A little cat advice needed -

[MerryBlooms]

We have a 2 y/o male Manx. He'll be altered on October 3rd, and after his recovery, we'd like to adopt a kitten. He can be a bit of a bully and a definite mommy's boy. We're wondering what the best age/gender/breed would be best for him/us? The advice I've received so far is young/female/Ragdoll.

[Flaxbee]

1. Breed really isn't important so much as age and gender...

I urge you to consider a shelter pet, rather than a purebred.

Probably a young female would be the easiest to introduce. But - it doesn't have to be a kitten - could be a juvenile ("teenager"). Kittens always get adopted quickly, those that are a little older have a harder time of it - so consider a little furry female who's past kitten stage but still young.

[MerryBlooms]

2. Oh yes, she/he will definitely be from one of the local shelters

or rescues. I'm in a Chicago burb, so unfortunately, there are literally 1000's of animals in need of homes. Over the last few months, I've noticed fees being cut to $25 from $150 - it's getting pretty desperate here, as are many areas. :(

[mockmonkey]

3. My experience has been...

My female cats do not like the male cats. There are some exceptions.

With cats there are no guarantees, we have 13 of them. Our last kitten is a female and a bit of a roughneck so she likes to terrorize the boys.

I think a male will get along better with another male cat. I can't think of any of our male cats that don't get along with the other male cats.

Most of our cats were kittens when we caught them. We trapped them after their feral mother gave birth to them under our stairwell. They were pretty wild. It took about a year to catch the mother. She was too smart for traps. I eventually coaxed her into the apartment and shut the door. She seems to enjoy her indoor living and not having to live in the cold of winter.

Now the females, that's another story. We have two female cats, that are ok with at least one male cat. "StinkerButt", the most feral cat we have, just idolizes her big brother "Lucius". And "MamaKatt" has a really good relationship with "Captain". "Captain" was the last kitten of hers that we caught before we caught her. I don't think she has any idea that any of the other cats were her kittens.

A word of caution, you might want to wait 6 months, maybe less, after your cat has been neutered otherwise he might still be too aggressive toward a kitten. Check with a vet. Our males were neutered years ago so they have been extremely patient with the new kitten.

Our oldest cats, 4 females aged 7 to 16 years tolerate all the other cats. There is a lot of face slapping of the males if they get too close.


I don't have anything to say about breeds.

[MerryBlooms]

4. Our cat has never marked in the house or deck

(he's not allowed outside except the screened deck)

Do you think that is something I need to be concerned about with bringing in another male?

Waiting a little longer is probably a good idea and I will definitely consult with his vet.

Wow, thirteen cats, holy cow. This is my first and at times feel totally lost, thirteen boggles the mind.

[mockmonkey]

9. All of our males were neutered at 6 months

We've never had issues with them marking. They do shake their tails as if marking but nothing comes out. Being neutered should prevent a marking problem, hopefully.

We have 2 females that were spayed late in life. "MammaKatt" who was about 3 years old and "Candy" who was over a year old. "MammaKatt" has not been a problem but "Candy" continues to have marking issues.

"Candy" used to jump up on the kitchen table and mark. For some odd reason the toaster was the target. I can't tell you what a nightmare that was for us and the unsuspecting toasters we kept having to replace. We bought a product called "StayAway" which detects movement and you can either have it spray air or make a noise which scares the cat away.

If she finds clothes or paper bags or even a sponge mop she'll mark it. It happens about every three months and I don't know if she will ever not do this.

She preferred my clothes to mark, maybe I'm just more of a slob than my partner. I jokingly started calling her "Girlfriend" since she seemed to take a shine to me.

Luckily our place is big enough that we never see all the cats at once. I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't have a hairball to clean up.

As if the cats weren't enough work we have 2 hermit crabs, 2 turtles, fish and a parakeet.

[MerryBlooms]

11. I thought for sure the move from our house

in Oregon to a Chicago apartment would trigger it, but so far, so good.

