Getting a second cat?

Hello Everyone,

I have a two year old, male (neutered) tuxedo cat, whom we have had since he was about 6 weeks old. He is an extremely energetic indoor cat, always getting into trouble and bouncing off the walls. With the exception of one tattered toy mouse, all his toys and our attempts to "play" have left him more-or-less cold. All in all he is a crazy but good, clean cat who uses his litter-box like clockwork.

Recently we began contemplating the possibility of getting him a companion to fight his very obvious boredom, and I would love to get your input on the matter! I have several very big concerns. For one, our apartment is quite small (1 bedroom) and I wonder whether it is a large enough "territory" for two felines.

Second, our cat (although very charming) is not exactly friendly and has ruled supreme all his life. In fact, I think he has only ever seen another cat once. It is safe to say that he is completely human centric. I am worried that he may bully/not get along with a newcomer, or develop some new behavioral quirks. The one time I came home with "other cat smell" on me, he sniffed me for about 10 minutes and then hissed and spat in my direction. I would hate to have to return a cat to a shelter just because I was too inexperienced of a cat owner to foresee trouble.

I am sure many of you have experience with this! Thank you for sharing. :-)

I am actually experiencing the same with my baby-cat - also considering getting a companion for her. My baby - also 2 years old tuxedo, is exactly like what you explained

I dunno if tuxedo has the tendency of being like that...but anyways, she's pretty much "a queen of the house"(not me, hahaha...), and seems like "a loner feline". She does not even seem to like having visitors here either, whether that's human being or somebody with pet

I've been thinking about it for a long time but currently I am getting ready for a relocation. I'd definitely have to decide on it once this whole relocation craziness is over, though...

Hi! Welcome to the site!

It is certainly possible that your current cat would enjoy having another kitty to play with. Unfortunately, it is also possible that he will hate it.

If you at least knew how he felt about strange cats in general it would help. That he hisses and spits when he smells a strange cat on you doesn't mean much. Most cats will do at least that when they encounter a new cat (or the smell of one) even if they eventually become good friends. The last 2 cats I added were hissed and spit at for weeks until they were accepted but there was never any bloodletting.

In my opinion the best thing you can do is adopt an adult kitty whose personality is well known and is known to get along well with other cats and to have an energy level similar to your current boy. If your current boy is *very* energetic, you may want your second cat to be a male also so he doesn't get beat up too badly if the play gets rough. That takes care of half the problem. For the other half, make sure you can take the new arrival on a trial basis so you can return him if he doesn't get along with your current cat.

When you introduce them make sure you do it slowly and as described here :

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67321

Around here there are small animal rescues that will work with people to find just the right fit when it comes to adding a cat to a household and are more than willing to take a cat back if it doesn't work out. Maybe you can find a place like that near you.

Good luck!

I have two males whom I love. Although they do love each other, they tend to fight each other over which is the Alpha. When I say fight I don't mean fight as in hissing and spitting, fur flying and hurting each other, but they can get rough at times. They tend more to "stand off" each other, if that makes sense. So you may want to get a female. That way, your male will continue to be the dominant one.

Just my opinion.

I have two Tuxedos both female andthey love other Cats and are both friendly. Oreo is 10 Months and Coco is 16. My Calico that I lost in Dec was insane when she saw a new Kitten when I got Sasha. Then they became friends. If you get another Cat go slowly. Seperate them at first.

We struggled for months on this same decision.

Hubby wasn't thrilled about adding a 2nd cat--he didn't want the first one to begin with (although he'd never give him up now).

We knew the biggest thing was finding a cat we felt would fit in our home. Every trip to Petsmart we walked the cages of cats and none of them seemed to fit the bill. We were looking for a young cat 1-2 years, medium hair, talkative, loving, NOT declawed and overall one we felt who's personality would match our current cat.

4 weeks ago tomorrow Hubby met me and our current cat at Petsmart. I wanted to weigh him and get him out on his harness in a "safer" environment than outside.

I saw "wookie" in the cage and right away he caught my attention. He meowed and meowed at me through the glass, so when Hubby got there I said lets go in and see him. We went in and sat with him for about 10 minutes, and left with the attitude that it was a possibility and something to think about. Our biggest concerns were, our current cat not accepting another cat (he, like yours has never been around cats) and additional care.

By 8:30 PM that night I was on the phone with Petsmart seeing if "wookie" was still there--he was!

I picked him up the next day around 1 PM.

"Wookie" now Harley is the best decision we made. He loves us, loves our current cat, our current cat loves him and I feel relieved. Hubby and I are taking our first trip since Harley came to stay with us and I feel so much better knowing Jack has Harley to keep him company.

Good Luck