human Society & their very active cat adoption program. They had no declawed males in the shelter (and we didn't want to have one altered that way, even though that's what we need, we wanted one already done) as of 2pm but knew to keep us in mind if some came in. Lo & behold, a couple of hours later the phone rings & there's one that sounds like a possible good match but hadn't been listed as declawed initially. Turns out he has been, and has always been a 100% indoor cat so that's a good fit too. We're going to meet him tomorrow & if things seem right, there's a chance he might end up coming home with us for a trial, so I'm open for advice & suggestions sooner rather than later.

[flere-imsaho]

Sorry to hear about your loss - it's always sad when you lose a pet.

I don't have cats now, but grew up with a ton of them (including 6 at one point). My Mom used to keep the new ones in another room (or, in your case, the basement) for a few days so the new ones and the old ones could smell each other, and then let them meet. Rarely a problem once the initial sniffing/dominance stuff is done.

[st.cronin]

My girlfriend says: Introduce them with the new cat in its carrier. Leave the cat in its carrier for a few hours, and let the other one check him out.

Thats what we did with ours - we've introduced two over the years, and haven't had any major issues.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

My girlfriend says: Introduce them with the new cat in its carrier. Leave the cat in its carrier for a few hours, and let the other one check him out.

Thats what we did with ours - we've introduced two over the years, and haven't had any major issues.

This is a very good idea. Maybe keep your other cat in a room for a little while. I'm not talking days, I'm talking an hour or so, and letting the new cat explore a little bit without the tension of another (and most likely initially unwelcoming) cat in the room.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Sorry to hear about your loss - it's always sad when you lose a pet.

Thanks flere, I appreciate that. I've got a very big hole in my heart right now, especially since he spent so much time down here with me within line of sight, not really doing anything but hanging out with me. We didn't so much divide up the cats as they divided us, with him bonding most to me & Callie bonding most to my wife. Funny how they do that, but they definitely were territorial about "their human".

I don't have cats now, but grew up with a ton of them (including 6 at one point). My Mom used to keep the new ones in another room (or, in your case, the basement) for a few days so the new ones and the old ones could smell each other, and then let them meet. Rarely a problem once the initial sniffing/dominance stuff is done.

It's funny, I also grew up around multiple cats most of my life but darned if I ever remember the actual arrival of any new adults, with the occasional exception of a stray that just sort of hung on the perimeter for a while & slowly handled his own introductions. I guess it was just a different set of dynamics in my family growing up too, since we mostly had indoor/outdoor cats while now mine are 100% indoor.

[JonInMiddleGA]

cronin & Karl - thanks for that idea. I had wondered about that but wasn't sure whether the carrier might add stress to the incoming cat & affect their behavior.

Seems like a good thing to try though, especially since if there's an over-the-top negative reaction from the cat (which would be very out of character for her) already in place it could certainly be a bad sign from the get-go.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

cronin & Karl - thanks for that idea. I had wondered about that but wasn't sure whether the carrier might add stress to the incoming cat & affect their behavior.

Seems like a good thing to try though, especially since if there's an over-the-top negative reaction from the cat (which would be very out of character for her) already in place it could certainly be a bad sign from the get-go.

All of our cats actually like being in the carrier, but its true that for some cats its stressful. If the new cat doesn't like being in a carrier, it may not work so well.

Incidentally, we never did the "keep the cat in its own room for a day or so." We just brought him in his carrier, set him down, waited a few hours, then let him out, showed him the litterbox, and that was that.

[BrianD]

You may also want to try keeping the new cat in the basement for a little while to let the current cat get used to the smell of the new cat. Also, you can give the new cat a blanket or towel to sleep on for a few days and then move that towel into an area frequented by the current cat. Slowly get them used to the smell of each other and then slowly let them get used to the sight of each other. Then let them run free.

[flere-imsaho]

That works too. We always had an abundance of doors, however, so did the separate rooms thing.

Funny story. My sister has an Insane Cat. He's basically feral, though she did pick him up at a shelter. He zooms around her apartment constantly, kills anything (rodents, insects) that dare show their face, and repeatedly pounces on people. But my sister's got the patience of a boulder, and a soft heart (her job, by the way, is caring for mentally handicapped senior citizens), so she kept him.

