Cat Chat 2

[PeachFuzz]

Ah I have the same problem.
I have a older cat, about 14? She always doesnt use her litter box, she always does it somewhere
on my carpets. Is there any other way for her to stop doing that? I have another cat, which is a boy, but uses a different litter box. Anyone know anything bout this?

Did she used to use the litter box and suddenly stopped? Where is the litter box located? Is it in a room/area she spends a lot of time? What type of cat litter do you use in it? Have you gotten her checked out by a vet? Is the box big enough for her to stand/sit comfortably in it?

[nazuna nito]

Ah I have the same problem.
I have a older cat, about 14? She always doesnt use her litter box, she always does it somewhere
on my carpets. Is there any other way for her to stop doing that? I have another cat, which is a boy, but uses a different litter box. Anyone know anything bout this?

Did she used to use the litter box and suddenly stopped? Where is the litter box located? Is it in a room/area she spends a lot of time? What type of cat litter do you use in it? Have you gotten her checked out by a vet? Is the box big enough for her to stand/sit comfortably in it?

She stopped when we got our recently new cat. We have one in our garage and one in another room, upstairs. She doesnt go to garage often, but she is mostly upstairs. We called the vet and they are coming hopefully, and yes she can sit/stand perfectly fine in it.

[maninkari]

I just got my 9th rescue. He was living in a shed outside my school, never once had interaction with humans outside of seeing people from my school at lunch. He's a total sweetheart, completely feral and scratchy but you can just tell that once he's not afraid he'll be the most friendly. Gets along with my other 5 cats (all rescued as kittens) too. Unfortunately there's no sign of the mom, I'd love to at least take her in to be spayed so she doesn't end up with more babies. My dog is being his mother now, and he's an amazing mom. I'm calling the kitten Sebby right now.
Enjoy the only half decent picture I have of him because black cats are absolutely impossible to get a good pic of.

[ru.]

Hi everyone!
I'm bringing home a kitten on Saturday. I was wondering if anyone might have some tips and/or personal experience on how to best introduce him to the other cat in the house?

The other cat is my parents' cat Neo (yes, I am an adult still living with my parents {like many millennials}). She was outdoor only for a few years early in her life and slowly transitioned to being indoor-outdoor. She has finally become mostly comfortable indoors and is less shy/more confident than she has ever been before. She is a very talkative cat and has become pretty social as well. I believe her to be somewhere around 7-10 years old (broad age range, I know). She is also spayed.

I want this introduction period to go as seamlessly as possible, as I don't want Neo to feel intruded upon and revert back to her shy nature. This is her home and I want her to be as comfortable as possible.
Any advice?


@Maninkari: That kitten is too cute! I love his little white mustache. If you need any tips or advice on taming ferals, let me know because I have a ton of experience taming feral and semi-feral kittens and cats.

[Thalassic]

It's best to keep the first introduction sessions short and sweet. You should pick one room of the house where the kitten can stay for a while and where Neo wouldn't be allowed to go, at least until they get comfortable around each other. I suggest having one litter box in this room, and another one elsewhere in the house for your Neo to use.

I've heard of this being a good method, and my cats used it a couple times too. Basically, if you have a small space between your floor and the door, you can call both cats to the door and let them sniff each other, maybe even stick a paw out at each other. Give them some treats and repeat a couple times.

After that (like, say, a week after doing the door thing), you could let Neo inside of the room, let her sniff around and come close to the kitten. If either of them show any sort of aggression, then stop this and try again tomorrow. The first couple weeks should be just for the cats to briefly meet each other under your close supervision. After that, you can start letting the kitten explore the rest of the house, while still keeping a close watch on them, in case the kitten intrudes in Neo's space and they get in a fight.

It's hard to say when you should stop watching their every move. It really depends on your cats. On some days my two will get along and sleep almost next to eachother. Other days they will chase eachother and fight, though so far the cat screams sound way worse than the fight actually is. But the more time they spend in the same space, the more they will come to tolerate each other. I've had my kitten home for about 5 months, and he is around 6 months old while my older cat is around 13 years old. And I'd say they tolerate eachother just fine about 9/10 times. The rest of that is full with glares, smacking eachother and running away, chasing eachother, and fighting.

[ru.]

@Εschaton Thank you for the advice! I think that's basically what I'm going to try with Neo and my new kitten.
I'll have him in my room 24/7 for the first week or so. I'll do a lot of scent-swapping with toys and bedding.
Then, I'll start to feed them on either side of my bedroom door and see how they react. I'll eventually let them into each other's spaces without each other present to let them explore their scents.
Then if that all seems to go well, I'll introduce them through my dog's big crate.
Hopefully it all goes smoothly!



Also! Does anyone have any advice about how to keep cats away from cords/cables? My bedroom is really the only space where I can keep my kitten for the first week+ and I was able to kitten proof it for the most part, aside from the cables and cords. I have a lot of them (gaming consoles, tv, satellite, charging cables, etc.) but I have no way of tucking them away.
Is there anything that I could spray on them as a deterrent to keep him from chewing on them? Or perhaps a sort of tape or something that might work?
Does anyone have an experience in keeping cats away from cords?

[Thalassic]

Cats generally hate the smell of stuff like oranges. So maybe buy a couple of those, save & dry the peels and leave them near the wires? We did this with our plants, and it did stop the cat from eating them since he hated the smell of the peels.

[Chihuala]

Cute <3


My cat wanted to get to her food bowl one day,.... And she literally jumped on the side of the table, flipped off, and landed on her feet.... My cat should be an acrobat :p

[ru.]

I'll try that and see if it keeps him away from them! Thanks Eschaton!

Here is the little guy in question. He's coming home on Saturday and I'm so excited to meet him!

[mew,]

I am so glad cats live longer than some animals. (I don't want this to be all about my rat, but he died last night, only a year old...)
Anyway... if it weren't for my cat, I would be having an emotional breakdown right now. He is always there to comfort me, with his big floofy tail. Whenever I'm crying, sick, or Iinjured, he will come to me, purring, and stay right by me. (Well, he usually does this anyway, but more so under the circumstances) it's like he knows my emotions. He knows when I need help... if it weren't for my cat, Idk where I'd be now.
This is Prince. This adorable, fluffy monster. He is a Norwegian Forest Cat. He's about 7 years old, less than half through his life (hopefully)
(The image is rotated... it was actually horizontal...)