Talk Me Out Of It

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Most of you know by now that I had been looking for a barn cat and found it a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My neighbor's barn cat had kittens, only four, and they were spoken for long before I even found out that Kit Kat even had kittens.

Well as it turned out, one of the kittens was returned because the owner wanted it as a house cat and she felt it was too aloof, and had an aversion to being held, so she thought it was too wild to be a house cat and gave it back to my neighbor. That is how I got Enoch. He came with the name of "Spot", which he obviously didn't like because he never responded to it. My mother said she didn't like the name Spot anyway, and said we should change it. We ran through a few names among ourselves, and agreed on Enoch, which he responded to immediately, and it is really uncanny how well he responds to his new name.

Anyway all of that is just back story. Now my neighbor had another kitten returned. This time because the owner felt the kitten was too needy. She says the kitten can't be left alone or it cries all the time, an it is too hyper. Yeah. They were ten weeks old when they got them, they are now a little over eleven weeks old. They are "kittens"! What in the name of all that is holy did they expect?

So now for the meat and potatoes. I am thinking very hard about taking Sylvester too. After getting Enoch and adding him to a pack of four Huskies, I found out just how much work is involved in adding a new member to the pack. It is going very well, only because they were raised with a dog/cat, and Enoch is showing a lot of the same characteristics as Lazarus, he is just a lot smaller. It is a lot of work but it is a lot of fun. There is nothing sweeter than the joy I feel when I hear laughter coming from my mother's room, listening to her talking and laughing at the silly little goose. He follows her like a puppy, and sleeps close to her at night. I don't know how much that would change if I took in Sylvester too.

So before I make a mistake and force the poor kitten to being returned again, I need clearer minds to assist me. Thanks in advance for your assistance.


Oh, by the way. His barn cat status has been revoked.

[Wallfire]

Most of you know by now that I had been looking for a barn cat and found it a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My neighbor's barn cat had kittens, only four, and they were spoken for long before I even found out that Kit Kat even had kittens.

Well as it turned out, one of the kittens was returned because the owner wanted it as a house cat and she felt it was too aloof, and had an aversion to being held, so she thought it was too wild to be a house cat and gave it back to my neighbor. That is how I got Enoch. He came with the name of "Spot", which he obviously didn't like because he never responded to it. My mother said she didn't like the name Spot anyway, and said we should change it. We ran through a few names among ourselves, and agreed on Enoch, which he responded to immediately, and it is really uncanny how well he responds to his new name.

Anyway all of that is just back story. Now my neighbor had another kitten returned. This time because the owner felt the kitten was too needy. She says the kitten can't be left alone or it cries all the time, an it is too hyper. Yeah. They were ten weeks old when they got them, they are now a little over eleven weeks old. They are "kittens"! What in the name of all that is holy did they expect?

So now for the meat and potatoes. I am thinking very hard about taking Sylvester too. After getting Enoch and adding him to a pack of four Huskies, I found out just how much work is involved in adding a new member to the pack. It is going very well, only because they were raised with a dog/cat, and Enoch is showing a lot of the same characteristics as Lazarus, he is just a lot smaller. It is a lot of work but it is a lot of fun. There is nothing sweeter than the joy I feel when I hear laughter coming from my mother's room, listening to her talking and laughing at the silly little goose. He follows her like a puppy, and sleeps close to her at night. I don't know how much that would change if I took in Sylvester too.

So before I make a mistake and force the poor kitten to being returned again, I need clearer minds to assist me. Thanks in advance for your assistance.


Oh, by the way. His barn cat status has been revoked.

I know you understand this, but I will say it for other people. If you take an animal, its for as long as you or the animal live, they are not toys and each one has its own personalty. You know enough about cats and dogs to understand what they need, if you take the little cat then take it because you want to, not because you want to save it.

[Schmoe1]

The more the merrier!  Usually...

I'd be surrounded by animals if I could, like Ace Ventura when all his animals come out of hiding in his apartment 

[Mystic Wanderer]

I had three kittens from the same litter in my house a couple of  years ago. When my daughter got married she took all three to her place because cleaning up after three cats was about more than my disabled body could handle.

I can tell you that having more than one cat is fine if they come from the same litter. Watching them chase each other and play was more entertaining than any movie on t.v.
There will always be one that claims you as HIS and will get jealous if the other cat(s) try to get your affection. Sometimes they will allow the other cat(s) to lie on your lap, but they have to be there too.

