Expert: Norman Auspitz - 8/16/2009

Question
Hello. My neighbor and I are trying to re-home 4 cats that were abandoned recently. I have a one bedroom apartment with 2 cats of my own and a ferret. One of these strays I have had confined to my bedroom for two weeks. He is lovable, and playful to me. I have had him tested and neutered. The other day after switching rooms with my animals so they could get the smells, a couple hours later, I introduced one of my cats to this new one. At first they seemed fine , no aggression, nose sniffing, checking eachother out, lying down relaxing nearby. Than when my cat was looking out the window, this new cat sucker pounced on her grabbed her with all fours and took her down on the floor. Before that he was cool as a cucumber. My cat of course was freaked out with fur flying everywhere. I now have them separated again. My main question is what do I tell a new prospective adopter about whether this cat would get along with other cats to be honest but not scare them away completely? Other than this I have had no problems with this new cat whom I call Georgy, but now I am worried about getting him adopted out, as I have a full house and can not keep him. Thanks much.

Answer
Maggie,

First off, thank you for being an angel and trying to re-home cats.  This is not always easy.  It is certainly acceptable to suggest the cat get re-homed to a household where there are no other cats.  This is done all the time.

However, I am not sure the new fellow really had a fair chance.  What he exhibited is normal cat behavior and your female also exhibited normal cat behavior. We have to be careful not to ascribe human emotions and motives to cats (except for jealousy).  What appears to be fighting is often rough play. Even if loose fur gets pulled out, unless, there is sign of blood being drawn, it is usually rough play.  Iy may sound like World War III, but cats are, generally, not going to hurt each other.  They often love to engage in games which are very, very rough and often end up in a mock "fight", and, yes, fur does fly, but no one gets hurt.

I have two rules I go by: (1) All human interference is counter-productive (including separation) and (2) We do not understand how cats inter-relate to one another.  So, I would not keep them separated and give it more time at home.  If after a month it still seems untenable, then Georgy, truly, is a candidate for a one cat household.

Best regards... Norm.