just musing - single cat

balletshoes

I think this thread has probably been inspired by a colleague who has just adopted 2 kittens (brothers) so bear with me.

My previous cat (Sam) was a kitten when we got him, 8 weeks old, from a litter of 4. He was always the only cat in our house, he settled in well, and was happy to be around us and have the run of the house (and outside too when we were home and could open the door for him). He developed into a calm cat who was a bit of a wuss puss around strangers (ie he'd hide under the bed if tradesmen were in the house for example) but very loving to me and DD, would sit/sleep near you and half on your lap for ages etc. He always slept on one of our beds every night, usually mine.

We lost Sam earlier this year, and now we have Ed. Ed is a different beastie altogether. He is a ginger, we have also had him from when he was 9 weeks old, he is 4 months now. Its safe to say he's a character . He came from a litter of 6, but another mummy cat in the same house had 4 kittens at around the same time Ed was born, so in fact there were 12 cats in total in the household (human mum had taken the 2 females on because the previous owners were going to abandon them). Ed is boisterous as kittens are, he is also vocal (always has been, he talks to you constantly when he's near you). He's healthy, playful and seems happy, and I know lots of single cats are. He is also friendly with everyone, and is an attention-seeker at home (he's always climbing onto your lap, or your chest, or around your neck, where he will get himself comfy and fall asleep or knead your skin/hair and talk to you for a while). I can't have him upstairs at all in the bedrooms at night because he doesn't sleep there for long if there is human around to knead :cool:. I'm hoping he'll grow out of this though.

So - I guess what I'm musing is - should we have adopted Ed and one of his sisters (he was the only boy in the litter)? Would another cat in the house have kept Ed a bit more calm and less attention-seeking, would he be happier with a feline playmate, even now? Or is it just his character, and he'd be the same adorable little neckscarf even if he wasn't the only cat in the house? If we had another similar-age or older/younger cat with him now, would his nose be permanently out of joint?

Tiglath

He's 4 months old - you're dealing with a teenager He might calm down a bit when he's neutered, but don't count on it. I've gt 9 of varying ages from 14 down to about 4, and all their characters are different. He'd probably be fine if you got a second cat to keep him company, but only you really know, and sometimes it's not possible to predict. One of our older males was delighted when we took on a semi-feral male kitten and now they're best buddies. It's the 5 girls in the pack who cause all our 'political' problems really! The boys have the occasional punch-up and get over it, but the girls plot revenge on each other.

Soleil_lune

I agree with Tiglath. Any kitten - alone or with a sibling - is going to be a handful. Although I would say rather more like a toddler/infant than a teenager! He will settle down in a couple of months.

If you do intend to ever have more than one cat though; it is advisable to get them close together, as if you try and introduce a new cat into the household when the original cat is about a year old or more, it is more than likely that they will not ever get on that well. They will co-exist and get on 'ok,' but it is unlikely that they will ever be best buds.

his_missus

If you are seriously considering getting another cat/kitten for company for him, I would recommend getting of one a similar age. We've just got a kitten (he's now 5 months old) and he gets on better with our 4yr old lad than the others. My two 14+ lads haven't shown much interest (maybe they're just used to cats joining our family) and my 8yr old girl is most put out by the new addition.

I'm not sure another cat will necessarily calm Ed, maybe just distract him more so he expects less attention from you. Also I don't think he's necessarily going to get better with one of his siblings than another cat.

If you are going to get another cat I would recommend waiting until Ed's been neutered and getting another neutered/spayed cat to prevent any dominance issues.

Tiglath - my girl is a vengeful madam too. Your comment made me smile.

rising_from_the_ashes

mmmmm just to throw another point of view into the ring .....

I have this past week come to the absolutely heartbreaking decision that I'm going to have to rehome Mia

She is 5, Archie nearly 9 so they've been together a fair while - they have NEVER got on and fight most of the time, go through periods of total separation, slow reintroductions, toleration and then fighting again.

