Thread: Newly solo cat
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Old June 17th 04, 02:21 AM
dgk
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On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 19:55:34 GMT, Laura R.
wrote:

circa 16 Jun 2004 12:40:34 -0700, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
kamasue ) said,
Hi all,

I have just recently lost one of my kitties (12 years) to a sudden
pulmonary embolism, and the other cat (Jane) doesn't really seem to
care that much. She is an exclusively indoor cat and reacts very
strongly when other cats are lurking around the house. Additionally,
when my other cat was alive, she would chase the now-deceased one a
lot -- I joked with my boyfriend that Jane thinks she's lost one of
her toy mice, not another cat.

However, Jane is definitely prone to boredom. She's quite the talker
and demands a lot of attention when we're home. I am wondering if I
should bring a new friend into the house or if Jane would just act
hostile toward him/her, as she does toward stranger cats outside the
house. Additionally, I favor adopting adult cats from the shelter
since they tend to get overlooked with all the cute kittens around.
But of course, if a kitten is warranted in these circumstances, I
would be happy to adopt one.

Some more background - now-deceased kitty was the reigning queen of
the household when Jane was adopted -- as a young adult -- but quickly
established dominance. So she's used to being "top cat," as it were.

Any suggestions would be welcomed!

I'd get her a companion, myself. Go to a shelter that has the time
and takes the time to get to know the personalities of the cats they
have. Look for one that is described as being good with other cats
and do the whole gradual introduction thing. You don't say how old
Jane is, but you'd probably be best getting her a cat near her own
age, particularly if she is an older cat. And you'll get to feel
really good for saving the life of an adult cat. :-)

Laura


I'll second the notion of getting an older cat if Jane is fairly old.
I made the mistake of getting a kitten in the same situation, after a
long time buddy died. It turns out that the last thing the surviving
cat needed was a baby. All he wanted to do was lie around and relax
and the 6 month old drove him nuts.

It might take a while but Jane will eventually appreciate the company
of a peer. Sometimes cats never really get along and just tolerate
each other but it seems that they usually warm up to each other. And
since Jane was already in a two cat household, it shouldn't be too
much of a shock.

I think that two cat households don't seem to have the dominant cat
thing going on. None of my pairs had a really obvious dominant cat.

A slow introduction is called for. The new one goes in an isolation
room for a few days to a week. It's better for a new cat to only have
to deal with one room, and better for both of them not to clash. Let
them sniff each other through the door. There are lots of methods for
introducing new cats, just google for cat introductions. I think my
favorite method was to put vanilla extract on the back of each neck,
so they smell the same. I don't know if it works, but it's probably
tasty.