No, your attitude is very fair. And with the absolute care being taken with Ollie at this stage, I think it’ll be easier to get him a new home. If it helps, our first cat came to us from the vet who was looking for good peoples (my wife, not me). She’s a late gen Savannah, that had been acquired by the prior owner as companionship to that person’s current cat (possible owner before that as well, but unclear). She was a holy terror, full of herself and energy, while the pre-existing cat was older and settled. So one day I come home, and my wife has a cat for us, along with a full set of toys, litterbox and hideyholes.
About 4 months after settling in, we realized she definitely needed a companion, and spent a long time researching a breed that would be able to compete in energy and attitude, before we paid to adopt a purebred bengal whose prior owner was downsizing. The are good to each other most of the time, but if they get into it, it’s a thing of equals.
Of course, my wife says she got the Bengal as the Savannah’s ‘boy-toy’. snicker
Most combinations of cats will eventually learn to get along. Occasionally there’s a combination that won’t. If P.K.'s going to be permanently miserable with Ollie in the house, you’re right, that’s not fair to P.K. And Ollie may need a household that includes somebody who’s willing and able to wrestle with him.
This is good to know. My beloved 11-year-old cat has always been an only child, and now that we have a house I’m tempted to add a kitten to the mix. But my husband is so worried they won’t get along. I just miss that ball of young cat energy!
A kitten, and an 11-year-old who’s been an only cat as long as she can remember, may be a tricky mix; though it might work out. Sometimes a cat who’s lived only with humans has no idea how to behave with other cats.
This may seem like a really wild suggestion: but you could get two kittens, who can then wear each other out playing with each other, and might bug the 11 year old less.
Or maybe an intermediate age older cat, possibly along with a kitten or younger cat they already get along with? That risks a bit them ganging up on the 11 year old, though. Maybe add an about 4 to 6 year old who’s used to living with other cats, and then in a year or so when that cat and the 11 year old are used to each other add in a kitten?
For a second when I first read this, I thought you were suggesting adding 3 new cats: older cat plus kitten, plus add a 4-6 year old…
P.K. and Ollie are currently mostly sharing the same space. Ollie gets closed in the basement at night and if we are going out.
Ollie is a persistent pesterer for P.K. He follows P.K. around, gets in his face, bats at him, etc. P.K. is doing a lot of growling and hissing, some hiding, and a small amount of swatting. This part does not bode well for Ollie staying with us.
On the other hand, I noticed last night that Ollie had a small scratch on top of his nose. So P.K. probably bopped him a bit more firmly, with a bit of claw behind it. I don’t want them to really fight, but I think P.K. needs to fully stand up to Ollie if it’s going to work out. A strong, “That’s enough, young whippersnapper!” And then we need to see Ollie back off for more than 2 seconds.
Also on the bodes well side, a few times when Ollie has been trying to start something with P.K., Gracie has gone over and barked at them. It can break up a stare down and alerts us there’s an issue. Gracie has acted as the “police” at the dog park before, breaking up dogs picking on another dog. I told her she should protect P.K., and maybe she understood.
Just because I love this pic, and because it may be an attempt at “hiding”:
No; I was suggesting adding two, but not at the same time,.to reduce the chances that they’d gang up on P.K: the around-5-year-old first, to spare P.K. trying to deal with kitten energy at the same time as learning to live with other cats; and then the kitten, while the about 5 year old, then about 6, is still young enough to play with kitten energy. (This varies by cat; I’ve known 10 or 12 year olds or even older happy to play with a kitten, but I’ve also known younger ones who don’t want anything to do with a young cat.)
I’d also suggest not a very young kitten, but one maybe around 6 months or so; some adult cats react badly to extremely young kittens.
Yeah. If P.K. will stand up for himself, it’ll probably work out. If he takes to hiding a lot of the time instead, that’s not good at all.
Yeah, I got it on the second read. And you were talking to Esprise_Me concerning her 11-year-old kitty. P.K. is only about 5, himself. He used to be quite playful, but since his accident is a bit more of an old man. Maybe temporarily, maybe not. Time will tell. We’re definitely not getting kittens!
Whoops, sorry, both of you! I think my keeping-track-of-things energy all went into the planning board meeting; I apparently didn’t have any left to post with.
Whelp, maybe this will be a final update. We had contacted a rescue that my spouse used to foster dogs for, but they didn’t get back to us until a couple of days ago, when they sent a phone number for us to call. We hadn’t called yet, but we had decided to re-home Ollie.
But, he’s been making friends with P.K., and getting more snuggly with us, and my spouse has been sick the last several days and he’s been sticking by her side the whole time…
So today, she told me she’s gotten more attached to him, and has been rethinking talking to the rescue. I think he and P.K. are now getting along fine, which was my main concern. And we’re all attached to him. He owes me two pairs of blue tooth headphones, though. (He chewed up the wire linking the ear buds). But, we are going to keep him after all.
Hooray from me for finding the balance (+ 1 for the spousal unit). Was it PK finally standing up against the one-sided abuse that turned the corner in the relationship do you think? At least I remember you mentioning it a while back - that PK seemed to be taking the kid gloves off at least.
Yeah, I think P.K. was still weak and uncomfortable for a while, but has gradually been getting back to his old athletic self. They still wrestle, but it’s clear that it’s a game, and sometimes P.K. is chasing Ollie and tackling him, and sometimes, vice versa.
