Anyone with 2 cats, advice please!

wowoo · 02-16-2007, 10:36 PM

Well I was at work and my bf called me to see if we can take in a cat! I said yes! When I got home I found out that the cat has been beaten by his previous owners and he is very touchy about everything. How do I let him get use to me and show him attention and love but let him know that I won't hurt him. However the main problem is that I already have a cat and she is not to happy about him. They hate each other! Will this get better? He bit her and is so mean and I don't want to punish him because of his past and i don't want him to hate me! Well what should I do if anyone knows?

Jeanne · 02-16-2007, 10:44 PM

Actually I hate to say the problem will not get any better.Could you take him to a shelter? The cat has been too screwed up to even try to save him, he is not adoptable.

wowoo · 02-16-2007, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeanne

Actually I hate to say the problem will not get any better.Could you take him to a shelter? The cat has been too screwed up to even try to save him, he is not adoptable.

Well if I take him to a shelter he will be put to sleep and i wont have that!
He is fixed and has all his shots and well he is nice to me and my bf but they just are not getting along! Is there anything i should do? Well i guess time will tell I have only had him one night!

everyone's favo · 02-17-2007, 10:14 AM

How old is your other cat? Most older cats, especially if they never lived with another cat, are extremely territorial and won't tolerate a new cat in the house.

As for showing the new cat affection, it'll take time because of how he see's people from previous experience. Don't walk over and pet him, let him walk over to you and then pet him.

02-17-2007, 10:24 AM

I have 2 cats. It sounds like it will just take some time to get it used to you. Just leave it be for a little while and let it get used to its surroundings. Keep it fed and watered and it will know you are a good owner. Try that and see what happens.

wowoo · 02-17-2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by everyone's favo

How old is your other cat? Most older cats, especially if they never lived with another cat, are extremely territorial and won't tolerate a new cat in the house.

As for showing the new cat affection, it'll take time because of how he see's people from previous experience. Don't walk over and pet him, let him walk over to you and then pet him.

He is only eight months old and he is getting a little better. He woke me up wanting feed and was just so cute wanting me to pet him. But yea I tried to pick him up and he was not having it. But he does come to us and is very affectionate. He is starting to grow on me. As for Kiki my other cat she is not to happy but scared the most. She is a lot smaller than he is and im not quite sure how old she is but she is not doing well with warming up to him. But Im not quite sure about his feeding habbits because he eats his fast and then tries to eat Kiki's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ally21

I have 2 cats. It sounds like it will just take some time to get it used to you. Just leave it be for a little while and let it get used to its surroundings. Keep it fed and watered and it will know you are a good owner. Try that and see what happens.

Ok thank you!

ohsoindie · 02-17-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wowoo

Well I was at work and my bf called me to see if we can take in a cat! I said yes! When I got home I found out that the cat has been beaten by his previous owners and he is very touchy about everything. How do I let him get use to me and show him attention and love but let him know that I won't hurt him. However the main problem is that I already have a cat and she is not to happy about him. They hate each other! Will this get better? He bit her and is so mean and I don't want to punish him because of his past and i don't want him to hate me! Well what should I do if anyone knows?

I have three cats. The oldest wasn't too thrilled at first when we introduced the second male and then the third, a female... but since then (about 2 years ago) I've caught the males "cuddling" in the same chair and cleaning each other. They have some tendencies, that's for sure.

Cats are different from other animals (in my opinion) because they have a LOT of personality. It really depends on your cat.

If your first cat is very old, or at least older, it might be harder for him to adjust. Give them a chance to work things out before you give up. If they still don't get along, be fair, and keep your dear first kitty.

I wouldn't advise taking the new one to a shelter at all, as he could be a victim of "population control" or euthanasia. Try finding a good home for him. If you don't have a local newspaper with free classifieds, you can always put a post on Craig's List in your closest city's section. There are also non-euthanasia "adoption agencies" for unwanted domestic animals, try looking for one of those as well. I don't believe it costs anything to put them up for adoption, but I do know they charge to let people adopt the animal (they give them shots and lots of food and attention while they're there, and the adoption fee helps cover those costs and ensures the adoptee genuinely wants the animal) that runs anywhere from 30-70 dollars.

Don't force your cats to interact, it will only irritate them and make things worse. Instead, close all the doors in your house and leave a large living-room area open to them. They'll be free to avoid each other but not ignore each other.

If at any point the older cat physically harms the younger one (and vice versa) I would say look for a home for the new kitty immediatly. It just isn't fair to either of them if things are not able to be resolved.