Several months ago she breaks up with her boyfriend and he moves out. She needs to get a roommate, and the roommate comes with another cat, a small, quiet, demure one. So they bring in the new cat and hope for the best. Well, Insane Cat immediately winds up and pounces on New Cat, who then procedes to absolutely own his ass around the room. She chases him incessantly, never letting him rest and beating the heck out of him until he finally rolls over and begs for mercy in the kitty kind of way.

Since then he's apparently much calmer and doesn't attack people so much anymore, and the two cats get on great.

So you'll probably be fine.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

That works too. We always had an abundance of doors, however, so did the separate rooms thing.

Funny story. My sister has an Insane Cat. He's basically feral, though she did pick him up at a shelter. He zooms around her apartment constantly, kills anything (rodents, insects) that dare show their face, and repeatedly pounces on people. But my sister's got the patience of a boulder, and a soft heart (her job, by the way, is caring for mentally handicapped senior citizens), so she kept him.

Several months ago she breaks up with her boyfriend and he moves out. She needs to get a roommate, and the roommate comes with another cat, a small, quiet, demure one. So they bring in the new cat and hope for the best. Well, Insane Cat immediately winds up and pounces on New Cat, who then procedes to absolutely own his ass around the room. She chases him incessantly, never letting him rest and beating the heck out of him until he finally rolls over and begs for mercy in the kitty kind of way.

Since then he's apparently much calmer and doesn't attack people so much anymore, and the two cats get on great.

So you'll probably be fine.

Yeah, even the most abnormal anti-social cats work these things out. Cat behavior is really opaque to humans, and if they're acting a little odd for the first few days, definitely don't panic.

[wade moore]

Here is what I know bout Dogs, and from things I've read cats are "supposed" to be handled the same way:

First day or two:

Put cats in seperate rooms/areas

Next day or two: swap cats (gives each cat a chance to sniff out the other cats scent, etc.

After that: Let them co-mingle and hope all goes well.

[Lathum]

John, sorry about your loss.

I had a cat for 2 years and then got a kitten. I left the kitten in the carrier with the door open and let it come out when it was comfortable.

The old cat was a bitch for a couple of days but then they adjusted fine.

[stevew]

Sorry about your loss.

Man, I really want a big fat Maine Coon some day.

[terpkristin]

JIMGA, sorry to hear about Rhett. I can't imagine losing Oz (though he's young still), and I know that when his time comes, I'm going to be a wreck.

I'm actually glad you posted this, though, as I've wondered about getting Oz a playmate, and wondered how I might ease him and the playmate into the relationship, if I were to do it, so this gives me a little hope.

/tk

[bulletsponge]

[miked]

Sucks, sorry to hear about it. We lost our dachshund a few months ago to what they believe what pancreatitis. One day she was hunting in the backyard as usual, the next day she was barely moving. We also waited a little bit and went to the Newnan Animal rescue to find our next pet.

As far as introducing cats, I'm not really 100% sure, as it's certainly not as easy as dogs. I have found that a lot of my questions and concerns have been alleviated by visiting the petlovers forums. hxxp://forums.petlovers.com/vb/ or something. They have some pretty active members, many of whom are vets, vet techs or very knowledgeable. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but they've answered tons of questions for me.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Let me start by saying if you aren't a fan of cats, please stop reading now & find another thread. This is hard enough for me to talk about right now & I don't really feel like having one of the dog vs cat arguments.

I almost stopped reading right there, as I don't care much about cats, although I can appreciate other people's love for them, but then I read one final line...

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

On Sunday morning, we lost our cat Rhett to what appears to have been heart failure brought on by sudden breathing/lung problems.

That's sad man. Sorry for your loss. I've been through a couple of rough "separations" with dogs (with which I was very close) in my life and both times, they've been brutal.

Good luck with your cat. Can't help ya much I'm afraid though...

FM

[the_meanstrosity]

Jon,

Sorry for your loss. Rhett sounds like a great cat who loved you and your family very much.

I'll second what others have said. My family recently had a loss of our own when our little girl kitty passed away due to kidney disease. We spoke with the folks at the animal shelter and they advised having the new cat stay in a room of their own for a few days to a week so the other cats can get adjusted to them. We haven't added a new family member yet, but we'll probably heed their advice when we do.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I just wanted to say thanks for the advice, condolences, and support in the thread.

