Cat Chat 2

[ℋoney]

*screams*
im back with a picture of my cat! little story to it though, yesterday I went to my first pride festival which was pretty amazing... i came back with some goodies of course and my cat got to one! I thought it was quite funny as i've joked how my cat could be gay due to him hissing at female cats and getting quite interested in males, but who knows lol!

i caught him showing some pride !


and here he is in my lap fast asleep <3

[Brynmala]

Question 2 - The possibility of another cat;

Personally I wouldn't get another cat. Cats are not social creatures, they are on the whole solitary. Whilst they may live happily with family members, usually they only tolerate other cats in their space and both cats are to some extent stressed the whole time by having to watch out for the other cat. The signs are subtle and most humans miss them. Chasing is not necessarily a game - if the same cat always does the chasing then it is likely to be aggressive.

There's no guarantee that Fluff will get on with another cat, it doesn't sound likes she's that impressed with Ash, and given the restricted space they would be living in another cat will have very limited scope for establishing their own territory. Getting a kitten rather than an adult rehome won't solve this. I don't like to think about what would happen if they got into a fight and one or both fell overboard. To be honest I think Fluff is likely to be quite happy by herself once she gets used to the idea.

I've had 15 cats over quite a number of years. I have introduced cats individually and to groups, I ruined the life of my first cat by keeping his little sisters, and I've outright failed with some introductions, despite picking cats very very carefully. Currently I have 4, 2 were bonded when I got them, 1 tolerates them and the 4th has to live in a different house as, despite being perfect on paper to join another group, she wasn't prepared to play ball and get on with the others. At all, ever, and I have the vets bills to prove it.

[Topsy Turvey]

Question 2 - The possibility of another cat;

Personally I wouldn't get another cat. Cats are not social creatures, they are on the whole solitary. Whilst they may live happily with family members, usually they only tolerate other cats in their space and both cats are to some extent stressed the whole time by having to watch out for the other cat. The signs are subtle and most humans miss them. Chasing is not necessarily a game - if the same cat always does the chasing then it is likely to be aggressive.

-snip-

Thank you so much for the help.
I was thinking about I since she's always had Ash around and grown quite fond of him and was worried she would miss that, particularly in the sense of having a playmate. I must say I'm glad you warned me about her getting stressed out, she'd have to share the same small bedroom space that Fluff loves to death and I think would could very easily be a problem for her especially as she's never had to share it before. And I think in this scenario with Fluff it is, she's not truely trying to chase Ash but just trying to get him to play. She'll give up not long if he's not interested so I'm not worried about that, although I am a bit worried that Ash is starting to get aggressive but that's a whole other issue.

I feel as though she would be a lot more open to it than Ash was but of course there is always the worry that she won't. The factor of a kitten rather than an older is more because of the fact we live on a boat rather than anything but it will hopefully also be alittle more subdued and less defensive than an adult as well which I'm hoping would help if we did go down that road. Also the kitten wouldn't be allowed outside until it was old enough to get around by itself for that exact reason as Fluffs fallen over a handful of times too, just though I'd add in there is a way for them to get up on their own as well.

[realkitty56]

Question 1 - How to help my cat;

You can try to look for some small electronic cat toys, and take them outside a few times, let them get used to the shore so they understand that it's safe there, if there is any other cats around near that area, their scent might confuse and bother your cat, but a indoor cat is known to live longer than any outdoor cat, so don't do it to where the cat thinks they live outside.

When you happen to be at home, try to use some string/feather toys and laser dot toys if you can afford those, if you tire her out, it will calm her down and might help with the walking issue.

Question 2 - The possibility of another cat;

I happen to have 3 cats at home, Its best for when you have multiple cats that they get the time to get used to each other, it depends on how you act with the other cat sometimes on if the new cat likes you and the other cat, though if your cat is more used to a 1 cat home, you can separate them till they get used to each other being in the house, Play fighting isn't bad, as long as they don't Literally tear each other apart..

[coppercanary]

I have an issue that might not be solvable but I’d like to try.

I have four cats, three males (Oz, Spike and Bubbles) and one female (Silky). Silky is an indoor cat while the others go where they want when they want, indoors and outdoors. And that’s where the problem comes from.

Bubbles has absolutely no road sense. I’ve seen him rolling around in the middle of the road, cleaning himself in the road, walking in front of cars while they’re moving, sitting in front of cars while they’re parking... the list goes on and on. My question is: Is there any way to put some sense in his head? He’s ten years old, and he’s been able to go outside for all of his life. All of the people on the road know to look out for him, and I live on a quiet road in a small village, but I’m worried that someone will come racing up the road and hit him. I also can’t permanently keep him inside, as he’s always had access to the outdoors and would become stressed. I’d really appreciate it if anyone has any advice!

