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- May 28, 2018
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I've posted about this before but we decided against getting a third at that time. My husband was not for it at that time but recently has expressed openness to getting a third.
We are in an apartment with a max of 2 and our landlord is very hands off/lives off property and there are never apartment inspections, etc--we've lived here for 3 years, we are quiet and we pay our rent on time so I don't worry about them finding out. Plus our lease is up in August and we will be buying a house. There is an adorable male cat, Mushu, about 4 years old available at the rescue that I volunteer for. He is in a foster home now but was at the shelter for a few months so I've spent time with him and know his temperament, personality, etc. He's great with other cats, very mellow and easy going, loves to play. He understands boundaries and would back off when some of the feistier cats would demand it. He doesn't have a domineering personality but isn't a wallflower either. He is a fun loving, easy going cat.
Backstory: my two male cats, Stormy & Klaus, have never got along. I've had them both for almost a year. Stormy is 8 years old (shelters guess- he could be younger or older), mellow, and likes to do his own thing but still be near the family. He is gentle and sweet, but does love to play and chase toys. After getting Stormy last year, I got Klaus who is now 1.5 years old. I wanted to get Stormy a buddy because my husband and I work full time and are away from home during the day. Klaus definitely still has "kitten energy". Klaus likes to pick on Stormy, and I'm not sure if it's out of boredom (seems likely) or because he is territorial. He likes to "ambush" Stormy and chase him. Stormy will hiss and show discomfort. He has swatted at Klaus a few times and gave him little scabs. I've had to break up fights rarely, because I usually separate them or redirect Klaus before it gets to that point. Mind you, it is pretty rare for it to escalate into full on fighting. But hissing and chasing is an everyday thing. He seems territorial at times too but again I can't distinguish what's territorial and what's boredom. For all the things I'm about to describe I thought it'd be worth mentioning that this does not happen 100% of the time, but maybe half the time. He will run up to Stormy and will bite him while Stormy is using the litter box. If he is close to Stormy and sees him scratch the cat tree post he will bite him--not sure if this is because he sees him occupied so he's like ambush! in a playful way or if it's like don't mark your scent on my territory so attack! in a territorial way. He'll chase Stormy off the bed or couch too. The only thing that makes me think that Klaus does these things more out of boredom than anything is that he never has never hurt Stormy and I don't think he wants to. He doesn't attack to maim whereas if Klaus pushes Stormy enough Stormy will leave little scabs on Klaus. And Klaus never hisses whereas Stormy will hiss at Klaus. So it kind of all seems like a game to Klaus, which is why I think he would do good with a friend that actually wants to play with him.
I know now that while Stormy loves to play, he does not love to play with other cats (or at least not Klaus). But I also think that Klaus doesn't understand boundaries. Like, he doesn't back off when Stormy is hissing at him. But he loves to play! And we do try to play with him as much as possible with toys but he really prefers to play with other cats I think. Klaus was taken away from his litter early as a kitten so I think he never learned boundaries of play because he still play bites me and my husband too (we are trying to train him out of it). He's a really sweet cat, I just imagine him as socially awkward with other cats haha. Mushu seems to fit the bill as a cat that will fit in with our boys. He gets along with other cats, loves to play, but understands boundaries so I think he'd leave Stormy alone who would hopefully finally get some respite from Klaus. I don't know how he'd get on with Klaus but my hope is that they would play with each other! The last thing I want to do is make things worse. I know that the slow introduction could be rocky, and that there could be initial hostility but I hate to adopt Mushu only to return him and cause him more confusion. Mushu was in a home before being brought to the shelter (the Good Samaritan who rescued him housed him for a few months), then he was at the shelter for a few months, then he went into a foster home to make more room for cats at the shelter, then got adopted out, was returned (need to find out why still because everything I know about him is that he's a really easy cat). Based on that I'm sure you can see why I really want this to work! If it does work this would make everything much easier and all cats happier! My husband and I both already love Mushu too as we've met and spent time with him.
any insights, advice, comments are always appreciated. I love this site and how knowledgeable you all are.
