To neuter, or not, or something else? (Redux)

Sorry I've waited so long to respond to your input. Real life went wild
on me and I haven't had time to respond until today. I am grateful to
you for your information and common-sense advice. I particularly want
to thank Margaret, Mary and Megan. That little flame war must not have
been the most pleasant of things for you all, but it allowed me to see
the issue from several sides, which is why I posted the question here
in the first place. I learned a lot, and Sam the Cat is going to have a
better life because of you. Thank you. My car, which was totalled in a
flood, has now been replaced, so I'm taking Sam to the vet as soon as
he can be fit into the schedule. I'm going to have him neutered, so he
will be serenely meowing soprano from now on.

Arjun Ray, you have some very strong opinions on feline care. Opinions
that definite don't usually come lightly. What are the aspects of your
background that formed them? Do you work in the animal healthcare
field? Are you a student? Do you run a shelter or a rescue home?
Knowing that about you would help me get the most out of what you have
to say.

I have a second question for you all. Sam dearly loves to look out the
window at the outdoor cats and 'talk' to them. In fact, he drives me
nuts at night now as he runs from window to window, often in a
continual circuit. Often over my weary body. Too often both!

I work seven days a week and I'm wondering if Sam, who's active,
inquisitive and intelligent, would be happier with a companion cat.
What do you think? What have you experienced and observed?
In grateful anticipation of more gems of wisdom,
Ingrid

wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry I've waited so long to respond to your input. Real life went wild
on me and I haven't had time to respond until today. I am grateful to
you for your information and common-sense advice. I particularly want
to thank Margaret, Mary and Megan. That little flame war must not have
been the most pleasant of things for you all, but it allowed me to see
the issue from several sides, which is why I posted the question here
in the first place. I learned a lot, and Sam the Cat is going to have a
better life because of you. Thank you. My car, which was totalled in a
flood, has now been replaced, so I'm taking Sam to the vet as soon as
he can be fit into the schedule. I'm going to have him neutered, so he
will be serenely meowing soprano from now on.

Ingrid, kudos to you for making the right decision. He will be the same
lovable boy afterward, only not as inclined to spray or wander.

[...]
I have a second question for you all. Sam dearly loves to look out the
window at the outdoor cats and 'talk' to them. In fact, he drives me
nuts at night now as he runs from window to window, often in a
continual circuit. Often over my weary body. Too often both!

I work seven days a week and I'm wondering if Sam, who's active,
inquisitive and intelligent, would be happier with a companion cat.
What do you think? What have you experienced and observed?
In grateful anticipation of more gems of wisdom,
Ingrid


How much space do you have, Ingrid? Meaning, is there room enough
for you to comfortably have two cats? Usually this means two cat
boxes and many cats like to have their own little territory to retreat to,
even if it is just in a single room. I feel certain Sam would be happier
with a companion since you work so much--but another consideration
is this: do you want TWO cats running over you at night or do you have
room to shut them out of your bedroom and still give them room to play?

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 14:38:13 -0800, ingrid.seim wrote:

My car, which was totalled in a flood, has now been replaced, so
I'm taking Sam to the vet as soon as he can be fit into the schedule.

Congratulations, great decision! Sam will be all the happier and
healthier cat for it.

I'm going to have him neutered, so he will be serenely meowing
soprano from now on.

There won't be any change in the timbre of his meows. :-)

What are the aspects of your background that formed [your opinions on
feline care]? Do you work in the animal healthcare field?

No. I have worked extensively with feral cats and TNR programs. My own
cats are "side effects" of such work. All of them walked into traps set
by me. One group I've been associated with is
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/.

I work seven days a week and I'm wondering if Sam, who's active,
inquisitive and intelligent, would be happier with a companion cat.

Quite probably so. Go for it.