Remember to make it known to whoever takes the new kitty (should you have to give him up) that he may have been abused in a previous home. Sometimes animal abuse can cause strange behaviors in animals (aggressivess, urinating indoors, strange eating habits, nervousness) and you don't want to surprise anyone and have THEM throw the poor thing in a shelter.

I love kitties, and I know how hard it is not to bring new ones home constantly... I wish you the best of luck!

wowoo · 02-17-2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohsoindie

I have three cats. The oldest wasn't too thrilled at first when we introduced the second male and then the third, a female... but since then (about 2 years ago) I've caught the males "cuddling" in the same chair and cleaning each other. They have some tendencies, that's for sure.

Cats are different from other animals (in my opinion) because they have a LOT of personality. It really depends on your cat.

If your first cat is very old, or at least older, it might be harder for him to adjust. Give them a chance to work things out before you give up. If they still don't get along, be fair, and keep your dear first kitty.

I wouldn't advise taking the new one to a shelter at all, as he could be a victim of "population control" or euthanasia. Try finding a good home for him. If you don't have a local newspaper with free classifieds, you can always put a post on Craig's List in your closest city's section. There are also non-euthanasia "adoption agencies" for unwanted domestic animals, try looking for one of those as well. I don't believe it costs anything to put them up for adoption, but I do know they charge to let people adopt the animal (they give them shots and lots of food and attention while they're there, and the adoption fee helps cover those costs and ensures the adoptee genuinely wants the animal) that runs anywhere from 30-70 dollars.

Don't force your cats to interact, it will only irritate them and make things worse. Instead, close all the doors in your house and leave a large living-room area open to them. They'll be free to avoid each other but not ignore each other.

If at any point the older cat physically harms the younger one (and vice versa) I would say look for a home for the new kitty immediatly. It just isn't fair to either of them if things are not able to be resolved.

Remember to make it known to whoever takes the new kitty (should you have to give him up) that he may have been abused in a previous home. Sometimes animal abuse can cause strange behaviors in animals (aggressivess, urinating indoors, strange eating habits, nervousness) and you don't want to surprise anyone and have THEM throw the poor thing in a shelter.

I love kitties, and I know how hard it is not to bring new ones home constantly... I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you! I think he is staying here but when i got him yesterday my bf had them in each arm trying to get them to like each other! We did figure out that was not a good idea but i think they are ok now. Umm.. the only thing im conserd about now is his eating habits because he eats his fast and wants to eat kiki's but i put the dishes in different rooms and it seems to be a little better but im not quite sure if I should punish him or just say no!
Kiki is punished with a spay bottle with water in it and she is a good cat so i really dont have to use it that much but she gets the point. Im not going to use it on him because i dont know how he will react!

wowoo · 02-20-2007, 10:34 PM

Thanks to everyone that helped my second cat is doing very good! Thank you for your advice.

close please!

02-25-2007, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeanne

Actually I hate to say the problem will not get any better.Could you take him to a shelter? The cat has been too screwed up to even try to save him, he is not adoptable.

Wow, you're quick to jump to conclusions based on very little information. I hope you aren't in the habit of typically giving out crappy advice like that.

To the original poster:

I have four cats... two of them dislike each other but in their older age they've at least come to respect one another and tend to leave one another alone. You may have a few squabbles with your cats, but don't worry about it for the most part. I've always heard my mom tell me "I wish Sophie would just turn around and smack the crap out of Izzy, and then Izzy would leave her alone!"

When you bring a new cat into the family, it does take some time for them to get used to one another, especially with older cats but just with cats in general it does. Our youngest cat is maybe a couple years old, the rest are 15ish... When the youngest was brought in they wanted nothing to do with him, but now three of them are a tight-knit family.

And please, please don't ever think that shoving somebody you dislike in your face is going to make you get used to them again (or let your boyfriend think that). When stuck around somebody for a longer period of time you learn to adapt and possibly even grow to like them or at least accept it (such as with families and workplaces)... but you don't have the person shoved in your face. Just imagine if somebody was moved into your house then you were forced to basically stare face to face at one another for any period of time, you'd probably dislike the person even more because people are interfeiring where they shouldn't. Just let them work things out on their own, it may take time but it'll happen.

Although I do respect the fact you took in an abused animal. They're personally my favorites to take in because I love knowing I've earned their trust and respect (I'm good with animals already so I typically don't have them dislike me, but when it's a hard to win over animal that likes me I feel on top of the world)... and they're usually very sweet.