Adopting an Older Cat

TripleH

Big mistake going on the BBC and reading about abandoned pets.

My wife is contemplating extending our pack further (beyond 4) but looking at adopting an older cat.

We presently have a 7 yrs old female, a 6.5 yrs old male (2 Burmese and biological siblings), 2.5 yrs old Maine Coon female and 2.5 yrs old (ish) malebundle of cheerfulness.

Has anyone introduced an older cat into a household of cats? For context the Burmese and Maine Coon did have a big sister until last May who they all worshipped.

We would only get an older rescue who was used to other cats and in some ways I feel our eldest is a reluctant pack leader. She tries to be boss but the middle 2 know her as their friend but she is our issue as to whether she will accept an older cat.

Ironically the rescue is happy to get on with anyone and the friction is him trying to still make friends with our eldest.

Has anyone introduced an older cat to a preestablished pack or is this a bad idea?

CalJo99

No experience (my sole cat is king of all he surveys)(until the neighbour's cat arrives...)

It would be a challenge all round I feel, given that he/she might overboss the others, or be 'bullied' himself (animals are so ruthless, sigh)

It's a lovely idea though, and I think rescue centres love to rehome older cats (and dogs) as they are not as popular alas.

It would be so nice to offer a forever home to a poor chap/chappess who has lost their previous home, and faces otherwise a 'homeless' old age.

All the very best with it. Cats do find their own level, of course, and even if he were more bossed than bossy, providing you ensure he/she has their own 'safe space' they can retreat to, and their food is not predated, etc etc, it would be better than being homeless.

TripleH

That's our thought. I do think our eldest is only reluctantly the pack leader. That or she still misses our eldest (who was more of a mother figure than her own mum).

The other 3 are followers and genuinely seem the type to accept whoever is the leader as such.

I feel happy giving an abandoned cat a loving forever home but not at the expense of our other 4.

SensibleSarah

The tricky thing with introducing new cats is that you never really know how it'll work out until you try it - and then you're already committed. It's all about the mix of individual personalities, I find. For many years I had 4 unrelated rescue cats, and none of them particularly liked each other. The youngest bullied the eldest at every opportunity, the others tolerated each other but were rarely in the same room by choice. I lost the three eldest in a fairly short space of time and the youngest (who was about 8 by then) was utterly bereft as an only cat - even though she wasn't really a fan of the other cats in the first place as far as I could tell - complicated creatures! She just seemed a bit depressed and while I thought it might improve over time, it didnt really and got worse if anything.

It took me a good few months to decide whether to add more cats to the mix again (I also have 2 large dogs) as I didn't want to make things worse, but last summer I went for it and adopted 2 male rescue juveniles (six and seven months old respectively - not related but were surrendered from the same previous home and were bonded) as I thought that would work out better with one of my dogs and the diva resident cat than young kittens, but not be as combative an addition as a full-on adult cat/pair of cats. It's worked out marvellously, I have to say. While it upset the resident cat for a few weeks and she moved into the garden temporarily in disgust, 9 months on, she's a happier cat than she's ever been. She plays with the boys (who adore each other and the dogs) and has more energy and zip about her than she's had for years. She's the boss - and the boys are happy to abide by that rule, so it all works pretty well. 

As an idea OP, it might be a good plan to speak to your local rescue about potentially fostering with a view to adopting, if that's something they are prepared to do, so that you can essentially try before you buy with a new addition. That way, you can do introductions steadily over a couple of weeks and see how it goes, but if things really don't work out then you haven't already made a lifetime commitment. 

TripleH

Thanks, not thought of being a Foster home, it's a good idea but might bed in our rescue a bit longer. He's great with kids and those indifferent to him but is still wary any adult who tries affection is there to take him away.

Think our eldest is realistically the issue, she tries to be the boss but just lacks the confidence to exert herself on the others by skull cracking.

babyshoes

I second the idea of foster to adopt, a lot of rescues might be open to that idea. 

From what I've heard over the past few years volunteering in the rescue world, you'll likely have more luck with a small local rescue than with a big national one, since the small rescues are able to get to know each cat as an individual and can help you find the right one for your home. The bigger ones simply have more cats to care for and don't get to know each one quite as well. 

What area are you in? I know we have a few oldies needing retirement homes at the moment, including my current foster who is the sweetest, diabetic elderly love bug...

I foster and volunteer for Animal Support Angels, in Hertfordshire.
We're a broad reaching animal charity, supporting pets and other rescues in many ways. We have a number of foster-based rescue cats since all the rescues in our network are constantly full with a waiting list these days. 

If you're within shouting distance, do Google us and get in touch. If we don't have any suitable cats for you right now or of you're a bit far away, we may well be able to point you to a rescue we know closer to you that might be able to help. Best of luck! 

TripleH

Thank you, we are Greater Manchester so a bit far away.

We will have a look, thank you forcthe suggestions.

We found a nearby cat sanctuary last year as we had just received a delivery of senior cat food the morning we lost our old girl. We couldn't face returning it and our other 3 (at the time) are a bit young for senior food. So we donated it to the cats rescue. It did make us a little sad (and grateful) that our 17 year old appeared very young and full of life compared to the other cats of a similar age there.

Snuggles

I personally don't think I would do this. A kitten/young cat is going to have more chance of adapting and finding their place in a multi cat household. If you just had one other cat, then it would likely work, but expecting an older cat to cope with an established household of 4 cats is a big ask I think.