Conference misery::feline_v1

I don't think I'd ever have just one cat.  Even when the weren't natural
siblings, they come to depend on each other's company.

Bit is my eldest, 7 years.  She has seen a number of cats come and go,
including her natural sister who had to go to a farm and become an
outdoor cat.  Since then, I have added Juliette, a 4 year old calico
who tried to take over.  Bit put her in her place early and they are
now very devoted to each other.  About a year ago, Stanley showed up
on the doorstep.  He is a yellow tiger who spent the first several
years of his life as a stray.  He is now firmly entrenched in our home.
After the initial hissing, the other two either ignore him or spar
with him.  Lately, I have noticed all three curling up together.  
They also appear to miss each other if one is out over night.  I
think they provide alot of company to each other.  My house is usually
empty all day, with kids in school and day care.  And there are weekends
when we go away and the cats are alone.  I think it has been great
having more than one.

Hi, I just recently found this notes file, too.  I live alone with my cat,
Squeeker.  She is alone most of the time.  Cats adapt very well to their
environment, and spend about 17 hours each day sleeping (I read that somewhere).
Therefore, I wouldn't rush to get another cat, unless YOU want more cats.
My cat seems quite happy and well adjusted, getting along with people when
I have friends over, and she has outdoor privileges on demand.  She is
so used to my dropping in and out so often that she does not even come to the
door to see who it is, unless she happens to be in the vicinity.

Well, that's my experience. I'm sure others have different thoughts to offer.

dick

I don't believe that domestic cats spend 17 hours sleeping.  Lions in the 
heat of the African veldt, maybe, but I've never owned a cat that slept near
that much.  Usually, they are too busy doing something, (usually something
they shouldn't, of course), to be sleeping. 

As a result, I've always found it better to have more than one cat.  One of
the main advantages, particularly with younger kittens, is that multiple
animals use up all that excess energy on each other, instead of your
furniture, plants, drapes, shoes, etc. 

Needing multiple cats is lessened if the cats go outdoors - they get rid of
their energy chasing bugs and snakes... 

-- CW

I've had a single cat and multiple cats, and both situations worked out
all right. If your cat becomes restless or appears unhappy being left
alone so much, by all means consider getting another cat. The newcomer
should probably be a kitten, old enough to be on its own but small enough
not to present too much of a threat to Number One. Make sure to give
the first cat as much or more attention than the kitten gets, at least
in the beginning; this might help prevent jealousy.

If your cat seems happy enough, and you don't want another cat, then
let things be.

-b

     My Persian, Puddie (as in "I tawt I taw a ..."), is 16 years old, spayed, 
and has never known the great outdoors.  Through the years she's played 
hostess to several cats and dogs.  She was most receptive to (actually quite 
fond of) an indoor/outdoor tom cat named Thomas who died a few years ago.  She 
seems quite unconcerned about other female felines and generally ignores them 
altogether.  
     Currently, there is only one other cat in the family, Li'l Kitty.  She is 
8-years old this month, spayed and also an indoor-only cat.  The two kittys do 
not get along and are constantly antagonizing each other.  Li'l Kitty sometimes
will wait in an inconspicuous place and then pounce when Puddie chances by.  
Also, Li'l Kitty seems fascinated with Puddie's fluffy tail and is always 
trying to play with it.  Puddie, in retaliation, will jealously chase Li'l 
Kitty away whenever she warms up to a member of the family by aggressively 
approaching and then hissing (Li'l Kitty is very timid and quite easily
intimidated).  It should also be noted that Li'l Kitty is Extremely hostile 
toward any animal that comes into the house.  She growls and hisses and then 
retreats to the back of the house for days.  Puddie, for a time, stopped using 
the litter box after Li'l Kitty was trained to use it.  This is the first time 
she's ever acted with such deep resentment, but I love both of them and can't
bear to part with either.  They seem to have resolved themselves to the fact
that they will be sharing the household, and so tolerate each other for the
most part. 
     Since Puddie usually accepted (if not welcomed) other pets, I believe 
this is an extreme situation.  On the sad day when Puddie leaves for Kitty 
Heaven, hopefully many years from now, I would not bring another kitten into 
Li'l Kitty's house because I realize she would not be receptive.  But, I feel 
that both of them, and most of the other cats I've had, would have welcomed 
having the whole house to themselves.

