General Chat

I am seriously considering 'adopting' a kitten from a friends litter - she is a sweet little thing - a brown, ginger and white tortoishell, made all the more unique because she lost half her tail a few weeks ago. ........My dilema is this: I already have 2 others - 8 and 15 yrs old, who have the freedom to come and go as they please by way of a magnetic cat flap. My house is a small 2 up 2 down - the only rooms I can isolate are the bedroom and bathroom. I dont want to segregate them completely, but need to prevent the kitten from finding her way out thru the catflap too soon, and also I cannot take time off work to be here to supervise the older cats initially............what would you clever people suggest :) PS. "Dont get her" will be the wrong answer LOL - it's 99% a done deal ;P...............UPDATE - SEE POSTING 22/9 BELOW

Try to pick her up when you have got a couple of days with her and the others so that you can watch how they all get on to gether and see if she can get out of the cat flap, if she can then you can try to sort some thing out that will suit the older cats and keep the new kitten safe. Bev

toffy is a nice name E x

Could you confine the kitten from the cat flap area by means of a child's safety gate. She would be able to see the others but not have access to the 'great outdoors' unless you were there.

Strump - actually she is tiny - 11 weeks old and only looks about 7 wks, but you know cats, ever inquisitive. She wud probably be a bit scared to be honest as they are currently confined to upstairs due to the rather large 6 month old Rotweiller 'puppy' lol (litters weren't planned). Thinking of maybe calling her 'Doc' cos of her tail lol......... Elaine - thanks :) can you see me calling 'Toff' of an evening lol - the locals think I'm mad already cos I stand at the door talking to the cats, which they can't see because they are hidden by the car LOL Bev & Gwyne - I did think of Gywne's suggestion, but my front door is in a tiny lobby so not sure the other two would have room (or the intelligence) to jump over it - actually, thinking about it Coco (the younger) is hopeless at jumping lol - other option would possibly be at the top of the stairs and keep her up there during the day. But fear not I will find a solution, as I am determined to have her :) thanks for your ideas.......

Ann, I believe you can now get electronic catflaps. The cat wears a collar which signals the catflap to unlock. Trouble is you would need three collars (one for when Doc grows up), and also (he/she?) might go out under cover of one of the others like Jason escaping from the Cyclops. We are keeping Dooley indoors and training him to be a House cat. I should have said Flat cat and he nearly was last night. His latest favourite place is on the settee but under the throw! Jim

Hi Jim - yes, my two actually have an electronic/magnetic catflap already - beats opening the door every 2 minutes lol, so she (Doc) will definitely have one in time........it's just that she's so small at the mo, I'd worry that she'd just disappear or worse get picked up and taken away :(

Oh bless..... my guess is if she doesn't have a magnetic collar she won't be able to get out of the cat flap!! I agree with the others.... pick her up when you can spend some time with her and then see how she is..... she'll probably give you the ideas on where she stays herself!! ;o)

The ideal answer would be to get someone to knock you up a frame with chicken wire across it to jam into the doorway of the room where you could segregate her while you are not there. They could see her and she could see them - so they could get used to each other without coming to blows. It's a bit extreme and not cheap - but the only answer I can come up with. Magsx

Hi, Anne - congratulations on your new baby! Lol. We've just adopted our 5th cat, funnily enough a little tortoiseshell, who was a stray for 5 weeks (as far as we know; nobody's come forward to claim her). Anyway, regarding Doc's older brothers/sisters, when you're getting them introduced we were told to do it gradually and at feeding times, so the others had nice associations with meeting newcomer. We were also advised that, if practical, the cats could be groomed in the same room taking it in turns, as most like to be groomed apparently. We found this worked well. You probably know this already, but I'm just trying to sound smart! Humour me! Hope everything goes well. Glenys.

Hi Guys :) Unfortunately they can 'exit' thru the cat flap without the magnet - I can push it open with one finger, hence my concerns. A screen/baby gate does seem the obvious thing, but the house is pretty much open plan, so no doorways. Saw the perfect solution in Argos tho - a babies playpen with bars like the gates lol.....prolly take up the whole lounge tho!! Introducing them at feeding time sounds like a good idea - but when to choose - they feed all the time :O lol....... Seriously tho, this wouldn't normally have been a prob, as I'd always been able to have a couple of weeks off when I got the others, which is plenty of time to get them aclimatised and 'street-wise'........... If anyone in the West Kent area is interested she has a brother and 14 wk old cousin looking for goods homes - email me direct if you want to know a bit more.........

GUTTED!!! They sold my kitten to someone else SOB :(( that will teach me to get my act together a bit sooner! Some little girl took her - right! where does she live?? lol Plan B - going back tonite to see if her little brother or her 'almost twin' cousin take a shine to me, and vice versa..... Any names for a little boy?? all black with white paws and tiny white muzzle ....... aaah!

Nice one Dorothy :) Thinking 'Live Wire' at the mo lol - he's a bit of a tinker ;P

Sympathy Anne, If the kit has 4 white boots you could call him Wellington. Dooley says Hi. Jim

He sounds lovely1, saw the new kitten on Blue Peter, today, they are looking for a name for him as well!.. lovely kitties!..

Hi Anne, If you get your little kitten, how about trying to borrow a small folding pen to keep the kitten in when you are out? I am a volunteer with Cats Protection and sometimes when I rehome a kitten, I let the new owners borrow either a kitten pen or a small dog pen, just till the kitten has settled in. It gives the other cats the chance to get used to the new arrival and vice versa. When you're out you will know the kitten is safe till you get back! How about Socks for a name too! Hope this helps, Eileen

*UPDATE*...........he's coming 'home' next Friday (1/10) and I am going to call him 'Louie' (or some similar spelling) - means 'Great Warrior' - watch out you other two lol. I got the idea for the name from his 'Auntie' - she is called Lulu (short for Louise) - his Mum is called Thelma ;P His little sis has gone to a good home, but now I feel guilty cos his 13 week old 'cousin' keeps fussing round me and crying to me.............. oh god! dont do that :( I hope she's found a home before next Friday or one could become two :O

Glad to hear that Anne, lovely Louie, bet he's cute!..

Dooley says Hi Louie

*waves* Hi Dooley......... (my new mum did this for me, cos I havent moved in yet).......can't wait *purrrrrrr pounce scamper sleep zzzzzzzz*