[i_never_tan]

Hello, this is my third post. I adopted Butler four months ago from a shelter. I am his known third home. He is four years old. I was told he had to be an only cat, because he did not like the other cats in the shelter. Since he has settled in to our home, we found he is a biter and has all sorts of related aggression. Mainly fear aggression, he is very nervous, but he also believes he is the head of the household with my husband and me, so we deal with that aggression, too. We've been working with our vet and he is taking Prozac. It has helped with the anxiety, but not the biting. As I posted yesterday, I have been following the instructions of a wonderful post I located in this forum about how to handle cats who are biters. Butler is improving and I have hope. My problem:

My elderly aunt has a 13 year old cat with claws, (Butler was adopted declawed, which may explain the aggression). Today she is hospitalized and will have to go into a rehabilitation home. Hopefully temporarily. Her cat is being cared for by friends in my aunt's apartment. I feel badly for the cat and feel I should bring him to my home, but I know Butler will become very upset and I will lose any progress I have made. I feel my commitment is to Butler first, but my heart goes out to my aunt's cat. Am I correct in putting my own cat first. I have never had two cats in my home before. No experience with it; I've always been a one cat person. Thank you for your advice.

 

[MowMow]

I would feel terrible for the other cat but if it's in a safe environment I would absolutely put my MowMOw first. Imo, I made a commitment to him and promised to care for him to the best of my ability for the rest of his life.

I can understand your guilt, I really would feel bad too but are the people who have him good people who will keep him safe and cared for?

 

[marie73]

I would also believe you would lose every bit of progress you've made with Butler. I think your time would be better spent finding a good home for your aunt's cat. Maybe your vet has some suggestions, perhaps someone who recently lost a cat is ready for another one...

 

[yingying]

From what you described, its highly unlikely Butler will accept another cat, at least not now. He is still adjusting to the new environment and trying to build trust with you. Adding another cat now will most likely screw up everything and turn the things to worst.

I agree with MowMow and Marie. If the other cat is in good hand now, I think you should dedicate all your attention to Butler.

 

[OctoberinMaine]

I know the dilemma you're talking about. We adopted Murphy declawed and a "must be an only cat," but sure enough there have been a few times when we had a cat spend the night with us, and we did everything but stand on our heads to not let him know it was there.

Murphy hasn't had any biting issues, fortunately, and I'm sorry to hear that Butler does. People will jump to the conclusion that his being declawed is what caused that, but I'm not so sure.

At any rate, I agree with other posters that it's probably best to spend your energies finding another home for your aunt's cat, even if temporarily, until a forever home can be found.

 

[i_never_tan]

Thank you so much for your advice. It was exactly what I was thinking, but my heart strings were being pulled.

 

[christinaja]

It is hard to ignore those heart strings being yanked on, but in a short amount of time, you'll realize that it was the right decision for Butler, and for you. It's no fun having a grumpy kitty around and knowing that it could have been prevented.