   We have 5 cats and  they all seem to enjoy having the other kitties to play
with, chase, cuddle up with. All 5 are indoor only.  They were all acquired 
over a 6 month period with non of them being older than 4 months when intro-
duced to the others. The only one that seems to be in the least bothered by
the other kitties is Cinnamon.  He's just a nervous cat in general having been 
abused before we took him in.  He used to not do well in competition with the 
others at the food bowl, on laps, etc. However, since understanding what the 
problem is, we've given him some extra attention and he's just blossomed. 
He longer loses out at the food bowl or on laps.  He'll always be nervous but 
he's getting better little by little.  Even he, enjoys a good romp with the 
others every once in a while.  Both my husband and I like having more than one
kitty.  We think our kitties would be lost without one another.  They have 
their special friendships and rivalries just like kids.  Even when they are mad
at one another, at least they aren't bored.  (Something we try to be very aware
of since the kitties can't go outside.)  Unless you don't want another kitty, 
I'd say, go get a kitten.  Be prepared for an adjustment period.  Read "You 
Can Train Your Cat" especially the sections on how to introduce a new cat into 
the household and how to deal with an agressive cat.

tlh

Since I live alone and am not home much of the day, I opted to have two cats
from the start.  Loiosh and Ada took to each other almost immediately, and
are now inseparable buddies.  They cuddle up together, chase each other
around the house, and tumble around play-fighting in a tangle of legs and
tails.  In fact, Ada doesn't seem to care for me much, but she loves Loiosh!

Loiosh is an extremely affectionate and attention-craving little kitten.  It
would seem terribly cruel to leave him alone all day long.  Even though Ada
isn't very friendly toward humans, I'm glad she's around to be company for
Loiosh.

					  -  o
					 - -/-->
					-  @~\_

					Roger

I cautiously introduced a pair of 4 month old kittens into my household 
last year. I took them in with the proviso that my other cats accept them.
I was certain that my siamese (Kismet) would do every thing in her power
to harm them. She's very territorial and aggressive...been known to chase
German shepards out of our yard.

WAS I EVER WRONG. Kismet adores the kittens..even now that they're full
grown. She adopted them on her own (latent maternal instinct?). She 
watches over them, bathes them, at one point she was even waiting to
take a turn at the food dish until she was sure they had eaten their fill. I 
often come home to find Kismet, the kittens, and my old Maine Coon Hobbit, all
curled up together in a chair.

I'm sure Kismet believes we got the kittens expressly for her enjoyment!

-nn

THE BEST THING WE EVER DID FOR OUR HONEY WAS TO GET A SECOND CAT.  THE FIRST
YEAR WE WERE MARRIED HONEY WAS ALL ALONE WHILE WE WORKED.  AT NIGHT SHE WOULDN'TLET US SLEEP.  AFTER WE GOT HALF-PINT, SHE SETTLED DOWN.  IT TOOK TWO DAYS FOR
HONEY TO GET USED TO HAVING ANOTHER CAT SHARE HER HOME, BUT NOW THEY ARE THE 
BEST OF FRIENDS.  WE HAD JUST THE TWO CATS FOR 6 YEARS.  NOW WE HAVE SIX!

My cat was an only cat for over a year. Then I moved to Boston. First she
stayed with my parents who have a german shepherd. After getting used to
each other they became good friends. They'd chase each other up and down the
hallway, the cat chasing the dog as well as the other way around. When I got
an apartment it was with two other people and one of them has a 10 year old
cat. The two cats are now used to each other but neither will have much to
do with the other. They have different eating habits so their food has to
be seperated. For the most part they ignore each other. So I am still the
only companion my cat has. (Now I'm the one who has to chase her up and
down the hall, and she loves it. But my roommates think I'm strange.)
                          kris

I just have to put my two cents in, since I couldn't imagine living with 
only one cat anymore.  I too started with two, and have gone from a 
high of eight at one point, to the current crop of four.  When one 
volunteers at a no-kill animal shelter, it's hard to resist the ones who 
have been there seemingly forever.  Mine have gotten along (or not) with 
varying degrees of success.  One who hid in a closet for the first few 
months out of fear now lords it over the rest.  I finally did have to find 
a new home for one of the originals, who had gone through a complete
personality change from being the queen of the roost to the bottom of the 
pecking order.  she DEfinitely prefers her own realm, and now enjoys the 
constant company of an honest-to-goodness rocking chair grandmother !