It's still hard for me not to get overwhelmed talking about Rhett but I do want to at least try to say just a little more about him and how he came to be part of our family.

When we lost Mimi, our Persian who was with us for 10 years, I was very reluctant to bring another cat into the house. Emotionally, I just wasn't ready for that but both my wife & son were adamant about wanting to. As I mentioned, her best friend needed to reduce the cat population in her house because of moving, and Rhett & Callie had already charmed them on visits to their place. So, they came to live with us, and I have to admit that it didn't take long for them to win me over as well.

While Callie became a permanent fixture at my wife's side, Rhett basically adopted me. His personality was so unexpected, I mean you have to figure a (then) 23 pound cat is going to be a bit of a brute. Instead, he was very affectionate and extremely expressive, a real talker at times. He loved his ears & chin scratched and took advantage of any opportunity to get his buddha belly rubbed. He spent a lot of time orbiting somewhere around me, never hindering, just watching whatever I was doing or watching TV if I got too boring. He even gamely put up with a vet-ordered diet that got him down to a much healthier 16 pounds over about 18 months (anybody who has ever tried to reduce a cat's weight knows how tough that is to accomplish in a healthy fashion).

He put up with a lot of aggravation, hating anything to do with vets, but tolerating nearly 3 years worth of regular tests as they tried to identify the cause for some off-the-chart readings related to his liver. Basically, numerous tests & readings indicated he was a very sick cat with a liver well past double the normal size but he had no external symptoms of anything. He became a real challenge to several vets as well as specialists & some of the top people at the UGA vet school, who eventually said that they thought he might truly be "one for the textbooks", as he was asymptomatic with some of the worst test results they had ever seen, and they were leaning toward calling it a genetic issue that he was just adapted to live with. And, after two months of an intensive medication regimen (6 pills a day covering 4 different drugs) it was obvious that his liver had improved, since it was no longer presenting as a large lump (it was to the point that you could easily feel it protruding) & we were optimistic about what the tests would show when we wrapped up the treatment in another week & a half.

Instead, something went wrong with his lungs and/or heart. We had been cautioned that his lungs were not in great shape after one of the ultrasounds but there were no signs of problems with them yet, just something that we would have to worry about a few years down the road. Instead, we lost him on Sunday morning, after just a few days of very minor symptoms akin to a cold.

In case anybody wonders, we opted not to have a necropsy done after discussing it with our regular vet. He was honest & said that the odds of the report actually revealing anything they didn't already know were less than 50-50, that it was more likely that it wouldn't answer any of the questions about his liver. With that in mind, and with the fact that the university would not return his remains to us if they conducted the procedure, we chose not to have that done, it wouldn't bring him back & if there was nothing to be gained from it then it didn't seem worthwhile. Instead, he will join Mimi here at home after cremation. Her memorial rock urn is never more than a few feet from me, looking over my shoulder as she did for so many years. He'll be in the same spot, keeping an eye on me too. I just hope I'm not too big a disappointment to them too often.

[albionmoonlight]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[Wolfpack]

Sorry for your loss, Jon. I've got a pair of cats that we've had for nine years now and they were effectively our children before we had children. Rhett sounds very much like my Josh, which, coincidentally, is also a red tabby Maine Coon (though purebred). I live in dread terror of the day when we lose one of them. Hopefully it won't be for several years (they're indoor-only, so they're pretty much at middle age at this point), but I know I will be fantastically miserable when it happens.

As for my own experience, Josh and Max (our Bengal) were born three months apart in 1998. We brought each home when it was first feasible to do so, which meant Josh had the run of the place for three months until we got Max. We never actually did the "slow acclimation" thing. Instead we let Max out as soon as we got back and never really had any issues. Josh was very very curious about his new brother, walking alongside him much of the time for a little while before they ultimately settled into things. However, I cannot vouch for this process as we may have just gotten lucky as they were essentially still kittens when they were brought together. I imagine we'll have to do the quarantine process for their replacements.

[Ryche]

I have a Bengal female (Sierra) and a long haired something male (Scotch). Got Sierra as a kitten, had her for a few months, then brought Scotch into the apartment. Scotch was 4 at the time and had lived with another cat. Just threw the two together, they growled a bit the first couple days, but were best friends pretty quickly.

