2 kittens - both males or one male/one female

Question
QUESTION: Subject: 2 male kittens or one male/one female?

Question
Good afternoon Norman,
I have purchased a male exotic kitten and also a Ragdoll kitten.  I cannot decide whether to get the male or female Ragdoll kitten.  I have searched the net and all the answers vary.  What would you recommend?   
I am hesitant with 2 males about the spraying part, however, I am leaning toward both males as my past experience with cats has always been the male is sweeter than the female, and is more dependent which I love.  The Ragdoll male kitten will be neutered as he is 4 months.  The second male Exotic will be 3 months when I get him, is that too early to neuter.  Will it make a difference if I bring them home 3 weeks apart? How should I introduce them?
Thank you for your help - maybe you can give me some insight into how the 2 breeds will get along.  Yes, I know, I know, I turned one question into about 4.


ANSWER: Auburnla,

Once cats are neutered or spayed, it really does not matter if they are male or female.  Yes, in general, males tend to be sweeter than females, but these are gross generalities.  Like people, every cat has its own personality, so the Ragdoll breeder could tell you about the personalities of each of the kittens you are interested in.

Neutering can be done as early as 12 weeks, if the kitten is at least 4 pounds.  Not all vets will do the operation this young.  Most will do a neuter at 4 months.  At this point, it makes little difference as the first kitten will already have been neutered.  You can check out:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/Early_Age_Altering_Web.pdf


I would be a bit cautious in introducing them.  Here is a technique we recommend which has had good success for easy adjustment of a new kitten in a household with established pets.  Before I get into that, I would start your new Ragdoll kitten in one room with a litter pan and water dish. Ideally, the one room should be a bedroom with yourself or another human resident. This accomplishes a couple of things. Your Ragdoll kitten will not be overwhelmed by its new surroundings and get "lost", and thusly will have no problem finding the litter pan (often kittens have been confined and are somewhat daunted by wide open spaces!). You will feed the Ragdoll kitten in this room. It will allow the Ragdoll kitten to bond with you or another human being and also build up some self assurance in its new surroundings. After a few days, you can let the kitten roam more, as long as it remembers where the litter pan is.

Anyway, here is how we introduce a new kitten (your Exotic, in this case) to a household with an already established pet (the Ragdoll).

Start out your Exotic kitten in one room with a litter pan and water dish (just like you did with the Ragdoll and for most of the same reasons). You will feed the Exotic kitten in this room and keep the Ragdoll kitten out. As with the Ragdoll, it allows the Exotic kitten to bond with you or another human being and also build up some self assurance in its new surroundings since it will not have to compete for food or attention with the Ragdoll kitten right away. Finally, it allows the Exotic kitten and the Ragdoll kitten to sniff each other under the door and get familiar with each others' scents.

After 3-5 days of being in its one room, it is time to let them meet each other. Be prepared for some posturing, some spitting and hissing, and the like. IGNORE IT! After a while, they should begin chasing each other about and still have the occasional hiss or spit as they get accustomed to
each other. Cats tend to make a whole lot of noise and even loosen up some fur. Rarely will two cats hurt each other.

Once they are introduced, there are a couple of things you must remember. Do not separate them again, they will get along! Do not interfere in their "discussions" as they need to sort it out amongst themselves!

It will not hurt to give the established kitten (the Ragdoll) treats and extra attention after the Exotic kitten is introduced (yes, cats do get jealous!).

A couple of things you may have to do are to feed them on separate dishes. Provide more than one litter pan in different areas of the household (as cats can be very territorial about litter pans). However, in your case, I would not think you will really have to do this.

All, in all, this method seems to have had great success in the past and makes for a fairly smooth introduction. Please remember that they may make up immediately, or it may take a few weeks.

Best regards... Norm.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Norm,
2 follow-up questions:
As I wrote in my rating - excellent - I appreciate your advice.  After I keep the Ragdoll in my room for a week, can I move his food and litterbox to the laundry room before the Exotic comes to live with us? Will he get confused?  Our home is small and one story.  I don't want a litterbox in my room going forward.  Should I then put another litterbox in my room and keep the Exotic there when he arrives, eventually taking the litterbox away so he can share it with the Ragdoll in the laundry room?

As I want to show the Ragdoll (his King is currently the World Ragdoll champion) in local cat shows - mainly the Santa Monica Cat Show in August 2008, do you know of a mentor near or abouts Santa Monica that could help me with his showing?  Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving
auburnla

Answer
Auburnla,

Yes, you can move the litter pan and food into your laundry room.  Make sure you show the kitten where it is and that the kitten begins to use it. And, yes, once the Ragdoll and Exotic are on "speaking" terms, they should be able to share the litter pan in the laundry room.

As to a mentor for your showing, both the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA) have mentor programs.  You should be able to get on e-mail lists for these programs depending in which association you plan to do the most showing.  You can check with

http://groups.yahoo.com/

to see what is out there.  I can help you with CFA, but I am not very familiar with TICA.  The person from whom you are getting your Ragdoll and the person from whom you are getting your Exotic should be duty bound to give you some help in finding a good mentor in your area.

Best regards... Norm.