I need advice about our kitty...

[WillParkinson]

Cider is about 4 months old. He's EXTREMELY rambunctious and is giving the other cats (and both dogs) fits because he INSISTS on playing when they don't want to do it (which is all the time!)

Paul and I have to take a trip up to the shelter on Saturday and I told him I was thinking about bringing home another kitten about Cider's age so that he would have someone to play with. Paul doesn't think it's necessary. I told him that Cider needs someone to play with because that's part of his growing up and if he doesn't have someone to play with and is always rejected by the other family members he could be distant or mean.

What do you, the all wise and all knowing members of DU think?

(And I won't try to bribe or threaten you to take my side, either!)

[omshanti]

1. Yes, I tried to convince my hubby that very same thing.

and he didn't agree to getting another kitty, and now we have a psycho needy kitty.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Kittens love playmates

I have a litter of three right now, about 3 1/2 months old. They're totally off the wall! They're like a little gang, roving around the house, wreaking havoc. :silly:

[flamingyouth]

3. Most cats need playmates

I agree with the first poster that being alone can make them extra needy and psycho.

On the other hand, though, when they work in pairs, their crimes against the home and furniture can seem much worse (I have four...). Good luck! ;-)

[Bertha Venation]

4. Cider needs a playmate his age.

That's the simplest & best solution. Cider will love it, the other pets will thank you, and I'll betcha Paul will eventually dig the new kitty, too.

[grannylib]

5. Our Layla Babycat seems to want to play with Rio (our 12-year-old)

when Rio most wants to be left alone; we have found that it does keep Rio young though...she has learned to join in at times and escape when she just can't take it...
I suppose they are like us though...what works for one won't necessarily work for another...
Rio is on top of our PC tower glaring at me as I write this, and Layla is leaping in and out of my basket collection...

[BurtWorm]

6. How many cats do you have?

Do they go--and I do mean go--indoors or out? Would an extra kitty digestive tract in the house be noticeable?

We debated about getting a playmate for Perfect for quite a while because we live in an apartment in Manhattan, and kitty spoor was our main consideration. With one cat, it was totally fine, but somehow I knew that adding another would be a problem, and indeed it is. But Buster is such a delight, and the cats are like brother and sister. They rarely hiss, but they do love to wrestle, and they groom each other, sleep next to each other...They're just completely delightful together.

Buster has been a major boon. But if he hadn't worked out, we would probably have placed him in foster care and tried another.

[WillParkinson]

8. Cats...

We have 3 cats, 2 dogs and 1 mini-bunny.

The odor from the cat litter box isn't noticeable because we clean it constantly (clump litter is a good thing). Our cats are strictly indoor cats. I've seen too many bad things to allow them outside.

1 of the cats is 14 (or so) years old. All she wants to do is lay around and sleep. She doesn't want to be bothered by the young one. She hisses whenever he comes near.

The other cat is about 4. She "tolerates" the kitten enough to allow the kitten to play with her tail. But if the kitten tries to wrestle she's out of there like a shot.

Misty (our dog) is very good natured and if Cider tries to play with her she will allow it to a point but won't play back.

Heidi does NOT want the kitten anywhere near her and will growl at the kitten if she comes around. (It is VERY funny, though, to see this tiny kitty fly through the air and land on Heidi...)

I'm not sure about getting another kitty. I do, however, know that Cider can't be too happy if no one will do anything with him.

[ramapo]

7. Nobody likes to be alone

We've two cats, brother & sister. Sometimes they play, sometimes they fight. They're very good cats. Two are no more trouble than one.

I think cats are happier when they're not alone.

[WillParkinson]

10. Alone

Well, technically he's not 'alone'. He's got other fur friends in the house but they don't want the jumpy kitty all over the place. They are fine with him if he's sleeping.

[TheZoo]

9. When we brought Maggie into the "family"

She was about 5 months old. She tried to get Barney & Buttons to play with her, and usually got ignored. We did take turns playing with her and that got the other two wanting to play with us and her.

That was 3 years ago. Now all of them have started playing with each other. It just took them a few weeks to get used to each other; Maggie did learn when it was time to play and when it was time to do whatever cats do. She's very friendly (once she gets to know you) and I haven't seen any ill effects of her "kittenhood".

If all else fails, I'd take your position & adopt another cat. Then again, I'd adopt another one anyway except I'm so outnumbered as it is :-)

[WillParkinson]

11. Cider...

He's been here for a couple of weeks. I took out the laser pointer the other day and was moving it around. It's not that the other cats hate him it's just that he's too hyper for them. They want to sleep he wants to pounce. They want to sleep. He wants to play. They want to eat and he wants to eat with them.

I'm truly conflicted about what to do. I adore Cider and don't want him to feel left out. He tries so hard to get the cats to play and always ends up chasing them around and never getting anywhere (well, batted in the face a few times...)

[TheZoo]

16. Catnip?

Little 'bud goes a long way :smoke: That's another thing that I did to get them together. How long has everyone been together before Cider was brought home? It's all everyone getting used to everyone too.

[WillParkinson]

18. Star and Cat...

Have been together for a couple of years. Cat generally treats Star the same way. She just does NOT want to be bothered.

I think Star would really get along well with Cider if he'd just tone it back a few (thousand) notches.

[FlaGranny]

12. Ah, my last kitty who I got when she was

a little kitten, used to BOUNCE of the walls. One of her favorite things was to race into my bedroom and launch herself into the air by bouncing all four feet sideways off the foot of my bed. And how many times did I notice her looking down at me (predator-like) from the tops of my shredded curtains? But - my husband would have killed me if I got another one like that. ;-) I've had cats and kittens my entire life, but never another one like that black kitty - we named her Jezebel.

[WillParkinson]

13. Cider is a TRUE Attack Cat!

He hunts my feet. I actually have band-aids on my feet where he got me with a claw or tooth.

He grabs my ankle and starts biting on it.

The other day he was on the bed with Star and was licking her neck and ear and she was just laying there. Suddenly he pounced on her and started biting her neck and the chase was on.

[MuseRider]

14. Do you really think

you are going to be able to come home without another kitty? I am sitting here smiling, remembering your wonderful shelter adventure and just wondering how you would be able to NOT bring home another. It would probably be good for Cider but you do already have a pretty full house. Would it really matter much to Paul or does he just not think it is important? If he does not care, do it. Not only will Cider and the new kitty be happy, think of all the fun watching them play. Nothing like it.

[meti57b]

15. you can compensate for lack of same-age cat playmates ...

Just spend a lot of your time playing with your new kitten. Cider won't think it's unusual that you're his playmate.

You will then also need to spend a lot of time with the older cats so they don't think "favoritism" and become jealous.

At around 10 months to 12 months old, Cider can start to mix well with the other cats. That has worked for me.

[ronnykmarshall]

17. Get another kitten.

My newbies are 4 months as well. Ricco has previously been adopted, but was driving the previous owner's 8 year old cat up the wall. Now that he is with his brother they have a blast together.

[Catshrink]

19. Get another kitten!

This is the best advice. They'll have the same energy level and this will give your older critters some peace. A little peace anyway.

[CatWoman]

20. Will, as I stated in another thread

I try to get my cats in pairs, preferable siblings.

Streak and Trin have just too much energy for Male and Female.

Male winds up slapping them silly.

Streak and Trinity have each other to play with, and that takes a lot of stress off the older cats.