Having the older cat already used to living with another cat helped I think. I'm guessing the cat you have will be fine, the question will be the new one. If it's an older cat that hasn't lived with other cats the settling in period could be harder. Definitely go with the separate room idea to start.

Good luck and sorry about your loss. My older cat is 11 now, so I'm starting to realize it's a situation that could happen in the relatively near future. Healthy as a lazy ox so far though.

[BrianD]

Jon, I didn't mention it in my post yesterday, but I too am very sorry for your loss. As I read your posts with my 10-year old cat on my lap, I can't keep my eyes from welling with tears. It kills me to even think about going through this situation, but I can believe that actually going through it is a million times worse. Amazing how these little balls of fuzz can work their way so deeply into our hearts.

[JediKooter]

Jon, sorry to hear about your loss. I know the feeling of losing a pet and it isn't easy, but, it does get better. It's been over two years now and I still do not want another cat because it just doesn't feel right.

I don't have any other suggestions on introducing a new cat to the other cat than what has already been said. Some cats just seem to take to each other right away and some take, what seems like forever, to get used to each other.

Again, I'm sorry to hear about Rhett.

[lungs]

I lost four cats this past weekend.

Granted, they were outdoor kittens but it's not a good sign as the most prolific mother at my place is either hiding her batch of kittens really well or didn't have any this spring. The mother of the ones that died had these kittens in a flower bed next to my garage and that was the first problem. The second problem was that she is so skinny and ugly herself I couldn't see how she could support four kittens. The third problem is that they were probably inbred as hell. The mother is probably inbred and the kittens were probably even more inbred. The fourth problem was that the mother pretty much abandoned them after a few weeks. I'm guessing that inbreeding is probably the main culprit in this case. Inbred cats tend to not last long. The only problem is the non-inbred ones end up inbreeding too and a vicious cycle is created. And the males are all too wild to catch and castrate, which I could certainly do myself. At least I have my fat indoor cat that is spayed and only has to worry about eating, sleeping and shitting.

As for introducing two cats, I'd probably do the room thing. Being in a carrier may make the cat feel cornered if you ask me. Anytime I've introduced a single cat to a new house they usually end up finding somewhere to hide for a few days. Maybe keep the cat you already have in a smaller room and let the new cat have more room to roam to get a complete feel for your house before you introduce the two. When I had my cat at my parent's house, they never really did learn to get along (my parent's cat was not social at all). But they did peacefully divide the house between them. My cat got the basement, my parent's cat got the loft and the main floor was neutral ground because their food dish was there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

My thanks again for all the support here.

Just to update a little bit. We went to the shelter today & met "Re-run", a roughly 6 year large black male short hair. His backstory is pretty straightforward, was adopted from the same shelter as a kitten about 5 1/2 years ago, but was surrendered when there were issues between the cat & their new (first) baby.

After several minutes of ignoring us completely in order to fully examine the small "socialization chamber" (I felt like a prisoner on L&O, complete with the metal fence grate on the door), he warmed up pretty well. Equally social with all three of us, no sign of hesitation really once he acknowledged we existed. Likes ear scratches & head rubbing, walked figure-eights around all our legs, etc., pretty standard cat stuff.

What wasn't exactly standard was his sudden decision to try to jump from the floor to my wife's shoulder. She's about 5'8", and apparently a little taller than his previous human because he came up just a little short on his attempt & came unceremoniously back down to earth. I picked him up in my arms & he immediately scrambled to my shoulder, head & front paws hanging over my back rest of him just sort of dangling with a little support from my arm ... and starting purring like a well-tuned engine. It became pretty obvious what the problem in his previous home had been - he was clearly used to being carried & suddenly there was a baby in his spot (more on this in a moment). Oddly enough, considering he's a somewhat overweight cat, somewhere in the 14-16 pound range, he showed zero interest in kitty treats.