On 2005-01-23, penned:

I work seven days a week and I'm wondering if Sam, who's active, inquisitive
and intelligent, would be happier with a companion cat. What do you think?
What have you experienced and observed? In grateful anticipation of more
gems of wisdom, Ingrid

I had this same thought process last fall and acquired a companion cat for
Oscar. It was a disaster. This is not at ALL to say that it couldn't work
for you and Sam, but here are some thoughts:

If you don't feel you have enough time for Sam, will you have enough time to
gradually introduce the two cats to one another? I somehow had the idea that
I could just plop Eros on the floor, and the cats would work it out. Well,
they didn't. There are a lot of techniques for gradually introducing cats,
but they take time. In the meantime, you may have to deal with elimination in
inappropriate places (for example, Oscar was so frightened of Eros that she
peed in the master bathroom, and I ended up moving her litterbox into the
bedroom) and other concerns. Cats can take months (plural) to sort out their
differences. Some never do. Even if the cats just tolerate one another, you
now have two cats needing human attention, rather than just one.

Do you have room for multiple litterboxes, probably in different locations?

How will you handle food? What if one cat scarfs up the other's food? Will
you know if one cat stops eating from the stress of having another cat around?

What if they *don't* get along? In my case, before I accepted Eros, I made
sure his previous owner would agree to take him back if things got rough.
Unfortunately, when push came to shove, she wouldn't do it. I kept Eros in a
(nice) boarding kennel while I tried to find someone to adopt him ($13ish/day)
.... then, when that seemed not to be working, I took him to a very good
no-kill shelter ($50 for dropoff). I mention the money, but the money was
inconsequential compared to the heartbreak of giving Eros up. Then I visited
him at the shelter for about a month before he was finally adopted. He looked
a little less healthy every time I visited him. In short, have an exit
strategy in case the cats just won't get along. You might be able to keep the
cats in separate parts of the house, or you might have friends who would take
the cat. Just think ahead.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

ugh. I have a 600-square-foot loft apartment. The only doors in it are
to the bathroom and the closets, so i've learned to sleep through Sam
enthusiastically "massaging" my scalp with his paws/claws at night.
Listening to him purr while he does it makes it worthwhile. I often
don't feel I can meet all of Sam's emotional/psychological needs, but
HE found ME, not the other way around. He ran in my door one night and
no one answered my announcement of that in the newspaper. No one called
either of our animal shelters, responded to the notices I put up on the
doors around where I live, or called the vets around me to claim him.
He's an absolute angel of a cat. I love him now and there's no way I
could turn him over to the pound. I just hate to see him looking so
lonely.

On Fri 28 Jan 2005 09:51:14p, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com):

i've learned to sleep through Sam
enthusiastically "massaging" my scalp with his paws/claws at night.


LOL! I had a cat who did that to me. He'd drool on my face and hair
too. Then he'd sleep on my head. I can't tell you how many mornings
I'd wake up with fur in my mouth. He was the reason I had to draw the
line with sleeping arrangements and had to shut the BR door. He got
used to it. I, however, didn't. I missed him.

--
Cheryl

wrote in message
ups.com...
ugh. I have a 600-square-foot loft apartment. The only doors in it are
to the bathroom and the closets, so i've learned to sleep through Sam
enthusiastically "massaging" my scalp with his paws/claws at night.
Listening to him purr while he does it makes it worthwhile. I often
don't feel I can meet all of Sam's emotional/psychological needs, but
HE found ME, not the other way around. He ran in my door one night and
no one answered my announcement of that in the newspaper. No one called
either of our animal shelters, responded to the notices I put up on the
doors around where I live, or called the vets around me to claim him.
He's an absolute angel of a cat. I love him now and there's no way I
could turn him over to the pound. I just hate to see him looking so
lonely.


Why is Sam lonely? Do you work a lot?

On 23 Jan 2005 14:38:13 -0800, wrote:

Sorry I've waited so long to respond to your input. Real life went wild
on me and I haven't had time to respond until today. I am grateful to
you for your information and common-sense advice. I particularly want
to thank Margaret, Mary and Megan. That little flame war must not have
been the most pleasant of things for you all, but it allowed me to see
the issue from several sides, which is why I posted the question here
in the first place.


Well, it got me off my butt to make a web page about
"Alternatives to Spaying / Neutering" and other matters, which I'd been
meaning to do for a long time -- and now have up at my site, or at least a
start on it.



Margaret S.
--
http://www.sangerfan.com
Nothing I say is professional advice. Consult your own doctor, lawyer,
veterinarian, butcher, baker, and candlestick maker.