Advice for adopting a new cat

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T

Teddy's mom

Member Since 2012
Since losing Teddy three weeks ago, things have been awfully lonesome here to say the least. I have been browsing the shelter sites online and today looked on Craig's list. There is a kitten that caught my eye. It is a stray that someone has taken in, and they say they will be taking it to the shelter by the end of the week.

The problem is my other cat 15 yrs old (indoor only) is not up to date on his shots. I hesitate to get them since my sister in law's cat had a vaccine induced cancer removed in the past. I'm pretty much assuming this kitten has had no vet care at all. I don't want to give my cat a disease.

Any one have any suggestions on what I could do, or do you think I should pass? Thanks!
Carol
 
If you feel your kitty is too old for shots I would pass. A new stray kitty with shots could still bring in other thngs your older kitty might not deal well with. I guess really there are pros and cons introducing any new cat...I mean it's easy when a homeless kitty comes to your door.. you just take care of em.

Good luck...sigh....wish I had better advice. {:/

jeanne
 
If you can afford it, you may consider picking it up and taking it to the vet and having it checked out. They can test for all the various transmitted diseases and let you know whether it's safe to introduce the kitten to your cat. (I suppose there are some that require urine/fecal samples that they may not be able to test for immediately.) If the kitten does have something, you can then take it yourself to the shelter. I know this is sub-optimal, but it's an option.
 
Thank you for the replies, Jeanne and dusty's mama . It's funny you said about a homeless kitty coming to the door. I looked up the other day and one was looking back at me. He had a collar on, so it was someone's cat. It sure was a weird feeling, though.

Any preferences as to boy or girl? I've never had a girl cat, do they tend to have more health issues than boys?

I think taking it to the vet straight away would be my best option.
Should I have posted this in the community forum?
Carol
 
I think posting here is fine because people are faced with these kinds of things all the time? BUT you *may* want to post in community ALSO you will get different responses from people that dont visit here regularly. There are ALL KINDS of topics over there.
Good luck...It sounds like you're gonna do this. Best wishes! ;-)
j.
 
I hear boys are generally friendlier than girl cats. That certainly bears out in my own house. I just adopted a 5 yo male (Gus) who is the first male cat I've ever had. And he is the friendliest, happiest, most chill cat EVER. Both of my female cats (Dusty and Adele) like me but they'll scatter when someone comes over. Not Gus. He sees strangers as people he hasn't cuddled yet. :smile:

That said, I looooove my girls and wouldn't give them up. Who cares that they're not keen on strangers?! They like me and are happy in the house and, really, that's all that matters.

As far as health issues - I don't think there's much of a difference. Females who have had a litter of kittens have a higher chance of cancer in the mammary glands. If you fix her before then (or perhaps it's before her first heat cycle? I can't recall...) that risk is all but eliminated.

Good luck with your choice!
-Michelle
 
Since you have a kitty at home I would suggest that if you are going to adopt get a cat or two from a group that has had them tested for feline leukemia and FIV. Go to petfinder and check out shelters close to you. My older cats don't have their shots either. They are to immunocompromised to get them. I would love to get another cat but one of my older cats is to fragile and it wouldn't be fair but I'm always looking. If you get a cat that has been in foster care sometimes you get a better idea of what their personality is like. The last time I adopted it was very helpful talking to the foster parents. It was very important to me that the cat would get along with other cats. I was also looking for someone that wasn't dominant. Just some thoughts. You never know someone may show up at your door.

Sandy
 
Don`t know where you are located but someone posted over on Community, a beautiful cat, diabetic in San Diego needs a home. A ragdoll 8 years old. Very handsome boy.

Terri
 
I went from having 2 cats--Fred and ARtichoke--Arti died at 14 and then it was just me and Fred for 6 years till he died at 20 (after 5 years with Db).

Then I got into cat rescue over the past 18 months. I now have 7 cats. Gasp. I know. It was a mistake. I'm what is known as a 'foster fail'.

However, I can offer you advice. Yes, do not get yoru older kitty vaccinated. BUT DO get a new cat tested, def. for FElV/FIV. If it's a kitten it will need to get all the basic first time shots (and then after that dubious whether they need them again, considering the risks.)

As long as your new cat doesn't ahve a cold and has been tested for the basic FELV/FIV, I would not worry. Also you could go thru a rescue with a cat who has already been in foster care. I have brought most of my cats STRAIGHT from death row at the kill shelter here in NYC. They were ALL sick when they arrived--very sick. However, they all by law had to be given all the shots and tested for FELV/FIV before leaving the shelter.

I think my 8th cat, Lenny, who died this summer of liver failure--got it due to the vaccines--they did NOT wait the recommend 3-4 weeks in between FVCRP and Rabies...and he was already immunocompromised I think, he had a cold and possibly something else (was losing fur). His owners of 7 years had dumped him ('allergies'--****ing assholes). Poor little baby was on death row with his sister. I saved him both but after one month Lenny died. I'm pretty sure it was the shots. Still sad about it. I still have Chloe, she is an angel.

