Forums » Smalltalk » A third cat?!

As if having two wasn't enough, I now appear to be in the possession of a third kitty.

Long story short: sisinlaw had two cats when she met my sister. When they moved, they adopted two more kittens, Lady and Shane. Shane was technically my sister's. Sister isn't a cat person though, and when they got a dog the cats were banished to the attic with minimal attention, only having each other.

My sister decided the two young ones are to be adopted out, the other two will stay and will have to get used to the dog. She adopted Shane out to a mutual friend, but he's a bit of a moron who doesn't know how to raise cats. He already owns two cats, Shane was to be his third.

The day after he got her, he took her to the vet to get castrated. She got to go home that evening. So not only was she ripped out of the only home she's known since she was 6 weeks old, she also was recovering from a stressful surgery in a house with two new cats. This is definitely not the way to bring home a cat. Furthermore, this guy is a super stressed person whose stress rubs off on his cats. They're aggravated creatures who don't get along with anyone and are very anti-social.

Shane fought a lot with those two cats, unable to get along with them after over a month of trying. He put her back up for adoption to find a new home, but when the cats seriously started to injure each other I offered to take Shane in. So I did.



She was brought to me yesterday evening, very timid and scared of Dette and Minke. Dette and Minke have stayed rather calm and indifferent towards her, hissing occasionally but giving her space. Shane was terrified and hid in dark corners, eventually hiding under my bed covers.



There's a lot of tension, mainly originating from Shane that makes Dette uncomfortable. However, there's no aggression from either side. Minke doesn't hear her verbal warnings, but he recognizes her hissing and body language perfectly - he just stares at her, then turns around and walks away with ears and tail up.



Shane is super affectionate towards humans though. She snuggled with me beneath the bed covers all night and explored my apartment while the other two slept in the bathroom. She's very sweet and is handled easily. I can trim her nails, check her teeth and do anything without being swiped at. Contrary to my other cats though, she plays with nails and teeth.

I took her to the vet today to give her shots and to get her chipped. She's doing a lot better today. She doesn't stay huddled up in a corner anymore and walks around more freely than yesterday. She likes to sit on top of the wardrobe and watch what's going on.



I can tell that being with relaxed cats in a low-stress environment is doing wonders. She's getting bolder and is beginning to explore while the other cats are around. She's not eating or drinking well yet, but I don't expect that to last very long.

All of them will need a couple of weeks to get used to each other, but my expectations are quite positive. I don't know if I'll keep Shane just yet. My initial plan was to get her socialized and then put her back up for adoption, but if I grow attached to her and she gets along with my guys, I might end up keeping her. She's a gorgeous grey tabby with some red in her (her mom was a gorgeous red tabby) and super sweet.

Aww so cute... i love cats and at onetime due to my cat haveing twolitters of kittens i had 17 cats

Oh man. I have a studio apartment, I already found two cats to be a lot. Three is really pushing it for me! Thankfully all of my cats are fixed (their entire uterus and ovaries are completely removed) so there's no chance I'm getting a litter. I wouldn't know what to do with so many!

yeah we ended up only feeping 4

Thunder (who was the father of my cat now )
lightning
romeow (who was mute)
and Juliecat

(( but we still ended up giveing Juliecat away ))

Shane is incredibly adorable! I really do hope she'll open up to your other cats and gets accepted soon. That little girl is just too cute to stay at the adoption center.

Good on you for having them all fixed! I love kittens, but... I hate kittens too... ;P I hope to foster more orphans this summer now that I'm working from home, but... we'll see how it goes. X) Shane is such a cutie pie, too! I've always wanted a kitty that likes to snuggle under the covers! That has to be the cutest thing ever. ;_;

By the looks of it she will eventually get adjusted. She's doing a lot better today than yesterday evening, so there's definitely improvement! The vet told me it often just takes time. She's not a mean cat, and there are pheromones and some natural herbs (similar to catnip) that help relax cats in case they need some help!

I know how easy it is for cats to get knocked up and spawn litter after litter - I'd like to think that by taking the responsibility of taking care of an animal, I don't let them breed knowing I don't have the resources to pay for the best care possible. Fixing them is part of that!

