New Cat?

[april's meowmie]

Hubby and I are thinking about adding a new Siamese to the home. We are not sure how our girl will act. She has been the only cat for 3 years. What do you guys think? Not sure if this goes here. If it would be ok what would be better another female or a male?

 

[valanhb]

Here's a link to a thread of a similar discussion. BadHabit (Jessica) gives a great detailed description of how cats should be introduced.

Bringing in a new cat with old cat already there

How old is April the cat? Is she outgoing? Playful? Ever been around other cats?

 

[april's meowmie]

April is 3 years old. She is playful and outgoing. She has never been around any other cats.

 

[april's meowmie]

Thanks for the link to the other post. I have been told by the vet that if we do this it would be best to keep new kitty in the bathroom. This way the new can and the one we have can play and smell each other under the door. Our vet said it should take a week or maybe more. Does this sound like a good idea? I forgot to ask the vet if new kitty should be a kitten or an adult. What about male or female. I think the post from before said it should be opposite sex is this right? I will have to read it again.

 

[valanhb]

With an adult female, I would think a kitten would be the best way to go. Maybe it would bring out the mother in her (instincts are more powerful than surgery sometimes

) and she would accept a baby better than an older cat trying to vie for her territory. Be prepared for April to be mad at you for a while.

As far as male or female, some females are so territorial they cannot accept another female. Some males are too rough with the females. Many times when they have been introduced properly, they can get along no matter what sex. I'm certainly not the expert, but I would think, especially if you get a kitten, either sex would be OK.

 

[sandie]

In my experience, male female doesn't matter a whole lot when you only have 2 and you bring home a kitten. Most cats don't realize what sex they are until around 5 or 6 months. When I got my first 2 cats, I had a male and a female so I would have both.
The key is really a slow introduction. If you are going to get another siamese you could talk to the breeder about putting a blanket in with the kitten and then letting you take it home for your girl to smell first. Then when you bring the kitten home, you would want to keep them in seperate rooms for ahwile depending on how aggressive your female is going to be. Sometimes there's just a lot of hissing and spitting. I really didn't have many problems until I hit about 8 cats

 

[april's meowmie]

Sandie thank for the idea of a blanket. We have not started looking yet. So when I do and find a breeder I will ask if that can be done. I did not want to be set on getting another cat just incase it would not work. But I guess bringing home a blanket with the kittens smell would tell me how it would work out.