However, it's been my experience that bringing in a cat from a different litter can be quite challenging.  The one that was there first will see it as an invasion on his territory. If they aren't neutered, a male cat will start spraying to mark his territory, so I hope you have him fixed now.

After those three cats left here I thought I was cat free. The universe said "hell no".  I've never been without a cat since I was a child. So just a few months after only having the one feral cat outside, here comes a little yellow critter off the mountain behind our house. He came to the door meowing and the rest is history. Then before the cold months hit, I trapped the feral cat and brought her inside. It's been almost nine months, and these two are still having a hard time accepting each other. The yellow male stresses the female out so bad, I have to keep her in a bedroom with the door shut so she feels safe. And if the male hears me in there talking to her and petting her, he gets very upset. I don't know if they will ever be able to get along. I'll just have to keep them separated I guess.

But, being as this kitten is from the same litter, I think your present cat should remember it and do just fine. You'll just have to try it and see.

[hounddoghowlie]

The more the merrier!  Usually...

I'd be surrounded by animals if I could, like Ace Ventura when all his animals come out of hiding in his apartment 

i'd say if you can swing do it, we have 15 cats we're taking care of. at one time the number got as high as 32. but as time went on they dwindled down to 2 and now are starting to build up again, mostly my fault.

the 15 now are, 6 12 week old kittens that i'm trying to hold off on taking to one of two no kill shelters. they love each other and play and sleep together all day long and i don't really want to see them separated and kept in cages.

4 are 50 /50 cats, inside half the time outside the other half. i saved these four off the side of the road. i think something happened to their mother or more than likely someone dropped them off there. they stayed there for 3 days playing in the road and would run int the woods when a car came. i knew if something wasn't done they would have died. it was obvious that they weren't just feral cats, cause the stayed right beside a phone pole when they weren't playing or run off to hide. that's why i say someone dropped them off, no feral momma cat would keep her kittens on the side of the road by a phone pole. that and the fact that i caught all four fairly easy and didn't get all scratched up by feeding them except one.

i caught them two at a time and when i got the last two as i opened the truck door one started wiggling around as  putting them in the truck, one fell and bounced off the truck seat and hit the woods. tried to catch him for a couple of hours but he wasn't having it, so i left him there until the next morning hoping he'd be all right.

when i got to the phone pole the next morning and got out of the truck i could hear him whining. figured he was scared from being alone and hungry not sure if they found anything to et as young as the were. took me 3 hours to catch him. i'd put food out and he'd come up to it to eat while i sat on the tailgate, then i'd ease up and almost get him, touched him sometimes sometimes not. he go into the woods or the road. when he was on the road i could get close but he's run off. finally i got a hold of him when he couldn't stand not eating the food. he fought a little bit and went right under the seat.
got home and had to drag him out by his tail and wrestle with him into the laundry room with the others.

for about 2 months every time he saw me he'd run go and hide. now he's the most affectionate cat we have. loves him some nubbin, and if you stop before he's ready he'll let you know. reach up and scratch you and say pet me, or lets fight then you can pet me.

4 of the 15 are feral, they just started coming up eating food i put out for the 50/50 cats. i can pet 3 of these only when they are eating though.
one of these i call yellow boy i can pet him all i want and think maybe he has another home cause he's getting fat. when i first saw him and fed him he had a red rope/ small cord tied around his neck that looked like he chewed through. i think maybe someone was trying to keep him at their house and he chewed through it. sometimes he will come and stay at the house for most of the day and then leave, some times i don't see him for 2 or 3 days.

the last one is a Siamese house cat, we've had her for almost 14 years, she really doesn't like anyone never has even as a kitten. she will let you pet her and likes to be loved on but it's got to be on her terms, and that can change in a flash. one second you can be petting her and the next you draw back a bloody hand. she is also very good at telling you what she wants and will not stop till you do it, or give it to her. she'll tell when she wants to go out, when she want to use the litter box and it has to much in it for her which is almost all the time, her food bowl is not full enough and you need to come and put some more in so she can eat a couple of bites. will ignore the shit out of you.
she also doesn't like other cats, hisses and spits at the others all the time. but we do catch her looking to see if the others are in the house and then sits close to or in the same room as them.
her name is Precious


didn't mean to write a big ol long post just to say that some cats like having other cats around, might fight some and then be cleaning one another the next, but they like to have a familiar face around.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

But, being as this kitten is from the same litter, I think your present cat should remember it and do just fine. You'll just have to try it and see.

