"Stan Brown" <the_stan_brown@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:MPG.22d5fd05cfa0f6c598b6e8@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Thanks for the advice re leaving the cat alone.
>
> I may not have made it clear in my first article that I was thinking
> of adopting a *particular* one-year-old male, Milo. I saw him at the
> display in Petsmart and fell for him.
>
> Last night I went ahead and filled out the adoption papers after I
> got to meet Milo. He was not effusively affectionate, but after all
> he was in a strange environment. I picked him up and could tell he
> was just tolerating it to be polite, so I put him down and he did the
> head-bumping-ankle think, then flopped on his side on the floor to be
> played with. So I think we will get along.
>
> To answer the "adult pairs" issue, he was alone in the cage. When
> the SPCA phoned today after checking my references I raised my
> concern about his alone time and the lady said he was a very laid-
> back cat, used to being alone, and she didn't expect there would be
> any problem. As one poster here has mentioned, she also predicted
> he'd probably use much of that time for sleeping.
>
> A couple of you mentioned seeing how it goes and maybe getting him a
> playmate. If he was part of a pair I would have adopted both, but
> I'll be on the alert for symptoms of depression and if necessary I'll
> get a second cat. Maybe I can take him with me to the shelter and
> see how he reacts to various candidates -- if and when.
>
> Thanks too for the advice to find out what type of litter the shelter
> uses. I know cats don't like change, so I should probably start with
> the food and litter that he's used to. I'll phone them tomorrow. I
> have to buy all my supplies tomorrow, and then go pick him up Friday.
>
> --
> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
> http://OakRoadSystems.com
> ****kata ga nai...
Concatulations on adopting Milo -- and congratulations to him, too. I did
want to comment on a couple of items in your message: First, please *do
not
even think about* taking Milo to the shelter to see how he reacts to other
potential roommates. The setting would be entirely foreign to him at that
time, and his reaction would not be a good barometer for *****sing
adoptions. More likely, he would become completely stressed-out in that
situation, and you could even be exposing him to the possibility of coming
into contact with disease or parasites. That is also one (but only one)
of
the reasons that any new adoptee should be kept isolated from Milo if you
bring another cat home. Second, you should count on a considerable period
of integration before introducing Milo to another cat if you do decide to
adopt a companion. A second cat is a great idea, but they should not
simply
be "thrown together." That sometimes works, but it is a prescription that
can also lead to disaster.
Again, congratulations to you both!
MaryL
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7
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