Expert: Jessica - 9/12/2009

Question
Hi, I own a siamese and he is going on 5 years now, he had a companion, I got her a year after him, and the whole four years they were together, although my siamese seems to bully my female cat she seems to not mind.  I lost her this spring when we move when became outdoor cats, She never came back. I can tell my siamese was grieving for a while because he would talk alot more than unusual and he seem to know she was missing...it has been at least 4 months that he is by himself and my boyfriend and I are not sure if it's a good a idea to get him another companion or just leave him be, I read an article that siamese are more People companion than other animals, it's just that we are not home most of the time and I don't let him out until we get home... what should I do? thanks

Answer
Hi Cherina.  Siamese do form very strong attachments to people, but as you have witnessed, they also tend to bond closely to other pets, as well.  There are the occasional cats who are loners, but as a general rule, Siamese cats do not do well in situations where they are left alone all day.  It’s not a guarantee, but in many situations, Siamese will go on to develop behavioral problems if they don’t have a kitty companion to keep them company when they spend many hours by themselves.

I think it would be a fine idea to introduce a new kitty to the household.  However, the key is to take things very slowly!  I cannot stress this enough, as this tends to be especially true with the Siamese, who are a little high strung and resistant to change.  

You should keep the new kitty in a completely separate room for the first few days with its own litter, food and water, until it is used to the new area and is interacting well with you.  Your male may recognize that there’s a new kitty in the home by hearing activity in the other room or by scents that you bring out on your hands and clothes.

After a few days, you should start to introduce the two indirectly.  This can be done in a few ways.  One is to use scent transference by rubbing the new kitty with a cloth, especially along the cheeks, and presenting it to your male cat to sniff.  Then do the same with your male cat for the new kitty to sniff.  Also, allow the new cat to have several visits a day outside of the room, while your male spends visits inside the new cat’s room, but never allowing them to spend time together.  This will give them time to sniff each other’s belongings without confronting each other.  Finally, feed them tasty meals at the same time on opposite sides of the door to the new cat’s room.  They will be aware of each other’s presence and will come to associate the positive experience of mealtime with one another.

After about a week of these exercises, if you have a screened porch or glass door or any area where you could allow the two to see each other but not touch each other, you should use this to your advantage.  Use the barrier to see how they react to one another.  If the reaction is positive, allow them to sniff each other out face-to-face under close supervision.  

If you have no way to separate them prior to a face-to-face introduction, leave the door to the new kitty’s room open while you closely supervise, and see if the new cat shows interest in coming out or if your male shows interest in going in.  Be ready to separate the cats immediately if they react poorly to one another.

Visits should be limited to about 15 minutes several times a day for the first couple of days to prevent either from becoming overwhelmed, even if they seem to be getting along well.  Separate them sooner if the visits don’t go over well and wait another day or two before trying to introduce them again.  Gradually lengthen the visits.

You should keep them separated while you aren’t there to supervise them until you are confident no fights are going to erupt.  It takes about 2-3 weeks to introduce most cats, but sometimes it can take longer.

I would highly recommend to keep the new kitty indoors, and even to work on converting your present kitty back to an indoor-only cat, since he will be exposing the new cat to contagious deadly diseases such as feline leukemia and feline AIDS.  Unless both kitties will be indoor-only cats, they should be vaccinated against these diseases, especially feline leukemia.  

I also would recommend microchipping them for identification in addition to having them wear a collar with visible ID.  A microchip the size of a grain of rice is implanted under the skin between the shoulders.  It feels like a vaccination, and most of them cost you around $40 (ask your vet).  The microchip registry will store all your contact information, and if your pet gets lost and turned into a shelter or vet who reads your kitty’s microchip with a scanner, they will contact you.

Best of luck!

Jessica