Expert: Ali - 9/4/2008

Question
I have 2 cats. One was extremely friendly towards all humans and was quite a fixture in the neighborhood, sleeping and eating regularly at other houses. This cat, Jake, hated other cats including his house mate though he would taunt and chase her away which I think he enjoyed at times. He recently passed away. The other cat, Maggie, was abandoned from a cat colony and rescued. She LOVED Jake and bothered him immensely. She avoids ALL humans accept for her two care providers, and even then at times it takes ALLOT to capture her for some petting. She is very sad that Jake is gone. My question is considering her behavior and personality....is there a best way to ensure if we get another cat that it will be a good friend of Maggies? Kitten,,,,older rescue cat? Are there sure signs we can look for to ensure that we will not have another cat that takes over the house and ignores Maggie?

Thanks!

Answer
Barb,

If I understand you correctly you're looking for a companion for Maggie. The fact that she ended up in a feral colony doesn't necessarily impact on her ability to socialize with other cats provided that they are properly introduced. All cats are pretty territorial and will defend their territory and anything that's important to them, including their special humans. Given the bond that Maggie had with Jake it's important to understand that her reaction is perfectly normal. Cats do grieve the loss of animal and human companions. Ultimately I think that it wouldn't be a bad idea to try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which can help to calm and reassure Maggie and may well take some of the sting out of the grief, possibly help with some of the issues that are related to her abandonment and so on. Rescue Remedy is a blend of flower essences and is very safe to use with cats, in fact this remedy is often used by vets and owners worldwide to help keep animals calm after traumatic events or even road accidents. I would recommend that you try a dose of around 8-9 drops per day in fresh water each morning. I don't recommend giving Maggie the dose directly from the bottle as the flower essences are infused into a solution of grape alcohol and most cats aren't terribly fond of alcohol in general.

I think that it would be much easier to integrate a kitten into Maggie's life. Kittens are much more versatile when it comes down to introductions and most adult cats are more willing to accept a kitten as opposed to an adult cat. I would highly recommend that Maggie be spayed prior to attempting any new cat introductions as unsterilized cats are far more likely to behave more aggressively when defending their territory and all that is important to them. I would recommend that once you decide to add a new cat to the household you place the new cat into a room behind a closed door for a period of 2-3 weeks with all of the usual kitty necessities (food, water, comfy place to sleep, litter box and a few toys). It's important that you be sure to pay attention to both cats, the new cat's isolation period shouldn't mean total lack of attention, affection, or stimulation. It's not a bad idea to feed the new cat/kitten and Maggie on opposite sides of the door from one another as this will help with the process of gradually introducing the new kitten to Maggie. You can also use a hand towel and rub your new kitty down, then rub Maggie down and to the new kitty again daily. The whole point of doing this is that it allows each cat to become accustomed to the scent of the other. It's very important that the resident cat is given lots of attention and reassurance by the human family members while the new kitty is isolated. Isolation of a new cat/kitten provides other benefits beyond a means to gradually introduce a new cat to a resident cat. The isolation period allows you to get to know your new friend and what his/her personality is like. Once the first few days have gone by and your new cat/kitten has become more confident in his/her new surroundings you will be able to get an accurate idea of essentials like eating & litter box habits. Getting to know a new cat is always tons of fun and you should be quite aware of how energetic and playful your new friend is by the time that he/she is comfortable enough with his/her new surroundings and integrating him/her into the household is happening. The isolation period also allows you to place the new kitty in quarantine if you will. There are a number of very serious chronic health issues like feline leukemia and FIV which resemble HIV and AIDS in people. Unfortunately there is no way to know whether or not a new cat has been exposed to or tested for these serious conditions unless you are able to have some information about past medical treatments and his/her history. These illnesses can be passed from cat to cat so sharing common food and water bowls or litter boxes and bedding shouldn't really be done prior to having new feline family members testing for these serious chronic health problems. Cats coming into a home environment from a shelter or rescue organization will often have other health issues like conjunctivitis or an upper respiratory infection, both of which are contagious to other cats and require proper vet care. Conjunctivitis can be passed on to people if they are giving a cat antibiotics to fight the infection or cleaning the eye discharge which is why it's so important to wash your hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water after handling the discharge commonly found in conjunctivitis. With a 2-3 week period of isolation, interactive play time geared towards both your new kitten and the resident cat and positive reinforcement for calm behavior I am sure that the introductions will be much better next time. Questions regarding proper new cat introductions are quite common, if you would like further details or tips, please feel free to check out my past answers on the subject.