Ok, as some of you know, I lost my cat of 17 years last November. I need some feedback on new issue of adopting a cat.
The rescue lady brought her over yesterday afternoon for us to meet with her for the first time. I really liked her. She is about 2 years old and very petite (about 6 pounds). She is polydactyl with a bent tail that bends down upon itself. She almost looks like a bob tail. She has a cute personality. She is lively and curious. She has had only two people interested since she has had the kitty (about a year) because my guess she is a "special" kitty.
My surviving older male cat whom is about 13 was NOT AMUSED. I have had him for almost his entire life and the only cat he ever came into contact with was my girl that passed last November. They were never really close mainly because my deceased kitty use to smack him around a bit. Nothing major but she never let him get too close.
Now he has had the rule of the house for 6 months. He has become very close to both my husband and I. He curls right up with us constantly. He seems happy to rule the roost.
Yesterday I heard him make sounds that I have never heard. Growling, hissing and over all "back off" sounds. He is a laid back cat and not a dominant cat at all.
She was curious about him but was so into all our attention she didn't pay much attention. My husband felt horrible and kept checking on him because he was hiding in another room. I felt like I was betraying/ignoring him.
She is a scratcher and went immediately to a cheap rug we have and went to town (with all her extra toes)
Since we are getting new very expensive carpet installed in our bedrooms, hopefully I can train her to only use a scratching post. Our current kitty NEVER scratches anything but his post. He is perfect!
The lady is the classic cat lady that rescues cats. She has 24 cats in her house and the kitty she brought over smelled bad... you know the kind of smell a cat would have in a house with a ton of cats?
I fed her and she INHALED the food. The lady said she was making her look bad. I didn't think she was too thin but I could also see her putting on a few pounds in this house. I asked the lady if she has to fight for her food and she said no.... it just freaked me out that the kitty ate SO MUCH very fast!
I told her I would get back to her today with an answer. She said that she wouldn't let me have the cat until the middle of the month because she was going to bring her to the vet, get her spayed, nails trimmed etc. This is good because the traumatic part of our renovations should be over by mid June.
I'm so torn. What if my male cat never warms up to her? What if he loses his "neediness" with me that I love so much. What if he is truly happy being with just us and I am upsetting the household?
My male cat was so upset that after he smelled her cage, he promptly threw up (just bile). I know it was so traumatic for him. After all, it's his house and his people.
She said I could try the kitty for a month to see how things work. That seems so tough for me. I want to take this kitty away from her smelly surroundings and I feel bad.
Any feedback would be appreciated!
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