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If you have other pets in the
house, they may or may not accept an intruder.
Most will get used to each other if they have been
used to other feline companions and will
eventually establish a pecking order and divide up
or timeshare territory even if they do not become
good friends. Make sure that all have been
vaccinated and do not pose a health risk to each
other.
A
Kitten or an Adult Cat?
This depends on
yourself and on any remaining pets. If you have
other older cats they may resent the intrusion of
a lively kitten - or they may get a new lease of
life as mentor to the kitten. If you adopt another
older cat you will have some idea of its
personality (from the previous owner or the
shelter) and can adopt a laid back,
non-competitive cat which will not threaten your
surviving cats. I find that where all the cats are
older, lack of energy and desire for warm sleeping
spots usually overcomes aggressiveness!
Where
Should I Get Another Cat?
Where you should
your get a new cat from depends on whether you
want a pedigree or non-pedigree pet and on the
animal shelters in your area. Some owners specialize
in taking on older or disadvantaged
cats from animal shelters and making their
remaining years happy and comfortable. Such cats
may repay your kindness a thousand-fold. You may
know of a friend unable to keep his or her own cat
due to changed or diminished circumstances.
If you want a
pedigree cat, check breeder advertisements in cat
magazines or visit cat shows. In the UK, cats are
not bought or sold at cat shows, but breeders take
enquiries and may take bookings. Sometimes there
are variants (cats which don't quite match the
standard) available at lesser cost. Pedigree
rescue societies specialize in rehoming purebred
and pedigree cats which have lost their homes;
these cats are usually older and may have no
papers, but are nevertheless loving purebred cats.
Beware of kitten-farmed "purebreds" (see
below) many of which are not pedigreed at all.
Some cat shelters also have purebreds and you
might find pedigree look-alikes at cat shelters,
due to accidental crossbreedings in a cat's family
tree!
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