Adopting an older cat

@Riptide (2758)
United States
March 28, 2007 11:11pm CST
I have a cat that is 3 and a half years old. He is a neutered male,his name is Samson. He is the king of the hill and master of his sourroundings. I recently lost a cat that was young and he was his buddy and he seems to be griefing. Before I lost the younger cat, I made a commitment to adopt an older cat, an older female,anmes Mystic,spayed and about 10-12 years old. I am now wondering how he will react to that, especially after the loss of his little buddy. Am I setting myself up for disaster? I am the only chance for a home Mystic has, otherwise she would have to go to a shelter and I know how hard older cats are to give up for adoption. I don't want her to end up in a shelter, but I don't want to traumatize Samson either. Is there a foolproof way to make the transistion of Mystic from her old home to our home easy for both cats?
3 people like this
4 responses
@AskAlly (3625)
• Canada
3 Apr 07
In my experience, its harder to introduce cats to eachother than dogs. I have left the new cat crated and let the other cats get used to the newbie over time. I let the new cat have the run of the house alone to figure things out. Then I let them come together and see what happens next. It sort of works. I hope someone else has better advise to give.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Mar 07
It really wouldn't matter whether you brought in an older cat or younger...you're going to have to expect an adjustment period for both cats...yes, perhaps hissing, spitting a bit,...maybe downright fights cause each will want to establish their territory especially Samson...it usually takes a week or two for two strange pets to get used to one another...just have patience.
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
29 Mar 07
I hope someone here can help you here, I have only ever had one cat at a time, they seem to find me when I am in need, I have seen friends bringing in a second cat and they seemed to have worked out ok...I hope it works out for you.
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I think it might be good for him. He will have someone new to meet and occupy himself with. Because she is older she will probably just let him get to know her and not want to pounce on him and play like a kitten would. I think that would be more of a problem. I adopted a 5 year old munchkin cat for my chihuahua for a companion. The other cats in the house didn't appreciate it..they are my moms cats. I just put a seperate litter box and his own space in the living room where I am most of the time..his bed is on the right side of my desk..lol Anyway it took a while for him to feel comfortable. He's been here over 7 mos and still doesn't go into the other side of the house...hehe but he has half a house and two of the other cats come in and see him daily..only one is nice to him. They made friends the first week, the other is the queen biatch and doesn't like anyone.. Then there is blindie, he stays on the other side of the house just because the chihuahua's are over here and he's blind.