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Apologies for the long post in advance.
2 Weeks ago we have rescued (unexpectedly) a 7/8 month old kitten Stitch.
We already have a 12 year old black panther Toby, he is an extremely calm and apathetic cat who rarely enjoys playing and is generally extremely laid back ever since he was a baby (no health problems found at vet, just his personality). We are very fortunate for his health as his condition and personality hasn’t changed with age.
We have used Jackson Galaxy’s guide on introducing cats and taking tips from cats protection etc, we followed every step possible and Toby has been very calm about the situation. Stitch absolutely loves Toby as well so we are happy with their progress so far in that area, they can eat right next to each-other and Toby never ever hisses unless Stitch is trying to touch Toby. Toby even doesn’t mind when Stitch runs up to his bowl and tries to take his food (despite having a meal a second ago he has a lot of food insecurity we are working on), Toby will just walk away calmly and we redirect the kitten to another room to allow Toby to eat in peace. We began giving them food separately to combat this as we don’t want the little one overeating and we want poor Toby to eat in peace and harmony.
The only “issue” or maybe not an issue we are having is the little cat often follows Toby, there is definitely no aggression intended. He LOVES Toby, he wants to snuggle, he wants to play, he wants Toby He will stand and stare at Toby in the litter box. Toby will hiss and the little one will go away but come back soon, since we read Toby is establishing boundaries we do nothing about the hissing.
Toby seems very accepting, little Stitch took one hundreds of Tobys beds (despite having a pretty brand new one just for him) and Toby didn’t react at all. Toby is calm to the point that he watched Stitch poop next to his bowl and done.. nothing, just walked away (this was discussed at the vet and Stitch simply isn’t used to a litter box yet), luckily this behaviour is stopping now. Toby has plenty of hiding places to get away where Stitch cannot go, he often chooses to sit in high up areas and just stare at the kitten from afar (not sure if this means anything).
What we are wondering is if Stitch will calm down and stop following Toby? There is no option of getting another cat for Stitch as we definitely cannot afford it and feel it would be wrong to get a cat we cannot afford. 2 is the most we can comfortably do. We have been playing with Stitch a lot but the boy has endless energy!
Overall what we are wondering is if this is good progress for two weeks? We have never had two cats before and I felt it would be valuable to gain insight from other cat owners as we want to do everything we can. While it looks like it’s going well I felt it doesn’t hurt to make sure and ask other cat owners, after all there may be something I haven’t noticed. We are on making sure to give Toby the same amount of love + maybe a bit more to show him that everything is okay. Toby is also having a health check soon where we will definitely discuss the new kitten and if Toby is adjusting well.
Pictures of both the boys!
Toby:
Stitch:
2 Weeks ago we have rescued (unexpectedly) a 7/8 month old kitten Stitch.
We already have a 12 year old black panther Toby, he is an extremely calm and apathetic cat who rarely enjoys playing and is generally extremely laid back ever since he was a baby (no health problems found at vet, just his personality). We are very fortunate for his health as his condition and personality hasn’t changed with age.
We have used Jackson Galaxy’s guide on introducing cats and taking tips from cats protection etc, we followed every step possible and Toby has been very calm about the situation. Stitch absolutely loves Toby as well so we are happy with their progress so far in that area, they can eat right next to each-other and Toby never ever hisses unless Stitch is trying to touch Toby. Toby even doesn’t mind when Stitch runs up to his bowl and tries to take his food (despite having a meal a second ago he has a lot of food insecurity we are working on), Toby will just walk away calmly and we redirect the kitten to another room to allow Toby to eat in peace. We began giving them food separately to combat this as we don’t want the little one overeating and we want poor Toby to eat in peace and harmony.
The only “issue” or maybe not an issue we are having is the little cat often follows Toby, there is definitely no aggression intended. He LOVES Toby, he wants to snuggle, he wants to play, he wants Toby He will stand and stare at Toby in the litter box. Toby will hiss and the little one will go away but come back soon, since we read Toby is establishing boundaries we do nothing about the hissing.
Toby seems very accepting, little Stitch took one hundreds of Tobys beds (despite having a pretty brand new one just for him) and Toby didn’t react at all. Toby is calm to the point that he watched Stitch poop next to his bowl and done.. nothing, just walked away (this was discussed at the vet and Stitch simply isn’t used to a litter box yet), luckily this behaviour is stopping now. Toby has plenty of hiding places to get away where Stitch cannot go, he often chooses to sit in high up areas and just stare at the kitten from afar (not sure if this means anything).
What we are wondering is if Stitch will calm down and stop following Toby? There is no option of getting another cat for Stitch as we definitely cannot afford it and feel it would be wrong to get a cat we cannot afford. 2 is the most we can comfortably do. We have been playing with Stitch a lot but the boy has endless energy!
Overall what we are wondering is if this is good progress for two weeks? We have never had two cats before and I felt it would be valuable to gain insight from other cat owners as we want to do everything we can. While it looks like it’s going well I felt it doesn’t hurt to make sure and ask other cat owners, after all there may be something I haven’t noticed. We are on making sure to give Toby the same amount of love + maybe a bit more to show him that everything is okay. Toby is also having a health check soon where we will definitely discuss the new kitten and if Toby is adjusting well.
Pictures of both the boys!
Toby:
Stitch: