Playing Together

I don't know why I ever had to think about getting a second kitty...seeing Noah and Noel frolic around together is the greatest!!

This morning, they were playing in a paper shopping bag together, pouncing and playing, having a fun time! I am so glad we got Noah a friend!

Anyone have any stories to share about a 2 or more cat household?

Noah's Mom,
Yeah, this is my first time having two cats and I've got to say, it's really cool. They run around chasing each other, and it's the cutest thing. The downside is that they sometimes fight and hiss at each other and it upsets me, but they don't seem to be really hurting one another. Oh, they also keep me up at night with their running around! :rolleyes:
I think more than one cat is the way to go, though. :)

The following is a little poem that I wrote after we brought Andy into our home and our lives. It pretty much sums up how I feel about my "two kitty household." I wouldn't change a thing! Anyone out there who is hesitating to add a cat, go do it! It's wonderful for your cat and wonderful for you!

This was written about 4 years ago and it mentions my sweetie Ashley, a silver miniature poodle, who has since gone to the Rainbow Bridge. :(

Ode to Andy

I really didn’t want to get another pet
It would mean more food, another litter box, more trips to the vet

But Mom called one day and said, “Please come down to the shore,
There’s a sweet little kitten here, and you can always love one more”

I worried and I worried if that was really true
Trevor was my first cat, and we had bonded just like glue

I didn’t think I had it in me to love another cat
But my daughter really wanted to go, so I guess that was that

Andy was adorable—just a little ball of white
I knew I had to have him. It was love at first sight

He only weighed one pound, and his meow could hardly be heard
That I could feel this way about him, seemed to me to be absurd

His meeting with "Uncle Trevor" was scary at the start
Trevor hissed and made some sounds that almost stopped my heart

But gradually over time they have become pals of a kind
They even groom each other, which really blows my mind

Andy splashes and plays in his water bowl and loves getting wet
He watches the Discovery Channel and touches the TV set

I almost forgot to mention Ashley, another resident here
She’s a friendly little poodle, and she’s been with us 13 years

I’m sure when she first saw Andy, she thought, “Oh my, what has she done?”
“Get me a dog companion, so I can have some fun”

“Why another feline? Trevor is not my cup of tea”
“What did I do to deserve this? How can you do this to me?”

But Ashley enjoys little Andy—he causes her no distress
The occasionally sniff each other, and Andy gives her a little caress

Andy has entered our home and our hearts with his sweet and gentle touch
I am so thankful I took a chance on him because I love him so very much

[ January 08, 2002: Message edited by: Pam ]

Noah's Mommy,
I agree that having 2 cats is a good decision. It was a little harder for me at the time because Stump was not a young cat (he was 10 at the time), but I really had been feeling badly that he was home alone all day while I was at work. The opportunity came in the form of Emmett, who was about 5 months old then. It was definitely not love at first sight as far as Stump was concerned, but in the three years since then, Emmett has calmed down a little and Stump is more tolerant. They've never ever hurt each other although there is often a lot of hissing and screeching on Stump's part when Emmett wants to play and he doesn't. They do play together occasionally and it's so much fun to watch them -- Stump will hide behind a door and whack Emmett's feet when he walks by, or Emmett will hide under the bed covers and Stump will poke him or give him a little play bite. They also groom each other, although that often degenerates into wrestling. All in all, it's great having them both -- they've become my family and it's very special.

We currently have 4 cats.

We had 2 at first (Jackson [male], Rosie [female]), then got 1 kitten (Twidgit). The other cats were a bit older, so they kind of kept their distance from her.

We then got another kitten (Ashton), and he and Twidgit play together. Their playing seems to have rubbed off on the older cats, who play much more now.

I have seen Jackson preening the kittens at times.

