thinking of getting a second cat- advice plse!

missindecisive

Thats it really, thinking of getting a second kitty pet-prob from the RSPCA.
our girl is 2yrs old, she is such a good little girl. she's housetrained, and well behaved with the kids, knows her routine. she likes to be stroked, but won't sit on your knee,she's the independent type. I have begun to wonder though- is she bored / do cats like eachother's company ? I don't really know. We all enjoy having her around, she has a forever home with us. Infact, she's so gorgeous, thats why im thinking of a second kitty. if we did get another, should I go for a kitten or an older cat? how would I introduce them..how do I do it ? bearing in mind our girl has been on her own with us since we got her as a kitten..and I think she is the timid type because any cats that come into our garden seem to dominate her and she's afraid ! advise plse welcome !

BitterAndTwisted

In the wild cats are mostly solitary so it's not in their nature to need the company of other cats. Sometimes introducing a newbie pusscat into a home can be very stressful for both cats and the humans involved. Some cats settle down together and others never appear to enjoy sharing their home with another.

If you are serious about getting another cat you should consider restricting the newbie to a room on its own with bed, litter-tray and food and keep it there for some time. While you do that you need to try and mix the two cat's scents as much as possible by swapping bedding etcetera. This is how they identify each other so if the scents are mingled they may not object to each other quite so much. The actual introductions need to be very, very gradual.

It can be a bit of a risk getting a second cat because it's so much of a gamble. Some darlings have been known to leave home when their private domain has been infiltrated by a loathed usurper

WhiteHorse

Unlike dogs, which are pack animals, cats don't usually like the company of other cats. They may tolerate them, but it's not often a success.

bethie

we got a second cat and although he wont snuggle with her, i do really think he enjoys having her around!!!


He is a 9yr old indoor male and in september we adopted a 2 year old female.


for the first couple of days he hissed at her (mostly because she hissed at him first), and that was about it.

he is a really laid back cat and nothing really bothers him (wasn't too fussed when i brought home a dog 3 years ago either...) and she is a very feisty little girl.


he interacts with her all the time and looks for her a lot. sometimes they lick each other and they are always chasing each other around the house playing.


if you do get another cat, try getting one that is younger and of the opposite sex- it might be easier to integrate them?


in terms of integrating them, i spent a lot of time grooming one after the other, feeding them in separate rooms, and every day moving their food closer together. within a week they were both eating on the kitchen table at the same time and timesharing beds. (though it would be the female's life long dream if he would only snuggle with her!)

mozzyc

I thought the same about my boy Buddy, and got him a young female cat (6 months younger than him). Boy was i wrong! None stop fighting for ages. He was suddenly a different cat. Never heard him growl or hiss before this.
haha. They tolerate each other, even have a snuggle in winter, but he kind of bullies her (stands over her when he wants the big cat bed!), and she's always hissing at him.
Adopted a younger male, which has now kind of worked. She gets left alone more to do her own thing, and the 2 boys are play fighting with each other instead of her.
So everyone's happy!

flower24

We have a 3 year old male cat and recently got a kitten. I read that it's better for cats of the opposite sex to live together so bought a female cat, only to realise about a week later that Ruby was a boy!!!! lol. They seem to have a love/hate relationship, one minute they are play fighting the next they are cuddling up together on the sofa and licking each other!

geri1965_2

It does depend on their personality, I think. Spook never really forgave me for getting Geri, although she did tolerate her eventually. She hated all other cats though.

After Spook died we left it a while before thinking about getting another, OH was worried in case it upset Geri but I had a feeling she would be OK with it as she doesn't seem to mind other cats. I was very careful chosing the right cat, I chose Jimmy because he was male, quite young and described as "not the bravest of cats". Because Geri is getting on for 14, I felt it was important that we got another cat who was not likely to try and bully her, and because she is so good natured I knew she wouldn't bully him.

They hissed at each other for a few days but after that they were fine. She does sometimes yowl and hiss when he tries to chase her and she is not in the mood for playing.

Olokia

I got a second cat about 3 months ago.

My first cat (Lily) was about 1 1/2 years old and female. The rescue centre advised me that a younger cat of the opposite gender is the best way to get the first cat to accept the second.

Unfortunately I had already fallen in love with a 4 year old female. (Fizz) :rotfl:

When I brought Fizz home, I put her in a room that Lily never went into and the only contact they had was through the closed door. I swapped bedding and food bowls occasionally and after about the 3rd or 4th day, I opened the door slightly while they were feeding. Lily was uncomfortable eating in view of Fizz and they were both hissing and trying to swipe at each other through the door.

A week later I put one of the cats into the carry cage and the other cat let loose in the room and after about 15 minutes swapped them over. More hissing and swiping. I did this for another few days.

After about 2 weeks, I was ready to attempt the first unrestricted access to each other. I was so nervous. I held a towel in case of fighting and while Lily was off somewhere else, I let Fizz out of her room. (This, I think is important because it shows its not a big deal). I was ready for a big fight but apart from more hissing and swiping they did not do too much.

Fast forward to now, they chase each other around the house and roll on the floor fighting (I think its just play fighting as they have never hurt each other) but every night and while I am at work, they both sleep on the bed (mine or theirs) quite close to each other without any problems.

Hope this helps

threestars

When we introduced our new (boy) kitten to our 1.5 year old (boy) cat everything went very well! We introduced them straight away but kept an eye on the older cat in case he got violent or anything.

Older cat just kept his distance and only really got upset when he couldn't see the kitten. They spent alot of time licking each other and sleeping together curled up. Big cat would let little cat eat next to him & they shared a litter tray & bed!!

BUT!! we didn't let them be together on their own for about a month, we kept kitten in the spare room & let big cat outside at night/while we were at work (he doesn't really like being inside anyway!)

Fast forward a year they don't really acknowledge each other. They've got totally different personalities. Little cat is still like a kitten and big cat is like an old man. They have the occasional play fight with fur flying everywhere but apart from that they just get on with life, leaving each other alone.

I'm glad we've got 2 cats now, their personalities are so different we've got a cat to suit every occasion lol

Hope that helps your decision, let us know how you get on