Fostering is a new experience, but I'm growing very attached to this pretty lady real fast. So I don't know if it will stay a foster experience or not.

All cats in my house are total snugglebutts who snuggle in bed with me. Just right now, Shane is the only one because she doesn't let the other two come close. But Minke often snuggles up against my chest, and Dette snuggles up behind him when I lay down. I think I may have hit a jackpot here!

My cat sleeps under the covers with me as well! It's so cute, she is very snuggly...but usually only with me

I love her coat and she seems super affectionate! I hope you get to keep her, but if not I'm sure you'll find her a wonderful home

mine will crawl under the blankets to ! i thought mine was the only cat that did that

This is the reason I have a seven month old puppy now, Sanne My boyfriend fell in love with her while I was trying to work out a new home. Congratulations on your third cat

From the video that cat looks super friendly and adorable I hope things turn out good for that cat, it was nice to hear a cat purr like that after a few years without one.

When I sleep, I start with laying on my back until I turn to the side to face the wall.
The cat I owned years ago did not care that I was laying in an awkward position and climbed ontop of me to sleep on my hipbone

You are officially dubbed the Angel Cat Lady, Sanne!! That cute little kitten looks sooooo adorable!! She seems so cute and she apparently absolutely loves you. She must still be wary about cats from her last home. I'm glad someone loving has taken her in to help her Poor thing, but at least she has you!

Yay cover cats! Snuggly kitties are the best.

@Fox: Hah, that is quite awesome. I've no idea how this is going to work out for me, only time can tell.

@Ed: She definitely adores humans! She has a very loud purr, it's lovely.

@Jane: Both my other cats do this too. I've been used as cat furniture a lot.

@Ross:

@Celes: Nooooo, I'm the CRAZY cat lady! Shane is also a tiny cat, she was born in November 2011 so she's not really a kitten anymore, but she has some catching up to do with being a housecat. I also think she's wary from her last experience, but today is the third day, and she's improved heaps and heaps.

Ergh, it's a bit of a doublepost but I didn't want to lump a big update in with a whole bunch of replies in case people skim.

So I've been keeping the cats separated at night to allow Shane to explore my apartment at night. She also hasn't been eating and drinking well because she's so wary and alert of the other two, and dashes at the tiniest movement, so having the food and water to herself ensures she can eat and drink undisturbed.

I really noticed she is an entirely different cat when there are no other cats around. It makes me wonder (and a bit sad) about what happened that made her like this! Without other cats around she's a brave little darling who goes on epic adventures and does many silly cat things. With other cats around, she's super hesitant, withdrawn and huddles quietly in a corner where she won't be noticed.

Thankfully, it's getting better. Minke is the most relaxed cat I've ever met, and he pretty much ignores Shane all the way. He was snoozing on my bed and I brought Shane with me to sit next to him. She was growling and hissing frantically, but Minke didn't react. He just squinted at her and dozed some more. (The benefits of a deaf cat! ) I petted her and tapped her nose when she started growling until she was a bit calmer. There was about 8 inches of space between them. Eventually Minke had enough and left.

On the third day, this is a serious improvement! I fed them wet food today, each in their own bowl, and put Shane's bowl close to the other two. She ran away and I went to get her, but she was making a serious fuss about being picked up. She started yowling, which prompted Dette to come to my rescue.

Seriously, I'm convinced Dette thought Shane was attacking me, because she rushed in and smacked Shane upside down before I could pick Shane up! I don't know whether that's adorable or something to be frowned on.

I didn't allow Shane to get away and put her down in front of her food, where she began to eat between growls. Dette joined in shortly after, and I had all 3 cats lined up eating next to each other. I have a feeling this is going to turn out super okay!

EDIT: This was a joke not right for this situation and I have there fore taken it down upon request. I apologize to anyone that I upset with this joke. I saw it as a harmless little thing.

New pictures!







She doesn't sit still long enough for a pretty picture so I held her still.

I stand corrected, thats a really cute cat!

If you could come visit, I'm pretty sure you'd fall in love with all three of them. My neighbor really hates cats, and even he is super fond of mine!