Conclusion:  (less than satisfactory)  you just have to try it out on a 
case-by-case basis to find out what will happen.

						--cathy

I have had several experiences with introducing new cats to the household
we started out with Kashmir and then we found Smitty(a story in itself)
at first there was the general hissing and establishment of territory, but 
they became good buddies. It is a little easier when introducing a kitten
as one will assume the role of the parent and vice verse. When Kashmir was
hit by a car and killed, we were very heart broken and smitty was very
listless and down. There was a lady giving a whole bunch of little kittens
away so we took two. Smitty then played mom to the kittens as kashmir had
unfortunately there was construction in the neighborhood and the tragidy
happened all over again, this time with suki. well, smitty and phoebe
became very close and phoebe even gained alot of weight, I feel that
she was very depressed as ahuman would be at the loss of a loved one.
So you see they need companionship in thier own way just like humans
and of cuorse it's an adjustment but i strongly suggest a buddy for
your kitty

My cat, Chayna, always seemed pretty happy to be an only cat.  However, we
felt so bad that she had to be by herself quite a bit of the time, we
decided to get a kitten companion for her. (Also, she's an indoor cat, which
can't be a very interesting situation for a lone feline.)  As it turned out,
we ended up getting a 1-1/2-year-old neutered male Persian (see the note on
declawing; I don't know the number offhand).  We did none of the things you're
supposed to do when introducing a new cat to the household, but they get
along fine.  There was a period of adjustment, sure, but now they chase each
other around like mad things and have a grand time.  It is generally easier
for a cat to adapt to a kitten than to another full-grown cat, but I haven't
had any real problems with full-grown cats adjusting to each other.

Having another cat in the house hasn't affected Chayna's personality at all.
She was affectionate almost to the point of obnoxiousness when she was by
herself, and she still is.  I think she probably prefers our company to that
of Jasper's (the new cat), but she does like to play with him, and I feel
better about leaving the apartment for long periods of time now that she has
someone to keep her company.  I guess in my case getting another cat was more
to alleviate my guilt feelings about leaving Chayna alone than in response
to her need for feline companionship, which is minimal, I think, compared to
her need for human companionship.  Anyway, everything has worked out fine,
and I think I will always try to have at least 2 cats rather than just one.

							-- Nina

I came from a family that always had a dog around and never really
cared for Cats.  However when I got married, my Sweety wanted a kitty
I wasn't too excited but when you have just recently married yo will
probably do anything....

We decided to get a Red Persian, Rudy, and he was an 'only child' for
about a year and a half.  Never in my whole life have I/we got so
so many laughs out of a single animal.  He played, and played, and jumped
and played, and so on, and so on.....

After about a year we started to notice that he would follow us 
right to the door when we would leave (pout, pout when he couldn't
come with us) and also he would always be at the door when we got
home. (Purring his little red head off).

So after much deliberation, (ie: we saw Russian in a Pet store window
while shopping one day .....) we got another 3 month old Persian, gray
this time.  Rudy wasn't exactly sure how to react to the new member of the
family. I forgot to mention that Rudy was an indoor only cat.  Anyway,
Rudy wanted to play with Russian but he wasn't sure how to. Considering
the difference in size, poor Russian didn't have a chance, one whack from Rudy
and the game was over as far as Russian was concerned.  Also, we had trouble
for the first few months with the litter boxes. It seems that Russian was
MR CLEAN, in a Persian Coat and if the Litter wasn't put in the Glad Bag
on a daily basis, he would go behind the couch instead! Fortunately that
didn't last too long and all is well now. (Don't get me wrong, we do change
the litter on a regular basis, but not 2 boxes Every %^&* day, especially
since neither cat has a particularly favorite box)

Anyway we were worried for a while that they fought too much, but realize
now that they were just playing.  Rudy even cleans Russian on occasion.

