Choosing between two cats to adopt

[Pluto30]

Hi everyone,


We lost our cat - 20yo - in May, and said we wouldn't get another. However, we follow the FB page of our local shelter and see cats coming up often. We thought we'd consider getting another cat as we do miss our old cat.

We initially saw a post about a female cat who has been there for 5 months. She's always been in with another cat as she's apparently very social and confident. We went to see her today and she was very affectionate: licking us, grooming the other cat in the enclosure etc. But we worry because she's quite small and very agile, and apparently "likes to play". We have two dogs so would like a cat who is able to stand her ground a bit, but we worry that if she's very demanding of attention etc. that she might resort to scratching furniture, curtains etc. But we feel bad as she has been there 5 months and has seen other cats come and go in that time.

The second cat we didn't intend to look at. He's about 3, they think, a great big fluffy boy. He's got FIV, however they assure us that if he's kept inside and in good health, he should be fine. We think he'd be able to stand his ground better with the dogs, and he was very eager to get our attention. What we worry about is him getting out of the dog door and wandering. Also, worried about having a male cat inside. Do they spray? He'll be desexed before he comes home...

I suppose we're just anxious about which of the two would be more suited to us. Both have something that pulls at our heart strings, but getting both is not an option.

Any advice would be wonderful.

[mypropertea]

I think fiv boy, because most people are not open minded enough to take him on and you sound smitten.

You can always ask the rescue place for advice.

[mypropertea]

P.s. Photos of the cats would help me advise... ;)

[Pluto30]

These are the two.

[LadyNymeriaGhost]

I've had 4 FIV cats over the years, and they have been part of the family. All but 1 died aged 14+. We just lost the last one last week. Miss him, I do.

[DubiousCredentials]

The obvious answer is have them both surely

[Lolly86]

Both

[PosiePootlePerkins]

Hi
We have recently adopted an 18month old girl cat after losing our old girl who had to be pts aged 18. Our new cat was similar to yours when we visited, very keen to play, gave us licks and accepted a few strokes. We've had her since the beginning of August. She can be very lively! Almost like a kitten in the way she plays. When we first got her and she was inside she went loopy, charging around the house and needing to be played with a lot. And yes she has scratched the furniture a bit, not too badly. It was as if she had been cooped up for so long in the rescue centre that she went a bit giddy with all the space!
Now she can go outside she has definitely calmed down, however she is still not a very cuddly cat. This did disappoint me at first as my old girl was very much a lap cat. She is becoming more friendly over time, likes a stroke on her terms, is settling down a bit in the house. I think as she gets older she'll become more settled.
My advice would be, if you're looking for a calm cuddly lap cat, you might not find that in the girl cat. I probably wasn't clear enough about the sort of cat I wanted when we got ours.
Having said that I love her to bits of course and wouldn't change her!
(Sorry that was long!)

[hugoagogo]

I would go for the black and white girl: because of the other ( gorgeous) cat having to be kept inside and because he has an illness.
I love all cats and it is so hard to choose, so I have to go logical or else I would have a house full of waifs and strays.

[flumpybear]

Both

[MrsBellefleur]

You'd be hard pressed stopping the fiv cat getting out of the dog door unless it's electronically controlled.

[Microwaste]

If you have a dog door already, wouldn't it be damn near impossible to prevent a cat from using it? Unless you have one activated by microchip?
Is the boy cat neutered already? I think if they are done as adults they can retain some of the antisocial traits they've already developed, like spraying.
If you are getting a rescue, they will usually advise on whether the cat can live with dogs (and won't let you take one if they can't!) so if they think the girl would be ok, I'd get her I think.

It's a very hard choice though, we went to a rescue place to look at a cat and ended up picking a completely different (one eyed) one because we thought she'd have a smaller chance of being adopted!

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

I would go for the FIV boy, he's lovely.

Harry was neutered when he was around 2-3 and has never sprayed.

[Pluto30]

We don't think he's neutered already, although the particular girl we were speaking to couldn't be certain (the woman who normally deals with him was busy with other people). Thank you for the insight re spraying. We've never had a male cat before.

The dog door thing will definitely be an issue. We can't close it off as the dogs (one in particular who has Cushings) needs to be able to get in and out as necessary. I haven't seen/heard of electronic doors... May have to do some investigating

I suppose I just feel bad, because we went there with the intention of looking at the little girl cat, but now we're considering looking over her again

[Toddlerteaplease]

Definitely both. If not then the FIV boy as they are more difficult to re home

[Pluto30]

We can't do both. They said the FIV cat needs to go to a home with no other cats (in case he passes it on). But also, we already have two dogs, one with a medical condition, and three (soon to be four) children! Two cats might be slight overcommitment, plus they've said not to house the FIV cat with other cats.

[popmimiboo]

Purely on looks -boy cat. I had a girl who was just like the black and white one and she was, indeed, lively! A scratcher and biter too. She was super cute but such a handful. She also hated dogs.
I have yet to meet a "naughty" tabby. I have an adorable, old tabby girl now.

If your dog door is the flappy kind, maybe think about replacing it with an electronic microchip one so only the dogs can get in and out?

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

I had 2 boys, both neutered as kittens who both sprayed.
My biggest concern would be keeping him in. Not just because of the dog door but it's going to be difficult in summer with doors and windows open.

[Pluto30]

The door is a flappy kind. It used to have a lock on it, but the beagle charged through it locked so many times the lock clear snapped off. An electronic one may be worth a look, if I can wrangle one around here.

Our old cat was very cat-ish. Had no patience for other cats, and only tolerated dogs because she grew up with them. But she wasn't overly affectionate, wasn't very playful etc. You could forget she was there, basically. She was a black cat too, but pure black and fluffy. We have no idea of the breed etc.

I find dogs a bit more predictable.

We'll go and see them at the shelter again and see if we can work out whether either would be more suited to our family.

[Microwaste]

TBH, if you already have a dog who has to have free access to the outside, it'd be crazy to add a cat who has to have no access to the outside! I understand the impulse, but you can't rescue them all, and you have to sensibly choose a pet which will fit in with the rest of your household. For their sake as well as your own.

[Olinguito]

Even if you get an electronic flap for the dogs, I would worry that it would be very frustrating for the tabby to see the dogs going in and out of the garden but be denied access for himself.

I'd go for the girl cat - black and white cats get overlooked too.

[SapphireStrange]

I think you need an outside cat, too, just on practical grounds.

I'm for the tabby though. But he's gorgeous; someone will fall in love with him soon.

[Ratbagcatbag]

I think based on the cat having to stay in and the dogs getting free reign I would go for the girl cat.
Even if you have a microchip dog door. It relies on it locking and will take a second to unlock, your dog may again break the lock and you will be in a mess trying to keep the boy cat in.
Both are gorgeous but girl cat sounds adorable.

[stumblymonkey]

I would definitely talk it through with the shelter and they'll help you come to a decision based on what they know about the cats.

I would imagine you wouldn't be able to keep the FiV cat inside unless you had an electronic dog door as others have said. However if they managed to break the lock on the old one they'll probably break the lock on any new door too. Then FIV puss would be roaming around and potentially making other cats ill.

On this basis I'd say the girl...

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2722777-feline-aids

Interesting information from thecatneuter about FIV.

[Vinorosso74]

They are both lovely looking cats. I think it could be hard keeping the FIV cat indoors due to your dog door. As long as the girl is ok with dogs she is probably best for your family.
She is a very pretty kitty (we have a lovely B&W girl) and the boy has a very handsome lion look about him. Sorry not helping.