Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two cats, indoors only, both fixed. One is a 7-year old male, the other a 3-year old female. The male is dominant, but the female holds her own quite well. They get along well, though are not bussom buddies.

I am thinking of getting another cat, a rescue of course. I know that ultimately it is mostly dependent on the specific personalities of all the particular cats involved, and of course things work best if I do the introduction properly, which I will.

My questions are these: are there any general rules of thumb? For example, add another male rather than a female or vise versa? Or get an older cat (say, over 8 years old) rather than a younger one? A kitten is not an option---I don't want to deal with those issues. But a "senior" cat---over 12---might be OK.

Any general rules of thumb or advice? Thank you!

I take it you already know about the don't throw the cats together right off the bat. Have a separate room and all that.
When you go to the shelter some shelters have "cat rooms" where the cats can interact with each other and roam around. If they do ask what cat seems to be the most easy going in there. You don't want to bring one home that seems to have trouble adapting to other animals. I haven't heard any general rules of thumb. I have found that my female who is 5yrs old gets along better with the younger cats (a two yr old and a 10 month old) then the 8 yr olds. Some times an older cat has a harder time adjusting.
I am sure others will have better advice.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about adopting a certain sex or age cat, however you should definitely look for a cat known to be good with other cats or get a kitten or a cat younger than a year. Males generally do better than females if neutered, but this is not always the case.

Good luck!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

I was checking this board for information and realized that I had posted earlier this year. Well, I finally got a third cat, given to me by a guy who had her for six years and no longer wanted to keep her since his new job keeps him on the road constantly. She was in a two cat household her first two years, but has been alone and somewhat ignored for the past four. So far she seems to be bonding to me fairly nicely, but I'd appreciate input on how I'm doing with the socialization process so far.

First of all, what is a comfort zone plug in with Feliway and where do I get it?

Interesting inadvertant experiment last night. First, I thought I switch the new cat (Alice) into the big room upstairs to get her out of the bathroom and my room, where she was for the first three days, and expand her turf, which is what the books recommend. So before bed, I put her in there with the litter box, etc, and had the other two with me in the rest of the house. Then I hear pounding and scratching on the door, and it's Alice trying to get out. So, I open the door to see what happens.

She comes out and and goes back into my room. Then the other two saunter in. She hisses and growls. They keep their distance---Mr P about 6 feet away staring right at her, Margie hightailing it out to the other room. But she seems to have the upper hand and they give her plenty of room. Everything seems fairly copacetic, so I go to bed, as Alice seems to be settling back in to the bathroom she started out in.

To my surprise, before the other two have a chance, she jumps on to my bed and nestles down beside me. Eventually, Mr P jumps up, but specifically nestles down on my other side, though after a while he goes to another favorite spot, a soft cushion on a trunk next to the bed. It seemed as if he was saying, "OK, lady, I'll give you some space, but I'm still in charge." Margie, always a bit of a scaredy cat, spends the entire night perched on a cat tree in the hallway, while Alice spends the entire night on my bed. And that was the end of it.

Right now, I have all the doors open. Alice is sticking to my room and the bathroom she started out in, while the other two have the run of the house.

Is it possible for the new cat to establish itself as top cat? Are the other two cats more adept at dealing with a new cat because they are used to it, while she has always been in a one cat house and often left alone? Advice, as always on these boards, if appreciated and I thank you for it!