[themeadows]

Hi everyone,

Sorry that my first post is a sad one :-(

I had two kittens from the same litter, both girls, named Jet and Tom. They came from the Cat Adoption Agency which is an Australian organisation that tries to find homes for cats.

They had both suffered very bad cat flu, and Tom nearly lost her eye as a result. Jet recovered fine but Tom has a permanently blocked tear duct. Otherwise they were both happy and healthy.

Tom and Jet stayed indoors while I was at work, and were allowed outside after work until bedtime. Jet was very outgoing and loved being outdoors, and it was often a chore getting her back in. Tom was more of a house cat, but she was very close to Jet and would follow her as she explored our neighbours gardens. Tom would usually come in before Jet and curl up on the couch with me.

Last week I had them desexed at 6 months, and unfortunately Jet died because of a reaction to the anesthetic. Tom is coping OK. She has been looking around trying to find Jet in her favourite hiding places. They were very close, grooming each other regularly, and enjoyed playing together. They shared food and water bowls and a litter, although the litter was pretty much unused as they usually went outside.

I'd like to get a companion for Tom so that she doesn't have to be alone at home during the day. I've read some of the other threads that have dealt with this topic, but I'd still love any real-life experiences you might be able to share. The main questions I have are:

* How soon should I get a new cat? Tom is having her stitches out this week so I will definitely wait until after then.
* What age should I consider?
* Male or female?
* What advice do you have about introducing the new cat to Tom? In general, what I've read so far is to do this gradually and it could take some weeks before they are comfortable together.

Has anyone had any experience of this type of situation?

Thanks and sorry for the long post

Steven

 

[Wayne]

Cats can grieve over a lost littermate, just as people miss them. Yes, I would seriously consider getting a new mate for your Tom. Also, I would consider getting another kitten about the same age as Tom. Not all cats are incompatible, it is just a few who will not like each other. If you visit an animal shelter, usually the keepers will allow you to return a pet if it is not going to work out for you and your already cat. I would reconsider about letting them outside, because of the problems they can get into, dogs, other cats, diseases, fleas. paracites, traffic and etc. If a cat is brought up to be an inside-only pet, they will nicely adjust to that lifestyle. Also your cat will not usually need booster shots every year, if they are kept indoors. :wink:

 

[catmadAZ]

first of all i'd like to express my deepest sorrows as i know what its like to lose kittens.

my old cats first litter all died very young due to flea infestation even tho we tried everything. Ive allso had a kitten killed by car and so know how you feel.
Its so sad when a family pet dies and especially with it being in the middle of such a simple procedure.

I aint no kitty expert but here are my answers to your questions:

*when to get ur next cat depends not so much on when its appropriate for your cat but when you think you are ready

*the age of your new kitty should be either the same age as Tom or slightly older. getting a younger cat could cause Tom to be over protective of her territory and scare/hurt the new cat wheras an older or same age cat could stand its ground and allthough there might be some hissing to start with they will get used to one another.

*the sex of the cat doesnt really matter due to Tom being female, if she was male then you would have to get a female due to territorial confrontation but females are usually very accepting towards any sex

*as for introducing your new cat i would put them in seperate rooms until the new cat is confident then introduce them. dont worry about them not liking each other to begin with coz that will soon end and turn into lifelong friendship


thanks for posting and dont appoligise for a long post coz it aint a problem in here :wink:

 

[themeadows]

Thanks Wayne and catmadAZ for your replies. I'm looking for a suitable companion now and I'll post here and let you know how it goes

 

[teffito]

I'm so sorry to hear that your cat died.

I would look for a new kitten, too.
I think it doesn't matter if male or female. You should more consider the charakter of your cat. As Tom is shy and as I understood needs someone to be geared to, I would recommend to look for a cat with a character like Jet's was. Someone who could give Tom a hand.

How to introduce them?
Well, we allways just put them together. First of all they withdraw from each other but they had the chance to decide for themselves when they would like to know the other one. Actually after three or four days they accepted each other. We have good experiences to handle it that way.