Expert: Dear Tabbi - 9/19/2008

Question
We have a 13 year old Maine Coon (Mustafa) who thinks that he's the king of the neighborhood.  He's pretty territorial and pretty much doesn't get along with any other animals.  He'll chase other cats and even much larger dogs out of the yard.  When he was younger, he used to get in fights, but not so much now, either because he's old or because the neighborhood animals have learned not to come around.

Something interesting has happened over the past couple of weeks, though.  A young stray cat has showed up in our backyard (which is where Mustafa sleeps during the day).  I'd say that she's somewhere between 6 months and year old.  Mustafa doesn't chase her.  He just looks at her.  He doesn't seem aggressive, just disinterested.  If she gets really close, he growls a little, but otherwise isn't aggressive toward her.

Last night, we left our back door open for some fresh air and the new kitty wandered in.  She doesn't much care for us, but she saw Mustafa and made a beeline for him.  When she got close, he growled at her and hissed a little, but without the typical raised hackles and puffy tail.  She tried to head butt him and he swatted her a couple of times on the head (without claws, though).  She did all the submissive kitty things, then he sort of pinned her head down and began licking the top of her head, sort of hissing the whole time.

I don't have a problem adopting this stray, but I don't want to make Mustafa's last year or two miserable (he's also got diabetes, which is currently under control).  He pretty much gave us the cold shoulder after we eventually shooed the kitty out the door, so obviously he wasn't terribly happy about the situation.

I'm not exactly sure what to do.  Should I just call the no-kill shelter and see if they'll take the kitty or do you think that the two will work things out?  The kitty seems to know who's in charge, but will Mustafa stop being an old grump?

Answer
Drew,

It sounds like Mustafa has adopted a kitty! I would let the kitty stay. For some reason he has allowed the kitty to enter 'his' territory and is allowing him to share it.

Growling, slaps, and hisses are nothing to worry about. They are just "kitty communication". That is the way the older cat tells the younger cat to keep her distance, what the rules of "his house" are, etc. When to be concerned is if there are ears pinned back, blood being shed, or major fur flying.

My cats are religious about chasing aways strays. BUT I now have two starys that come indoors where they sleep and eat. For some reason, my cats 'allowed' it. Maybe my cats respected them because they couldn't be chased away and they gave up trying to when the cats wouldn't be intimidated. Sometimes it's hard to know what goes through a cat's mind and why they do some of the peculiar things that they do.

His actions show that he likes the cat. And obviously new kitten loves Mustafa, and it also may need the comfort and security of him.

Some of Mustafa's behavior shows him 'schooling' the kitten on the 'rules of HIS house'. Taking the cat to the shelter may depress your cat if he has found a friend and 'soulmate'. It IS unusual behavior for an elderly cat but who knows, it may help keep him young.

I would say both you and Mustafa now own a new cat!

Tabbi