new kittens advice

pukkamum

Hi as some of you may know we had our beloved rosie cat pts just before xmas and she left a huge cat shaped hole in our lives.
I have been in contact with a lady who has 2 kittens for rehoming, they are 10 weeks old.
I would like to take both as I think they would be happier together.
However, they are both male, I have had a male and female before but never 2 males, so was wondering if there would be any issues with having 2 males I should be aware of.
Will they fight?
Will they continue to get on once grown?
Also she is coming to do a home visit which although I am very pleased about, it shows a good level of responsibility, I am a bit nervous, what will she be looking out for do you think?
Don't want to get the kids hopes up only for her to not agree.
Any advice welcome.

Tiglath

5 females, 4 males here - the girls are the worst; we have feuds that have been going on for close to a decade in some cases. 2 males will be fine together (they'll rough and tumble but it won't be outright warfare) but get them neutered when the vet says they're ready. The home visit will probably look at things like access to the outside, closeness to busy roads, amount of time people would be at home with them.

laurel7172

I had two boy kittens.

They slept together, groomed each other, and hid around corners waiting to pounce on one another until the first one died at the age of 11.

So go for it. You won't regret it

joansgirl

Hi Pukkamum, I'll give you the benefit of my experience for what it's worth.


I had 2 cats from CP who were brothers. They had been kept together as house cats for 7 years, un-neutered. They fought quite a lot. CP neutered them and the fighting abated quite a bit but we did still have the odd spate of "handbags". It was never very serious, just loud with a bit of fur flying and the 2 cats rolling around on the floor like a fluffy football. They never did each other any harm. A lot of it was probably "learnt behaviour" so if you've got 2 that are brought up together and are used to each other and are neutered asap I would think that any fighting would be no worse than if they were unrelated or of different sexes.


I've also had (at a different time) a female and a male, unrelated and different ages, and they used to fight sometimes too, with the much smaller female coming out on top. Cats are cats and some will fight and some won't. I think you're better off getting the 2 together than getting 1 now and another later on when the first one's territory is already established.


As for the home check she's only going to be looking at possible hazards for these kittens and trying to ensure they're going to responsible people. So long as you haven't got a couple of slavering, snarling out of control dogs and you don't live in a pigsty you'll be ok. She might also be interested in the roads around your home and the garden etc.

pukkamum

Thanks everyone thats all very reassuring, I am at home all day and we have a big enclosed garden, so not worried about that.
The road issue I'm slightly nervous she may balk at, although ours is a quiet street we have 2 main roads nearby, although a good few blocks away and my previous cat and the various other cats round here never seem to venture near it.
Wondering how much spraying I can expect from male cats and whether this can be deterred some way.
Also I have rosies bed that has been washed but wondering if it will still retain her smell and the kittens won't like it.

gunsandbanjos

I would say go for it, as long as they are neutered. I have 2 unrelated cats and they get on fine.

Gold_Dust_2

We had two un-neutered boys for years, and after they established a pecking order there was hardly any fighting. They preferred to spend most of their time outdoors. After they were neutered (around ages 9 & 10, there was barely any fighting at all (I can't remember any, just assuming that there were one or two spats for fairness' sake). One was around one and a half before the other was born, and was clearly dominant. Most of the fighting that occurred was between the males and the female, and that was mostly because she picked the fights herself. She used to wait until they were walking past her on the stairs and would take a swipe at them through the banisters :rofl:.

You should be fine as they were born and brought up together, and if you get then neutered ASAP then it should be smooth sailing all the way!

pukkamum

Hmmm the lady decided she didn't need to do a home visit so lyla and I went to collect them.
Now I'm no expert but I think I have been misled.
She gave the ages as 10 weeks but my goodness she must have been feeding one of them steroids he is bigger than my late cat was fully grown.
The other looks like he could be maybe 15 wks but perhaps fair bit more but I have a heavy suspicion I've been given father and son as the other is so big and not playful at all.
I know I should have said something but lyla bless her was so excited.
Feel bit deflated now, they have both just hidden under the couch.
oh gosh.

Tiglath

You'll come to love them anyway It's not such a bad thing having an older steadier boy - enjoy your new babies

pogofish

pukkamum wrote: »

Any advice welcome.

Always post photos of them!

fairy_lights

How very strange! The woman you got them from must have noticed the age difference so I wonder why she didn't mention anything...maybe she thought no one would want to rehome an older male so thought it would be easier to try and pass them off as brothers?