Although I have more than 2 cats in the house, most of the entertaining playing is done by the younger ones: Snow Tiger, and Jumper play togther most of the time- as their temperments, ages, and size are similar. Fawn and Orphan usually chase and wrestle each other around the house. In this case the mutual kitten attraction is size, both being relatively small cats. I would not return to a one-cat home, not after having so much company, entertainment, companionship, and diversity of feline personalities. And besides, if you can take care of one then caring for 2 or 3 is not out of the question. However, I suggest that if you add to your furkids, that you get kittens, instead of mature cats. When I first brought Snow Tiger home, he hissed and fought agaist the other cats, even at some of the females who took to washing him. It took about 5 to 7 days for him to get accustomed to the others. Now, he is one of the bunch and they ALL get along with him.

Pam, that is a neat poem, and so true to life with felines.

.............wayne

[ January 08, 2002: Message edited by: wayne0214 ]

My 2 cats don't play together, but NoahsMommy's cat playing in a paper bag reminded me of this picture of my Rainbow Bridge cat sleeping on a paper bag that I just have to show... She spend many blissfull hours on it when my husband brought it home with many American goodies after a business trip to the USA:

http://community.webshots.com/storag...RSSFdaI_ph.jpg

I am about to bring a new companion to my own Siro. I share a flat with two more girls, and one of them has completely fallen in love with cats so she's been considering adopting a cat for her own sake for some months and now she's made her mind up! Of course, I am really delighted with the idea, for I'd love to have again a kitten around and I think it would be nice for Siro to have someone to play with as I can't be with him the whole day (sigh), but I didn't dare to bring the subject up!!SO.. any advice for the first days, what should I do to make them get on well with each other?? By the way, Siro is male (and 8 months old) and my friend wants a female cat, no problem I guess?

I would keep them separated for about a week or so at first. That is what we did when we bought Dutchess who was 5 years old into our family. When we were at home we would slowly bring them out to meet each other. Needless to say there was some hissing and growling from Dutchess, but Yum Yum adapted very well and loves to play with her now..They are the best of friends.
Hope things work out Nita!

Nita, first of all, welcome to Pet Talk. And being from Spain, perhaps you are the first Spanish member?

I think whenever a person brings in a new kitten, with another cat already in the house, there is always the possibiltiy of incompatibility between the two cats. But if they are kittens then they can more easily learn to be with each other, play and live together without much disagreements. It is the older cats that may have trouble adjusting to a newcomer. So, generally I'd say get another kitten, and I don't believe you will regret it. If problems occur you may have to keep them separate for a while. Yet, when I brought Snow Tiger home, I turned him loose with the other kittens, and he adjusted in about 7 days with no other behavioral problems. The most significant problem I had with him was his constant hissing and threats against those who wanted to eat from the same bowl. This is probably due to those who had him before I took him in, did not feed him much, if anything at all! Remembering the first thing he did was to eat up half a bowl of dry cat food after I first let him out of the carrier box. Hungry kittie! He was probably afraid of not having enough to eat and therefore hissed at the others at their special feeding time.

........wayne

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: wayne0214 ]

Thank you for your suggestions, I didn't think of keeping them separated for the first days but it makes sense! I believe the problem will arise from the fact that Siro is used to ALWAYS being the centre of attention... I wish that was the only reason for a cat's suffering... how dreadful Snow Tiger must have felt, being starved that way! I'm glad he found a happy home :D

By the way, I don't know if I should take the credit for being the first Spanish member, as I am half English... well half the credit then ;)!Anyway, it's funny to see what time my posts get to Pet Talk... it's tea-time here!

Nita

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: Nita ]

Hi Nita, I'm with Wayne on this one. I brought my now 10 month old kitten home much to the disgust of Felix, my fiance's 5 year old (both females). After much hissing we put Tasha in the bathroom and NB!! kept giving Felix more attention than Tasha. We found that letting her know she was still top cat helped a LOT and now she mothers her and they play beautifully.

