well said...and me too

Sorry for your loss.
 

When we lost our 12 year old cat Thelma a few months ago, we adopted Thomas
He's a nut.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1252784312.jpg

Very sorry to hear. We lost our 2 very first cats over the past few years and it's still difficult to deal with it. We adopted 2 new ones.

The other cat, Nightwitch, has been acting odd. Meowing a lot, threw up, and was sitting on the grave today. Those two cats came here together, from the shelter, and got along very well. We plan to get another cat in a month or so, but I am not sure if the remaining cat and a new cat will get along.

Our cat went through the same thing...personality changes after the other cat died. Our theory is she felt unsecure. After a year passed, she became more normal.

Getting another cat? I'd say only if YOU want one. The cat in residence is often upset if another cat moves in. On the other hand, it's a good deed to spring one from death row. Death row for the "crime" of having been born. :(

Bubba wasn't Happy when Boris first came along
it didn't help that Boris was a rude kitten, and wasn't about to take orders
Over time, they have gotten used to eachother, wouldn't call it "best friends"
But they are civil, most of the time...they do battle from time to time, but no thick tails when they do, it's not life or death, it's more like teaching the other one a lesson.. the young one tries, the older one settles the score (most of the time)...usually in the garden.. not inside the house.

Just don't throw em together in one room from the get go, leave the new kitten in a separate room for a week or so, they'll smell each other through the door.
It is best to take a kitten tough, older cats take longer to adjust to another older cat

very sorry for your family's loss.
when I was about 20 I and a friend were getting a ride from a kid when he swerved to hit a cat crossing the street . I was so pissed I started raining down punches from the back seat until the car came to a stop in the middle of the street after I beat his ass I got out and walked away.I bet he never pulled that shyte again.I could never drive away.
oh his girlfriend was in the passenger seat.

I feel your pain. When I was ~ 10 my dog was killed by a car in front of my eyes. The worst part - I was in a hurry and called her from across the road just as a car came over the hill. I had real problems getting over that. She had recently delivered 5 pups and we ended up keeping the youngest of her litter which turned out to be wonderful.

Sorry about the news of Hobbes.

RIP Hobbes.

Really sorry to hear this.

We will get a second cat. I like cats, and since they don't come at your call, having more than one is a good way to have a cat around most of the time.

This afternoon, I was laying on the couch watching the Monza race. Normally Hobbes would have jumped up on the couch for a little hanging out with the prone human, but he didn't and won't any more. So perhaps I can train another cat to be our resident TV-watcher.

For pest control, two are also better than one. Plus, as you say, there is an unfortunate cat out there who needs our good home.

How can you increase the chance that the incumbent and newcomer cats will get along?

Our local shelter has "meeting rooms" where you can bring your cat and see how it interacts with a possible adoptee cat - is this worthwhile? Our remaining cat, Nightwitch, is a medium-sized female, about 4 years old. She was usually the instigator, on the rare occasions when she and Hobbes tussled. Would it be best to get a cat of the same sex and age, or would a younger cat be better? Would a male be okay, seeing as they are all neutered anyway?

That's so sad. Sorry to hear this John.

To help them get along? Ask your Vet about a product called "fellaway"...I'm spelling phonetically here. It's a scent product...makes both cats smell the same to each other...somehow comforts them...or something.

That's very sad, I'm sorry. :(

We keep our cat indoors at all times just for this reason. We live near a busy intersection so it would only be a matter of time until something horrible would happen if he were to get out.

Sorry to hear that man. I'd be very upset if I lost my cat. Adopting a new kitten from a shelter might be a good way to heal the wounds, so to speak. And while I do like having indoor/outdoor cats, since the outdoors are kinda their natural environment, it is safer to keep them indoors. I'm not trying to reprimand you or anything, just a suggestion.

i don't think the meeting room is useful for cat's
They aren't naturally supposed to get along, so if you stuff em in a room to meet... it would only make sense to have em not get along.

The idea is to let them get used to each other without even knowing it..
newbie in a separate room... they will smell each other through the door.. and after a week, they'll know the sent of the other one.. which is one big hurdle taken.

the younger the better... the young one is still adaptable.. the old one... less.
But the young one won't care, and will find his place anyway...

it's possible they'll never be best friends.. but they will learn to live with eachother...

just throwing them in a room to see if it works only lessens the chance of them becoming friends.. not to mention the stress you put on the single cat you have and bring along..
cat's generally don't like travel, and you'de think they'de be on edge before even getting to the room, let alone to meet another unknown cat...
I'm surprised a shelter uses a meeting room for cats.. it just don't make sense one way or another

Sorry to hear about Hobbes. He looks just like my Elliott.

1 week after arrival

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1252955435.jpg

notice the claws are out

Great picture!

I searched and found the spray Paul mentioned, plus various procedures for acclimating old and new cats to each other. So I think we're okay to go that route.

Now I think we have to wait a while before getting another cat. Everyone is still too upset about Hobbes. The kids look through pictures of the cats on the humane society's website (yes, we have a high-tech humane society) and unfavorably compare each to Hobbes - well, don't want a new cat to face that attitude.

As for indoor or indoor/outdoor, we kept Hobbes and Nightwitch indoors for the first year or so. But they enjoy life so much more when they can go out, chase squirrels, eat grass, stalk bugs, prowl in the bushes, keep the garage and ivy rodent-free, lounge in the sun, visit the neighbors, etc. And this is actually the first cat we have ever lost to a car, in over 25 years of having indoor/outdoor cats. So I think we will try it again. If we have another loss, then we'll have to change.

Yes. I love cats, have four (two rescue barn cats and two rescue cats at the house).

The one I picked out of the hole in a tree when it was abandoned at eight weeks seems to be on the same page as me. The two barn cats we plucked from doom are as affectionate as any dog.

JYL, best to Hobbes memory.