Comments on: Is it normal to feel uneasy about adopting a kitten?

By: sharon w

sharon w — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:19:16 +0000

Yes, I have—and I opted-out on the adoption of the kitten. I have a wonderful HUGE male Turkish Angora that I adopted from the shelter over 10 years ago. Problem: He was horribly abused, neglected, sick, had a big abcess on his head/ear, hair was totally matted, he was filthy (covered with grease from being under cars/trucks), flea infested and full of worms. The shelter had him scheduled to be put down the following day. As bad of a mess that he was, I took him anyway. I was well-aware that he was in need of some serious veteranary care. My vet was so impressed that I actually went ahead and adopted him in the condition he was in that he completely worked him over from stem-to-sterm, including surgery on the abcess, his shots, (he had already been neutered), de-wormming, de-fleaing, the antibiotics I had to give him for the next 10 days, etc—and only charged me $62 dollars for the whole darn thing!! This is a wonderful cat—BUT, he has always been a real “scardy-cat”-wuss. I have had several opportunities to adopt a kitten, but knowing my big boy like I do, he would feel totally rejected, dejected and go into one of his depressions. I wouldn’t do this to him.

If you already have one really great cat, I wouldn’t bring in another kitten if I were you. Yes, she IS going to be really jealous, as this is HER home, and she knows it. I’ll guarantee you, if she is a little bolder than mine (and most cats are), there are going to be “territory” issues by bringing this little “intruder” into HER home. I would not want to upset her this way. especially if she is a very loving cat. This is a little first-hand information for you to think about before bringing another kitten into the picture. sharon w

By: Mary c

Mary c — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:33:51 +0000

I have taken kittens in foster care, with an established cat.

You are worrying ahead, and making assumptions that may not be valid. Your established cat may be much more amenable to a roomie than you think. The important thing you need to do is introduce your new kitten to the established cat very sensitively. There is a book called “The New Natural Cat” by Anitra Frasier that devotes an entire chapter to just this, and it is well worth reading, because it really, really works. The trick, Frasier points out, is to get your established cat to believe that she is introducing the kitten to you, that she just sort of found this kitten in her territory and is letting you know. Read it. It’s interesting.

I don’t know how old this kitten is, but if it is very young, you also might want to smear a little butter on the top of its head, so your established female will lick it and put her scent on the kitten, which will facilitate the process. This is a good technique if the kitten is quite young — 8-12 wks.

Finally, adult cats almost instinctively are gentle with kittens, despite any hissing they might do. They tend to be tolerant of the kitten’s antics.

Depending on how carefully you introduce a newcomer, and how young the kitten is, your established female may take a maternal role with the kitten.

I really don’t think you need to be so worried. It will probably work out much better than you thought. Mary c

By: crzynlvntt

crzynlvntt — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:17:40 +0000

bring the kitty home in a pet carrier.. do not open just yet, and let the first cat check it out.. if the first cat wonders away like he does not care. then let the kitty out, show him food/water/and litterbox// do not give excessive atttention to the new kitty, just be patient and see what happens..

sometimes older cats react strongly enough to freak us humans out.. but again be patient and give it about a week, and see if they are getting used to eachother..
24hrs is not long enough,,, so just wait and see.. crzynlvntt