Good luck, I'm sure everything will go OK. :)

Nita,

Welcome to Pettalk! When we got Noel, Noah was 7 months old and Noel was 4 months old. Noel really hissed at him, so we had her in our bedroom for 4 days, allowing them to see eachother in the door way while we supervised. We made sure to give Noah EXTRA love so he knew he was loved. He was really mad at me at first and ignored me for about a week. Now, he's back to his old sweet ways and loves playing with Noel.

We would love to hear how it all works out with the new kitty, will you keep us updated?

Pam,
I love your Ode to Andy. It put a tear in my eye. :)

Pam,

How could I forget to tell you how much I enjoyed your poem....it was very sweet, does Andy know you wrote it? :)

LOVE the picture of the kitty in the bag!!! They are SOOOO cute!

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: NoahsMommy ]

My Cats never play together. After 8 Years they basically just ignore each other and want to play with me instead. Problem is, if I play with one, the others get jealous and pout. Turning they're Backs to me and angrily swooshing they're Tail around. :rolleyes:

Pam, I love you're Poem. :)

Dear Auggie,

Hee, hee. I've seen that, too. In my fur-kids it's more like 'tag team' playing. One chases after the feathers on a stick and the other 'ignores' it -- as soon as the first one chasing's attention strays though, the 'ignorer' jumps right in. If it's too quick an impromptu wrestling match occurs ... For all their yells and growls though, they subside quickly into sharing nap spots and mutual grooming.

Auggie, do your kids not interact at all, or just not play together when you 'join in'?

P.S. GREAT poem, Pam, sorry I haven't acknowledged it yet. :eek:

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: AmberLee ]

Amberlee, They never interact at all. It's sometimes very frustrating to me, when I know that they're bored. They never sleep close to each other either. Each one has a totally different personality.
Schatzie is a Loner and somewhat skittish.
Phoenix is cranky and moody. He doesn't like to be touched and whines when you pet him. The only Time he is nice is when he wants something.
Auggie is a perfect little Angel, so sweet. The other two used to beat her up, but she stud her Ground.

auggie, since Auggie is the most affable of the three, perhaps getting a 4th kitty, about the same age as Auggie, maybe this will help balance the "political cat-suation". :)

.......wayne

yea yea!! Get more kitties!!!!

:) :D ;) :) :D ;)

Hello everybody!Well, ournew kitten has just arrived!!! She´s been called Rush (my friend´s favourite perfume!) which suits her fine, as she´s rather wild! I hope everything goes right with her, for she´s ONLY 2 weeks old!! I think it´s shocking they could set her apart from her mother so soon, but I´m afraid things go that way over here, I mean, unfortunately, it´s not strange to see such little things in pet-shops here... Humane Societies here want to ban exhibitions of animals in shops, which I think is very sensible... well, the point is that it was so sad to see her alone and sooo small in that cage, we just entered and picked her up! Anyway, she is very lively and sweet, and she´s just learnt how to climb the bed in an hour!! She seems really smart. We´ve already introduced Siro and Rush, and though Siro didn´t look quite happy, nothing happened, so when Siro began to feel distressed (started hissing!) we just retired Rush to my friend´s room, where she´s now exploring and playing around, and of course purring the moment any of us touches her! We have special milk for kittens that she drinks straight away from her bowl (well, and of course from our fingers..) We have also provided her with a little litter box with some sand mixed with some from Siro´s box... Well, now, what do you think about? Are we doing right?? Thanx a lot for your support!!

Nita

[ January 11, 2002: Message edited by: Nita ]

Nita,

What kind of kitten is she?? Sounds like you are doing right to me.

