A New Kitten

Question
QUESTION: My cat Gus just died about a month ago. His sister Sally is the same age and has the same disease. She is mostly blind and very lonely. One of my other cats, Sam, is very mean to her and whacks her a lot. My other cat Casey also misses him very much and howls every morning in despair. Her brother, Hummer, and Sam go out every morning and Sally isn't really Casey's friend. My question is this: Should I get another kitten to keep Casey and Sally company? Gus was also top cat and for now I have been keeping order. All of my cats are mostly friendly to each other and they are very outgoing, but Casey still gets lonely. I also would get the kitten to keep ME company too!!

ANSWER: Fiona,

This is normal for cats.  When a member of the group dies, everyone has to go through a period of readjusting all the pecking orders.  This is what is transpiring.  However, after a month, things should have come to some kind of stability in the new relationships.

Also, cats do mourn, but this should pretty much be done since a month has gone by.

One cannot predict what will happen if you bring in a new kitten.  Certainly the dynamics of the relationships will change, but whether the kitten will become friends with Sally is anyone's guess.  If you want to get the kitten for yourself and introduce the kitten properly to the group, that may turn out OK.

Although, I know you are an old hand at introducing new cats or kittens into your community, here is a method we use for introducing a new kitten to a household with already established pets:

Start out your new 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 new kitten will not be overwhelmed by its new surroundings and get "lost", and thusly will have no problem finding the litter pan (often kittens or rescue cats have been confined and are somewhat daunted by wide open spaces!). You will feed the new kitten in this room and keep the established cats out. It allows the new 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 right away. Finally, it allows the new kitten and the established cats 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 does not hurt to give the established cats treats and extra attention after the new 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).

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: Thanks for the good advice. It has been a month since Gus died, and Casey is
the saddest. She howls less, but licks her fur off of her belly, which the vet
says is a sign of mourning. I have that method for introducing kittens to
introduce Sam and Hummer and Casey. I will try to  possibly find another
kitten somewhere soon. Should I give Sally and Casey extra attention? I still
am a little sad about this, but Casey seems to be a better friend of mine now.

Answer
Fiona,

I would wait a little and see how things shake out.  If Casey is now warming up to you, you may want to rethink the new kitten.  A new addition may go as you expect, but, on the other hand it may go horribly awry!!!!!

So, by all means give them extra attention and see if the arrangement without Gus turns out to be OK.

Best regards... Norm.