Adding new male cat to the household

We have a 7-month-old male kitten. When we got him, we had hoped to
train him to be a lap cat, but he only loves to play, not to cuddle. He
will sleep on the floor near us, but doesn't like to be in a lap.

Meanwhile, an 11-month old male cat has arrived at the local shelter.
This cat is VERY affectionate and loves to be held and stroked. He is
also a bit of a runt. We like this cat, but wonder if we would be
taking on trouble to introduce a second male cat to our household.

Thoughts?

hamilton wrote:
We have a 7-month-old male kitten. When we got him, we had hoped to
train him to be a lap cat, but he only loves to play, not to cuddle. He
will sleep on the floor near us, but doesn't like to be in a lap.

Meanwhile, an 11-month old male cat has arrived at the local shelter.
This cat is VERY affectionate and loves to be held and stroked. He is
also a bit of a runt. We like this cat, but wonder if we would be
taking on trouble to introduce a second male cat to our household.

Thoughts?

are either or both of the cats neutered? They both need to be if they
are not, and if they are, it shouldn't be a problem. I've always only
had male cats, 2 at a time, acquired at different times.

Both are neutered. I was afraid the playful cat might get jealous and
then become a bully or start spraying.

hamilton wrote:
Both are neutered. I was afraid the playful cat might get jealous and
then become a bully or start spraying.

I can't say you won't have problems, but if you introduce them slowly
and let them work out their relationship without showing favoritism,
things should be just fine. Be sure to play with the playful cat as
much as you pet and cuddle with the affectionate cat.

I once had a very large and mean (neutered) male cat. I brought home a
5 week old kitten who was the runt of two litters where one mama was
nursing 15 kittens. He wasn't getting much from her. Add to that
every parasite in the book and conjunctivitis... I figured he was
either going to die from all that or my other cat would kill him, but
he was going to die where he was so I figured I'd try.

The kitten, Calvin (who lived to be 20!!) took one look at Lamonte and
made his little mama mew and ran to him. Lamonte was at least 4 times
as big as the mama, but both were black. When Lamonte got over the
initial shock, he actually began to mother Calvin. He let him suck on
his teats, he cleaned him to stimulate defecation, and he bathed him.
Calvin lived a very long time very happily with his new "mama".
Lamonte was very active and playful and aggressive, and Calvin was very
sweet and affectionate. They had daily "rage out" sessions all their
lives, which shocked guests with their fierceness, and they cuddled
each other, too. My current 3 year old doesn't mother the new kitten
quite to the same extent, but they do groom each other as well as rage
out together. Hopefully you'll end up with two brothers who at the
very least tolerate each other. They'll probably get along fabulously.

On Tue, 10 Oct 2006, Lynne wrote:


hamilton wrote:
Both are neutered. I was afraid the playful cat might get jealous and
then become a bully or start spraying.

I can't say you won't have problems, but if you introduce them slowly
and let them work out their relationship without showing favoritism,
things should be just fine. Be sure to play with the playful cat as
much as you pet and cuddle with the affectionate cat.

I once had a very large and mean (neutered) male cat. I brought home a
5 week old kitten who was the runt of two litters where one mama was
nursing 15 kittens. He wasn't getting much from her. Add to that
every parasite in the book and conjunctivitis... I figured he was
either going to die from all that or my other cat would kill him, but
he was going to die where he was so I figured I'd try.

The kitten, Calvin (who lived to be 20!!) took one look at Lamonte and
made his little mama mew and ran to him. Lamonte was at least 4 times
as big as the mama, but both were black. When Lamonte got over the
initial shock, he actually began to mother Calvin. He let him suck on
his teats, he cleaned him to stimulate defecation, and he bathed him.
Calvin lived a very long time very happily with his new "mama".
Lamonte was very active and playful and aggressive, and Calvin was very
sweet and affectionate. They had daily "rage out" sessions all their
lives, which shocked guests with their fierceness, and they cuddled
each other, too. My current 3 year old doesn't mother the new kitten
quite to the same extent, but they do groom each other as well as rage
out together. Hopefully you'll end up with two brothers who at the
very least tolerate each other. They'll probably get along fabulously.

Awww, that's really cute. It is hard to predict what will happen when you
bring two cats together. I've had a lot of success with this. As Lynne
said, introduce them slowly. It can depend a lot on the temperament of
your current cat. If he's awfully shy, you could have problems. If he's
fairly outgoing and playful, it could work out very nicely. Male cats
don't necessarily fight. They can be great buddies. I have a tiny little
black cat who was born under my house. She was quite wild when I brought
her in. She and my male tabby are so much in love with each other, but
she hates the white cat. I swear, she's a racist cat! But the little
black cat and the male tabby have some fearsome looking tangles. A few
minutes later, they will be snuggled up and grooming each other. It could
also turn out that your playful cat just needs a buddy to roughhouse with
a little bit. Good luck! I hope it works out for you. I brought the
white cat into the mix because I didn't have a snuggly kitty either.

Eva

We've had male cats together and sometimes they've been aloof to each
other, and some have been great friends, even cuddling together.

We haven't had any problems with two not getting along at all --
fighting, that kind of thing.

Both of your cats are still pretty young, too. That should make it
easier. Hopefully they'll play and chase each other through the house.

Good luck,

Rhonda

hamilton wrote:
We have a 7-month-old male kitten. When we got him, we had hoped to
train him to be a lap cat, but he only loves to play, not to cuddle. He
will sleep on the floor near us, but doesn't like to be in a lap.

Meanwhile, an 11-month old male cat has arrived at the local shelter.
This cat is VERY affectionate and loves to be held and stroked. He is
also a bit of a runt. We like this cat, but wonder if we would be
taking on trouble to introduce a second male cat to our household.

Thoughts?

There is a great article http://maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm

Also get a copy of Phil P's October 2006 Newsletter- HELPING CATS
CO-EXIST-- more terrific information...

Lisa who has 5 boys and trying to introduce a formerly feral girl to
her fur ball household

On Oct 10, 5:26 pm, "hamilton" wrote:
We have a 7-month-old male kitten. When we got him, we had hoped to
train him to be a lap cat, but he only loves to play, not to cuddle. He
will sleep on the floor near us, but doesn't like to be in a lap.

Meanwhile, an 11-month old male cat has arrived at the local shelter.
This cat is VERY affectionate and loves to be held and stroked. He is
also a bit of a runt. We like this cat, but wonder if we would be
taking on trouble to introduce a second male cat to our household.

Thoughts?