I have one kitty that I got from the shelter about two years ago. She seems to be happy generally, but I worry that she is lonely during the day when I am not home. I have thought about getting a kitten to keep her company, but I worry that she will resent having her home invaded by a stranger. I am also afraid that the new cat/kitten may be too playful/aggressive for her and cause her more stress than comfort. What do you guys think? Also, do you think a kitten or an adult is a better choice? She is about 3 years old.
[B]Single cats are fine …
Cats are very territorial the older they get…
If you welcome a second cat ~ I rec a younger one and opposite sex ~
Bless you for considering to offer another cat a forever home ~[/B]
You’ve come to COTH, Home of Enablers! 
Yes. Get another kitty. If you think your cat will be okay with that.
Maybe you could foster kitties for a bit to see how she reacts?
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I had (or should I say have:sigh:) exactly the resentment/aggression scenario you describe. Emmy was only a little over a year when I got a male kitten. Things weren’t too bad until he grew up. He is a bully and is mugging her frequently. No damage that I have ever found but she is very reluctant to play if he is around. He is an attention hog and if I don’t give it to him, he goes after her knowing that will get my attention…he doesn’t seem to mind that it is negative attention.
In general, I think females are fine alone. I regret getting the above kitten. Oh, he isn’t going anywhere (now 10 or 11?). Sometimes when he is in another room and I am alone with Emmy she glares at me and gives me the stink-eye…Like HOW could I (get another cat).
My cat experience is limited…these are my first two and I have had those issues.
Susan
I wouldn’t get a kitten, I’d get a male that’s about a year old. In my experience at that age you can see their personality and they transition to a new home more easily the younger they are.
I’ve always had either no cats or two cats. I know they’re more solitary animals but I feel they like having others of their type around. I had a male and female set and while they weren’t best friends they seemed to enjoy one another’s company at times and the female seemed to miss the male when he passed about a year before she did.
I think it depends on your cat. Some might want a feline companion, others would not and would rightly resent the newcomer and be jealous. Years ago I had a female and brought in a male who needed a home. They fell in love with each other and were best friends. Years later I got a different female and brought in a male who needed a home. They hated each other and could not be left alone together in the house. After the male died (of old age), a few years later I brought in another female who needed a home. For seven years she and my other female just tolerated each other, occasionally slept together, occasionally fussed and slapped at each other, and I got a LOT of the first kitty gazing resentfully and jealously at me when I was paying attention to the second kitty.
Second kitty died two weeks ago and now first kitty not only wants to spend more time with me, she asks me to spend more time with her, all the time, in fact, when I am at home. So that I am wondering if I should get her another companion, but I won’t, because I promised her years ago that if and when older kitty died I would never bring another kitty into our house. She has made it very clear to me, twice, that she doesn’t want another cat in the house, and I respect her wishes.
So, like I said, it depends on the individual cat.
When my female cat was about two years old, I got a young male cat to keep her company. She never liked him for the 17 years they lived together. She was delighted the one time he managed to get out of the house and went missing. She walked around purring, and was very cheerful. Days later, when I found him, she went back to lurking and moping.
She would have been happier as an only cat, and would have voted him off the island if she could.
I think that I would check with your local shelter and rescues about trying a foster cat or kitten. After giving it a reasonable amount of time, you might be able to see how your cat responds to having other cats in the house.
I feed “show up and stay” cats. Recently I had to move some how of one out building and into the barn. I was afraid that the cat that hangs around the barn would fight with them, and at first there was some hissing and batting at each other. After a while, I think my barn cat is actually happier to be living around other cats.
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It depends on the cat. I got my first cat from the humane society and it was clear after he settled in that he didn’t like being alone when I went to work so I got him a playmate to keep him company and he was much happier.
That said some are just fine and happier being solo so is there any way you could foster an adult that needs a break from the shelter environment and separately a kitten/younger cat and see if your cat likes the company or is just fine on his own.
They all have different personalities and play habits and some just don’t get along. At least fostering would give you an idea of your cats preference without adopting and possibly returning one.
I agree with foster with the possibility of adoption. I was considering rehoming one of my “barn” cats when I moved, but they both came down with an upper respiratory virus and had to be kept in the laundry room for a week. After years, they’re finally buddies.
Depends on the cat. In my experience, 75% of cats enjoy feline company, 23% of cats tolerate feline company, and 2% of cats SERIOUSLY dislike feline company. The ones in the latter category which I have had have all been extreme diva style cats who arrived at the house with personality ten times the size of the cat on their shoulder, and not an affectionate, social, outgoing personality but a Katherine Hepburn on the movie set personality, so I’m taking that as an indicator by this point. The last one of those I had was Rosalind, who in all her life never really got affectionate with other cats. We didn’t have fights, but you could tell she was putting up with this at a distance, and the feline eye roll was often in effect. Interestingly, Rosalind was a singleton. I’ve wondered if that had an effect. My brother and sister-in-law each had a solitary cat when they married, and the cats after some aggressive negotiation wound up splitting the house as if there were a barbed wire fence dividing it. One was the upstairs cat, one the downstairs cat. Peace, but not friendship, reigned.
