The decision to get a new dog should be one you make as a group. When the words "infectious" or "contagious" are involved, it can be difficult not to be slightly wary. Not all cats are pets - in some situations the previous cat was a working cat, perhaps one that was not particularly friendly to humans; in this case it should be replaced by a cat with a similar disposition. Before taking on a stray, try to find out whether it already has an owner e.g. Sadly, Chopper recently passed away; his vet thinks he might have had an undiagnosed heart defect. If you enjoyed feline companionship before, there is no reason you shouldn't enjoy feline companionship with a different cat. It is a matter of personal preference. Feed him and clean his litter box at the same time every day. The dog is most like ticked because of the new cat. These cats may be older, some may show signs of wear and tear and they may not have their pedigree papers available, but if you mainly plan to have the cat as a pet, a breed rescue society is an excellent place to go. Some bereaved pet lovers feel guilty, sad, or confused about adopting a cat or buying a kitten from a pet store. Some people adopt a new cat within hours of losing a previous pet, some need time to come to terms with their loss before they feel ready to give their love to another cat. After the death of a pet, it is advisable to keep the normal daily routine of any remaining pets in the household as unchanged as possible. Then wipe the new cat’s face with a different sock and place that in the resident cat’s area. Deciding if you should you adopt a new cat or kitten after the death of your beloved animal isn't easy. This will allow each cat to become accustomed to each other’s scent in a non-threatening way. The new cat will not be a replacement. In this case, your actions depend entirely on your personal code of ethics. How to Introduce Your Cat to a New Cat Litter or Litter Box. Put the new cat in the normal living quarters, and let your resident cat sniff out the new cat's safe room. If your grieving cat stops eating for more than 24 hours, seek help from his veterinarian. Getting a new cat soon after the death of another cat could cause your pet even more stress. Caitlin UltimoAugust 8, 2007Behavior / Stress & Anxiety, Four years ago, we adopted two kittens, Harley and Chopper, and raised them together. Bringing in a New Cat After the Death of an Old One Soul Cats. If all the cats appear comfortable in their spaces, place the new cat in a different room (equipped with the same amenities) after two days, and allow your other cats to enter the new cat’s original territory. In some instances a pedigree cat or kitten sold through a pet shop has turned out to be a stolen pet - the pet shop may or may not be aware of this, but nevertheless it causes great heartache for the previous owner of that cat and the legitimate owner may take legal action to reclaim their stolen property. Kittens from different sources may be mixed together, increasing the risk of infection. Terms of Use Privacy Policy Interest-Based AdsChewy Careers, The Best Toys for Anxious Dogs and Their Stressed-Out Humans, How to Keep Your Dog Calm Around Fireworks (While Still Having Fun! Is it wise to add a new cat companion to our family for him? That, in turn, would influence what type of companion to look for when he/she is ready. It is better to commemorate or remember a previous cat by adopting another one fully cognisant that it will be an individual with a character all of its own. Abstain from bringing a new cat into your home. Some enzyme cleaner should help too. Bringing a new cat into your home, even with careful preparation, can still be a stressful experience for your cats. Like with people, every cat handles the death of a friend differently. Unless the other resident animal was sick, there is usually no … Not sure about brothers but we've recently introduced 2 cats after the death of one cat in our house. Only buy a kitten from a pet shop if you are certain of the shops level of care and you have been unable to find a suitable cat or kitten from a shelter, breeder, vet clinic or other reputable source. Keeping a consistent and routine schedule will help Harley adjust to the loss of his buddy cat. There are heart cats, and there are soul cats. Kitten-mill kittens may be unhealthy or poorly socialised due to their poor start in life or because their mother has been weakened by over-breeding. Feline infectious peritonitis is a deadly disease in kittens and adult cats, and if one of your pets recently passed away from it, any concern in adopting a newbie may have some validity. Depressed cats often sleep more than usual. Let the old guy get used to smelling the new one around the house before they actually meet each other. Your new cat may be a memorial to your previous cat, it may commemorate a previous cat, but it will have a character all its own. Many pet shop kittens come from kitten farms or from owners who allow their cats to breed