That's quite the menagerie there. We've always had pets, just not all at once. lol Like I said, this is the first cat, mostly because of my allergies and the fact cats kinda creep me out. :P

[hifiguy]

12. That tracks with the experience of a close friend of mine

She has a mellow old (fixed) tom that became the favorite terror target of a young female cat she adopted after her second cat passed away.

[TuxedoKat]

5. I don't think you can go wrong with

either sex. With your current cat's personality maybe look for a cat/kitten that is not too aggressive but is more laid back, otherwise he/she might challenge the older cat for "alpha status".

Edited to add:

I've adopted kittens with older male cats. The first time it was an older, laid back, shy and timid male cat with a younger, more aggressive kitten. Worked fine, they were good buddies until the older one died. Second time was with the aggressive male being the older cat and bringing in a female kitten who was more shy and laid back. She defers to him as the alpha, as did the previous older male cat, even though she is much younger and probably stronger than he is.

[MerryBlooms]

7. I think a mellow personality would be best here

Our Manx is basically a love-bug, but sometimes tries to bully me. He'll give like a love nip and then the ears go back and 'wham', full attack mode and I'm scrambling for the squirt gun and bandaids.

[mockmonkey]

14. One thing about cats

You don't want to overstimulate them when petting them. Watch their tail, if it moves a lot he's agitated. They are more likely to attack at this point. A little petting goes a long way. Scratching around the head and neck are safer.

One of our cats likes to nip at chins. I prevent this by putting my hand in front of my chin so he can't. My insane partner has his own way of dealing with this, if the cat bites his chin my partner bites him back on the ear. :wtf:

[MerryBlooms]

15. No tail, he's a rumpy, but the attacks come

if I sit with my legs down or I'm in bed, it's always below the knees first. He gives me a warning - the nip or headbutt (this doesn't happen during petting or brushing). If at that point, I try to pet him or distract him, he'll jump on my arm, hang on and really tear into me. He does it a few times a month. I keep squirt bottles on the bed stand and end tables.

[TuxedoKat]

17. Sounds like

he has an alpha cat type personality. Probably any kitten you choose will let him be the alpha since he'll be bigger and stronger too, but looking for a cat/kitten with a more laid-lack personality might make it easier. In my experience it takes about two weeks for cats to adjust to each other then they become buddies. Good luck! Hope you find a great companion for your kitty. :)

[MerryBlooms]

18. Thanks. :) We just returned from the vet-

pre-op stuff for his big day. She recommended a young female so he doesn't feel challenged. We're very excited about adding to our little family. I'm feeling much more confident and relaxed about adding another cat. (thanks to DU and the vet) I think the biggest challenge for me now, will be not crying because I can't bring them all home with me. lol

[LynneSin]

6. Just keep the 2 isolated for about a week until they get use to each others scent

I was told the best way to introduce a 2nd cat into the family is by keeping that new cat sequestered for about a week until the old cat gets use to the smell.

Also, since your Manx is no longer a kitten have you thought of adoption an adult cat - like one that is 1-2 years old.

[MerryBlooms]

8. Oh good idea with the two weeks apart

We did that when we introduced our rescue bunny to our doxie. Just gradually let them spend more and more time together. That was pretty easy though, the doxie is 14 and didn't want anything to do with the bunny - it was the annoying little sister he wished he never had and just tried to pretend she didn't exist.

I'm open to 1-2 y/o. There was a 2 y/o female, silver tabby Maine Coon available a few weeks ago, but she wasn't altered and our Manx yet either, so the timing on that one was off.

[mockmonkey]

10. We always had issues at first with the new cats

Expect a lot of hissing and growling for about a week. Keep their nails trimmed (easier said than done) so they can't hurt each other if they take a whack at each other. They'll get over it eventually...or not. :)

[MerryBlooms]

13. The vet trims his nails free of charge, so no problem. n/t

[MerryBlooms]

16. I really appreciate all the info and advice - Much thanks. n/t