ALSO, i would not worry about mixing the cats. I've had lots of experience with this now....basically they will probably hiss and scream and you will be frightened by how screechy and terrifying it sounds--however cats are pretty much all talk and no action--they hiss, growl and mabye take a swipe--but then they scatter. And THEN surprise surprise they can become friends! Or at least learn to tolerate each other. I've seen this take anywhere from 1 month to 8 months between different cat relationships. Some of them now even lick each other...so don't worry too much if at first it seems like it's not working between the two of them. They will get over it and learn to establish thier hierarchy and also their 'spots' with you in bed or whatever..and then you will all be a happy family Just make sure to give equal love especially when the other is looking so they don't feel jealous or left out.
 
Thank you, all, for the kind replies and helpful suggestions on adopting my new cat. We found a loving female at a local shelter. She took to both my husband and me right away. They are unsure of her age, but guessed it to be about 1 or 2 yrs.
We are picking her up on Thursday and taking her directly to the vet's to get checked out. The folks who dropped her off at the shelter told them she had been spayed, but they have no proof. So I guess our vet will have to shave her and look for a scar?

The only concern I have is she is shedding pretty bad. I plan on transitioning her to wet food. Understandably, they give the cats the food which has been donated at the shelter. It is dry food, and probably not very good quality dry at that. My Teddy always had an issue with shedding, and prior to his diabetes I fed dry food. His coat improved after changing to the canned food (thank you FDMB) and was absolutely beautiful when he was on insulin. After he went OTJ, the shedding returned, but not nearly as bad as it was before the food change. Perhaps he had an issue with absorbing nutrients, maybe his intestines (where he got the cancer) were always a problem. If only I knew........

The vet is going to do a snap test, I also plan on asking for bloodwork. Are there any other tests we should have? Also, how slow should I go with the food change? My other cat is thriving on fancy feast classics. Other varieties don't seem to agree with him. maybe it's the gluten? He's 15, but runs around here like a kitten, and his coat is so soft. Keeping my fingers crossed that he likes Chloe. I can tell he misses Teddy. He was so gentle with him the last month before he passed. Almost like he knew. We sure could use some "happy" here....
Carol
 
Sorry for your loss and conrgats on finding a new little girl and rescueing her from a shelter. It will take time but I am sure your kitties will like each other it just might take sometime. We have had Oscar for a week and a half and the hissing is decreasing very quickly, they still aren't best friends but they are at least tolerating each other.
 
Thank you, Jen. Was wondering how you went about introducing your cats? It's been so long since Bucky & Teddy were first introduced, I can't even remember how we did it
Carol
 
We had Oscar in the spare room and let them get used to each others smell from us coming and going from the room, then we would leave the door open and sit in the doorway and pet both Oscar and the other boys at the same time then slowly left the door open when we were home to supervise the situation once we saw that they were just growling and walking away we left the door open and they have just sort of settled in.
 
Right now that's my biggest concern. Bucky is small, but he doesn't think he is! He would take on a tiger, I think. That's why we went looking for a cat that was more laid back. Now that I think about it, Teddy more or less ignored him at first. I'm hoping for a smooth transition, and that they can become friends. Thanks for the tips!
 
What a pretty girl I am sure she is going to love her new home and will at least learn to tolerate her new brother :-D
 
Oh she is a dilute tortie point meezer!!...Hope you have ear plugs...lol You do know that Meezers talk....alot!!! Seriously she is stunning but then again I have a weak spot for both meezers and torties.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn (Mz Tortietude) and the Fur Gang
 
Boy, I hope she can tolerate him, too. She was very quiet when we went to the shelter, wonder if she was putting on her "adopt me" act. But, yes i do have ear plugs, and it will be nice to have someone to "talk" to during the day around here. We shall see......
 
uh, you do realize her Petfinder info says she would prefer to be an ONLY cat right??? If you want them to get along you are going to have to do the intros even slower than normal. Its possible she may be ok with one other cat, and is hostile because shes living with more than that, but you will need a separate room for her for at least a week before letting them meet. See how much (if any) hissing growling and yowling there is.

I work at a shelter and granted, there are no absolutes, especially since shelters are stressful places that contribute to the appearance of cat reactivity. But shelters do not willy nilly say "no with cats" for the heck of it. Shelters/rescues want the cat to get adopted, but they also want it to be successful. We also have cats incorrectly assessed as cat reactive but in reality they were just too playful (or not playful enough) for the other cat.

I am NOT saying it cant work, because we have had NO with cats cats go home and tolerate, or even be fine with other cats, however know that you are STARTING out knowing the intro may not be magic. Is she housed with cats now? Ask them what she does around other cats that made them say that in her petfinder ad. I am not trying to be a downer honest, but I see it all the time, people not having realistic expectations of the cat they pick.

http://www.sfspca.org/sites/default/files/Cat to Cat Introductions.pdf

http://www.sfspca.org/sites/default/files/Introducing a Cat to a New Home.pdf

This is Beths article on cat intros
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bwp...g5Yi00ODc0LTk1OGUtN2Q0MWI1NjZjMjQw/edit?pli=1
 
Thank you for the informative links. Yes, I did read the ad, and already have addressed the issue with the shelter. We stopped in at the shelter before we even saw the ad on the internet. I knew they posted on pet finders and went on to see if I could find a picture of her. I asked how the cat got along with others, and she brought her out with two other cats. They sniffed each other and went on their way. We are going to take it real slow, and I don't really have any high expectations, as the past two years have taught me not to.
 
Sounds good! I am surprised that if she did ok just being with 2 random cats there, that they left that "only cat" comment in the petfinder info.
 
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