Adding a New Cat to Your Home Doesn't Mean Someone Will Bleed

A question that I often see on the Internet is what are the steps to introduce a new cat into a household. This is a great question because cats are typically solitary animals and the addition of a new cat can cause stress and possibly some bad behavior. However, I’ve also noticed that it seems to cause much more stress to the humans involved than it does to the felines!

First, be certain that another cat is a good idea. For some tips and suggestions see my article Cat Math: Does adding one more cat cause four times the havoc?

Once you’ve decided that another cat is right for you arm yourself with information! For a great article about what to expect when you add a new cat to your house see Introducing Pets to a New Cat at the Humane Society of the United States.

When you add your new cat, remember that it is very important for you to stay calm. No sense in creating more stress! Also, keep in mind that cats know what steps to take to meet a new cat. They really can in many cases sort it out for themselves so don’t be afraid to let them interact while you watch quietly near by. Step in only if there is significant reaction. Ignore hissing and growling that’s just part of the process and it does not hurt either cat, unless someone has really bad breath!

If you feel you need heavy artillery to ease your new cat into your home, pick up some Feliway. This nifty product plugs into an outlet and releases cat pheromones into your house. This will help your cats feel calm and cool no drugs needed!

Finally, enjoy watching your kitties get to know each other and discover the games they’ll play together. Two cats are so much fun you might even cancel your cable!
catcatscat humorcat comedynew cat

Barn Cat Spanky

Spanky is a muted calico who lives at the barn where my friends and I ride horses. Like some rare and blessed people, she has found her life’s calling. You might think that a cat who lives at a barn would find their calling hunting mice. That’s probably true of many cats, but not Spanky. Spanky is the official barn greeter.

Our barn is an active one. Kids come and go by the SUV full to take riding lessons and learn about horse care. Not all of the kids who come to the stable ride horses. Many are the younger siblings of riders and are too short to sit a horse on their own. While their older sisters learn to walk and trot the young children are entertained by Spanky.

Fearless, Spanky allows the kids to pet her and tote her around the barn. She could easily get away from them. The rafters are high and easy for any cat to climb but Spanky benignly allows her back paws to drag the ground as a too short child holds her under her front legs and carries her through the aisle. I love watching her with the kids. Just when I think some child has finally carried her as far as she will go, Spanky lets her pick her up yet again. Unflappable she purrs at the kids, never a tooth or claw to be seen.

It’s not just kids, Spanky loves everyone. She greets all visitors with proper Southern politeness. Whether they’re a “cat person” or not matters not to her. In fact, her gentle spirit and affectionate purrs have convinced more than one person that they might like cats after all!

Some might say it’s too bad that such a loving cat doesn’t have a house of her own. House or no, Spanky has a home at our farm. Those who know her know that one house just couldn’t hold enough people for her to love. The barn is where she belongs, loving each of us as we come. The more people the more love Spanky seems to exude.
catcatscat humorcat comedybarn cat

Barn Kitty Boo!

Autumn glided in with lady-like grace that year. The trees blushed at her coming. The dirt road wandered away from the busy city and lead it’s travelers into the cool, quiet of the countryside. The still-green fields were speckled with the browns and grays of horses who munched on the last of the summer grass.

The silence was broken by a golf cart careening down the dirt road kicking up the red dust that makes up all Southern dirt roads. Too young to drive a real car and too old to sit at home my friends and I headed to our favorite teenage hangout: the barn. From Jessica’s house, it was a short trip by golf cart to the stables where we took riding lessons and kept our horses. The weather promised to be beautiful and we had the whole Saturday to spend riding, grooming and visiting with our four legged friends.

Despite my best efforts, I drew the back seat for that trip, boring because it was too hard to talk to the girls up front. I stared backwards contemplating the view and enjoying the fresh weather. Suddenly, from the side of the road a tiny gray kitten darted from the grass and chased after the golf cart mewing and running his hardest.

“Stop!” I shouted to the girls up front. We collected the little guy from the road. He purred when I picked him up. Thinking him lost, we began knocking on doors. There were only a few to check at. No one was missing a kitten. He was so tiny and hungry. He must have been without a home for some time. With no other ideas, we took him to the barn.

He was a beautiful cat. He was white with large gray patches and a little white spot right next to his nose. His eyes were startling green. His looks were only the beginning of his charm. He loved people! His efforts to locate much needed food that afternoon were distracted by our presence. We were captivated.

After some discussion, we decided to go back to Jessica’s. There was no cat food at the barn (Miss Kitty had moved to the house by this time) and the kitten was too hungry to delay. Jessica had two cats and plenty of food to share. We set him in a large bucket with a bed of hay and retraced our steps.

Jessica’s large, adult cats threatened the kitten’s life. Nicki’s family lived in a place that did not permit pets. The kitten came to my house. I was thrilled! He was a ball of fun. After a few days of food and water he began to feel great. He played hide and go seek with my sister and I. I would tip toe through the kitchen and into to dining room to surprise him but he’d sneak up behind me and pounce me first! We named him Boo because he was always jumping out at us.

To my deep regret, I wasn’t allowed to keep him. Mom was sympathetic to my cause but as good parents do, she backed my father. She loved Boo too so she made certain that he went to a loving home. We were sad to see him go but as things do it worked out for the best. My grandmother moved in with us just a few short years later and brought her cat, Snowball.

Though Boo’s involvement in my life was brief, I’ll never forget the day he dashed desperately after the only humans he could find, three girls on a golf cart. Humans are not the only the only creatures with character. Boo’s determination to survive lead him to a happy, healthy home of his own. We can learn so much from animals if we take the time to listen. Boo taught me never to give up. I still chase my dreams, even if my legs are too short to catch them.
catcat humorbarn cat

Barn Kitty Miss Kitty

Miss Kitty lived at the barn where I took riding lessons. She was dainty and lady-like. A small muted calico, she was far more interested in being a house kitty than a barn kitty. It seemed that there were several “liabilities” at the barn that prevented her from fully appreciating an outdoor life. Three dogs hung around the barn and she didn’t like smelling them. Furthermore, horses, in her opinion, were large and attracted flies.

She was supposed to control the mouse population. Ha! She didn’t eat mice; she ate crunchies. Mice were for cats who didn’t live in houses. She didn’t live in a house except for those times when she darted past my riding instructor’s feet through the door. She was extremely annoyed when caught and put outside. After about a year of this, my instructor surrendered and Miss Kitty became Miss House Kitty after all.

This left the mouse population unchecked. My instructor fearless of horses, dogs and even big, black furry spiders was DEATHLY afraid of mice. The mice would become trapped in the grain bin when the grain level was low and could not jump back out. With girlish nerves, my instructor would scoop them up in a feed scoop, leap back, and squeal as she tried to fling the mice free of the feed bin. Concerned for the well-being of the mice I volunteered to scoop them out. And so we went day to day feeding mice and delivering them safely to the floor of the feed room. Compassion outweighed common sense.

In the end, Miss Kitty taught me an important lesson. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. You can give a cat a mouse but you can’t make her pounce!
catcat humorbarn cat