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[gennimom]

The only problem I had with my one male cat after neutering was that he made the foulest odors in the litterbox. That might have been particular to that cat though. Never had another male to find out. I first adopted a female and a male cat at close to the same time from two different places. They were kittens but of the 3-4 month variety. Then I found a 4-day-old kitten and rescued it. The two older ones didn't like her at first but always acted like they were afraid of her. A neighbor came by one day and left my door open and the older female disappeared. I never saw her again.

I made an arranged marriage for the kitten when she was about a year old, and she had a litter of 5. I gave all but one away. I then got rid of the male (he was extremely aggressive to the other cats) by taking him to my vet who never had problems getting cats adopted, particularly if they were already fixed. I had the momma and daughter until the daughter was nine, when she was put down for advanced renal failure. Along the way we adopted two more cats, one when she was about 8 weeks old, and another at about 6 months old. The two younger cats get along great.

Last year, we rescued another cat and she now gets along fine with the two younger females. We keep the oldest cat separate because she has to have a separate litterbox and food. She is a special needs kitty now.

I think how your cats get along depends on ages and personalities. Siamese are more outgoing and aggressive about wanting to be boss. If you have another cat, quite often they will be subservient to the Siamese.

[infopri]

Ratherbeincabo, I answered your question on the Herding Cats thread, so I won't repeat myself here.  As bacardiandlime indicated, you can never assume cats will get along.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.  Sometimes when they don't, they eventually learn to, and other times they continue to hate each other forever.  Proper introductions are important, but don't guarantee anything.

Are two boy kitties, brothers, raised together, likely to be OK as buddies and not sworn enemies?!

Getting siblings and raising them together is about the closest you can get to a guarantee that the cats will get along.  As scheherazade said, they'll figure things out early in the game (in terms of dominance, etc.).  They may fight from time to time, but usually it's just a sibling spat and they get over it quickly.

I described in the Herding Cats thread how my second kitty (some of you know him as Big Cat) terrorized my first kitty (Jake, for those of you who remember her) until the day she died (of complications from surgery, unrelated to Big Cat).  But Big Cat accepted Little Cat unequivocally when I adopted him as a kitten, about two years after Big Cat had joined our household.  He groomed him, taught him how to hunt and how to get down from trees, how to avoid the scary dog in the next yard, etc.  They are still friends now, some seven years later.  Also, we often catsit (in our home) a friend's cat for weeks at a time, and he, too, gets along fine with our cats (and our dogs), which was a big surprise.  I thought we'd have to segregate him, but he whipped everyone into line (including Big Cat, who is our dominant animal, even over the dogs) in no time--even though he's declawed and missing half his teeth.  Go figure.

[llanfair]

Also, we often catsit (in our home) a friend's cat for weeks at a time, and he, too, gets along fine with our cats (and our dogs), which was a big surprise.  I thought we'd have to segregate him, but he whipped everyone into line (including Big Cat, who is our dominant animal, even over the dogs) in no time--even though he's declawed and missing half his teeth.  Go figure.

It's all in the personality of the cat.  My Stanzi is older and fatter than her little brother Chester, and she's too arthritic to win any fights with him; but it's never been necessary.  All she has to do is growl, without moving a muscle, and he wilts and moves away.  She's Boss Cat and always has been.

[infopri]

Also, we often catsit (in our home) a friend's cat for weeks at a time, and he, too, gets along fine with our cats (and our dogs), which was a big surprise.  I thought we'd have to segregate him, but he whipped everyone into line (including Big Cat, who is our dominant animal, even over the dogs) in no time--even though he's declawed and missing half his teeth.  Go figure.

It's all in the personality of the cat.  My Stanzi is older and fatter than her little brother Chester, and she's too arthritic to win any fights with him; but it's never been necessary.  All she has to do is growl, without moving a muscle, and he wilts and moves away.  She's Boss Cat and always has been.

I find it fascinating to watch the dynamics among animals, and especially how they change when you add another animal into a multiple-animal mix.  Visiting Cat is actually younger than Big Cat by about two years, and only a year older than Little Cat--but he's the same size as Big Cat (16 pounds or so), or maybe even a pound or two bigger.  (Little Cat is about 12 pounds.)  Both of them are about the same size as Little Dog.  White Dog is about 35 pounds, and Big Dog is down to about 70 pounds (from a scary high of 110 pounds).  Big Cat rules them all, unless Visiting Cat is here to share the throne.  And Big Cat pays much less attention to Little Cat (who's not too fond of Visiting Cat, but they've learned to tolerate one another), because he seems to prefer playing with Visiting Cat.  As soon as Visiting Cat leaves, though, he's back to playing with Little Cat.  Typical big brother, if you ask me. 

White Dog has always gotten along with dogs bigger than he is, but when we adopted Big Dog, she and White Dog had several altercations as they figured out who would be dominant.  I was nervous about how Little Dog would fare, when she joined the family a few weeks later, because White Dog had always been aggressive towards smaller dogs--yet he was fine with her.  The vet's theory is that, once Big Dog won the domination contest (which seemed to happen with Little Dog's arrival), White Dog no longer felt he had to dominate all the smaller dogs.

Little Dog just loves White Dog and wants to play with him, but he's way too old and arthritic and doesn't like her attentions.  And she's gotten very aggressive about stealing his food, now that he's too frail to fight her for it.  This never happened in years past, when he was strong enough to keep her away from his bowl.

