In 24 Hours I Will Be Branded a Horrible Traitor
I must type quietly so Jolee Bindo doesn't get wind of what's going on. It looks like tomorrow I am getting a kitten. I haven't seen it yet. It is a feral kitten that's currently at the vet being spayed and getting its shots. I say "it" because there are two-- a light orange kitten (suspected male) and a gray tortoiseshell (suspected female, because tortis generally are). I am picking one of the two, but we're leaning toward the female-- for balance, and because Mike has this theory that since the male cat likes me, a female cat will actually like him. (I think it is a blow to the ego that Jolee wants nothing to do with him. Haha.) Also, I grew up with gray cats, and I like gray cats.
I fully expect this to go badly. First of all, I am going to have to socialize the kitten, because it's feral and it's an older kitten (10-12 weeks). It's been living outside a public facility where there are people coming and going, but I'm not sure how much direct interaction with people it will have had, ie: feeding, petting, etc. Second, Jolee is not going to take it well. We're talking about a cat who once pushed my laptop off a table because he was jealous of it. It's partially my fault because I'm home a lot and he's gotten used to a very high level attention from me.
So yeah. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. I hope if I take it slow, I can make it work out. The Bindo is stretched out next to me on Mike's pillow, innocent of the fact that I am planning to end life as he knows it by bringing home... a dreaded auxiliary cat! So shhhh... better not tell him.
6 comments:
Not to scare you but it's going on 3+ years and our cats still don't get along but then again we've moved a lot too. I think it's best to go with boy/girl because I've heard girl cats get along the worst together. I wish I had a brother and sister or just sibling cats because they seem to get along the best.
I can't wait to see pictures! I'm so jealous!
I won't tell him, but Merlin might.
Good luck! As you can tell from my posts I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well this has gone, but Merlin has not survived as much as Jolee...
My husband thinks the same about boy animals and girl animals. It's that way with our dogs.
When I was growing up we had two girl cats who were siblings. They used to curl up together but as they got older they were more aloof. Then we added a male cat, and he got instantly smacked down by the more aggressive female cat but tortured her sweeter sister. It smoothed over pretty quick, and they would sleep on the same piece of furniture together but otherwise ignore each other.
It could go either way. We'll see.
I am optimistic that things will work out. I have 5 cats (including Beignet, former New Orleans resident and biggest brat of them all) living together, and although they all don't get along, they tolerate each other. Occasionally the very territorial older female will go after the timid former feral female, but the timid female knows to just get the hell out of the way. She makes a run for it and runs and hides till things blow over. I think the main thing is to just give Jolee extra attention and maybe let the feral be Mike's project with help from you. If the kitten is not cutting in to Jolee's time he might not mind the kitten.
I have a friend who has 12 cats (as a result of marriage, he had 6 and she had 6) and they don't all get along so they have to have them seperated into 3 groups, luckily they have a big house. They were all adult cats when introduced, so it's a bit harder.
You'll be fine. I think male cats are usually more tolerant then females. I will be anxiously awaiting a photo of the new kitten, as well as many more of Jolee. He has come along way from the half shaved cat he was in the shelter. He is stunning ! (you can tell him I said that) Good Luck :o)
Thanks, Crystal! That makes me feel a little better.
I think on Jolee's "birthday" I'll post some before/after pictures. He really is looking gorgeous these days. By birthday I mean the day I adopted him, because I don't know when his real birthday is. Can't believe I've had him a year!
great, we just got two cats a week ago and they still cant really stand me, so you can tell me what tricks you use
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