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Random Cat Question

Heather said: "I'm sorry to hear about your cat, Cval.. I hope that the bringing the newbie home goes over well and Mars recovers quickly!"

cvalh said: "So it's been a while since I posted (more on that in another message at another time - lots going on in my life)... But I have a question for any of you who are relatively knowledgable about cats. We got two kittens last summer... They'd be about a year and 3 months now. Sunday night, they were on the losing end of a fight with coyotes. The male escaped with just a bite on his hind leg, and seems to be doing OK, but the female was killed (which makes three cats since the beginning of last summer we've had die for various reasons). Needless to say, we've decided that Mars will now be an indoor cat... Thing is, he and Venus, being littermates, were always very playful with each other. Him being so young and unable to go outside, would it be a good idea to introduce a new playmate to him (once he's healthy, of course)? I know various issues with introducing cats in other situations, but I feel like there's potential for Mars to be extremely bored. We'd probably get a slightly younger female, so it wouldn't be threatening to him."

cvalh said: "Thanks for all the replies, guys. Mars is already kind of mopey (loneliness and boredom from not being allowed out - he even managed to sneak out today). I think the decision has been made by my father - we're going to a local shelter this evening. He wants to get a kitten before Mars gets used to being alone. His wound is closed and not infected (though he's still on the antibiotics), so that should work out ok. We've introduced cats before... Properly AND improperly. I think Mars is pretty easy-going though, so we'll just have to see. Wish us luck!"

cvalh said: "Well... Ignoring various protests from me, my father decided to introduce them to each other directly (we got a 3 month old female - named Isis). They're doing "okay." I think they'll get along eventually. Right now, she puffs up occasionally and he hisses, but mostly they just study each other. She's spending the night in a separate room to prevent any fights."

spectrachic311 said: "Hey cvalh, glad you're back! Sorry to hear about your cat being killed by a coyote...that's horrible. I know it happens around where we live too, so it's a good idea to keep you cat an inside kitty from now on. From my experience, cats that are used to having another cat live with them usually get bored/neurotic if they are suddenly alone. My friend had the almost exact situation with her cats...she had two and then one of them died from a heart defect. The surviving cat was getting very weird...she meowed all the time and started scratching stuff up and not using her box properly. My friend got a kitten and slowly introduced them and now they are best buds. I'd say you should probably get another cat to keep Mars company. You want to make sure the new cat is either used to other cats or is a kitten so you don't have the problem of the other cat trying to fight with Mars all the time. Hope that helps :)"

HDales said: "Hi, Sorry to hear about the loss of one of your cats. Hope the other one is healing well! I too have a cat, he's a wonderful lazy sun hogging sweetheart. Just want to wish you the best introducing your cats. There is a lot of good info on how to do that on the web. My cat (Max) has been introduced to 5 cats since january. I had to give him to my mom to look after while I found an apartment and she had 3 other cats (1 momma cat 2 kittens). He was brought into their environment so of course he was very upset by all the new smells. He's a submissive cat by nature so I had thought he would be alright. Well the kittens being kittens would try play fight with him and he would get so scared and react not to gently! So for about a month we kept them seperated, Max downstairs the other 3 upstairs and introduced them slowly. When I went back to get him, he was best friends with the kittens and him and the momma cat 'tolerated' each other. I brought him back to my apartment and my roommate had a cat. An old cat who had never been introduced to any other cats before. I never kept them sperated from each other they hissed a little but after a week they were following each other around and playing with each other. The older cat actually would chase Max. My big ol bag of bones cat is a really big wimp! Then sadly the older cat died and he was replaced with a rambunctious kitten. Max hissed maybe twice at the kitty and after 3 days they were fine. Now those two tear up and down the stairs and all over the house playing and chasing each other. Its funny and the kitten being about 1 year younger then max can already beat him up. The kitten has also cause Max to lose a little weight which the vet is happy about! 2 more pounds and I will have a healthy large cat. (My cat is about 14-15 lbs!) I hope your introductions go as well as mine have. Hopefully they will get along right away. If not then they will eventually. Good Luck!!"

cyndarella said: "Hey there. I too am sorry about your cat and am happy that you're deciding to keep the other one inside from now on. I myself have two indoor cats and I adopted them from a shelter. They are the most wonderful cats anyone could ever ask for. I'm a huge advocate for adopting from shelters because the people there know the cats. This will help you to find a cat that they know will get along with another cat and support a good cause at the same time. I can't really say much about whether or not your cat will react badly to his buddy being gone, but I do know that I decided to adopt both of our cats because they supposedly came from the same family and I couldn't bear to seperate them... Also, maybe you could see how your cat is doing while he's healing and if he does seem lonely, then you could pursue getting a new buddy for him:)"