[psychdiva]

Update on the Great Kitten Search of 2009:

We met the kittens this afternoon. The cutest little orange guys...but their mom is feral, and at 9 weeks old, these little boys have heard a few too many stories about how wicked humans can be. They hated being held. We decided, with much sadness, to pass on them.

To make the day even sadder, I had a mild allergic reaction to the kitties. I've never had cat allergies before but it looks like I've developed one.

[infopri]

Update on the Great Kitten Search of 2009:

We met the kittens this afternoon. The cutest little orange guys...but their mom is feral, and at 9 weeks old, these little boys have heard a few too many stories about how wicked humans can be. They hated being held. We decided, with much sadness, to pass on them.

To make the day even sadder, I had a mild allergic reaction to the kitties. I've never had cat allergies before but it looks like I've developed one.

I'm sorry to hear that, psychdiva!  But don't give up the search.  Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

I've got my fingers crossed for you!  (Hey, any chance you can adopt two or more of conjugate's nine cats?  Seriously, he needs to find homes for most of them.)

[mountainguy]

Sorry to hear that you had to pass on them, Psychdiva. I wouldn't worry about the allergies too much. Not all cats trigger them, and if it was only a minor reaction, it's possible that your body may get used to them.

(Hey, any chance you can adopt two or more of conjugate's nine cats?  Seriously, he needs to find homes for most of them.)

I would totally take one or two Conjugate's cats if I had more room in my current apartment. But I have about 400 square feet as it is, and my landlord probably wouldn't be very enthusiastic about them moving in.

[psychdiva]

Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

We called our vet and she said that kitties born of a feral momma are often mistrustful of humans, don't like being held, etc. This litter seemed terrified - hiding under the couch, hissing at the foster mom. We will try again, maybe in the spring.

Though it's been almost two years since she died, I really miss Beloved Kitty.

[oseph]

Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

Though it's been almost two years since she died, I really miss Beloved Kitty.

Kitty hugs your way ... sometimes I think about how long we've got left with ours, even though they're only four, and I get all teary.

[scheherazade]

Find a litter of kitties that isn't feral and is being fostered.  Those are usually kitties that are handled regularly from the beginning.  My kitties were held by all of us and the neighbors from day one.  The shelter should be able to help you out, as can any cat rescues in the area.  Often, you will get a deal on the adoption fees if you take two.

[infopri]

Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

Though it's been almost two years since she died, I really miss Beloved Kitty.

Kitty hugs your way ... sometimes I think about how long we've got left with ours, even though they're only four, and I get all teary.

I hear you, psychdiva.  My beloved Jake died almost two years ago, and I still miss her every day, in spite the menagerie I still have.  Now White Dog is approaching the end (no one really expects him to make it to the summer), and I'm sad.

[psychdiva]

Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

Though it's been almost two years since she died, I really miss Beloved Kitty.

Kitty hugs your way ... sometimes I think about how long we've got left with ours, even though they're only four, and I get all teary.

Thanks, oseph and infopri. I had Beloved Kitty so long - she lived past her 20th birthday.

[scheherazade]

Most kittens don't know yet that they're not supposed to like being held and having people play with their ears, paws, and tummies.  And a different family of kittens might not trigger the allergic response.

Though it's been almost two years since she died, I really miss Beloved Kitty.

Kitty hugs your way ... sometimes I think about how long we've got left with ours, even though they're only four, and I get all teary.

I hear you, psychdiva.  My beloved Jake died almost two years ago, and I still miss her every day, in spite the menagerie I still have.  Now White Dog is approaching the end (no one really expects him to make it to the summer), and I'm sad.

Has it been that long?  I remember your posts about Jake passing away (in fact, I was just thinking about it the other day), but it seemed like it was somewhat more recent.  I guess it was so poignant, it was more vivid to me.

[mystictechgal]

A note on ferals...

They can be a lot of work at first--mostly the work of understanding, patience, and forgiveness--but they can be turned around.  And, what the kittens have "learned" is "unlearned" very quickly with the forementioned understanding, patience, and forgiveness. 

Honestly, right now my cat family consists of a formerly feral cat and her 5 kittens that were born here; plus one that was obviously formerly a pet that was left to return to feral.  The two elder cats that just died were the kittens of the most feral cat we ever took in.  (Who honestly gets that "title" only because she escaped after weaning the kittens before we could completely tame her--and she only allowed me to bring her in for the first time the night before they were born.)

We have--I have--tamed some very, very feral cats in my time, and kittens born to feral life.  They have all become beloved members of our family.

One of the worst cases was a feral, year-old, tomcat that we took in.  Tiger was so "bad" that after a week he did something that made John, furiously, throw him back out of the house one day, about a week after we first took (lured) him in.  He ran off, but returned to the door two days later.  John let him back in, and they had a "discussion"--which still included not touching him. 

When he died 15 years later, John cried like a baby.  So did I.  And, our laps and bed felt very empty--even though they were still shared by multiple cats, including other formerly ferals.

[geonerd]

Geokitty-II is a former feral cat. He had numerous health issues and he hid under the bed, behind the sofa, in the closet, behind the bookcase, etc. for several months when I first took him him. He cleaned up well, and has been my non-smelly non-spraying furry roommate and number 1 pal for the past 16 years.