I have taken him to visit with his brother Tom and mom Kit Kat before, and he knows who there are and they know him. The first thing Tom and Kit Kat did was give him a bath.

When I took him to visit last night, Sylvester and Enoch played for the longest time. Tom likes to play but he doesn't play for long and he is a bit of a loner. Tom is big like his mother, the only difference is he is gray, and he is a long hair like the mother. Enoch and Sylvester are long, sleek, smaller, short haired, and full of energy. I know they will get along I am just not sure if it is the wisest thing to do, but now would be the time to do it, if I am going to do it.

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. My neighbor said the young lady that had Sylvester told him she would take him back if he trained him to be a better house cat. I asked him what he was going to do. He said he didn't really know how to train a cat and he doubts if she is really going to take him back.

[guohua]

Sorry I cannot help, Wish I could but I just can't answer your thread with any knowledge of pets. Never had a pet.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Sorry I cannot help, Wish I could but I just can't answer your thread with any knowledge of pets. Never had a pet.

It is not really a matter of caring for the little brat. It is more a choice about responsibility. I am not getting younger, and though my crits give me purpose and keep me active, they really are a lot of work. I am going to talk to my neighbor again tonight and see where the original owner is in her decision making. If she is willing to give Sylvester up, I will likely take him. If for no other reason then to help keep Enoch busy. He is a pure handful and follows you like a love sick puppy. He just walked in from playing the piano to snuggle up behind my back where I am sitting on the couch.

I wanted a barn cat to hopefully deter wild critters from my garden, but the garden is not doing that well, so there is nothing to protect. I am going to try container gardening. It will give me better control over the the needs of the plants. To be honest, I do much better with fall and spring gardening. Winters are way too dry and summer just cooks everything on the vine.

But thanks for at least giving it some thought. I am just looking for a level headed response because like @wallfire warned, I need to be thinking with my head not with my heart, because once the decision is made, it is a decision for life, theirs or mine.

[Mystic Wanderer]

Well, my answer would be to go ahead and get the other cat. It will give Enoch a companion to play with and keep him out of your hair so much. I've found that single cats demand more attention. If you have one cat to care for, it's not much different than having two. Maybe just another litter box to scoop out, and extra food to buy. If you can swing that, then I say go for it.

My two cents.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Well, my answer would be to go ahead and get the other cat. It will give Enoch a companion to play with and keep him out of your hair so much. I've found that single cats demand more attention. If you have one cat to care for, it's not much different than having two.

My two cents.

I am agreeing with you. And Sylvester is super smart. Tom was put in the wire play pen. My neighbor thought he was trying to play with his brother through the bars. He said he watch him take his two paws, push on the door and lift it up, and bingo, Tom was free and the two of them took off playing.

My Huskies do that all the time so I have to use double locking, but who knew a kitten would figure it out? 

[Tarzan the apeman.]

The cats are siblings so that is a plus. I would get Sylvester so Enoch has a buddy. When we got our two cats they were siblings also and we had little to no trouble with either one. I think people read to much into animals and how they should act. Last I saw most animals act and treat each other better than humans do. Cats are cats, they for the most part are independent. Lots of fun to watch when they are little.

If you do get the other cat pictures of the two would be great.

[beez]

Most of you know by now that I had been looking for a barn cat and found it a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My neighbor's barn cat had kittens, only four, and they were spoken for long before I even found out that Kit Kat even had kittens.

Well as it turned out, one of the kittens was returned because the owner wanted it as a house cat and she felt it was too aloof, and had an aversion to being held, so she thought it was too wild to be a house cat and gave it back to my neighbor. That is how I got Enoch. He came with the name of "Spot", which he obviously didn't like because he never responded to it. My mother said she didn't like the name Spot anyway, and said we should change it. We ran through a few names among ourselves, and agreed on Enoch, which he responded to immediately, and it is really uncanny how well he responds to his new name.

Anyway all of that is just back story. Now my neighbor had another kitten returned. This time because the owner felt the kitten was too needy. She says the kitten can't be left alone or it cries all the time, an it is too hyper. Yeah. They were ten weeks old when they got them, they are now a little over eleven weeks old. They are "kittens"! What in the name of all that is holy did they expect?