There's definitely some pros & cons here:
Cons: He's never been in a multi-cat house, so it's a real coin flip whether he'll adapt; he was initially noted as being diabetic but subsequent exams indicate that his glucose is just a little on the high side of normal; he's definitely an alpha personality, about 170 degrees apart from the restful demeanor of Rhett

Pros: Seemed quite friendly with people, not high strung by cat standards, willing to engage, expressive. A _big_ plus in his favor is that his regular vet is the same as ours, talked to them & they confirmed a lot of our suspicion about the issues with the baby. Basically for 5 years he had been the baby in the house & couldn't adjust to being replaced, putting the parents in a tough situation. We've got his full medical history & the vet said he felt confident that the absence of any common symptoms makes diabetes unlikely at this point, felt like his normal levels were just on the high end of normal & that the one significantly high reading in several years was the product of not withholding food properly before the test.

At this point, we've decided it's definitely worth giving it a try. Probably take a day or so to process our paperwork, check our references, etc. and then I'll report back as I'm suddenly trapped in the basement with a very large black cat.

Also, the vet requested that we please change the cat's name (seriously, he brought that up unprompted). He doesn't answer to it at all, it doesn't really suit him. We're tenatively thinking "Coal", which seems both appropriate for such a heavy black lump and is a play on our son's middle name. Also, when calling two cats, it seems to help to have different syllable counts in their names.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I picked him up in my arms & he immediately scrambled to my shoulder, head & front paws hanging over my back rest of him just sort of dangling with a little support from my arm ... and starting purring like a well-tuned engine.

I'm amazed at your willpower if your mind wasn't completely made up at this point.

Also, the vet requested that we please change the cat's name (seriously, he brought that up unprompted). He doesn't answer to it at all, it doesn't really suit him. We're tenatively thinking "Coal", which seems both appropriate for such a heavy black lump and is a play on our son's middle name. Also, when calling two cats, it seems to help to have different syllable counts in their names.

Not too long ago I would have laughed at the thought of it mattering what a cat's name is, but one of our kittens has recently started responding pretty well to her name. Another cat responds to a particular whistle while the other two don't respond to much at all. All four cats have two-syllable names.

[Wolfpack]

I'd probably move on, get another cat, but there would be a 15 minute period there where I would just be inconsolable.



Seriously, good luck with the new one. It sounds like he's going to be more "in-your-face" than Rhett was, so be prepared to put him down a lot because he'll probably be doing things like walking all over your keyboard and so forth. Max is that way for us.

Is he a talkative cat?

[st.cronin]

None of my cats respond to their names.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

It sounds like he's going to be more "in-your-face" than Rhett was, so be prepared to put him down a lot because he'll probably be doing things like walking all over your keyboard and so forth. Max is that way for us. Is he a talkative cat?

Hard to say for sure since he was in such a stressful environment but he did vocalize 2 or 3 times in about 45 minutes in the room with him. To me, it wasn't the quantity that was notable but rather the volume, a good bit louder than most cats I've been around. It wasn't a yowl, just pretty standard meows, but at a higher volume than what I'd call normal.

He's definitely got a lot of personality & there's no doubt in my mind he's going to be a great cat for somebody. Whether that turns out to be us is still up in the air, but he was definitely a winner for the right situation. If things ultimately don't work out, we're already won over enough that we going to be his sponsor for however long it takes for him to be adopted (the local group does an amazing job & has great success with their adoption program).

[Kodos]

I've seen a side of JimG that I never would have expected. Sorry to hear of your loss. Losing my childhood cat Smokey was one of the tougher things I've ever gone through. I have two older cats right now who seem to be doing okay healthwise.

[albionmoonlight]

I imagine that this is a case where dogs and cats might be very different, but Mrs. A and I have had to introduce a new dog to an old dog twice now. In both instances, things seemed like they might not work for ~2 days or so. But after a couple of days, things got a lot better.

So, if cats are like dogs in that respect, I would not base much on their first impression of each other if it happens to be negative.

[BrianD]

We introduced #2 to #1 by leaving #2 in the carrier in the middle of the floor. This way #1 could sniff and approach at her leisure. #1 started hissing and growling immediately. 2 years later, the cats tolerate each other, but #1 will still hiss and growl (and throw a few punches) if #2 gets too close.

[st.cronin]

Another perspective from my girlfriend:

Cats are not pack animals like dogs, they're territorial. So if your house is big enough, it won't matter if they get along or not. In our house, one of our cats is not allowed in the kitchen, for example. His territory, negotiated in some mysterious way, does not include the kitchen.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by JIMGA

What wasn't exactly standard was his sudden decision to try to jump from the floor to my wife's shoulder. She's about 5'8", and apparently a little taller than his previous human because he came up just a little short on his attempt & came unceremoniously back down to earth.

I thought for a long time that all cats did this. Oz is my first cat (and so far, only), and he's been doing this to me since he was a kitten. I'm 6' tall, so I'm not exactly short, and it's nothing I've "trained" him to do per se...

He did it once or twice when he was a kitten, coming up a little short to be "chest height" so would get his claws out which would hurt, so when he did it again (and again, etc), I actually started catching him, and pulling him close to me. He still does it every now and then, as a grown cat (4 years old, ~12-13 lbs), and I still catch him. I was surprised when I found out from somebody that not too many cats did this.

/tk

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Another perspective from my girlfriend:

Cats are not pack animals like dogs, they're territorial. So if your house is big enough, it won't matter if they get along or not. In our house, one of our cats is not allowed in the kitchen, for example. His territory, negotiated in some mysterious way, does not include the kitchen.

This is very true. It was quite interesting when we moved our 4 cats from our old house to our apartment. The cats were all confused without established territories so that all had to be worked out again. They still don't have it completely sorted it, but they seem to be getting better.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

His territory, negotiated in some mysterious way, does not include the kitchen.

Sucks to be him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

His territory, negotiated in some mysterious way, does not include the kitchen.

This brings to mind a funny Rhett story that I have to tell.

In our old house, basically the only room he would occasionally get himself banished from was the kitchen. He could be a demanding cuss when it came to food - his, ours, didn't matter - any trip to the kitchen for a human was an opportunity for eating as far as he was concerned. Once in a while that got to be a little much, especially on the odd occasion when we were cooking something that took longer than usual & we kept tripping over him while going about the cooking, we would finally evict him & close both doors to the room while we finished up.

Fast forward to the new house, which includes an open area between the kitchen & the den, with no way to close them off from each other. He walked in, wandered around the kitchen a bit and then noticed the den. He went to the den, back to the kitchen, back to the den and then back to the kitchen before stopping. He sat down, looked back & forth between the two rooms, then turned slowly to look at us and let out this slow satisifed "Meowwwww".
He left little doubt that he had realized that "hey, they can't lock me out of this one. Cooooool."

Maybe you had to be there, but it was a classic moment with a cat.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oh, by way of updating ... we're scheduled to pick up Re-run/Coal/ Whateverhisnamewillbe from the shelter tomorrow afternoon at 330.

[Toddzilla]

Late to the thread, as usual, but I did want to tell you, Jon, that I'm very sorry. My wife just got of the phone with me from the animal hospital 5 seconds ago to tell me that our oldest cat Winky who is 18 years old has to be euthanized tonight because of a very large tumor in her neck thats obstructing her breathing and eating. It really really sucks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Toddzilla, I'm very sorry to hear about that, I certainly know too well how hard it can be. My sympathy to your & your wife.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

None of my cats respond to their names.

Mine respond very irregularly to their name, but seem to respond to certain tones of voice much better regardless of what we actually say.


Sorry for your loss, Jon. Our two cats are such a part of our life that I dread the day we lose one. They are so used to the companionship (they are brothers), that we have already decided that we'll get a new cat after one of them passes, although we hope that is many years away.

[I. J. Reilly]

Jon, if I can be serious for a moment. I think you got some horrible advice from the vet in this case. A cat with this description simply must be named rerun. That may be the finest job of naming an animal I’ve ever heard.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Status update:

Well, "Coal" is home & is doing awfully well so far. Very vocal car ride at first (he's a baritone) but he settled down after the first few minutes.

Brought him in & let him stay in the carrier while we went upstairs to bring the other cat down for a quick look. Not a growl, not a hiss, not hair raised in the slightest by either cat. Ultimately Callie insisted on getting out of our arms, strolled over & put her nose to the carrier door. Coal inches over, they touch noses for a moment, sniff the carrier door a bit & seemed perfectly relaxed about it all.

