Wanting a second cat

hananah

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I've had Miko for nearly a year now, since she was 8 weeks old. She's totally crazy and has a very distinct personality. She can be quite vocal, and enjoys playing rough. She also has sulks if she doesn't get her own way. I get the impresion she enjoys being queen of the castle so to speak. At the same time, I can see that she'd like to have a friend to play with and maybe to care for sometimes. I would like a second cat, but I don't want to put her back up. What are people's experiences with introducing a second cat? How can I make the process less tressful for both of them? Do you think there is a rough personality type that she might get on better with? Or is the idea a bit of a no no because it'd upset her?
 

goldenkitty45

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If you want to adopt a 2nd cat, I'd look for a laid back neutered male about 4-8 months old. Most females will accept a male quicker and better then a rival female. As long as he's neutered when you adopt you will have less problems.

Expect some hissing, growling, etc. from your resident cat - its natural. Cats can take a few weeks to months to get used to each other. Ling hated when Charlie first came in as a 4 month old kitten - took her over 6 months to be more accepting.
 

calico2222

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I agree. A second cat would be good for her, but look for a younger neutered/spayed cat. I'm not sure about whether the sex makes a difference or not but it makes sense to get a neutered male so she doesn't feel like she has competition. Is you cat spayed yet?

You would be amazed what a difference it makes with two cats in the house! Yes, their will be hissing and posturing but that is normal. Most cats will get over that in time. Some people keep them in separate rooms for a few days to get each of them used to the other's scent, but I've never done that. Well, I tried it once, and the resident cats were more upset about smelling the other cat and not being able to meet her that I just stopped.

Although cats are fine on their own, a cat that young still has a lot of energy and having one of her own kind will allow her to use her energy to play with another cat, and not be so aggressive with you.

Good luck, and btw...welcome!
 

sheeba07

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I think a second cat would be a great idea. She'll have another cat to play and snuggle with if everything goes well. I don't have any experience with introducing a second cat when the resident cat is 1 year old but we did it with success when our female Sheeba was about 5 months old.

Sure, Sheeba was upset and stressed out for 3 or 4 days about the new intruder but she got over it and discovered they could be friends.

There are a lot of threads that address the issue of introduction. Just do a search on "introduction" and begin to read. I believe some of the stickies in the behavior forum also talk about this. Basically seperation, slow meetings, supervision and scent swapping are the basics when introducing a new cat. The majority of people have success with introductions.

Although I'm no expert I do believe there is such a thing as a "personality" type that would fit better. You need to take your female's personality into perspective when choosing a companion for her. For example, we got an unneutered male kitten of the same age. While they mostly enjoy each other's company the male has way more energy than her and likes to play rough when she just wants to groom him. This doesn't always give a positive outcome if you know what I mean
Trying to match personalities can be tricky though. We thought that's what we did but you just never know the outcome.

If possible you can look for a neutered, laid-back yet playful male that is a little younger than your female. Maybe 8-9 months old? If you can find one that age maybe the shelter/shop/breeder can tell you about his personality.

Good luck!
 

nicolegray

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We went through the same dilemma. Our older cat, Audrey, had lots of energy and is very playful, but she also showed signs of being a dominant kitty. She was about a year and a half when we decided to get a second cat.

Marlon was about one year old when we brought him home, neutered, and showed every sign of being a complete lump. A day of good food and exposure to another cat apparently brought out his real personality, though, because he is SUPER active.

We had some difficulties at first, and Audrey was very stand-offish, but even though we missed on the target personality, things are fine now. Audrey still gets pissed sometimes, but all in all I'd say she's much better off having another cat around. It's a different type of socialization than she would get from us, they can play in a different style, and we don't worry about them when we're out all day.

I think I had a thread a while back about intro-difficulties.
 

axld

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I'm in day two of the intro and suprised in many ways. Sal (8 months ragdoll)
is a very gentle sweet cat. Finicky by times (not with food, more with routine) I expected a second cat would make him less lonely. He was fine but I sensed he missed something we couldnt provide. I picked him at the breeder because he played with the other kitten and was not agressive (he was hissed at and ran to hide... totally melt my heart).

Comes in Iggy (3 months exotic shorthair). The sweetest most laid-back kitten ever. I picked him because he played gently and was just so sweet, rubbing himself on me and asking for belly rubs. I figured it would be a good balance.

When we got home, Iggy just wanted to come out and play but Sal was
FREAKED out. 10 lbs of kitten scared by a tiny 2 lbs purry creature. Sal
spent the first day hissing and growling (never done any of that before) at
everything, mostly the kitten and me. The kitten is not impressed, streches
and purs while Sal growls at him. I keep Iggy in a spare room but try to have
short meetings. I tried all the tricks for smell transfer but Sal was just freaked even when Iggy was locked away. Wouldnt accept treats (he's usually the worst pic ever). I did notice a big improvement with the Nutri-Vet diffuser. Slowly, he got better with us and had a few cuddles and started purring again but now on day two he somehow tolerates being in the same room Iggy stays far away. They even both napped in the same room. But it's still rough on Sal. He even peed near Iggy's food yesterday. He's just really scared of the most non-treathening kitten.

So here's how i'd do things differently: I would have got both at the same time to avoid territory issues! I wasnt sure at the time I could handle two kittens and regretted it later knowing introductions could be painful. But I wasnt ready for it
I can really see how it's difficult for Sal to share his space and he's the gentlest cat. He's improving and I'm sure we'll all be friends but it definetely seems stressful. Also think that the new kitten might be stressed about the new space, new cats and then moving again! It seems that waiting might minimize exposure to stress factors.

Previous posts shared great advice and you'll find great info in here on intros (it's saving me a lot of stress!). Keep on posting and best of luck with your kitties they're really cute!!!
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by Hananah

I've had Miko for nearly a year now, since she was 8 weeks old. She's totally crazy and has a very distinct personality. She can be quite vocal, and enjoys playing rough. She also has sulks if she doesn't get her own way. I get the impresion she enjoys being queen of the castle so to speak. At the same time, I can see that she'd like to have a friend to play with and maybe to care for sometimes. I would like a second cat, but I don't want to put her back up. What are people's experiences with introducing a second cat? How can I make the process less tressful for both of them? Do you think there is a rough personality type that she might get on better with? Or is the idea a bit of a no no because it'd upset her?
Persi was about 8 months old when we introduced Alley, a stray from the shelter. It was Persi's house but he wanted to be friends right away. The new cat did not and spent all her spare time under the bed. Persi would approach her but she would hiss and scratch him in the face if he got too close. But Persi perservered and kept trying to be friends and won out. They have been the best of friends ever since although we now have a new young female cat in the house and Persi has turned his attention towards her. I know, just like a man.
Alley is not very happy about this new cat but things have settled down between them also.
 
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