Cat pairing opinion poll

BoaztheAdventureCat

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Howdy!
My 3-year old black domestic shorthair cat named Boaz is a very dominant, self-serving control freak currently. I have a thought that if he had in his life another cat that would sort of cause him to "meet his match" it might knock down his ego a few notches and make him more willing to respect the other cats in our house. Our 2 young ones his age he has no respect for regardless of how many times they reprimand him for playing too rough or imposing on them, so now the youngest female, Posie, hates him, and Asher, the other male, is competitive with him.

My Dad's senior cat Pretty Kitty used to be just the solution to put Boaz in his place. She scared the living daylights out of him when he was a kitten! However, when my Dad took Pretty Kitty to live at our guest house away from the other cats, I think Boaz forgot the lessons she had taught him.

Now Pretty Kitty is older, weaker, and currently sick, so it's better that she stay away from our other cats at this point, unfortunately.

I can't adopt another cat soon, but if an opportunity opens up (such as after Pretty Kitty dies), I thought it might be a good idea to look for another cat to include in the house that's not quite like our other 2 young ones, particularly a senior cat or a cat that's a retired mama.

Is my idea a good one? Do you think it would do more harm than good to add any other cats, regardless of the type, to our house?

Do you think a male or female senior cat in decently good health would be just what's needed to bring Boaz's ego down a bit and make him mind his manners around the other cats his age? Do you think a cat that's a former mama cat would be a good solution for putting him in his place?

Thanks for your input!
 

silent meowlook

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It sounds like you are talking about horse behavior here. If you had a gelding that was bugging everyone and had no manners, I would say throw him in with a bunch of seasoned mares to straighten him out. So, for horses, your thoughts are on the right track. For cats, not so much.

If you adopt another cat, I see it upsetting things much worse and the cats that are being pestered by him may wind up getting attacked by him due to displaced aggression.

Cats are naturally solitary animals. They will become a colony when feral due to the self-preservation and continued offspring. But under normal circumstances they would rather be alone. Unless they are with siblings, or cats they have grown up with. A kitten may form a bond with an adult cat that isn't related provided they don't have to fight for resources and all else is okay. Sometimes that doesn't work, and all you can really hope to achieve is a peaceful co-existence between two unrelated cats.

Since there is more than just him and you are talking about introducing a cat to a 3-cat established household, it will not be easy and has the potential for a whole lot of cat fights, spraying to establish territory and worse.

My 3-year old black domestic shorthair cat named Boaz is a very dominant, self-serving control freak currently. I have a thought that if he had in his life another cat that would sort of cause him to "meet his match" it might knock down his ego a few notches and make him more willing to respect the other cats in our house. Our 2 young ones his age he has no respect for regardless of how many times they reprimand him for playing too rough or imposing on them, so now the youngest female, Posie, hates him, and Asher, the other male, is competitive with him.
Try not to think of Boaz this way. He sounds like a cat with allot of energy that needs routine play at specific times. Try to set up play time of 15 minutes or more for him at the same time every day or several times a day. You need to be consistent and you need to get him tired. The playing must be entertaining for him. Figure what wand toy he likes and really play with him. Let the others join if they want to but make sure to distribute the toy between all of them. Another thing you can do is when you see him ready to mess with one of the other cats, toss a toy for him to play with instead. It has to be a high value toy. What you are trying to do is break the cycle, and alleviate his boredom.
 

rubysmama

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That's a really hard question to answer, B BoaztheAdventureCat , as all cat introductions are different, and usually impossible to predict in advance how it will go. And if you lose Pretty Kitty, that in itself could change the dynamics of your feline family.

Generally, though, bringing a kitten into a home with other cats goes more smoothly than an adult cat. But even that can take time, with either the kitten being scared of the adult cat(s), or even an adult cat being scared of the kitten.

Just keep in mind that if you do eventually adopt another cat, you will have to keep it separated from the others for a while, at first, and then slowly do the introductions.

Here's some TCS articles you might want to read.

Your Second Cat: How To Choose The Best Friend For Kitty | TheCatSite
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
The Multi-cat Household | TheCatSite
 

ArtNJ

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A highly active overly playful 3 year old could cause major problems with a senior cat. Not all senior cats are willing to put an overactive junion in its place. When they do, it sometimes goes well, and you could be right that it would be helpful. However, some just act scared, hiss, growl, run away and are just stressed and rather miserable, sometimes for months. Its not the worst thing in the world if that happens, they can move slowly towards toleration, but I certainly wouldn't voluntarily do that to a senior cat. And its really really hard to know which type of senior cat your getting, since this sort of behavior changes as cats age. So I recommend not doing it.

An active and playful 1 year old (or thereabouts, not too much older) of similar size to your 3 year old might be a better bet, allowing him to get his energy out without torturing the kittens. Just a lot safer of an introduction -- doesn't usually go too wrong, although of course one never knows.

All of that said, as the kittens age and get bigger, this may resolve itself.
 
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BoaztheAdventureCat

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It sounds like you are talking about horse behavior here. If you had a gelding that was bugging everyone and had no manners, I would say throw him in with a bunch of seasoned mares to straighten him out. So, for horses, your thoughts are on the right track. For cats, not so much.

If you adopt another cat, I see it upsetting things much worse and the cats that are being pestered by him may wind up getting attacked by him due to displaced aggression.

Cats are naturally solitary animals. They will become a colony when feral due to the self-preservation and continued offspring. But under normal circumstances they would rather be alone. Unless they are with siblings, or cats they have grown up with. A kitten may form a bond with an adult cat that isn't related provided they don't have to fight for resources and all else is okay. Sometimes that doesn't work, and all you can really hope to achieve is a peaceful co-existence between two unrelated cats.

Since there is more than just him and you are talking about introducing a cat to a 3-cat established household, it will not be easy and has the potential for a whole lot of cat fights, spraying to establish territory and worse.



Try not to think of Boaz this way. He sounds like a cat with allot of energy that needs routine play at specific times. Try to set up play time of 15 minutes or more for him at the same time every day or several times a day. You need to be consistent and you need to get him tired. The playing must be entertaining for him. Figure what wand toy he likes and really play with him. Let the others join if they want to but make sure to distribute the toy between all of them. Another thing you can do is when you see him ready to mess with one of the other cats, toss a toy for him to play with instead. It has to be a high value toy. What you are trying to do is break the cycle, and alleviate his boredom.
Thanks so much for your detailed response! I need a dog more than I need another cat anyway and I've just about had it up to "here" with cat drama! I want to do what's best for everybody involved, so I'm grateful for everybody's responses and suggestions here.
 
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