Still, not wanting to take too many chances, we took Callie back upstairs & let Coal out. Not a bit of hesitation on his part, he strolled out of the carrier & started exploring, coming back to Will & I for a quick rub or headscratch as he made several rounds of the room, pausing longest in areas where Rhett's scent was still strong (mostly in the feeding area, bless his foodaholic heart). He's wallowed the carpet, been petted & generally loved on by everyone, even got so comfortable as to flop down & put his head in Will's lap for a few seconds before leaping to his feet & getting a little separation (very much as if "oops, I forgot, I don't know you that well yet").

After a more than an hour of exploring, he's currently camped out calmly under the sofa bed, seems to be just chillin' after a pretty exciting afternoon.

And I guess I might as well go ahead & let ya'll in on a new wrinkle in the story. I hope Coal & Callie get acclimated pretty quickly, because in about 2-3 weeks, they'll be meeting Vivi -- a currently 7 week old calico longhair (heavy Persian influence) that we also adopted this afternoon.

She's a very near match to our beloved Mimi, and once we took her out of the cage today there wasn't any doubt left about where she'd be living. She was headed for a foster home for a couple of weeks until the shelter could get her, umm, "alteration" scheduled and then she'll be coming home to us.

Just call us the crazy cat people in Athens I guess.

[st.cronin]

Sounds fantastic, Jon. I didn't extend any condolences earlier, which wasn't due to a lack of sympathy, but instead an abundance of empathy. The thought of losing one of my own animals is... well, pretty tough.

Enjoy the new ones.

[Wolfpack]

I think we should lobby SkyDog to change Jon's title to "Soft-hearted Animal Lover". Anyone else agree?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I think we should lobby SkyDog to change Jon's title to "Soft-hearted Animal Lover". Anyone else agree?

How about "Likes Most Animals Better Than Most People"?


Just a tad more seriously, I'll be darned if I know exactly how to describe me when it comes to animals. I've extremely tenderhearted when it comes to most animals, especially cats & dogs (like a lot of people). Funny thing is, I'm not at all a dog person. I don't generally get along with them, I'm hardly ever comfortable around them (bad exp. as a kid I guess), but I really appreciate what they mean to a lot of people and I can't stand even the notion of anything untoward happening to one. Cats, well, some people are cat people & I'm pretty obviously one of them. Meanwhile, other animals (like zoo creatures, wildlife center critters, etc) I'm generally "pro" about but I'm often only slightly more comfortable with them than I am with dogs. For example, the only way you're likely to see me on a horse is if I've stuck a quarter in it's ear for a 3 minute ride in front of the grocery store.

I tend to get so emotional about animals that I don't watch Animal Planet, and I'm about the last person you'll ever see volunteering for a shelter or anything, I simply couldn't handle it, worrying about their eventual fate would be way more than I could cope with. But I wrote the check that provided the startup money for the first ever Humane Society where we used to live. I don't mean that like a brag or something, I just feel like it illustrates how I try to "know my role" and try to do something that's within my abilities.

I know that's pretty paradoxical (or is it ironic Alanis?) considering the low regard I generally have for such a wide range of people but ... well, sometimes things just are like they are & I don't know that I can come up with an explanation for it.

[stevew]

My cat Lucy got hit by a car yesterday, and was killed. She left behind 2 "baby cats", Crash and Lilly. I'm kind of saddened by it, as Lucy was around for the longest I've ever had a pet, I'm thinking nearly 3 years. She was a fearsome hunter, but liked to explore the outdoors too much. Somehow, and I never quite figured it out, she had a way to get outside, and that's how she got knocked up, and eventually died. My 8 year old took it pretty well, and the 3 year old is basically oblivous. I'm just glad the 8 year old didn't get off the bus and see her cat dead, as that would have been traumatic, plus she might have tried to get her and got hit by a car. The 2 youngish cats look like her almost exactly, so I guess it will help preserve her memory.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

She's a very near match to our beloved Mimi, and once we took her out of the cage today there wasn't any doubt left about where she'd be living. She was headed for a foster home for a couple of weeks until the shelter could get her, umm, "alteration" scheduled and then she'll be coming home to us.

Just call us the crazy cat people in Athens I guess.

I wanted to reply somewhere in the thread, but there were too many opportunities and I was too late to the party for most of them. But for this one I want to make you feel better by telling you that after my wedding, when my fiance moves in, we will have 3 cats in 650 square feet.

Oh, and one of my cats definitely answers to his name.

[flere-imsaho]

Sorry to hear that sad news, stevew.