joj@rruxa.UUCP (J Jasutis) (01/06/86)
I am about to buy two kittens. Regardless of their sex, I am planning to have them fixed. Is there any particular combination of sex (2male, 2 female, 1 of each) that will have a tendancy to get along better? Is it better to get two cats from the same litter? Any other considerations that make one sex better than another for housepets that will spend the working hours of the day alone? Thank you for any help. Joanne
ingrid@pilchuckDataio.UUCP (the Real Swede) (01/08/86)
> I am about to buy two kittens. > Is it better to get two cats from the same > litter? Any other considerations that make > one sex better than another for housepets > that will spend the working hours of the day > alone? Thank you for any help. > > Joanne *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR CAT WOW ADVICE I had good luck with two kittens from the same litter, a boy and girl. I got them both fixed at about 8 months of age. Sis met with fate, but brother is healthy and now 3 years old. If you're gonna be gone a lot, it is a good idea to get two--cats are independent, but they do enjoy company... ingrid
kasey@trsvax (01/09/86)
I recommend getting litter mates. I have two females that are litter mates.
For one thing, the cats are already familar with each other. As soon as they
arrive at their new home, they already have a friend. Moving is a very
traumatic experience for a cat. It would be alot easier on them if they have
something familar like their brother or sister.
I highly recommend having two cats. They keep each other company. They have
someone to groom them in the places that they can't reach, like the top of
their heads. I don't feel the least bit guilty about neglecting my cats in
the affection department because they have each other when I'm not around.
Sometimes they will get into more trouble because what one doesn't think of
the other one will. But the converse of that is that they don't have to get
into trouble because they have a playmate.
I also recommend females. But I prefer females in all animals, I would rather
have a female dog or horse than a male, too. Female cats aren't nearly as mean
as males and they are also more affectionate. In August, my room mate adopted
an abondoned male kitten at an outdoor flea market. I know why that cat didn't
have a home. He is the meanest little critter I have ever seen! My females
weren't nearly that mean when they were kittens, not to each other or to
humans! Bandito (named that because he has a mask and was found under a
Nacho stand, but appropriately because he robs us and the other cats of our
peace and quiet!) won't take no for an answer. The females can hiss and act
really mean, and he won't give up. He just keeps tormenting them! I'm told by
other cat owners, that males are meaner than females.
The last reason, and probably the strongest reason, that I will never have
another male cat is because their urine stinks so bad. I have to change the
litter twice as often, change the paper liner in the box twice as often, and
use baking soda, and still have a difficult time controlling the odor. I've
also heard others complain about this in male cats.
Even though I get tired of screaming at him all the time to leave the other
cats alone, I love Bandito dearly. But I'll never have a another male cat in
my house again! Go find 2 sweet little female litter mates (that no one wants
because they are females and more trouble than males) and give them a good
home!
Kathy Ladewig
Tandy System Software
uucp: {laidbak,sco,microsoft,{allegra,ihnp4!{convex!ctvax}}!trsvax!kasey}
The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average
man can see better than he can think.dave@quest.UUCP (David Messer) (01/15/86)
> I am about to buy two kittens. > Regardless of their sex, I am planning > to have them fixed. Is there any particular > combination of sex (2male, 2 female, 1 of each) > that will have a tendancy to get along better? > Is it better to get two cats from the same > litter? Any other considerations that make > one sex better than another for housepets > that will spend the working hours of the day > alone? Thank you for any help. > > Joanne I live in a household with seven cats (5 male, 2 female) they all have distinct personalities regarding the other cats. All have been fixed (one more than the others do to FUS -- don't ask...) Here is a list of the cats and what they do to each other. Sukiyaki, Oriental Shorthair Male -- the Boss; beats up on the other cats at will, except for the females of course. Attacks Popper at least once a day to keep him in his place. Popper, Oriental Shorthair Male -- Sukiyaki's sidekick; helps him beat up on the other cats when he isn't under attack himself. Calista, Oriental Shorthair Female -- A very nice cat but once in a while will strike out at random when she is having a bad day. Yin-Yang, Domestic Shorthair Female -- high strung and unpredictable; sometimes swipes at the other cats for no good reason -- the other cats avoid her. Greymist, Himalayan Male, declawed (before we got him, I don't believe in declawing; although I've never had to choose between that and saving the drapes) -- withdrawn usually although he will sometimes play with the other cats. P.T., Siamese Male -- Paranoid. He is so afraid of the other cats that if they come up to him he hits them. So they beat him up of course thus justifying his fear. There is a permanent state of war between him and Sukiyaki; so bad that I have had to isolate him in my bedroom. Winky, Siamese Male -- Oblivious to the whole pecking order; has been known to start playing with the tail of Sukiyaki just when he is about to do battle. Never fights. All in all, I would suggest that either getting two females or a male and a female would work out the best. I haven't noticed any correlation between fighting and how closely the cats are related (the Oriental Shorthairs and the Siamese are all related to one another to various degrees, although none of them are litter mates). Getting them fixed is a good idea however, all of our cats mellowed-out considerably when we had this done. Sorry about the length of this posting, I do tend to run on a little when I talk about my cats. ;-> -- David Messer UUCP: ...ihnp4!quest!dave ...ihnp4!encore!vaxine!spark!14!415!sysop FIDO: 14/415 (SYSOP)