Everybody I’ve got right now is fairly sociable, but Rascal and Willow both seem to be in the 23%. Provided there is room to retreat when they wish, everything is fine. If you find yourself in the position of Entitled Diva Aloof Cat and add Pestering Perpetually Playful Cat, it helps to get another Pestering Perpetually Playful Kitten to join those two up and let the EDAC have her privacy when she wishes.
I would highly recommend getting a kitten or at least not over a year. Males (in the older cat) seem to adjust faster than females to the new addition. Most females I’ve had do adjust nicely, just take longer doing it.
Thank you guys for the input. Snowblaze, you cracked me up. Sounds like if I try it, fostering might be the way to experiment. Here’s a picture just for fun.
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What did you decide? We have a 10yo male cat who’s gregarious with dogs so I thought he’d like a buddy (we did used to have lots of cat but have been down to one for a couple of years). Got a 14 wo male (neutered already) kitten a few weeks ago who’s a real drama queen, and irritating older cat. So this weekend we got a much more mellow 12 wo kitten to keep the first one company. Drama queen is now busier irritating everyone, so pressure is off the older cat. Somewhat. For now. The pounds are full to overflowing with cats and gazillions of kittens, and I thought I was doing the right thing. In retrospect I probably should have got a mellow year or two old female. But, we’ll persevere!
Oh, and I meant to add … in retrospect it might have been a good idea for us to have fostered some young cats, or kittens with mothers, just to see what the older cat thought. You live and learn!
It does sometimes work out. Check out Grandpa Mason and the Tuxedo Kittens on facebook; he’s an elderly and terminally ill feral cat that was taken in by a rescue, dislikes people, and has turned out to be adorably avuncular with all her rescue kittens. https://www.facebook.com/tinytuxies/?hc_ref=ARTDc0N9KDkRGnxrCPNkGCFKPYBsa07_vR9uJV7QisR70Xr6pfGl1_cVwS0M-mNLjFk&fref=nf
My cats have always hated other cats, but are fans of the dogs. I did have two rescue cats (one adopted about 4 months later than the first) who got along quite well. However, the cat I adopted first generally got along with everyone. If a cat is standoffish in the cat room - that is what we have in most of the rescues/shelters here - they likely do not give a crud about having another cat in their life. If they are cuddling with the other cats and getting along with everyone they might very well enjoy a feline friend.
3yo is not old and most cats that age still have plenty of play in them. If you are uncertain about another cat or you find one and they don’t get along make sure to get lots of toys that will keep your cats brain active and prevent boredom.
If you do decide to get a second cat make sure to do introductions slowly and carefully! There’s lots of good advice on the internet - like Jackson Galaxy.
The Big Fluff (1yo) growled & hissed at the Small Fry (12wks old) so we did a very gradual introduction over a few weeks and 3yrs later they will play & sleep together. Sometimes they scrap hard but they seem to enjoy it.
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Well, this past fall, my daughter-in-law found a kitten on a rainy day on top of a truck tire. She promptly took it and called me (she’s allergic to cats and has Siberian Forest cats only). Told her to drop it off at my vet and I went after work to pick it up. Turned out it was a she and they estimated her to be around 6 weeks old, all black.
Now, at the time, I had 4 indoor cats, 2 female and 2 males. She fit in perfectly. No real “introduction” per se but I made sure my dogs were good with her. As time went on, she played with everyone and with the exception of one female, they all played back. It was adorable to watch and see the older guys (about 6-7) being chased or even wrestling with her.
A couple of months later, I had to take in my mother’s older cats, both male. They are in a separate area of the house but they can wander out and the other cats can wander in if they choose. The only cat that the two boys were not “annoyed” with is the kitten who was about 4 months old at that time.
Fast forward to today. My mother’s cats are somewhat aggressive with the other two male cats. There have been cat fights and two wounded ears but overall, they have declared a cease-fire. The only fights have occurred between the four males.
Sooo…after all this…you NEED another cat…:lol:
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We adopted a 2 year old into a house with a 6 month old and they run and play and love each other! My kitten loved other cats and the cat we adopted was in a foster home with 2 other cats . He loved to play also and liked other tcats so they hit it off immediately. Glad we have 2 as they are a lot of company for each other and fun to watch.
