# owning multiple cats tips please



## littleblackcat (Dec 26, 2011)

hey all so my mother inlaws cat may be pregnant and possibly carrying ginger kittens yay i love ginger cats. she said she would give me one if there is a ginger one. i have a male and a female atm and was wondering if another is a good idea?. also would a male or female be better with my 2?. since i had my 1st cat its grown to my 2nd tho they were both rescues this 3rd one would be the only one that isnt rescued. ive still got a strong bond with buff that i had before soaps came and also soaps and buff get on brilliant would another make problems or not. next door to me have a cat and soaps gets on fine with him my female doesnt mind him as much now and even plays with him though there cat hasnt been done and he still tries it on with buff tho she has been done and she soon sorts him out. haha ive turned in2 a crazy cat lady


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

What colour is your mils cat and what colour was dad? 

Your cats are young enough to cope with another kitten - you just need to make sure they all have enough space to be happy.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Don't forget that a third cat will undoubtedly add extra expense in to the household....insurance, flea treatments and potential vet bills.
Also....as I know from my own experiences....once you get beyond 2 cats it does get harder/more expensive to arrange cat sitters for any holidays. If you have a landlord make sure they are ok with you having multiple pets.


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## alan g a (Feb 23, 2011)

1st off. Your cats kittens could have different fathers.(Even in the same litter) 
2nd although cats are usually independent they can (and usually do ) get on wel together.
It all depends on how well they are brought up.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Paddypaws said:


> Don't forget that a third cat will undoubtedly add extra expense in to the household....insurance, flea treatments and potential vet bills.
> Also....as I know from my own experiences....once you get beyond 2 cats it does get harder/more expensive to arrange cat sitters for any holidays. If you have a landlord make sure they are ok with you having multiple pets.


On the other hand, I think that a group of cats would cope much better with holidays if they all get on, than a single cat might. Some catteries cater for larger groups and it must be alot less stressful if the group has each other instead of just lots of strange cats around! That's my excuse for wanting more cats, anyway.....


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## welshjet (Mar 31, 2011)

Paddypaws said:


> Don't forget that a third cat will undoubtedly add extra expense in to the household....insurance, flea treatments and potential vet bills.
> Also....as I know from my own experiences....once you get beyond 2 cats it does get harder/more expensive to arrange cat sitters for any holidays. If you have a landlord make sure they are ok with you having multiple pets.


This is what we looked into when I was on about getting another furbie. The food/flea/worming cost were minimal but it was thing like the extra insurance and mainly extra cattery costs with stays possibly twice a year. Our last cattery visit in january was nearly £200 and whilst we dont begrudge paying it as we like our hols and both work all year, its expensive - so reality kicked in


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## littleblackcat (Dec 26, 2011)

hey the mother cat is jet black and shes had 2 male ginger cats after her so hopefully one will be ginger?
with the exspense part im not to worried i have bank acount that i put money into every time i get paid and that covers fleaing vets bills ect so far it seems to be going fine and when i get paid i stock up on litter food everything ive got a cuboard full of food i make sure my babies go without nothing bless them. my landlord is fine with cats just not dogs i had a house check a few weeks ago and she met both my cats and is fine with them. she said as long as the propperty is clean and tidy and there is no damage caused she doesnt mind but defo no dogs hehe. holiday is sorted also if i went ive got my mum who said she would house sit or a friend who would look after them. i couldnt put them in a cattery as i have other animals that would be a problem and would need people to stay ehre with it so i got me mum at the ready hehe.
im keeping my 3rd cat quiet as my bf said after my 2nd one no cats but i know when he sees it he will fall inlove hehe he wasnt top keen on me aving buffy originally but then he decided to get our 2nd hehe. i originally worried when we got soaps that him and buff wouldnt get on and it would effect my bond with her but they get on great ans shes still a mummies girl so fingers crossed another would be the same. i think though if i get this other kitten that 3 is my limit hehe though i say that but it mainly depends on wether it is ginger or not hehe i originally wanted a ginger one but when buffs mum had her as she was a stray i couldnt not give a kitten a home then with soaps who was guna b chucked out if the owners couldnt get him a home quickly so ive got to jet black cats but i wouldnt be without them. its going to be weird gettin a kitten that hasnt been rescued


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

If mum is black and ''dad's'' are ginger - then you will get black boys, and tortie girls - no gingers I'm afraid. - In fact there is no chance of gingers from this mum.


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## littleblackcat (Dec 26, 2011)

aww gutting but im sure ill end up falling inlove with one. id like one that isnt black as i allready have two black ones but i dont mind to much jst bein able to give one a home will be enough hehe its guna be my belated easter present and dont worry everyone i know a animal is for life and not jst a pressie that you can get rid of jst to re asure you all. my two cats are my kids hehe its guna be like aving another child hehe ill be there when the mums preg and when they are born and growing till i can take it home its gunna be like having buffy all over again hehe i cant wait. plus now my two have all their vets things taken care of i can use the time to save the money and get it ready for spade ect hehe like i did when i was waiting for buffy. ohh it so exciting a new arrival in the family hehe


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

I'll have a tortie girl......