scott@hou2g.UUCP (Mr. Berry) (01/16/86)
> In August, my room mate adopted > an abondoned male kitten at an outdoor flea market. I know why that cat didn't > have a home. He is the meanest little critter I have ever seen! My females > weren't nearly that mean when they were kittens, not to each other or to > humans! Bandito (named that because he has a mask and was found under a > Nacho stand, but appropriately because he robs us and the other cats of our > peace and quiet!) won't take no for an answer. The females can hiss and act > really mean, and he won't give up. He just keeps tormenting them! My new kitten, Gandalf, (4 months) is the same way. However, this aggressiveness may be due to the fact that he too was abandoned (the animal shelter said he was an orphan). He had some problems with his litter habits as well (thankfully solved now) which tend to support the hypothesis that he didn't spend enough time with his mother. My previous male, Merlin, was MORE affectionate than his "sister" Athena--I got him from a shelter when he was 6 mos. old. But I understand completely what you mean. Although Gandalf is OK with me now, he still wants to "play" with Athena constantly (she agrees maybe 1/10 of the time), and very roughly. I'm hoping he'll improve after the "operation". But for now, he keeps harassing her, even though she keeps bopping him on the head (Athena has a *mean* left hook :-)). Sometimes he's so slow on the uptake I think I should have named him Bluto instead. :-) But they seem to get along OK during the day, when I'm not around, and I've endeavored not to "break up" their fights or yell at him too much, but to let them work out the "pecking order" by themselves. Athena also has to learn--perhaps to hit him a little harder...:-) > The last reason, and probably the strongest reason, that I will never have > another male cat is because their urine stinks so bad. I have to change the > litter twice as often, change the paper liner in the box twice as often, and > use baking soda, and still have a difficult time controlling the odor. I've > also heard others complain about this in male cats. Not to worry; the odor improves VASTLY after males have been neutered. (Who uses paper liners? Why the extra expense? What benefit?) > Kathy Ladewig > Tandy System Software ========================================= "How is this place run? Is it an anarchy?" "No, I wouldn't say so--it's not that well organized." Scott J. Berry ihnp4!hou2g!scott
murphy@phri.UUCP (Ellen Murphy) (01/18/86)
> Female cats aren't nearly as mean as males and they are > also more affectionate. This is a totally unfair generalization! There may be reasons to prefer a female cat (males are much more prone to urinary blockages, for one thing), but my 10 year old Nick was the sweetest, gentlest and most affectionate (also the stupidest) cat I ever knew. His idea of contentment was to sleep on my pillow with his neck streched across my face, purring and drooling. (I know, it sounds sick). Speaking of pairs of cats, Nick and his female littermate Nora seemed to interact very little with each other. When they were both having trouble with hairballs, the vet suggested it was because they spent the whole day grooming each other, because they were bored. I certainly never saw any evidence of that, except on *very* cold days, and even then they preferred to warm up by sitting in my lap, not by cuddling with each other. Nick won most of their fights because he was twice Nora's size, but she provoked fights as often as he did. Nick died a few months ago of feline leukemia and Nora has become much more openly affectionate to me. I'm not sure if she misses him, or if it's just that she doesn't have to compete with him for my attention. People have talked about personality changes when they introduce new cats into their cats' homes; what kinds of behavior have you seen when one of the cats dies or otherwise disappears? Ellen Murphy The Public Health Research Institute
booter@lll-crg.ARpA (Elaine Richards) (01/19/86)
In article <320@quest.UUCP> dave@quest.UUCP (David Messer) writes: > >Sukiyaki, Oriental Shorthair Male -- the Boss; beats up on the > >Popper, Oriental Shorthair Male -- Sukiyaki's sidekick; helps him > >Calista, Oriental Shorthair Female -- A very nice cat but once in > >Yin-Yang, Domestic Shorthair Female -- high strung and unpredictable; > >Greymist, Himalayan Male, declawed (before we got him, I don't > >P.T., Siamese Male -- Paranoid. He is so afraid of the other cats > >Winky, Siamese Male -- Oblivious to the whole pecking order; has Jeez! Sounds like trouble in the Third World! I hope these guys don't have nuclear technology, otherwise we are in DEEP trouble :-) If you don't quell these disturbances, you might get a visitation from the UN peacekeeping forces composed of Havana Browns, Russian Blues, Turkish Vans, British Shorthairs and American Maine Coon Cats. Also, the normally quiet Scandinavians might send some Norwegian Forest Cats. Just don't get the Scottish Folds in on this. E *****