I'm picking up my new kitten in 3 hours!!

[huskerlaw]

and I totally can't concentrate on work! He's a 5-month-old brown & white tabby.

Hopefully he and my 2-year-old cat will like each other. :scared:

Your mission: entertain me. ask me questions. give me advice. Get me through the next 3 hours. :)

[In_The_Wind]

1. Do you have a name for the kitten yet?

[huskerlaw]

2. I'm thinking

Spencer...but I don't know if it fits him yet.

[In_The_Wind]

4. I know what you mean.

He might turn out to be a Percy or a Shelley or a Byron. :shrug:

[huskerlaw]

8. Hee hee...

the cat I have now went through 4 names before I settled on Riley. Fits him perfectly. And to think he was almost Quinn...and Maddox...and... ;)

[Sanity Claws]

5. I like that name!

I just love striped cats. I have two.

[huskerlaw]

9. Thank you

I have 2 now as well. My other cat is an orange & white tabby.

[Call Me Wesley]

3. Great to hear,

and don't worry if your older cat starts a hissy fit; don't get involved if it's not dangerous. They will settle it straight.

And don't forget to tell your older cat why you have a new kitten and that it changes nothing about your feelings for him/her, etc. Talk to him/her, really.

[huskerlaw]

6. Thanks!

I have been telling Riley that we're getting a new kitten. He looks at me blankly, but I'd feel really bad if I didn't even try to explain.

I plan on introducing it like it's Riley's cat, not mine. Not sure how that'll work...but that's the theory.

Thanks for the advice. :)

[nini]

7. Go on an ice cream run

:D


Good luck with the new kitty! If they don't get along at first just separate them when you're not there. They'll eventually be best buddies.


:hi:

[huskerlaw]

10. Cold Stone, here I come!

I wish. There aren't any downtown. :(

I've been trying to figure out HOW to separate them if necessary. I have a tiny one bedroom apartment. :shrug: Hopefully it won't be necessary.

[mikeytherat]

11. You might need to keep the kitten isolated in the bathroom initially

We are a three cat family, and we kept each new arrival isolated for a week or two to get acclimated to the new situation, but some cats take to each other immediately. We kept ours a bit separate so the older cats could get used to the "new cat" smell, and so the young one didn't hassled by his new brother and sister. They all three sleep in a pile now!

mikey_the_rat

[huskerlaw]

14. A couple WEEKS?

yikes. I'm hoping I don't have to separate them...the older cat really hates it when he's not allowed in (or out of) a room. After about 5 minutes, he starts meowing and scratching at the door.

They will both have claws, but the older cat is very mellow. I've had him since he was about 6 months old, as an only cat. No clue if he was around other cats before that, but I have a stray who comes up to the balcony for food and Riley is definitely submissive. Of course, that's with a full grown mean-looking male cat. But I'm hoping that means he won't be nasty and dominating towards a kitten.

Thanks for the advice! :hi:

[Benfea]

12. Kidgie!

We wubs kidgies!

|-|u66z0Rz!

[huskerlaw]

16. I wubs kidgies too

:hi:

[ET Awful]

13. You best have pictures posted first thing tomorrow morning!

:P

[huskerlaw]

15. Probably later tonight!

Here's a pic of the "older brother" aka Riley...



and

[ET Awful]

17. Riley looks like he could use a buddy!

That's why I got Althea, Quinn was getting bored. After my old roommate (who had two cats) and I moved on to other places and such, Quinn got lonely, so I got little Althea to keep us both entertained. One of the best decisions I've made in years :P

Quinn:



Althea:



Quinn is now the ruler of all he surveys, and Althea is the love sponge who likes to slipp under the covers and sleep beside me :P

[huskerlaw]

20. Awww!

Riley's name was Quinn for a few days...until I decided it didn't work for him.

And yes, he's bored and lonely. Hence the kitten. I hope they get along as well as yours do!

[ET Awful]

22. Hehehe, I can't picture my Quinn being anything but a Quinn.

It fits him very well.

And Althea, well . . . she's just Althea, I can't think of who else she'd be :P :P

[huskerlaw]

24. Funny how that works

I love the name Quinn, but after about 2 days I was just like "no...really not working for you there, is it?" and now I can't imagine him as anything but Riley. ;)

[GOPisEvil]

26. LOL! On his favorite red blanket!

:P

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Congrats, my dear huskerlaw!

I'm sure they will be fine......eventually! I have no suggestions beyond the very good ones you've gotten so far......

And I must say that Riley is GORGEOUS! I esp. like the second pic, where he is seen in profile......

Stunning pic, my dear, just stunning......

Good Luck! Not that you need it.....


:loveya: :hug:

[huskerlaw]

21. Thanks Peggy!

I'm hoping they're fine sooner rather than later, but I guess I'll find out tonight!

Thank you, I love the 2nd pic of Riley as well. Another one of those "thank goodness for digital" moments...I think I took 20 trying to get the profile. Riley keep looking at the camera! ;)

[Dave Reynolds]

19. That is a long time to wait for take-out.

Try another restaurant.

:hide:

[huskerlaw]

23. hahaha

:puke:

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

25. YAAAAAAAY!!!!!

:bounce::party:

[Arugula Latte]

27. Oh god, nothing is better than a kitten!!!

I'm jealous. JEALOUS I tell you!!!

Kitties :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

To distract yourself, you can start singing "99 Bottles of Beer On the Wall ..."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. I got a new kitty. It didn't take long for my 2 boyz to become pals.

This is the new guy, Jeoffry:


I chose him mainly as a companion for Milo, here:


It's been really fascinating, watching them interact. Jeoffry is about 8 months old, and Milo is 2-1/2. When Jeoffry first arrived, about a month ago, there was a bit of hissing and snarling, though nothing really intense. Jeoffry hid under the bathtub for awhile, but I was able to coax him out pretty quickly. I never had to keep the cats separated, and before long (about 2 days), they progressed from intermittent hissing to cautious butt-sniffing. By the end of the week they were buddies -- in fact, they (especially Milo) were ignoring me almost entirely. I began to worry that Milo was so fascinated with his new friend that he wouldn't pay attention to me any more.

But now everything is quite normal and comfortable. Milo is his old, cuddly, attentive self, and the two of them like to sit on or near me together. I also found them crammed together in Milo's heated cat bed (which Jeoffry, who is thinner and less fluffy, has mostly taken over for himself). Jeoffry has also assumed the duties of Alarm Cat, reliably waking me up every morning by biting my nose. The way it's working out, for the most part, is that Milo is my cat, while Jeoffry is mainly Milo's cat.

I don't know if this is typical, but I must say the intergration of the new kitty into the household was pretty painless. Maybe your cats will react the same way. It has sure been fun to watch.

(added): The boyz are curled up on the couch with me now. Milo is washing Jeoffry's tail.

[huskerlaw]

29. Kitty update

Spencer is SO cute. And fearless. He's marching around the apartment like he owns the place.

Riley isn't sure what to think yet. So far he's just following Spencer around, rather shocked at the gall of the young intruder.

But...so far so good.

Pics as soon as Spencer stands still. ;)

[GOPisEvil]

30. Congratulations.

How long before Spencer tries to make a move for Riley's blanket? It'll be ON then. Then after a while, you'll come home to a kitty pile on it.