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

My daughters cat has an abyssinnian (sp!) mother and a black father. She looks pure abyssinnian. She was found to be pregnant when she went to be spayed at 6 months (the black male cat came through the window ) She had the kittens. 2 looked like her but a little darker (ticked fur) one was pure black but one was pure grey. How did that happen? When my son, who had the black and grey girls took them to be spayed. The nurse asked their names. My son replied Black One and Grey One. The nurse asked "which one is which?"


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

both mum and dad carried a gene that dilutes the black to grey. Much more common a gene in peds than in moggies but not impossible. Have to say - I'd have not let a 6 month old cat go term for pregnancy - far to hard on a very young body but what is done is done. Mum only carried one tabby gene and a self (full colour gene)


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

No wasnt ideal, but as you said whats done is done. She delivered the babies very easily and was a good mum, and was spayed when the kittens were about 6 weeks old. She is a much loved well looked after cat, I dont think having one litter of kittens did her too much harm.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

rose said:


> No wasnt ideal, but as you said whats done is done. She delivered the babies very easily and was a good mum, and was spayed when the kittens were about 6 weeks old. She is a much loved well looked after cat, I dont think having one litter of kittens did her too much harm.


Giving birth at 7-8 months would have been the effective equivalent of a human child giving birth at 11 years old. :yikes:Who knows what nutrients went to the kittens development when they should have gone to her. So only time will tell. Maybe it didn't do her any harm, and maybe her growth was stunted, or her organs put under strain and so they will deteriorate quicker when she is older - who knows. But for anyone reading whose cat gets pregnant this young - please spay despite the cat being pregnant.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Treacle's mum was very young, about that age, and not fully grown, very small and skinny... I often wonder how it may affect him... (although he is getting very big now) but it is still a worry


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

It's the mother that tends to suffer not the kittens - all the energy goes into making the next generation to the detriment of the mum. So I imagine Treacle will be absolutely fine.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

spid said:


> It's the mother that tends to suffer not the kittens - all the energy goes into making the next generation to the detriment of the mum. So I imagine Treacle will be absolutely fine.


Thanks, that's a relief, although I hope his poor mum Twinkle will be ok too! 

I do worry about him over little things, like he's quite camera shy and always closes his eyes to the flash, so I hope his eyes are ok, but I've heard that a lot of cats are like that!


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## rose (Apr 29, 2009)

I certainly do not agree with young or over breeding of any animal. I have a rescue breeding bitch from a disgusting puppy farm which makes me so angry
the way they are abused for money. As for my daughters cat having kittens at a age, I agreed it wasnt ideal but we also didnt like the thought of killing babies.
The kittens were all taken on my family members and duly neutered/spayed.
We are responsible owners, the owners of the tom cat are not. My daughter has moved a couple of streets away and the stinky cat still gets in and sprays everywhere. That is 4 years and he still is entire. As for the queen only being about 8 months old, the fact that nature enabled her to get pregnant must mean something?


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## catwomen (Mar 30, 2012)

littleblackcat said:


> hey all so my mother inlaws cat may be pregnant and possibly carrying ginger kittens yay i love ginger cats. she said she would give me one if there is a ginger one. i have a male and a female atm and was wondering if another is a good idea?. also would a male or female be better with my 2?. since i had my 1st cat its grown to my 2nd tho they were both rescues this 3rd one would be the only one that isnt rescued. ive still got a strong bond with buff that i had before soaps came and also soaps and buff get on brilliant would another make problems or not. next door to me have a cat and soaps gets on fine with him my female doesnt mind him as much now and even plays with him though there cat hasnt been done and he still tries it on with buff tho she has been done and she soon sorts him out. haha ive turned in2 a crazy cat lady


Hi I have 11 cats, is that multiple enough for u?:drool:


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## littleblackcat (Dec 26, 2011)

wow thats alot of cats hehe. ive found you have one and fall in love so you get another and another problem is with me ive got this thing about rescuing animals. if someone came to my door now with one that was homeless or hurt id take it in. the amount of animals i used to have is unbelivable they left me skint but they were all worth it. i used to hate cats untill we caught buffys mum as she was only about 8 months when buff was born bless her and i helped my mother in law care for her. we both bought her food and gave her lots of love bless her. she preyed on me i think and would curl up to me with her giant belly bless. when her kittens were born my bf got me buffy as a xmas pressie and ever since i seem to be taking in cats. i can see myself with as many cats as you if i dont stop and say no hehe but how can you say no to that little face


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## wellsandmittens (May 29, 2011)

rose said:


> As for the queen only being about 8 months old, the fact that nature enabled her to get pregnant must mean something?


Rose, human girls are capable of having kids more or less as soon as they get their periods, so any time from age about 11 these days. It was quite common in medieval times, for example, to marry girls when they were 13 and for them to get pregnant soon after. I am not trying to get at you, but it is a bit of a dangerous thing to say that just because nature enables it, it must mean something. I don't think many people would argue that it is good for baby or mum for a human to give birth aged 12/13/14 (physically or mentally) even though nature enables it. That's not to say that it doesn't happen, it does and of course thankfully in many cases things work out ok in the end. The worry is that people might think it was a good idea just because the animal is physically capable of pregnancy.

I totally get that the situation you describe was a one-off, it's just that I would hate to think (and I'm sure you would too) that people might read your comment and think "oh, it's natural so that's fine" and just let their kittens get pregnant.


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