Not sure what to do...a cat thing

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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My nieghbors across the street, bless their hearts, are in their late 60’s early 70’s and moving back east to the Baltimore area. Ken, is in the hospital after he broke his hip. :frowning:

Anyhow, they are in the midst of trying to unload the house and the woman, BJ, has this wonderful cat named Beau Jo or Bo Jo…he’s an orange cat similar to my dearly departed Sam only instead of stripes his coloring is is not as refined and three years old. And he is such a loving cat too. He’ll come over in my yard, to pee and poo, climb my tree and will come up directly to me and let me pet him as if he were my own.

Well, they discussed it and there is no way they feel he can manage the trip. They are going to be on the road about five days, and Bo Jo is most definately an outdoor cat.

So, she kind of asked me if I would take the cat. The problem is my surviving cat, Niki. Plus my dog, I am not sure how Bo Jo would deal with the dog…

The kicker is, if they don’t find someone they trust, they will have the cat put down…a strong and healthy cat put down, just unnerves me.

Any thoughts? Anyone introduced a juvenile cat to an older cat and an older dog? What successes or failures have you had?

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I don’t know how to do it but I’m sure that;

1 It can be done.

2 You can handle it.

3 Hi Opal!

That btw was my first “Hi Opal!”.

3

I’ve got a 13 year old cat (male(neutered)), and had him since… well, since he was just a little tyke.

just about 6-7 months ago my mom and sister brought home a VERY small kitten (female) and we kept her in the Clean, heated garage until she was a little more mature and agile.

the first time we introduced them together, there was a lot of hissing and stuff, so we kept her in my sister’s bedroom and there was alot of under-the-door paw action, and some hissing through the door, but we let her out for an hr or so a day, and eventually they got along. now they get along PERFECTLY fine (and have for the past couple of months) every now and then, though, they’ll start wrestling and I’ll yell at them (from the computer I’ll give a nice “HEY, Knock it off!!”) and they’ll stop.

personal experiance :slight_smile:

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My SO introduced one very juvenile kitten to an established household of 3 older cats successfully, we also mixed my two elderly cats with his 3 older cats (the kitten died in between).

the key is slooooooowly. Segregate them, let them get used to the other cat’s smell before you introduce them face to face. Have new kitty in limited access, (a certain room for example), while others roam, then every now and then, put the others in segregation and let the new one roam. they’ll start getting used to the other kittie’s scent in their space without freaking too much.

cats of course are very territorial, as you’re aware.

No knowledge of how to toss a dog into the mix, tho’ if the dog in general gets along with the other cat, it hopefully will be ok,
best of luck.

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That’s part of the problem. Outside of his own kitties, my dog thinks that cats are fun to chase. He’s even done it to Bo Jo before and Bo Jo doesn’t have his front claws.

I have contemplated getting another cat but given the age of my older cat, my dog and my goofy schedule I figured a kitten would be easiest, if not difficult, to train to the techchick household.

I will still consider it though.

One of my main concerns is the dog. If the cat can’t find it in his little cat heart to accept his new digs along with a roommate kitty and a large dog I am afraid he will run away…but I can’t stand the thought that they would put him to sleep because they are moving. There are several no-kill organizations here in town.

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I just introduced a 3 year old blue point siamese rescue to my household of a german shepherd, a doberman and a 6 month old siamese kitten. The dogs were the easiest part to manage. The cat (Luna) and the kitten (Papi) mostly tolerate each other now, but aren’t buddies yet. The dogs will occasionally chase Luna, but they wouldn’t harm her, and she just runs away. And a “Knock it off” from me will stop that. Good luck - I’d say give it a trry. The cat has nothing to lose, from what you say.

StG

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Tech: Give it a try. You’ll be giving that kitty more of a chance than he’d have at a shelter. You know him, and most likely, your pets are used to him too, by his marking your yard.

The downswing is that if it doesn’t work out, it’ll be your painful decision instead of the neighbors. But, think positively, give all critters involved extra TLC, and he may be a great addition to your tribe. Take a leap. If it doesn’t work out, you’d have more time to find him another good home too.

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techchick says: I can’t stand the thought that they would put him to sleep because they are moving. There are several no-kill organizations here in town.

My suggestion would be to do two things, if adopting this cat yourself is not an option. First you can try very very hard to convince the current owners to leave the cat with a no-kill adoption shelter.

If that is unsuccessful then it is time for underhanded means. Tell the current owners you are taking the cat, and then give it to the no-kill shelter yourself. This option is a mite dishonest, but at least the kitty ends up alive and with luck, adopted.

I just adopted a cat from a no-kill shelter myself, and some cats have been there for as long as year. Not a fantastic life, but at least it is a life.

Twiddle

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I’ve introduced a year-old cat to my household…that includes an older cat (also named Bo…no “Jo”, tho) and three big dogs. At first Abby was a big chicken and hid under the bed, but it didn’t take long and she was out exploring and getting into trouble. She bosses the dogs around now, and gets along great with everyone. I think you should take him in.

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My poor darling first born Siamese, Tiki, has moved with me three times in the past three years. The first time we moved in with a girl and her young cat. Tiki stayed in my room for a LONG time, but eventually came out, and eventually, they got to know each other. I wouldn’t say LIKE, it’s a pretty safe guess Tiki would disdane any creature that isn’t me, (she IS a Siamese, afterall…) but she tolerated him.

Then we moved in with a different girl, her middle aged boy cat, and her beagle. To be honest, the beagle was less of a problem then the other cat, and not because he was being aggressive, Tiki just didn’t like him. She never really settled there, but we only lived in that apartment for 6 months.

On to my one bedroom. Finally a whole apartment to herself! Then three weeks ago, I fall in love with this kitten at the Humane Society, and BAM! New cat.

Chang came home on a Monday. By Saturday, I was leaving them alone together in the apartment. By Sunday, they could both be on the bed with me without Tiki running away. Now they get along fine, although Tiki finds him disagreeable (what little brother isn’t?) she plays a lot, and they have great fun keeping me up at 2 AM.

The secret is to give the new cat his own room, and to only let him out on supervised visits. Those visits last longer and longer until he’s out all day, and then you try leaving them alone. Seperate food and water dishes, and seperate litter boxes. If the dog accepts your current cat, I don’t see why he wouldn’t accept the new one, once he learned it was part of the pack.

If that fails, by all means, a no-kill shelter is the way to go. No use in killing a creature that might have a very happy life else where.

Good luck, Techie! Keep us updated! (ps: his name is seriously Bo Jo? I mean, BJ means something TOTALLY different to me…)

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Techchick, as I’ve mentioned here before, I subscribe to a mailing list with a lot of animal rescue organization members/volunteers who often adopt or foster animals who might be able to offer some helpful advice. If you’d like, I’ll pose your questions to that list and share their responses with you (either in the thread or via direct email). Let me know…

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Thanks for the replies everyone.

I will discuss it again with BJ. My heart is being torn apart. On one hand I am not sure I am ready for another addition to the household. On the other I really want to help the poor dear out. I would hate to agree to taking him in and then sending him to a shelter…

It almost makes you want to cry!

UGH.