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I have a cat six years old, my mother just got a kitten, ok next month my mother is going to keep my cat for three weeks while we go on vacation. I am worried about how the cats will get along. Any advice on what I should do??
I am planning on introducing them next week.
They are going to hiss and spit no matter what you do. Cats are not very welcoming at first. One of mine fit in after about 2 weeks, on took 6 months to fit in.
Follow the directions for introducing a new cat to yourhousehold for the 2 of them.
This can be sticky. Cats by nature like their turf and introducing someone new can be hard. Older cats don't always like the idea of kittens. And since your cat is going somewhere else other than home this is going to be tricky.
Here's a trick I picked up and used. What you do is leave the the new cat (in your case, your cat) in the carrier, put a sheet over them, and let the other one(s) investigate what's under the sheet. Try this for about half an hour. Cats are curious by nature and want to know what’s under.
Then take the sheet off, still keeping the cat in the carrier. Do this for another half an hour. This way the cats both know about each other. Then release the cat so he or she can get used to the new area.
This is not an instant cure for cats to become friends. It just gives them the idea that there’s someone else around. Cats are not like dogs and do want to be in a pack. Your cat probably will have a pretty high stress level being away from home and everything familiar.
Since your cat is going somewhere strange stuff in a t-shirt, blanket, towel, or something from your home in the carrier the cat can sleep on while you are away. Take any favorite toys, and if you have a cat bed or pillow they sleep on. You may have to take the cat’s food bowl and water dish too.
I used the sheet trick and it worked when I had to introduce my three to the queen cat that passed away from bone cancer last year. Problem was she didn’t like the idea of any new friends. The three liked the idea of being friends and banded together on the fact the queen disliked them… And they are a very happy bunch to this day!
Last edited by chaseystarz; 09-16-2009 at 01:45 PM..
If it's only a temporary measure that's going to happen, say, annually ... depending on the temperments of the cats involved, it may just be safest/best/easiest to keep them separated if that's possible.
We're doing this right now after adopting a 6-month-old kitten last week in our home with a 13 year old.
It's not an instant process and I'm giving our resident Tortie LOTS of time. The advice our rescue group gave wouldn't suit your situation given that it will be temporary. So I feel that if they have anything but an immediate mutual admiration to just keep them apart for the 3 weeks, in different rooms. The smell of each other from a distance might be enough to cause upset.
There isn't the real need to make them friends as there would be in a permanent home setting, so why push it?
Our 13-year-old Tortie is doing as well as I would have expected. She will come around in the long run but after just under a week sharing space with the kitten for only 5 minutes/day she's having some GI problems and because we haven't changed her food or other routines I feel it's due to the stress of Miss Sally's presence.
My kitty would not tolerate said kitty! She loves people but can't stand kittens or other Cats. She hisses, fights and turns into a mean kitty monster.
Now I'm starting to think maybe it would be better to leave my cat at home and just ask someone come in once a day and feed her and change the litter box. I really hate to do that, but I also hate the idea of my mother who is 91 having to deal with two cats that might be fighting. I don't want to travel with the cat either because it's a LONG drive.
My cat is about 7, I adopted her about 6 months ago. She was having a hard enough time getting used to me when i went on vacation for the first time(first time with her) i brought her up to my mom while I was gone. Forget the kitten, she was curious, but knew to stay away,. My cat didn't even want to be near my mom, she ended up spending the entire time under the sink in the washroom, hissing and generally angry. The next trip I went on I left her at my house, my mom came and fed her/cleaned up after her. It was much less stressful on the cat that way.
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Originally Posted by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA
Now I'm starting to think maybe it would be better to leave my cat at home and just ask someone come in once a day and feed her and change the litter box. I really hate to do that, but I also hate the idea of my mother who is 91 having to deal with two cats that might be fighting. I don't want to travel with the cat either because it's a LONG drive.
I really hate to do that, but I also hate the idea of my mother who is 91 having to deal with two cats that might be fighting.
That really wouldn't be fair to either your mom or the cats.
Could your mom deal with them in separate rooms as far away from one another as possible? There may be a bit of stress, but if physically separated there wouldn't be any fights to deal with.
I have never liked the idea of someone only popping round once a day - to my mind, that leave 23 hours of a) being alone and b) for something to go wrong.
Perhaps the best solution for all concerned is a professional boarding facility. Kitty would be safe, looked after and also get attention. Three weeks is an awfully long time to go with very limited interaction. Even our cat that thought he should be the only cat in the universe boarded relatively well. He did get his revenge once home though - but he was fine while he was there.
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