For multiple cat owners

[DisneyDog]

Hi all. We just adopted a 10 month old kitten. We have a 2 year old cat. Both are male and neutered. We got the kitten from the S.P.C.A. I just spoke to the vet and she said we are doing everything incorrectly. She said we should have kept the cats seperate for several weeks, only letting them sense each other from smelling, and perhaps seeing a paw under the door. (Of course we introduced them right away). And she said that for 2 cats we should have at least 3 litter boxes. We currently only have the one.

For all of you with more than one cat, how did you socialize your new ones, and how many litter boxes do you have?

[Tick-Tock]

Your vet is giving you the same info that we gave people when I was an adoption counselor for a rescue group.

One of the reasons not to allow a new cat the run of the place immediately is that they may be scared. It's better to let them get used to one room, then broaden the horizons. Plus your current cat gets used to the idea of another animal in the house rather than having it right in his face right away. Plus, it minimizes fights when you're not in the house.

Since you've already introduced them, it may not be necessary to backtrack. Is the older cat overly unhappy? Does the new cat seem scared? Are they fighting a lot? If so, you may want to give the new cat his own room for at least a couple of days and start over.

In my personal situation, I tried keeping the cats separate, but it was too difficult. I was only able to keep it up for a few days.

We have about 8 litter boxes for three cats (but we've had litter box problems). Conventional wisdom is at least one box per cat, plus an extra one. Believe me, it's worth it -- you do NOT want to start having litter box problems (for example, one using it, then the other not wanting to go in it and finding another more preferred place). Once they start going outside the box, it can be hard to get them back to the box!

[DisneyDog]

DH is actually buying a second litter box right now as I type. We are going to confine the kitten to a room for a few days. The cat isn't getting physical with him, but he is hissing at him. I guess the kitten is taunting him a bit.

The kitten doesn't seem scared at all. In fact, you would think he was born in our house. He made himself right at home, and he and my son became fast friends.

He does have a cold. The S.P.C.A. sent him home with medicine, but never told us that our cat could get an infection from him. They did a terrible job of informing us what to do with this adoption. Hopefully the cat won't get sick.

Can dogs catch a cold from a cat?? We also have a 12 year old dog.

[kakn7294]

When we brought 8 yo Gypsy (neutered male) home to live with 6 yo Missy (spayed female), we didn't keep them separated either but Gypsy decided to hide in DD's bedroom for a week anyway. He had his own food and water bowls and litter box and they gradually introduced themselves. We had a few spitting and hissing matches and occasionally still do, but basically, they have gotten along pretty well from the beginning. They now share a food and water bowl but we do have 3 litter boxes for 2 cats. Our biggest problem now is that after 8 years, Gypsy still hates the dog and they can't be in the same room together. Good luck to you and don't worry - you didn't do any permanent damage by introducing them right away even if it is recommended to keep them separated at first.

[JessicaRabbit]

and had two of them for about 10 years when we adopted a 5 yr old cat from a local shelter. We were told to separate them too, but it proved too difficult and after only a few hours our new cat started exploring the house. Basically, our two "old" cats didn't really like the new addition (one still hisses at him every time he walks by her) but they kept their distance and the new cat wasn't scared or intimidated by his new surroundings (he was one of about 40 cats removed from someone's house so he was used to being around other animals).

As for the litter box - we have 3 litter boxes (one for each). We kept 2 when we first adopted #3, but it became obvious that we needed another one when there started to be "accidents" outside of the box. It is a pain to have to clean 3 of them - but it eliminated the accident factor.

Good luck with your new kitten - I'm sure things will smooth out in no time!

[mrsgaribaldi]

I have 3 cats, Al and Charlie are brothers. Samantha was here first and is about 3 years older than the boys. I tried to keep them apart but I have a one room apartment so it was hard. Maybe they were apart for a day. I remember the boys sleeping in the bed right away. I kept them in the bathroom at first but that night they ventured out of the bathroom and made the place home. Samantha licks them and they love it.
I only have one cat box. I know it's suggested to have more but I have no place for any more. I clean it at least once a day, sometimes twice, and I have no problems outside of the box.
DH has 3 cats and he has 3 boxes and issues outside the boxes. :blush:
Good luck. I'm sure they will get along eventually:pixie::pixie::pixie:

[IloveDisney71]

We have two cats. Both were adopted from our local shelter. We got the first one when she was about a year old and had her for about 6 months before we decided to adopt another cat (also about a year old). We introduced them to each other right away (we were not told we shouldn't). They did a lot of smelling of each other but got along immediately. Within days they were sleeping next to each other and playing together. We only have one litter box and it is not a problem. We clean it daily. I guess we got lucky that they get along so well and can share a litter box.

[RenDuran]

"You're doing it wrong!" That reminds me of Mr. Mom when he was taking the kids to school the wrong way!

Anyway, I personally think it depends on the particular cats. We've had cats over the years and only once ever kept one separate from the rest....he was a little numskull that still causes problems seven years later! :cat:

Upper respiratory infections won't pass along to the dog. Once your kitten has been on medication for a few days he should be fine around your adult cat. And your other cat might not catch it anyway, if he hasn't already.

I belong to the one-litter-box club. We've had up to three cats use it at once. Since cats like a clean box I would scoop it once in the morning and once at night. We never had issues with that.

Have fun with your new cat. I hope him and your older cat enjoy each other's company!

[brownie]

A gradual introduction works best, but we've never taken weeks. Putting the new cat under a basket works well. Of course, if they're already getting along, then you should be okay.

They say you should have one more litter box than you have cats, with at least one on every level of your home. We've had as many as 3 cats, but we only had 3 litter boxes. We currently have 2 cats, with 2 litter boxes. As long as we keep them clean, it works out.

[DisneyDog]

The kitten slept in DS's room last night, which made them both happy. The cat had his normal run of the house, and he seems much happier. Today the cat in confined to our bedroom, with everything he needs to be happy in there. We'll give the cat a few days to get used to the kitten's smell (and the other way around). We will do supervised visits for a few days after that. The kitten is definitely taunting the cat when he's around him. So, they need a few days to calm down.

Thanks for the info everyone! I appreciate it!