Hello, I am Lola, mother of 5 month old kitties, Max and Ruby

[lola1962]

Hi,

I am so thrilled to have found this site!  I got my first kitty when I was 12 and have been a "cat person" ever since.  My husband and I got our first kitty together pretty much the day we got off the plane from our honeymoon almost 25 years ago.  After we adopted Kirby, a few years later we rescued Duchess.  Kirby lived to be 16, and we just had to put my beloved 18 year old Duchess to rest last month.

My husband reminded me that we had never been without a cat, and it was lonely without Duchess.  I decided to adopt/rescue again and 2 weeks ago brother and sister, Max and Ruby were coming home to live with me!  They have brought such joy to us in this short time!  They do have some issues, though.  I would love any advice.

They were discovered abandoned at about 2 months old.  The foster mom worked to socialize the pair, and Max is doing wonderfully.  Ruby is still very timid and scared.  The shelter would only adopt them out together and considered them a special case since they felt Ruby would not do well on her own.  

I am definitely up for the challenge, but I have a few road blocks:  I am finding that having Max around does give Ruby a little more confidence, but he also interferes when I am trying to work with Ruby to trust me.  If I give them a treat, he will eat his quickly and then go after Ruby to eat hers.  I give them each a bowl at meal time and he will stop eating out of his to push her out and eat hers.

He has held her down to groom her, and in the event she feels brave enough to sit at the top perch of the scratching post, he will climb up and knock her down.  Max is a great kitty; he also has been encouraging her to run around and play.

Sorry so long!  I love these guys and want to help her out of her shell.  I am open to any advice.  Thank you in advance.

Lola 

 

[Draco]

Welcome to the site! Sounds like ruby needs to learn to give max a swat and tell him to stop being a bit of a bully, lol. I suggest posting on the behavior forums for advice on how to handle this

 

[blackcat416]

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• blackcat416
• Jan 27, 2014

This is Rachel, white, and brother Matthew. Your story sounds just like mine when I adopted these two at 3 mos old. Now it's 4 years later and Matthew still bully's his sister around. But Rachel will yell and scream and sometimes swat Matthew. Little boys are a pest to their sisters. If Rachel is comfortable you can bet Matthew will go and annoy her just because he can. It's not like he wants her spot to sleep but rather to just be a pest. I did the socializing thing when they were kittens had my brother bring over she two step daughters to play with the kittens and it was obvious as kittens Matthew was going to be extremely friendly while Rachel is a loner. We have 7 cats and only Matthew is aloud to play with Rachel. If any of our other boys even look at Rachel she will throw a hissy fit. She mainly stays in the basement but comes up for meal time and play time with me and the others. She just prefers to be by herself. And if visitors come over Matthew is right in their face while you will never she Rachel with guest over. He did exactly as your boy does to his sister. Rachel is totally indifferent towards the other females in the house but never runs from the other girls, just the boys. She is extremely affectionate to both me and my Jim. Any chance Rachel gets she will be on top of my lap, purring and kneading. It's funny the relationship that brother and sister have. When they were kittens, they always slept together in a cat bed, cleaning each other then of course biting each other. Rachel used to find the best hiding places to sleep sound. If a drawer was open and she could get in, she'd be inside sound a sleep. I once found her in one of my recycle tote bags.

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• blackcat416
• Jan 27, 2014

But they love each other so much. I wouldn't be concerned unless your boy tries to really hurt his sister or draws blood. With 7 cats all nails are cut monthly so their are no unnecessary vet visits for scratching each other. I get all my cats used to having their nails cut by just playing with their paws first. If I had them as kittens, I can now cut their nails without my Jim's help as they will just lay there for me while I cut front and back nails. Just make sure you little girl gets her share of food during the day. But you're going to love watching them grow up together. Welcome to TCS and we are always here for you.

 

[-_aj_-]

Hi there welcome along to TCS  

I second posting in the behaviour forum, some great help in there

 

[angelinacat]

Hi Lola:

Welcome to the site.  I commend both you and the shelter for insisting that Max and Ruby stay together.  I also adopted a pair of kittens last month.  Both are boys and because my other two cats are more than 10 years old, I figured it would be kinda cruel to bring a single kitten into a household with two adults that far older than they were.

Fortunately, my two little ones do act like they are pals.  Shadow is so much smaller than his brother that you would think he would continually be beat up when they are roughhousing.  But Shadow gives back just as much and hard as he gets.

These two were also rescue kittens.  We went to look at a camper for a friend of ours, and it turned out the campground residents were trying to socialize and find homes for the kittens in a feral cat colony that was also living in the campground.  We agreed that I would take this pair.

Good luck with getting Ruby to stick up for herself a little more. 

 

[lola1962]

 Hi there.

Doesn't it feel so good to rescue animals?  I love these 2 so much and I find myself rooting for Ruby to hold her ground.  The fact that they are still kittens gives me hope that she will come out of her shell.  Good luck with all of your 4 legged babies and thank you for responding

Lola

 

[lola1962]

Ok, thanks!

 

[rubysmama]

Are Max & Ruby named after the cartoon bunnies?  I already have a Ruby and my niece says if I ever get a 2nd cat, it has to be a boy and it has to be named Max.   http://www.nickjr.com/max-ruby/

 

[lola1962]

Yes!  They are named after Max and Ruby the bunnies!   It was a favorite show of my daughters when they were little.  I wondered if anyone would pick up that.