Letters to the Editor
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Get another cat
I had a biting problem with my first cat, due primarily to my own ignorance. I made the mistake of playing with her with my bare hand. Not a good idea since she, a very playful 8-month old, took that to mean that it was okay to play with (that is, bite and claw) my hand and, by association, my bare feet as well. Exasperated, I called the shelter from which I'd gotten her and described the problem to the supervisor. She listened quietly and told me that, although it might be difficult to accept if I were having a problem with one cat, the best solution was to get another cat. The first cat, you see, just wanted to play and would do so with the other cat rather than my hands and feet. Somehow that made sense to me and that weekend I went to the same shelter and got a 3 1/2-month old male. Immediately the first cat wanted to play with the second, discovered that he didn't enjoy her biting and scratching, and she learned to refrain from doing so. And she transferred that restraint to her interactions with me. I never had a biting or scratching problem with her again.
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I won’t be watching this show
Contrary to this article I do not find all cats to be solitary. In my life I’ve owned maybe 15 cats and only one of them would I describe as truly solitary – the rest were very social. I even remember a BBC documentary from years ago that supported the idea that housecats will naturally form prides just like lions.
And forget this self esteem nonsense. When you get a kitten you must play with it. All. The. Time. You must tire the little guy out (and that feather on a fishing pole is really the best – my young guy will do 5 foot back flips over it and I get the best kick out of playing with him). If you don’t have time for that it’s best to get two kittens and they’ll tire each other out. Pairs of cats groom and play and stalk and teach each other biting boundaries – lots of private shelters won’t even adopt out single kittens because they get lonely and messed up on their own.
Even older cats need play and exercise – you can’t just expect it to sleep all the time. Of course a cat with a ton of energy is going to go looking for trouble. I feel like I could have stopped by the author’s house and say, ‘play with your cat’ and I’d have solved all her problems without the crazy cat lady talk.
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Two cats are best; single cats get lonely.
A major reason that cats, especially kittens, cause damage is that they are bored, especially if left alone during the day. Getting a second cat is the right thing to do. Moreover, studies show that kittens who grow up with other kittens develop better both mentally and physically.
Also, never declaw a cat. Aside from being inhumane and leading to health problems down the road, such as arthritis, declawed cats are more prone to bite, having lost the ability to use their claws to defend themselves.
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my cat
My cat, Louie, used to attack me at night in bed quite scarily after I came back from trips of several days' duration even if my husband had stayed home. One minute he'd be on my belly purring, then the purring would stop, his tail would start whopping hard, he'd get that wild-eyed look, pupils dilated, and pounce, all within seconds. Of course I'd shriek and my husband would come to my rescue, fiercely shouting. It didn't stop Louie's attacks.
Louie had grown up with one dog, a gentle creature, but when we moved to Mexico, we found ourselves adopting, one after another, three not-so-small street dogs. I don't know if this is connected or not, but because Louie obviously was nervous about the situation and because I felt bad that he suddenly had so many more animals to share life with, I started giving him his own special time when all the other pets were closed out of the bedroom. He thus gets an hour a day more or less of snuggle time. And he has stopped attacking. He also seems to come to deliberately provoke the dogs. He'lljust appear where they are and start growling, a long, persistent, low growl which always peaks their interest. They come and bark at him, and then he gets his reward: I rescue him. And as soon as I pick him up, he starts purring.
Cats are more trainable than I ever dreamed: one day we went to Sea World in San Antonio and saw a performance of trained CATS that would put dogs to shame. All were apparently abandoned cats from the Humane Society. And more social. In San Francisco, along the bluffs of the Ocean side there are a lot of ferile cats. many of them clustered in groups snuggling and caring for each other.
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multiple cats
As many people have noted, cats are pretty social and live in small groups.
So multiple cats are best, but they are individuals and like people may have personality conflicts within their small groups. Sometimes these conflicts turn out to be insurmountable; it can happen. Once in a while 2 cats will just not get along.
Cats will pair with dogs for a social life sometimes, but not always (and it depends on the dog, too). Cross species interaction is too much to ask for some cats--and these will stay aloof from humans too.
Have patience and good luck to all.
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Two cats are best - but...
It can be really, really difficult to introduce a new cat to an existing cat. It makes it easier when one of the cats is a kitten and a breeze if they both are - but even that takes some time to get everyone on friendly terms and sometimes that relationship never clicks the way you’d want it to. I would NOT recommend introducing a new cat as a quick fix to your existing problems as it could very easily make matters worse.
Its way, way easier to adopt two cats you know get along (littermates, a mom and its young kitten, shelter roommates who get along, etc) then it is to introduce a new cat to an un-socialized animal with aggression problems.