simply so they can sell the kittens. How To Manage Separation Anxiety In Cats. This is because it misses the company of a particular individual rather than missing company per se. Here’s How to Help Your Pet (and Yourself) Manage the Stress, Please Don’t Go! Even if the pet shop itself is excellent, it may still be providing an outlet for kitten farms or blacklisted breeders. He must eat, drink and use his litter box as usual. Although time will never completely erase the sadness of loss, it normally dulls the pain and many people decide, after months or years, that they miss feline company after all. You might also want to get a feliway diffuser to chill them all out for a while. This depends on what sort of cat you want. After the loss of a family pet, many people wonder how long they should wait before they get a new cat or dog. Some people prefer to adopt a cat which resembles the previous one. Read our guide to introducing cats for expert advice. If he enjoys cuddling at a special time, be available to him then. A: It hurts all members of the family, including other resident animals, when a beloved companion cat leaves us. Whenever bringing a new cat into the household, introduce cats to each other gradually and as stress-free as possible. Some kitten-mill kittens may be fraudulently registered as being the progeny of a renegade breeder's own cats. In addition, the cat may have been bred to deliberately exhibit certain health problems or defects. There are other valid reasons though. Of course it's hard to know what cats think death means. Slowly introduce them again after your doggie eases up on the peeing problem. ), Returning to Work? Start with One Cat: Begin by playing with only one cat in the room at first. They all have there own individual personalities so you can never replace a cat you loved so much. If you hope to replace a cat with one exactly like it, you will probably be disappointed. I do not recommend adopting a cat who looks like Chopper. A friend or colleague may have to rehome a cat because of changed circumstances - you should be able to get information on the cat's character and habits. An equal number of people adopt one which looks completely dissimilar so that they are not uncomfortably reminded of the former pet. 342 views They rarely sell adult cats, usually only kittens. Most people adopt another cat to fill the gap left by a previous one - a feline companion to give and receive love and to provide company and enjoyment. The death of a cat companion has a profound impact on a household – grieving humans, changes of routine and the absence of a familiar part of the social unit. If your grieving cat stops eating for more than 24 hours, seek help from his veterinarian. Finally you may be offered, via a contact a cat or kitten rescued from a laboratory. Patience and gentle reflection can help you and your family heal from the pain of losing a pet. Often cats grieve when a favorite friend they bonded with passes on. microchip, via notice-boards, via a rescue shelter's lost and found register, via lost and found section of a newspaper. If the previous pet was poisoned, run over or went missing, possibly stolen, you may decide it is unfair to put another cat at risk as well as risking another heartache if the new cat suffers the same fate. A new cat cannot "replace" the lost sibling. The new cat will never replace a previous one. Most vets handle stray cats and kittens which are never claimed; they usually pass these on to a shelter, but inevitably some must be destroyed if there is no-one able to take them. Owners who seek to replace their previous pet are frequently disappointed. It will take me a few days to feel comfortable, so please be patient. When he begins to explore, offer your cat attention, treats and playtime. If, each time the cats meet, there is immediate serious fighting (e.g. 2. Some experts recommend waiting six months before getting another cat; others recommend periodic blood tests to monitor antibodies against coronavirus and introducing a new cat only when the test is zero. The pedigree papers supplied by such a breeder may be fraudulent and the kitten will probably be unregistrable and, therefore, cannot compete in breed classes at cat shows. Bring in the Other Cat: Casually have your partner bring the other cat into the room and immediately engage him. This devastated all of us in the family—including our grieving cat. How cats respond to newcomers. Try having the cat stay in a room away from the dog. It all depends on their symptoms and behaviors. For some of the cats you may be a lifeline as thousands of unwanted cats are put to sleep each year. WHEN SHOULD I GET A NEW CAT TO REPLACE ONE WHICH HAS DIED? Just make sure the introduction is done slowly and gradually. If you’re adding a new cat to a home where there are existing pets, please see Introducing Your Dog to a New Cat or Introducing Your Cat to a New Cat. If you decide to adopt a cat for Harley, search for a cat who has a history of