New clan members...............clash of the kitties!!!!!

[Blue__Oval]

I'm pretty new to this group and I've only been lurking. Today's story
I'd like to share.......................

After saving a little brown tabby lately that we wanted to adopt, we found
out he was FelV+. We have 2 other healthy kitties and didn't want to mix
them in together.

So, we decided that we would adopt a kitty that we COULD mix in with our
boys. So we found a brown tabby to go with the black cat and the black and
white cat. We drove about 60 miles to see him. My wife wasn't sure he was
the right cat for us. I just wanted to help by giving a third cat a good
home. The people at the shelter named him Tommy. We decided to re-name him
Harley (after the toy I've been wanting so badly). So we head towards home
with the intention of stopping at petsmart to get Harley a new collar and a
ID tag..............and toys of course.
We walk in the place and right up front is a shelter org there with cats.
My wife (whose arm I had to twist to get the third cat) spots another brown
tabby and tells me she wants him too. She has this soul mate thing about
cats. When we got our first two, it was love at first site for a dog person
who "didn't really like cats all that much". Anyway, she pulls him out of
the cage and the rest is history. Oh yeah, one more thing; the name that
the second cat was given at his shelter................Harley. As we left
the petsmart store, I told her we should be proud that of our four cats,
none of them came from pet stores.

So now we have cat 1 and 2 (Boo and Spookee) and cats 3 and 4 (Harley and
Springer). Boo is doing the normal minor hissing as is Springer. But
Spookee the 3 year old 15 pound black cat has turned into devil cat whenever
he sees the two new cats; especially Springer the 6 Mo. old 3 pound tabby
(who also knows how to growl and hiss). We definitely can't leave the four
of them alone together yet.

Any suggestions for getting the two to behave? I have the feeling that
time will heal all wounds, but any suggestions would help.

Thanks,
Dave

[AWriteny]

says
> After saving a little brown tabby >lately that we wanted to adopt, we found
>out he was FelV+. We have 2 >other healthy kitties and didn't want >to mix
them in together.

So...what happened to this kitty?

[AWriteny]

says
> After saving a little brown tabby >lately that we wanted to adopt, we found
>out he was FelV+. We have 2 >other healthy kitties and didn't want >to mix
them in together.

So...what happened to this kitty?

[Iso]

Remember that cats do not need to be social creatures - unlike the
pack-orientated dog; they function happily on their own without a social
structure around them. They are unlikely to feel the 'need' for a companion
even though you would wish to have another cat around. You cannot force cats
to like each other - some will live with a newcomer easily, others will
never relate, or they may just manage to live alongside each other in an
uneasy truce - you can only try. However, if there is no competition for
food or safe sleeping places (as in most good homes) then cats will accept
each other eventually and some will even seem to form close bonds with one
another.



While it may be a matter of feline choice as to whether cats relate, how you
introduce a new cat or kitten into your home and to a resident cat or cats
can make the difference between success and failure. Once a relationship
becomes violent or very fearful and the cat feels threatened, it can be very
difficult to change the behavior patterns. Thus, careful introductions which
prevent excessive reactions and take things slowly are vital. So far from
your description of how you introduced the kitten to the cat, you have done
everything correct. Either it accepts the kitten or it doesn't. You can't
force the relationship. I hope this helps...

[Iso]

Remember that cats do not need to be social creatures - unlike the
pack-orientated dog; they function happily on their own without a social
structure around them. They are unlikely to feel the 'need' for a companion
even though you would wish to have another cat around. You cannot force cats
to like each other - some will live with a newcomer easily, others will
never relate, or they may just manage to live alongside each other in an
uneasy truce - you can only try. However, if there is no competition for
food or safe sleeping places (as in most good homes) then cats will accept
each other eventually and some will even seem to form close bonds with one
another.



While it may be a matter of feline choice as to whether cats relate, how you
introduce a new cat or kitten into your home and to a resident cat or cats
can make the difference between success and failure. Once a relationship
becomes violent or very fearful and the cat feels threatened, it can be very
difficult to change the behavior patterns. Thus, careful introductions which
prevent excessive reactions and take things slowly are vital. So far from
your description of how you introduced the kitten to the cat, you have done
everything correct. Either it accepts the kitten or it doesn't. You can't
force the relationship. I hope this helps...

[Blue__Oval]

He went to a shelter that has a FelV+ room. He may not be adopted, but
he'll at least live with other kitties like himself.

"AWriteny" > wrote in message
...
> says
> > After saving a little brown tabby >lately that we wanted to adopt, we
found
> >out he was FelV+. We have 2 >other healthy kitties and didn't want >to
mix
> them in together.
>
> So...what happened to this kitty?

[Blue__Oval]

He went to a shelter that has a FelV+ room. He may not be adopted, but
he'll at least live with other kitties like himself.

"AWriteny" > wrote in message
...
> says
> > After saving a little brown tabby >lately that we wanted to adopt, we
found
> >out he was FelV+. We have 2 >other healthy kitties and didn't want >to
mix
> them in together.
>
> So...what happened to this kitty?