So now for the meat and potatoes. I am thinking very hard about taking Sylvester too. After getting Enoch and adding him to a pack of four Huskies, I found out just how much work is involved in adding a new member to the pack. It is going very well, only because they were raised with a dog/cat, and Enoch is showing a lot of the same characteristics as Lazarus, he is just a lot smaller. It is a lot of work but it is a lot of fun. There is nothing sweeter than the joy I feel when I hear laughter coming from my mother's room, listening to her talking and laughing at the silly little goose. He follows her like a puppy, and sleeps close to her at night. I don't know how much that would change if I took in Sylvester too.

So before I make a mistake and force the poor kitten to being returned again, I need clearer minds to assist me. Thanks in advance for your assistance.


Oh, by the way. His barn cat status has been revoked.

DO it.

Dooooo it.

Do it now.

Don't even read the rest of my post.

Just do it.  (But not like Nike, because they suck)

[Snarl]

I can tell you that having more than one cat is fine if they come from the same litter. Watching them chase each other and play was more entertaining than any movie on t.v.
There will always be one that claims you as HIS and will get jealous if the other cat(s) try to get your affection. Sometimes they will allow the other cat(s) to lie on your lap, but they have to be there too.

You've got a good eye for animal behavior!! 

Oh, by the way. His barn cat status has been revoked.

You ol' softie.  

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Okay, this is suppose to be a test run. So far all Sylvester and Enoch want to do is run around like greased lightening and play. They stop long enough to eat, drink, and use the litter box. Enoch does not come as quickly when I call his name, but he still comes. I am hoping by Sunday the reunion party will start to calm down.

The owner has not said she is not taking Sylvester back yet. So I am not letting my heart go all full commitment yet. Right now I am letting them enjoy the reunion, and I am having fun watching them.

Sylvester


Enoch and Sylvester

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I can tell you that having more than one cat is fine if they come from the same litter. Watching them chase each other and play was more entertaining than any movie on t.v.
There will always be one that claims you as HIS and will get jealous if the other cat(s) try to get your affection. Sometimes they will allow the other cat(s) to lie on your lap, but they have to be there too.

You've got a good eye for animal behavior!! 

Oh, by the way. His barn cat status has been revoked.

You ol' softie.  

Mom killed that idea the moment I brought him home. Of course I was sucked in right behind her.

[Snarl]

Mom killed that idea the moment I brought him home. Of course I was sucked in right behind her.

Have you considered buying a mink?  Nasty li'l boogers and require conditioning ... but they'll clear out any pests around your place, just for the sheer joy of killing.  If you don't want the hassle, there may be someone nearby who provides a mobile service.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Mom killed that idea the moment I brought him home. Of course I was sucked in right behind her.

Have you considered buying a mink?  Nasty li'l boogers and require conditioning ... but they'll clear out any pests around your place, just for the sheer joy of killing.  If you don't want the hassle, there may be someone nearby who provides a mobile service.

We have those critters around here. But this is Florida, where strange things are normal.

 https://www.floridiannature.com/evergladesmink.htm

[Mystic Wanderer]

Okay, this is suppose to be a test run. So far all Sylvester and Enoch want to do is run around like greased lightening and play. They stop long enough to eat, drink, and use the litter box. Enoch does not come as quickly when I call his name, but he still comes. I am hoping by Sunday the reunion party will start to calm down.

The owner has not said she is not taking Sylvester back yet. So I am not letting my heart go all full commitment yet. Right now I am letting them enjoy the reunion, and I am having fun watching them.

Sylvester


Enoch and Sylvester

They are both beautiful cats.  

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Okay, this is suppose to be a test run. So far all Sylvester and Enoch want to do is run around like greased lightening and play. They stop long enough to eat, drink, and use the litter box. Enoch does not come as quickly when I call his name, but he still comes. I am hoping by Sunday the reunion party will start to calm down.

The owner has not said she is not taking Sylvester back yet. So I am not letting my heart go all full commitment yet. Right now I am letting them enjoy the reunion, and I am having fun watching them.

Sylvester


Enoch and Sylvester

They are both beautiful cats.  

Yeah they are, but to me, kittens are like babies. I never see one I don't think is beautiful. But @Snarl outed me. I am a softie. Most of the time.

[F2d5thCav]

@"NightskyeB4Dawn" 

Clearly, those two cats were meant to be together  

Cheers