Hello, and thanks for your reply! She a mix, her mother is a persian (at least we were told that!) and the father is unknown ;) She's got quite long hair, so it makes sense. She's very lively, and that's a blessing, for being so young I thought she could become weak, ill or something.. but she's eating a lot and playing with everything that comes across her way! She's also very sweet, no wonder as she spent four whole days in a cage, after parting with her mother, and now asks for loads of affection. I wish I could post some photos, but I haven't a camera yet (but coming soon!)... By the way, she's been recalled (my friend's mom didn't like Rush, as it's difficult to pronounce in Spanish!) She's definitely named Greta (and I found it a lovely name for a she-cat!!). The thing that worries me now is to make Siro and Greta good friends. She's kept in my friend's room (she's still too small to wander about the house!) and we let Siro enter the room while Greta is in my friend's arms, so he can get used to her smell. Last time we did this, Siro didn't seem so nervous, but previous times he really was, as he wouldn't let me touch him (by hissing at me, what quite startled me!He's never done that before) But when he sees her he frightens, or at least I think so... he never acts like attacking, but it's the first time I'm trying to introduce two cats and I guess I'm not an expert... Of course, we haven't let them "loose" yet. When should we start doing this?? Is there any sign we should look for to know when is the right moment?? Please help... Thank you very much again

Nita

Nita,

Probably your cat smells the kitten on you so that is why he is hissing at you, but it sounds like you are doing good introducing them to each other like that. It took almost two weeks before my two cats would get along, and sometimes now Dutchess hisses at Yum Yum. Cats will be Cats. :)

Hi Nita!

Congrats on the new kitten! Greta sounds so cute and well-loved! :)

It takes time for the older cat to get used to the new one. My 8 month old cat (Noah) took about 2 weeks to truely get used to the new kitten (Noel). They are really territorial and feel their home and themselves are being violated. They have the urge to protect what is there's. Noah even was mad at me for those 2 or 3 weeks, how dare I bring home another cat!!! :)

I look forward to hearing more about little Greta. Where does she sleep, how often do you have to feed her? What color is she? Does she meow a lot?

Hi! I've just logged in & saw the changes... including my user name, which is now "sirocco" again (I regret now I didn't spell it with the first letter in capitals...) Anyway, this is Siro's Mom (Siro stands for Sirocco, of course ;)...) and now introducing Greta: she a most beautiful, wild-looking kitten. She's a tabby in light and dark grey, her little belly in white with dark spots. She looks like a little grey tiger. Her nose and pads are dark too (not pink as my Siro's), and I promise photos are coming soon. By the way, Siro looks quite like Noah, but not so fluffy :)

Greta sleeps literally with my friend, at her feet and under the cover! She tells me Greta bites her toes smoothly when she awakes in the middle of the night. When she told me about that I thought it was dangerous for the little kitten, but nothing bad has happened and Greta really enjoys making her way under the sheets... She's fed every four hours, except by night, as she sleeps right through. She doesn't meow very much (only when she feels alone in the room cries a little), and she makes a little squeak sound when she looks for her food or her litter box (did I mention she uses it without problem?). I'm happy to think she'll grow strong to be loved by everyone who knows her!

Nita

Siro, you might consider getting some pictures of the new kitty, before she gets older, as she will be a kitten only once in her existence. When I had little kittens in the house, they would not consistantly use their litter box until they were at least 3 weeks old or older. I believe that a young kitten should be with its mama until they are about 8 weeks old. But if Greta is much younger I suppose it is OK , but as long as there is someone present to take care of her until she is at least 5 weeks old.

When I got Snow Tiger he was (and I'm guessing) about 2 -1/2 months old, probably he was born in August last year -just old enough to be on his own, as I received him on Oct. 26th. He was old enough, however, to fight for his feeding bowl, and usually keep the others at bay in the process! This is probably due to the predominance of Siamese in him. In fact he looks and acts more Siamese than Snow Cat, especially now that he is beginning to mature.

Any way, excuse my rambling about my favorite furkids. Congratulations on getting a new kitty, and it is good that you girls are taking such good care of her at this extra-young age.


..............wayne

Yea, pictures! We would love to see them here too!! Kittens are too precious!

Well, you asked for some pictures of Greta so here you are (but don't forget about Sirocco! ;) ):

Introducing Sirocco...

.. and Greta

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Nita