Advice Please

I have a two year old tortoiseshell cat and would love to get a kitten to keep her company.

How long do I have to keep a kitten in for, as I obviously don't want to have to keep my older cat inside so I don't really know how to get round this problem. Any advice would be gratefully received.

It really depends on what age kitten you go for - if you go for a 8-12 week old kitten, then it will be 3-4 months minimum, as they shouldnt go outside before they are netuered, and not all kittens have enough sense at 6 months to go out, 8 seems to be more preferable. You could look into one that is the 5-12 month age group, in which case they will already be neutered, but even then you are looking at 4-6 weeks for them to get used to you, your other cat and the house.

Good luck. Does your female show signs of wanting company? Sometimes we get cats to keep them company when really they would much rather we hadn't.

Hi Daisymum, welcome to the Catsite. Now im only going by what we did when we got Amber and Milo, they were both around three months old at the time. We kept them both in for about 12 weeks I remember until they had both been spayed and neutered. I dont know how your cat gains access in and out of the house at the moment but a magnetic catflap would be the way to go if possible. Your cat can wear the collar and only he/she will be able to activate it, and then when the time comes either get another collar for the younger one, or do what I did and disable the magnetic sensor ie: take the battery out the sales gimmick for them catflaps is to stop stray cats coming in your home, Yeh right!! when have you ever seen a cat let another cat get anywhere near there house let alone into it? well thats only a suggestion maybe someone can think of something else. Good luck.

MAgnetic catflaps do let cats without magnets out, which is why i wont get one.

You shouldn't have to keep your older cat inside when you get the kitten. Kitten's can be exhausting for an adult cat, and she would probably welcome the break. The kitten will have enough room to explore inside for a while anyway. I agree to wait until at least 8 just to be safe, and make sure it is spayed/neutered. I used to only have indoor/outdoor cats (they went outside during the day when I was home), and normally I didn't let the kittens out until they really started to show interest...and it took them a while.