Ever take in an older cat?

We have 3 cats already and have decided to add a 4th. I was thinking since we have always adopted kittens, it would be nice to rescue and older cat for a change. The ages of our cats now are 1, 4, and 5. I went to a shelter recently and really like this one cat who they believe is around 4yrs old... He seems mellow (from what I can tell) and they say he gets along well with other cats.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of situation? My dh is convinced taking in a kitten would be easier because he's concerned it would ruin the dynamic of 'dominance' that already exists with the ones we have. Any BTDT experiences? suggestions?


I think getting a new kitten would be great, but rescuing an older cat that has less of a chance at being adopted is VERY appealing to me.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

No experience but I think is really a great idea .. everyone love the kittens and puppies.. The older ones get passed right up.. God Bless

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Yes - we didn't go to a shelter though - this cat was wonderful and was hanging around our house.

It probably belonged to someone who lets their cats out, but he clearly wasn't being taken care of well. He started climbing into our cars if we left the windows open, and he would hang on the screen doors to come inside. We took him to the vet, and decided to keep him as an indoor cat. He NEVER tried to leave once.

He was about 4 or 5 when we got him, and he died at about 12 or 13. He was an amazing cat.

Go for it.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Yes, we've had this experience. We took in a cat that was at least 10 (he was wandering the streets, and we couldn't find his owner...so we don't know his exact age...but the vet said "Definitely at least 10." We had younger cats, and everything was just fine.

The older cat, Gus, is -and has never been- terribly interested in playing or cuddling with everyone else. However, they just keep to their own spaces, and everyone coexists peacefully.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Yep and didn't have a problem.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Thanks ladies Still trying to decide what to do!!

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

I don't have any experience but I want to say I think you are a wonderful person for considering rescuing an older cat!

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

It completely depends. I used to volunteer at a cat rescue shelter in NYC and we saw many cats come back after they didn't get along with existing pets.

I would talk to the shelter and see if you can do a trial run to see how your cats react, but since there are three and they have been introduced at different stages already, it's likely they'd be used to another new addition.

Good luck

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

I adopted a family- mom (older, but I don't know how old) and 2 of her kittens. She was stray, and the kittens were born in my parents back yard.

We rescued them in July, moved in with them in Sept, and she is fantastic! She is a huge mush with me now. She did hiss and hide at first. She is still scared of my kids, though she has never been mean to them, she just hides. But for me, she lays next to me, comes when i call, seeks me out. It's really sweet and special. The male kitten is like that as well. The female kitten is still apprehensive, but is coming around.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Thank you so much ladies!! I really appreciate it!! I plan on checking out the little guy again hopefully later today and I'll soon have a decision made!

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

We adopted a 3 yr old Maine Coon and then decided that he needed a friend so a year later we adopted a 4 yr old (give or take) from Wantagh shelter. We did have to separate them for about 5 days but they are the best of buddies now.

My sister has 4. She started with one kitten and added another kitten a few months later. Then they took in an older stray that was living under their deck and a couple of years later my sister bought a 2 yr old retired show Ragdoll. They all get along great except for the older stray and the Ragdoll but they co-exist just fine.

Here are my guys now. Oh, and I think male cats get along better than female if you have a choice.

Image Attachment(s):

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Michelle, thank you! And that pic is adorable!!


I def agree the males get along better. I have 1 girl (Penny ) and 2 boys and the boys are good buddies.

The one I'm planning on taking in is a boy too.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Posted by PennyCat

Michelle, thank you! And that pic is adorable!!


I def agree the males get along better. I have 1 girl (Penny ) and 2 boys and the boys are good buddies.

The one I'm planning on taking in is a boy too.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Posted by ODonnell

Posted by PennyCat

Michelle, thank you! And that pic is adorable!!


I def agree the males get along better. I have 1 girl (Penny ) and 2 boys and the boys are good buddies.

The one I'm planning on taking in is a boy too.

You're giving a wonderful gift to this kitty too PC. Post pics when you get your new addition.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

We once had an older cat adopt us when I was growing up. He showed up on our porch and then he never left. He was about 8 or 9 and we had him for a good 6 years.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

We've always adopted younger cats when there was already a cat in the home....only because of the personality of the cats involved. My first cat was (evil) very territorial and didn't take well to new things...so we figured a smaller kitten would be best since he was still dominant.
And then we had a very timid cat who was not good with other animals, so we got an older kitten who would be smaller, but not as playful.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

I just wanted to come on and thank everyone and also give a little update...

It's official!! We're getting a 4th cat... a boy.. and he will be coming home next weekend!! I'll post pics shortly after!!

I actually called my vet as well to get his opinion too ... and he said he would stick to 1 1/2 at the oldest.. but go older if I really have my heart set on it. Instead of the cat I originally saw, we decided to take another cat we fell in love with who is just under a year old but has been in the shelter for many months. I think he was there for so long because he was meant to be ours He's actually big, and the people who run the shelter think that may be why he was having such a hard time getting adopted. Since he isn't home with us yet, I've been visiting him every few days.

Message edited 4/14/2012 11:46:23 PM.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

Congratulations !! Many years of happiness

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

We adopted a fairly old cat a few years ago. We think she was 12+. We didn't really have a dominance echelon established yet, because within about 6 months of buying our house, we adopted the 12+ yo cat, a 3 or so year old dog, and a 1yo cat.

We had to keep everyone separated for a while, but they eventually figured out who was "in charge".

The old cat was very affectionate, and I'm very glad we had her.

Re: Ever take in an older cat?

I think rescuing an older cat is a smart move because older cats make very very sweet companions.