[Thalassic]

I have an issue that might not be solvable but I’d like to try.

I have four cats, three males (Oz, Spike and Bubbles) and one female (Silky). Silky is an indoor cat while the others go where they want when they want, indoors and outdoors. And that’s where the problem comes from.

Bubbles has absolutely no road sense. I’ve seen him rolling around in the middle of the road, cleaning himself in the road, walking in front of cars while they’re moving, sitting in front of cars while they’re parking... the list goes on and on. My question is: Is there any way to put some sense in his head? He’s ten years old, and he’s been able to go outside for all of his life. All of the people on the road know to look out for him, and I live on a quiet road in a small village, but I’m worried that someone will come racing up the road and hit him. I also can’t permanently keep him inside, as he’s always had access to the outdoors and would become stressed. I’d really appreciate it if anyone has any advice!

That's always a danger with letting cats outside and there isn't really anything you can do to prevent it aside from.. not letting the cat outside. You could try to leash train him and take him outside that way, or secure a space outside where he can hang out without being able to actually wander off.

[Sixx O'Clock]

I have an issue that might not be solvable but I’d like to try.

I have four cats, three males (Oz, Spike and Bubbles) and one female (Silky). Silky is an indoor cat while the others go where they want when they want, indoors and outdoors. And that’s where the problem comes from.

Bubbles has absolutely no road sense. I’ve seen him rolling around in the middle of the road, cleaning himself in the road, walking in front of cars while they’re moving, sitting in front of cars while they’re parking... the list goes on and on. My question is: Is there any way to put some sense in his head? He’s ten years old, and he’s been able to go outside for all of his life. All of the people on the road know to look out for him, and I live on a quiet road in a small village, but I’m worried that someone will come racing up the road and hit him. I also can’t permanently keep him inside, as he’s always had access to the outdoors and would become stressed. I’d really appreciate it if anyone has any advice!

Like Thalassic said, there's really no way to stop him from doing those things other than just removing him from the situation altogether. You can't exactly put deterrents on peoples' cars or in the middle of the road to scare him away, so that's not an option.
If you're willing to invest in it, a "catio" might be the best option for you. It's basically a fenced off area that your cats can wander freely in, with the fence built in such a way that they can't climb or jump over it. They can be fairly inexpensive if you pick the right materials. This page has some useful information should you choose to explore this option.

[realkitty56]

I have an issue that might not be solvable but I’d like to try.

I have four cats, three males (Oz, Spike and Bubbles) and one female (Silky). Silky is an indoor cat while the others go where they want when they want, indoors and outdoors. And that’s where the problem comes from.

Bubbles has absolutely no road sense. I’ve seen him rolling around in the middle of the road, cleaning himself in the road, walking in front of cars while they’re moving, sitting in front of cars while they’re parking... the list goes on and on. My question is: Is there any way to put some sense in his head? He’s ten years old, and he’s been able to go outside for all of his life. All of the people on the road know to look out for him, and I live on a quiet road in a small village, but I’m worried that someone will come racing up the road and hit him. I also can’t permanently keep him inside, as he’s always had access to the outdoors and would become stressed. I’d really appreciate it if anyone has any advice!

I agree with most people about the catio thing, why not try to add in some stuff in the catio you know they like/have their scent on already like beds,blankets, and toys, when they notice their scent is there, i've heard it calms them down.

For letting cats outside, i've heard of cats living outside have a lower life span then indoor cats, why not make bubbles a half indoor, half outdoor cat? like setting him in the catio if you plan to get one of those?

I have 3 indoor cats, though they do go outside accidentally but come right back in or get spooked so i don't have this issue.

[Brynmala]

I have an issue that might not be solvable but I’d like to try.

I have four cats, three males (Oz, Spike and Bubbles) and one female (Silky). Silky is an indoor cat while the others go where they want when they want, indoors and outdoors. And that’s where the problem comes from.

If Bubbles is going to get stressed by not going outside then there's nothing you can do about that, he needs to go out, or all your cats will suffer. Unfortunately there isn't anything you can do about knocking road sense into him, the only thing you can do is make a safe area for him.

A catio is a good idea, but - assuming you've got a garden/yard with suitably high fences - you can cat-proof the whole garden to give him more freedom, but not let him out of your space. There's plenty on the internet about cat proofing, and companies that will do it for you, but it is also perfectly feasible to make it a diy project. There's two main ways to cat proof your fences: angled wire/mesh on the inside so the cat can't climb out (cheaper but not very pretty to look at) or log rollers attached at the inside top of the fence that roll when the cat tries to get over them.

[coppercanary]

Thank you all for your advice! I think that I’ll invest in a catio or cat-proofing the fences, since keeping him within the house and garden seems like the safest option. Once again, thank you so much!