Need support for getting another kitty

I may be bringing home cat #2 (6 mos, neutered male) -- I have had a neutered male age 8 months for 4 months now -- if that all makes sense!

Anyhow, people keep telling me that it will never work -- I should have brought them home at the same time (too late now!)... My current cat will try to kill him... They will never be friends....

I am already discouraged and I haven't even done it yet! My current cat is only 8 months old and the other cat is used to living with many cats... so I am somewhat hopeful. But I am having a hard time finding anyone to support me in this.

I feel pretty confident that I know how to introduce them and I am sure they would take him back if it is a complete failure. What are my chances of success??

Oh goodness, if all that was true nobody would have more than one cat! I currently have eight cats that I have brought home at different times and they all get along just fine. Don't be discouraged!! There will probably be some hisses and swats at first but that's normal. They'll settle in.

They're both young which I think really improves your chances. I brought a kitten home a little over a year ago already having an establiched cat of 7yo. They aren't buddy buddy but they get along for the most part and no one's dead! LOL

Almost all cats are wary of eachother when first introduced, but after a couple weeks they will probably get along with eachother. Most end up enjoying their new playmate.

Prego was already 5 when I got Polly. It took about a month for them to completely get used to each other, but they're fine now.

Originally Posted by PurrPaws

Prego was already 5 when I got Polly. It took about a month for them to completely get used to each other, but they're fine now.

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Mika came into our lives when Bijou was about 1 year old. We did the slow introduction with supervised together times for 1 month. Now they are best of friends and cuddle together during the day to sleep with thier head together and paws around each other. Sometimes they play rough and Mika complains, but she is often the instigator too.

I find it quite amazing that some folks with little or no real knowledge give such bad advice by saying silly things like it's too late/they'll never get along/etc.

Reminds me of when I got pregnant and everyone told me I would have to "get rid" of my special little Siamese girl - they said she would try to hurt the baby and that I would get this horrible disease while I was pregnant and pass it to the baby. My doctor at the time said he wished people would stop saying such stupid things. It turned out that the cat was more tolerant of the baby than she was of my mom. Our daughter's first word was not dad or mom - it was "Seesuz" (Kittie's name was Susie).

If you want this second kitty - you go for it girl. Just be sure to do the introductions slowly and properly and you will have double the joy in your life - I know what I say for I never thought I'd have 2 cats at one time and I cannot express how wonderful it is to share our lives with these 2 special animals.

You should not have problems bringing another cat about the same age. Just use the normal introductions of putting the new cat in a room (bathroom) by himself for a few days. Then confine the resident cat in the bathroom for a day.

They will get use to each other's scents. Expect some growling/hissing when meeting face to face; but things should be ok within a few weeks. Give them time. Do not interfer with normal hissing and swatting at each other. Do separate them if it gets too physical.

Neutered males tend to make friends a lot quicker then spayed females. In my experience the females are more territorial and take longer to accept a new cat.

As young as they both are, I doubt it will be an issue at all, especially if you do gradual introduction as the others have suggested. I've added two cats, Peter and Claire, to the family, in the past couple of years, and my older girls, Katie and Gracie, who were 11 and 5, when I adopted Pete, did just fine with proper introductions. They're not best buddies all the time, but there's no fighting. Pete and Claire, who are littermates and 2-years-old now, had been separated for almost 6 months when they were reunited, and it was just like they'd never been apart when I reintroduced them.

Personally, I think two cats is the way to go. It's good for them to have a companion!

Basically I'll echo what everyone else has said, plus its been my experience that males tend to accept newcomers alot easier, my "veteran" male Zeus, age 8 months accepted every newbie right away, in fact, he's best friends with my 2 little girl babies!

Thanks so much -- exactly what I needed to hear. Last night DH said "I hope you are not making a big mistake" and I was just crushed.

When I got my first cat I only wanted one but I just didn't realize how much I would enjoy having a cat around.

We had 4 grown cats when Tuffy came into my life. Panther had the biggest problem with Tuffy when I first brought him in the house, but in the end Panther and Tuffy were best buddies. We have never had any big problems with the cats getting along. We had Missy,Panther and Angel when we got Rusty as a tiny kitten and there were no major problems, but we have our dog who watched over Rusty and if one of the other cats even hissed at Rusty when he was small our dog Kelsey would run off the other cats.

I definately agree with what everyone else has said. We had Harley for his first year as an only cat, as he got older, we realized that we really did need a companion for him, as a playmate and someone to be around while we are gone.

Harley was a little over 1 year old when we brought home Davidson, who was only 8 weeks old (they are actually 1/2 brothers) We didn't have any problems with the introductions, but I think we were pretty lucky!

I really do hope that you can bring home a playmate for your cat, once they settle in together, you won't even notice that you have 2, instead of 1!

Good luck!!

I wholeheartedly agree with what everyone has told you and I've experienced it recently myself! I had adopted Brady at 16 weeks and just after he'd turned 6 months old, I adopted a 12-week-old female. It's instinctual behaviour for cats to be territorial, so it will almost definitely help to introduce them slowly (i.e., let them smell each other for a while before seeing each other). However, with patience, it is likely that they will at least tolerate each other. How long it takes can vary with the cats' ages and personalities, but my kittens were playing with each other (supervised) after a few days. From my own experiences, when you're bringing two kittens together, it's easiest, but it can be done at any age.

This takes the cake. I told my sister this am about cat #2 and she said "What are you going to do when they start peeing all over your house because you have two now?"

Originally Posted by meow meow

This takes the cake. I told my sister this am about cat #2 and she said "What are you going to do when they start peeing all over your house because you have two now?"

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Heh, no wonder you came here for encouragement.

My cats are a year apart. I brought home the baby and followed the guidelines I read on here. I put the baby in the bathroom, then when they started playing under the door I did a monitored intro. I quickly found out my older cat was growling at the baby, because he was afraid of him. As soon the baby realized this, they became best of buddies. Both boys.

Like you, we were warned not to bring another cat into our home.

We rescued Gus, our male manx (mix) 7 years ago and he was approx. 5 yr. old then. He was alone for a few years and we rescued Gabby, a female manx (mix) kitten (6 wk. old). It warmed our hearts to watch the old cat "raise" the baby. He immediately accepted her and would wrap himself around her to sleep. When we had her spayed and brought her home from the Vet, Gus took over and cared for her. They were inseperable until an accident took Gabby from us. My husband and I, as well as Gus, grieved terribly for Gabby (still do). About 6 months later we rescued Gracie, another manx-mix-calico kitten. Old Gus accepted her, just as he had Gabby before. Gracie is now about 18 months old and it has been wonderful to watch him "raise" her, too. Although Gus is getting older, he still plays like a kitten - just for shorter times!

Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by missnutt

Old Gus accepted her, just as he had Gabby before.

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Awwww, bless Gus's heart. What a sweetie.