living with other cats the same age as Harley and whose activity level is the same. 1. After 2-3 days, some cat experts recommend switching the cats’ locations so they can get used to each others’ smells. While no cat can replace another beloved cat — each pet, like each person, is unique — hopefully, you will open your heart and home to a new cat at some point. The only caution I would add is if the surviving cat is and unneutered male, you want to have him neutered and wait a few weeks before introducing the kittens. Other sources should be treated more cautiously. No reputable breeder sells or gives kittens to pet shops so pedigree kittens offered for sale may be from breeders struck off of official breeder lists or even supposedly banned from breeding. A lot of people don’t want to suffer the pangs of loss again. Equally, you decide that you are saving the life of an unwanted cat. If, after a few months, you think your cat would be happy with a new friend, get in touch with your local rehoming centre. This is most pronounced in mixed breed cats, but even with purebreds whose personalities are more easily generalised, some individuals are more outgoing or confident than others. Have household meetings to discuss what is on the minds of everyone in the home. Updated by Brandon F. on May 21, 2020. When getting a 'replacement' cat, you are not devaluing your previous cat. He must eat, drink and use his litter box as usual. One of the keys to a mutually satisfying multi-cat household is making sure that your current cat and new cat start off on the right paw. Copyright © 2020 Chewy, Inc. One of the most common questions asked by owners who have lost a cat (due to death or disappearance) is when to get a new cat to replace it. It may be possible to reduce or eliminate the risks by adopting on an indoor-only cat or fencing in the garden to provide a safe outdoor environment. It will be an individual with its own personality. Once you have introduced a new pet into the household, make sure your existing pets receive lots of attention. Stress can compromise the immune system and can result in illness. When one cat in a bonded pair dies, monitor your other cat closely. In some cases, the cat is to provide company for a remaining pet. Know when to clean — or not to clean. It should be no surprise that some cats seem grief-stricken after the death of a feline or human companion. Adopting a cat too soon will compound your cat’s anxiety, because introducing cats to each other can be stressful under any circumstance. Watch his sleeping patterns as well. For most people there are no hard and fast rules - it is a case of when you feel ready to adopt another cat. Some pets seem to genuinely mourn the loss of a companion, and you may find that you need to introduce a new pet simply to comfort the survivor. Johnson-Bennett uses her tried and true method: use a clean sock to rub on the new cat’s face to capture her facial pheromones. Allow Cats to Glimpse One Another After a day or so, let the two cats sniff each other through a baby gate or through a barely-opened door. Farms sometimes have kittens available, but you must be careful to check the kittens health as diseases spread easily in uncontrolled breeding colonies; also the kitten may be poorly socialised if it has been born to farmyard cats. Sometimes it is not so much the owner who misses the cat, but a surviving pet which misses its feline companion so intensely that a replacement is sought. When introducing the first one , 2yr old cat, they did have a few very small fights but after a few days all was well. Many people adopt a pet straight from the vet clinic or through a notice on the vet clinic notice-board. The following short video, by Johnson-Bennett, describes this process. The surviving cat was chummy tho with the departed one. We've noticed some new behaviors from Harley indicating he is definitely missing his “brother.”. Some cats get very anxious and lonely and I'd bring in a new cat sooner if I saw that. Introductions should be carried out slowly. A common theme among nearly every type of cat is that they don’t like sudden changes.. The healthy cat will likely have blood tests indicating exposure to coronavirus for the 3-6 months after the death of the sick cat. For a non-pedigree cat the best place is a shelter or rescue group. Cats probably don't understand death. If the previous cat died of an infectious disease, the vet may advise you not to adopt another cat for a given period of time to reduce the risk of it contracting the same disease from germs left in the house by the former pet. Yes, slowly and with constant supervision for the first few days. This depends partly on you and partly on the environment. Spend time with your cat in his home-base room, at first doing low-key activities like reading or watching TV. Choosing your new dog should also be a group process. Another source of pedigree cats are pedigree rescue societies. 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