Tell me about a second cat.

[Skip Intro]

I have one now, beautiful and coming around to being petted, but not picked up. A female. Spayed. She lived in a cage for most of her kitten life. I felt like I was saving her when I took her from that environment. She was, and still is, spastic, but much more receptive to me now. I can pet her. She crashes with me sometimes on the bed or the couch. Always in the same room at me, even if at a distance. When I wake up, she greets me and then looks to me to provide entertainment. I evidently suck at that. She wants to run. She wants to fight. She wants to discover. She's bored with me and my house.

Here's the thing. I brought in another kitty. Small and young. I thought he'd be a playmate. She didn't take to him so much. And in my financial condition at the moment, I wasn't able to see to his proper care, so he went to a no-kill facility and has already been adopted, I found out today. Whew. I didn't leave him stranded.

But the thing is, main kitty is still severely bored with me. She romps around the house bored out of her mind. Noting I do seems to satisfy her. She wants to run, and jump, and chase. I can't stand to see her want to expend all that energy and not have an outlet to jump into. What do I do?

The only answer seems to be a second cat. One that can satisfy her need to play. Thing is, that new cat will also co-opt her bed(s) and toys and chilling spots. That's what went wrong with the last one.

But I can't just let her run around by herself, desperately in need of some interaction, a void I can't fill, until she just wears herself out and comes to realize there's nothing more to her life than sitting around waiting to be fed. I don't want to kill that spirit.

What do I do?

[grasswire]

1. how about a mouse?

Just kidding.

How about an older and calm cat that has a history of getting along with other cats?

And you know it takes a LOT of time for cats to get used to each other sometimes. I had to keep two orange tabby boys separated for a whole year. Then the problem just resolved.

If you do get another cat and can afford it, there is a product called Feliway that calms territorial issues. It mimics a feline hormone that makes cats calm. I think it's about $25 for a plug-in, and you can get it at some pet stores and clinics.

I'm assuming that the cats you are taking in are neutered/spayed? That might make a difference, too.

[dmr]

2. I had a kitty like that once.

He'd go absolutely feral when he played. He played hard and rough. I can't tell you how many toys we went through.

The laser is good. Just don't shine in his eyes. My kitties like it, but now they're lazy & don't care so much. They just want their bellies rubbed, food and my pillow.

But with the laser you can make it 'travel' across the room, down a hallway, up a wall, and your kitty will try like hell to catch it. I always give my kitties' a little treat afterwards so they have a 'reward' for all their hard 'work'!
:rofl:
Reward yourself with a treat, too!

Also, I buy bunches of little mice from ebay. My goofballs love their mousies, we find them everywhere. The cable guy came by not long ago, & my son had to move the couch to give him access to the wall thingy. There were close to a dozen of those mice, & the guy actually jumped. OMG, I laughed so hard, I couldn't help it. My son had a hard time keeping a straight face as he tried to explain.
:rofl:
:hi:

[zen_bohemian]

3. Our youngest sounds like yours

she is 6 months old. She has never been one that demands our attention. She likes to be petted when we get up in the morning, then she is off to play. She has 2 other cats in the house, and sometimes plays with them, but usually she entertains herself. She does not want to be picked up, I don't know why, she has never been treated badly, just grabs for the air and meows loudly when we pick her up. We can pet her for a minute or so, then like a busy toddler, she wants down again.

One toy that really keeps her busy and her favorites are those balls that are made of that metallic paper, they make crinkly sounds, she bats them around like a soccer ball ha. We have Feliway, I guess it works ok for all 3 of them. Try that too. The kitten was recently spayed, and that seemed to calm her down a little, but it kind of shocks me about her not wanting to be picked up, I guess it's just her personality, hopefully she will get over that someday, I love to hug my babies :)

[Bertha Venation]

4. + 1 on dmr's suggestion, the laser

But don't buy the ones at the pet store. Get an inexpensive one (and they can get really expensive) at an office supply store or web site.

Who's to say the cat is bored? Ours romp -- we call it ripping, they rip! -- all the time. I think it's just something that cats do.

Have you tried a string toy? A string, perhaps with feathers, attached to a "fishing pole" is grand fun. They also make just sticks with a bouquet of feathers sticking out one end. Cats go nuts over feathers.

YOu may already have exhausted all the toy opportunities, I realize that.

You seem to be a bit like me. I anthropomorphize my cats, despite my best efforts not to. The truth is, cats have brains the size of walnuts and sleep about 16 hours per day. It's good that kitty comes to rest with you on bed or sofa; it's good that kitty is always in the same room with you. That tells me that she knows you are her person, and she likes being near you. This is very good.

Take the good and try to stop agonizing. :hug:

[charlie and algernon]

5. sounds like you just have an independent cat

my cat plays by herself and only tolerates limited petting and being picked up. There were times when I thought she was bored out of her mind as well.

A couple months ago, I moved into a new house with a roommate who has a cat too. This was the first time since I've had her, that my cat has been with another cat.

Guess what, Esther continues to play by herself, ignoring the new cat. My cat just likes to do her own thing and prefers to spend her time by herself in my room. She's just a very independent cat.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I made this same mistake (?) once.

Well, whose to say it was a mistake, but I thought that my only cat was bored and lonely and needed a companion. I love to see those pictures of kitties laying with each other, playing together. Well, I adopted a second cat, and they never did enjoy each other's company. For 16 years they lived together, and looked with distain at each other. After kittenhood, they resented that I didn't have room for both on my lap (didn't want lap time before that).

And then there is one of the newer outdoor neighbor cat, with several other outdoor cats to play with, and he is always just playing alone, being a silly kitty. Don't try to put human social emotions on your cat. Get a second cat only if that is what YOU want.