Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey gang. i could use some advice. i currently have one approx 4.5 year old kitty, whos very mellow and laid back. hes lived with other cats through out his life and does pretty well with 'em. i'm currently attending vet tech school and we use live animals for our program and then adopt them out to either us students, or whomever wants 'em. i have claimed one of the cats but wont be able to bring him home until the end of the semester which is around mid december. he is about 2 years old, currently a tom cat but will be neutered tomorrow. we vaccinated him when he came to our clinic and is SUCH a love. he has a similar personality to the cat i have now, really laid back, mellow, loves to be loved on (when we were vaccinating him, we had to try 3 different times and bent one needle due to his super thick tomcat skin...he didnt bat an eye...just layed there and purred...how cool is that?) anyway...ive been giving some thought as to what im gunna do with these two. i know its a good idea to keep 'em seperated for a period of time, let them adjust slowly, etc. any other advice that can be given will be greatly appreciated. im *hoping* they do well together as im sure you all know, you "know" when you belong to a cat =)

Hi There,

Concats on your upcoming new addition!

I am owned by 10 precious felines so yes, I do know the feeling well. I'm a tech in a cat hospital and most of my babies have come from there, so be prepared.......lol

Anyway, the key to introducing cats is to do it slowly but you already know that. Ideally, the new addition should have his own room for at least a week. This would allow the 2 cats to get used to each other's smells under the door first. I think it's a big advantage to know beforehand that both cats are used to being around others and you already know the purrsonality of the new one. Males tend to be more easygoing so I think the introduction should be fairly easy. The girls seem to be much more emotional about such things.

Of course, there will probably be some hissing and growling, but unless there is actual fighting I usually just let the cats work things out themselves. Your 2 boys will have to decide who is the top cat, unless it's very obvious that the resident cat already has that spot.

What I have done when I know a new baby is coming home with me is handle the new kitty right before I come home so my resident cats can start getting used to the new smell. This seems to help, plus I always come home smelling of the hospital so they are all used to that. All of my introductions have gone very well and I usually don't isolate the new one. I already know all of my cats do fine with new additions, and am aware of the health of the new one. Even the last cat I adopted, Ray, who is blind, made himself at home right away. Of course he already knew me, which helped tremendously, and I have another blind baby who walks into the other cats at times, so they are used to that.

Take care, and please feel free to post again anytime

Regards,
PHKitkat

thanks for the advice. im really excited to bring him home. but...i have to wait lol. i do handle him alot when im at our school clinic and then when i do come home my cat might sniff once or twice but isnt really concerned by it *yet*. little does he know lol.