We are in an apartment with a max of 2 and our landlord is very hands off/lives off property and there are never apartment inspections, etc--we've lived here for 3 years, we are quiet and we pay our rent on time so I don't worry about them finding out. Plus our lease is up in August and we will be buying a house. There is an adorable male cat, Mushu, about 4 years old available at the rescue that I volunteer for. He is in a foster home now but was at the shelter for a few months so I've spent time with him and know his temperament, personality, etc. He's great with other cats, very mellow and easy going, loves to play. He understands boundaries and would back off when some of the feistier cats would demand it. He doesn't have a domineering personality but isn't a wallflower either. He is a fun loving, easy going cat.
Backstory: my two male cats, Stormy & Klaus, have never got along. I've had them both for almost a year. Stormy is 8 years old (shelters guess- he could be younger or older), mellow, and likes to do his own thing but still be near the family. He is gentle and sweet, but does love to play and chase toys. After getting Stormy last year, I got Klaus who is now 1.5 years old. I wanted to get Stormy a buddy because my husband and I work full time and are away from home during the day. Klaus definitely still has "kitten energy". Klaus likes to pick on Stormy, and I'm not sure if it's out of boredom (seems likely) or because he is territorial. He likes to "ambush" Stormy and chase him. Stormy will hiss and show discomfort. He has swatted at Klaus a few times and gave him little scabs. I've had to break up fights rarely, because I usually separate them or redirect Klaus before it gets to that point. Mind you, it is pretty rare for it to escalate into full on fighting. But hissing and chasing is an everyday thing. He seems territorial at times too but again I can't distinguish what's territorial and what's boredom. For all the things I'm about to describe I thought it'd be worth mentioning that this does not happen 100% of the time, but maybe half the time. He will run up to Stormy and will bite him while Stormy is using the litter box. If he is close to Stormy and sees him scratch the cat tree post he will bite him--not sure if this is because he sees him occupied so he's like ambush! in a playful way or if it's like don't mark your scent on my territory so attack! in a territorial way. He'll chase Stormy off the bed or couch too. The only thing that makes me think that Klaus does these things more out of boredom than anything is that he never has never hurt Stormy and I don't think he wants to. He doesn't attack to maim whereas if Klaus pushes Stormy enough Stormy will leave little scabs on Klaus. And Klaus never hisses whereas Stormy will hiss at Klaus. So it kind of all seems like a game to Klaus, which is why I think he would do good with a friend that actually wants to play with him.
I know now that while Stormy loves to play, he does not love to play with other cats (or at least not Klaus). But I also think that Klaus doesn't understand boundaries. Like, he doesn't back off when Stormy is hissing at him. But he loves to play! And we do try to play with him as much as possible with toys but he really prefers to play with other cats I think. Klaus was taken away from his litter early as a kitten so I think he never learned boundaries of play because he still play bites me and my husband too (we are trying to train him out of it). He's a really sweet cat, I just imagine him as socially awkward with other cats haha. Mushu seems to fit the bill as a cat that will fit in with our boys. He gets along with other cats, loves to play, but understands boundaries so I think he'd leave Stormy alone who would hopefully finally get some respite from Klaus. I don't know how he'd get on with Klaus but my hope is that they would play with each other! The last thing I want to do is make things worse. I know that the slow introduction could be rocky, and that there could be initial hostility but I hate to adopt Mushu only to return him and cause him more confusion. Mushu was in a home before being brought to the shelter (the Good Samaritan who rescued him housed him for a few months), then he was at the shelter for a few months, then he went into a foster home to make more room for cats at the shelter, then got adopted out, was returned (need to find out why still because everything I know about him is that he's a really easy cat). Based on that I'm sure you can see why I really want this to work! If it does work this would make everything much easier and all cats happier! My husband and I both already love Mushu too as we've met and spent time with him.
any insights, advice, comments are always appreciated. I love this site and how knowledgeable you all are.
