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Post by flgirlatheart on Mar 23, 2017 11:32:46 GMT
Brief backstory. We adopted Lily (12) who had lived as a barn kitty for about 5 years, a little over two years ago. Our friend saved her from being euthanized for no reason by her original owner but it meant becoming a barn cat. Just before last Christmas it became necessary for our friend to find a home for the remaining barn cat (she is 5). Lily and this kitty used to hang out together when they both lived on the farm so we brought her home to give it a try.
Lily and Bella get along okay and even snuggle up to sleep most of the day but Bella is driving Lily nuts! Lily is twelve and Bella is six. Bella just wants to love and snuggle all the time and there are times when Lily seems to just want her to leave her alone.
So here's my question...there is another cat who showed up at the farm last weekend. About a year old and very affectionate. Do you think if we brought the cat home he and Bella would keep each other entertained and leave Lily alone or will we end up with two of them pestering her all day? I know it will depend on their personalities - he and Bella seem to be very similar.
Thank you for any insight! This seems like it will either be brilliant or the worst idea ever LOL.
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Post by lisae on Mar 23, 2017 11:47:49 GMT
It's been ages since I had multiple cats. When I did they were usually siblings and the same age so I don't have advice. Bless you for taking in all these kitties and giving them a good home.
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Post by gailoh on Mar 23, 2017 11:47:50 GMT
Since this new kitty is younger that may be ok...it is a see what happens to know for certain...having them fixed also may help if they have not been to the vet...
And a very big thank you for helping them...you are a very kind person to care...hugs
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Post by flgirlatheart on Mar 24, 2017 0:42:25 GMT
DH and I joke that we have become the retirement homes for senior kitties. I did tell him that if we do adopt this kitty we will be closing down the Mark and Beth Kitty Adoption Center! It's a slippery slope and then one day you look around and you discover you somehow have 12 cats LOL.
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Post by Zee on Mar 24, 2017 0:56:17 GMT
I don't think the new guy will probably leave Lily alone, even with a younger and more playful companion, but it's hard to predict what would happen. Lily might put him in his place and he largely leaves her alone, or he might try to play-attack her every day.
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,535 
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Post by RosieKat on Mar 24, 2017 0:58:52 GMT
It actually worked really well in our situation. We had "grumpy cat" and "velcro cat." (No, not their real names, but it'll help keep the story more clear!) Grumpy hated Velcro on sight, but Velcro was kind of the world's most lovey kitty. We got Grumpy when she was about 6 and Velcro joined us shortly after at the age of 4. Over a couple of years, they had a mostly cordial detente but still couldn't get along. For some reason, we then adopted a kitten. We say he should be named Margarita because he's sweet, everyone likes him, and he makes everyone get along. Grumpy kind of adopted Kitten as her baby, Velcro had a playmate, and over time, Grumpy and Velcro determined that they could also get along. Now it's not uncommon to find all 3 of them sleeping on my bed, Grumpy by herself but aware of the others, Velcro and Kitten kind of lumped together. It's been suggested to me that part of why this worked might be because the 3rd cat was male. So I would say trying out the new kitten might just work out beautifully. If not, well, they can all avoid each other.  |
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
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Post by M in Carolina on Mar 24, 2017 1:12:27 GMT
It worked for me, but it took some time. I wish Feliway had been an option. When our first two cats were 7 (Macavity and Gris), we adopted a third, Ziggy, who was 3. Macavity was more playful and kept annoying Gris, who was the dominate one. Macavity loved having Ziggy, but Gris took longer to warm up. Then Macavity died a few years ago. Ziggy was a bit older and didn't really bother her much. They curl up all the time, and she does love him. Ziggy was just feral for a few months after his first owner, and old man, died. He escaped the car on the way to the cat shelter and lived on McDonald's until they found him when trapping cats at the McDonald's. He still LOVES McDonald's--any carbs really, but he'll tackle you for a McDonald's french fry and bun. He's a velcro cat like Rosie's. He'll climb up your butt to get attention. It gets annoying.
Gris is almost 17 and was just diagnosed with kidney disease--we caught it early. She's slowing down and gets aggravated more easily. Ziggy means well, he's just constantly wanting attention. At least I'm around to make sure he lets her sleep.
We've already decided when Gris leaves us that we'll have to adopt another cat immediately. Ziggy just won't handle it well. Hopefully we can get a slightly older cat so we don't keep repeating this dance.
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Post by smokeynspike on Mar 24, 2017 3:52:17 GMT
DH and I joke that we have become the retirement homes for senior kitties. I did tell him that if we do adopt this kitty we will be closing down the Mark and Beth Kitty Adoption Center! It's a slippery slope and then one day you look around and you discover you somehow have 12 cats LOL. Or 6 in my case. 
After a feral momma cat had 2 kittens in our wood pile, one of them died and we managed to get the momma and baby inside the house in the bathroom. We nurtured the momma and she is my buddy now as a permanent fixture in our home, along with her baby. We also had 2 one year old Siamese kittens at the time. Then you add in the 2 middle aged ladies we had and we have 6 girl cats! They are 10, 8, 2, 2, 1 (we believe it was the momma cats first litter and she was tiny herself), and 9 months.
No more kitties here for a long, long, long time. 
Melissa
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Post by smokeynspike on Mar 24, 2017 3:53:30 GMT
And to answer your question, in my opinion and experience, it will probably work but since cats tend to be very opinionated, do-whatever-they-want-when-they-want type creatures, it is not guaranteed that they will cooperate with your wishes. Melissa |
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Post by flgirlatheart on Mar 29, 2017 22:09:44 GMT
Thank you for all your input! We decided today to adopt him - got a phone call that the vet clinic was going to have to take him to the shelter because no one had claimed him. Sad for him that he has lost his family (it's obvious he was someone's pet) but we will definitely give him a good home where he will be spoiled and pampered beyond belief.
Here is my PSA for the day...it does no good to have your pet chipped if you do not keep your contact info current. Poor little guy is chipped but the two numbers listed are no good.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Mar 29, 2017 22:43:22 GMT
Awww-- thank you for helping out the kitties! It might take a while, but it will work out somehow. We had the same sort of situation in our house... the youngest cat is a holy terror sometimes, and the older cats will sometimes interact with her. They all get along well enough, and sometimes the 'middle' cat and the oldest cat actually cuddle together on the couch. (As long as everything is 'just right' that is, otherwise they will start boxing with each other, hissing, etc.) But they get over it and get along again.
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Post by cindytred on Mar 31, 2017 2:52:56 GMT
You just never know how cats are going to get along. But my philosophy is "the more the merrier".
Our first cat (Kitty) was a stray kitten when we took her in back in 2009. Next, we took in Shadow, whose family had abandoned her and moved away - we have no idea how old she is. Then a cat had 4 kittens on our back porch 4 years ago so that added Callie, Knox, Nala and Harley to the family. Last, I found a kitten in the bushes outside my classroom a year and a half ago - so we welcomed Cujo to the family.
The siblings were split up for 3 years while DD lived in her own apartment. Since they all moved back in the siblings aren't that fond of each other. Knox is the most friendly cat - he gets along with his brother, Harley, and the new kitten, Cujo. Other than that there is a lot of hissing and fur flying around here. I would love to be a fly on the wall and see what they do when we aren't home. We are just one big happy family that spends a fortune on cat litter!
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Southern Side eyed Pea 