In Conclusion....(anyone notice how this note seems to run on and on...)
Being a first time CAT owner I can only say that our two cats get along
just fine.

GMC

I (like most cat lovers) started out with just 1, and then came
unplanned parenthood - 2 more.  I must say that having more than
1 is great - it allows me a little more freedom from guilt when I
stay out late.  Introducing a new cat to an old cat can take a 
while, but eventually they do start playing with each other and
on cold days sleeping with one another.

My sister said that she was told by her vet that having two cats will
keep a very lonely cat from becoming destructive (for revenge) when
they are left alone for long periods.

cc

Hi All;						August 4, 1985
						00:01
	
here's my $.02 worth.
	I never had a cat/kitten until I got married three
years ago. My wife had Norman which came with her apartment.
Then last year(1984) we decided to get a kitten(Pearl) after my wife's
parent's. Norman took a while to accept Pearl but now they are the
best of friends and pals. They chase each other around our small
apartment. i think I'd strongely suggest getting a small kitten
for your lone cat.
I've used up my $.02 worth.
 Tim

I always wanted to have a whole herd of horses.  A childhood dream of 
mine.

Well I have three cats.  Two of which live with me.  One lives with a friend
because of apartment restrictions.  Well, when my three live together, and
they decide to play "tag," "hide and pounce," "here comes MOM with a tray of
food - let's get her," and all of the wonderful other games they play with
me, it's like having that herd of horses.  When they gallop through the
house jumping and leaping the noise of the herd is there.  When they eat,
they eat like horses, etc., etc.  I love my boys and I would hate to think
of life without them.  Actually I'm only supposed to have one cat in my
apartment - please don't tell my landlady.  I'm moving soon anyway and will
be able to have them all again.

Gina

well, my 5 are certainly my biggest joy...1 15yr old (diabetic) female,
2 3yr redpoint (psuedo) siamese males, & 2 1yr old gorgeous sealpoint
siamese males...the 4 boys wrestle hard, snuggle/lick eachother with an
incredible fervor, and play all kinds of games...Miss Meagan, however,
does not indulge!  once in awhile, she'll let Rudi snuggle up to her...
he purrs & chirps then, more than ever...

 We have three orange ('morris') cats at home. Two are litter mates and just
 like ideal brother and sister.  The third cat is many years older and 
 has always hated the idea of other cats sharing her home (she'll play with
 them outside, though).  We first tried introducing one cat ('Ginger') but
 the cat-hating cat ('Cinnamon') literally drove Ginger into seeking a home
 elsewhere.  Our strategy in introducing two was that Cinnamon would always
 be outnumbered.  The strategy worked, and now, after almost a year, Cinnamon
 is beginning to barely tolerate the younger pair.
 
 The message I would read from all this is that cats, like people, are
 individuals.  You can't always predict from other people's experiences what
 your pet(s) will do.  Part of the fun of having cats is the variations.

 Neil (who also has four kids - talk about variations!)

    I think that reading this notes file will help you decide whether or
    not to get another cat.  You were right when you said that it isn't
    easy to introduce an older cat to a new kitten.  We had Morgan for over
    a year when we decided that since we were gone a lot of the time that
    she would be happier with another cat to keep her company.  That's when
    we got Lexi.  Lexi was about 6 weeks old and morgan definatly did not
    take to her very well at first.  It took a little over a week for
    Morgan to get used to Lexi but after she did they became best friends. 
    They love to play together and it does give you the impression that
    they keep eachother from getting lonely, but when we are home on
    the weekend, they *both* end up sleeping most of the day anyway.  So
    I've come to the conclusion that Morgan would have been happy with or
    without Lexi hut I'm sure glad we did get Lex because for me 2 is twice
    as nice!  Believe me, I'd have more if I could afford to keep them
    healthy!  Vet expenses for a new kitten are not small and when you have
    tow or more kittys it gets salty.  Just something to keep in mind. 
    Good luck!
    
    Joelle