Each big fight (there are lots of little ones but I'm talking really horrible, hurt each other ones) gets worse .... with each one, they get more stressed out and take longer to recover from

The last was a week past Sunday (only 2 weeks since the one before that:() - Mia is currently living in the spare room - she won't come out. I leave the door open in the morning (once Archie has gone out) and she pops into my bedroom / the other spare room but is only out a couple of mins & then goes back into the spare room .... it's obviously where she feels safe

Archie won't go upstairs - he pelts up, uses the litter tray, and pelts down again.

Maisie gets stuck in the middle and that's not nice for her either - cats are bloomin' viscious when they get going and she gets hissed at etc and she's done nothing wrong at all!:(

I've had 5 years of trying to get them to just tolerate each other - and they can't

It's not fair on any of them ..... it's breaking my heart to even think about her not being here (I've had her since she was 4 weeks old) but what else can I do?


So .... just to say introducing another doesn't always work so please think long and hard about it

Fluff15

I have two 9 month old kittens from the same litter, and they are EXTREMELY vocal and very attention seeking! I love it though, even if they're both clambering on me and head butting my hands for strokes when I'm trying to read a book/be on the phone etc. I don't think it's because he's lonely, it might just be the sort of cat he is.

If he seems happy enough on his own, and you interact with him plenty when you're at home, he should be fine. Growing up my Mum and Grandma only ever had one cat at a time and they lived long lives. If you really want another, maybe wait until he's been neutered but make sure he's still young, or else they might never get along.

balletshoes

thanks everyone - Fluff I think you may be right, it may just be Ed being Ed (said sleeping Ed currently draped all over my arm and shoulder).

Rising from the ashes I'm so sorry about your cats, I hope whatever you do all your furbabies will eventually be happy.

calicocat

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

mmmmm just to throw another point of view into the ring .....

I have this past week come to the absolutely heartbreaking decision that I'm going to have to rehome Mia

She is 5, Archie nearly 9 so they've been together a fair while - they have NEVER got on and fight most of the time, go through periods of total separation, slow reintroductions, toleration and then fighting again.

Each big fight (there are lots of little ones but I'm talking really horrible, hurt each other ones) gets worse .... with each one, they get more stressed out and take longer to recover from

The last was a week past Sunday (only 2 weeks since the one before that:() - Mia is currently living in the spare room - she won't come out. I leave the door open in the morning (once Archie has gone out) and she pops into my bedroom / the other spare room but is only out a couple of mins & then goes back into the spare room .... it's obviously where she feels safe

Archie won't go upstairs - he pelts up, uses the litter tray, and pelts down again.

Maisie gets stuck in the middle and that's not nice for her either - cats are bloomin' viscious when they get going and she gets hissed at etc and she's done nothing wrong at all!:(

I've had 5 years of trying to get them to just tolerate each other - and they can't

It's not fair on any of them ..... it's breaking my heart to even think about her not being here (I've had her since she was 4 weeks old) but what else can I do?


So .... just to say introducing another doesn't always work so please think long and hard about it

How sad when you have tried to give them all al lovely home, awful for you. This is the reason I would never introduce another one to mine, I know it would end up like this. I had a friend who had the same situation as yourself, very stressful for all parties, you could feel the stress when you walked through the door. Let's hope everyone calms down and enjoys life after little Mia has a new home. Horrid decision to have had to make though..I hope all goes well.

rising_from_the_ashes

balletshoes sorry to slightly hijack your thread but just wanted to say "thanks" to you and calicocat for your kind words

I'm happy (sort of IYKWIM) pleased to say that someone I've known since I was at primary school (a long time ago now!) is going to take Mia

Best outcome possible (I guess) - I know where she is and will hear how she's getting on and can even visit now & then (she's not that close so won't be tempted to just pop over which I think would be hard for everyone)

Hate to think of her not being here:( BUT .... can't go on like we are for the next 10+ years .....