Posted by PHMadameAlto on October 22, 2002 at 17:34:13:
In Reply to: Mixing an old cat with kittens posted by jeanfc on October 21, 2002 at 15:46:55:
:I had two 16 year old cats (females from the same litter) and I had to have one of them euthanized a few weeks ago because of her bad health. She's always been thin and sickly, and I knew she'd be the first to go. The other one, however, is quite healthy and will be around for many years to come.
:My question is, how would this older female react to the introduction of one or 2 new kittens in our house... Will this stress her out and hasten her death ? The house is really empty with only one cat and I really want some more life in my house, but I don't want to put my remaining cat in jeopardy...
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I am sorry about your loss. It is hard to tell how a cat will react to a newcomer. For sure, you need to find a fairly mellow kitten. You may need to separate them for quite some time just to give the older one a rest period. Since the older cat has had a sibling, she at least won't be totally surprised to encounter another cat. I recommend getting only one kitten at this point, multiple kittens might be too stressful.
