a friend for Bailey

I feel funny asking this question since many of you have 2, 3, 4, and even 10 cats, but... I'm thinking Bailey needs a playmate. (That is, another one besides me.) I have a lot of reservations about introducing a new cat into the house (and no, I don't want a kitten). Do I need 2 litter boxes, 2 feeding dishes, 2 water dishes, etc., etc.? And what if they don't get along? In the experience of all of you who have more than one cat, is it better to have two of the same sex? Bailey is 2 1/2 years and I think I would want another female about the same age. Does this make sense?

Thanks for your input.

I would say yes to two of everything. And as long as both females are fixed, there shouldn't be too much of a problem. There are many threads on here about introducing new cats. Best of luck, and keep us posted!

I've got 3 cats and I can't imagine having just one cat. They make things so much more enjoyable! Plus, they entertain themselves quite a bit too!

I do know that you'll need 2 boxes per cat. A lot of cats don't like to share, but others don't mind. I actually have 6 boxes for my 3. One or two of them don't get used very often, but I like knowing that they have that option.

As for the feeding bowl, I only have 1 water bowl and 1 food bowl. I also free feed them through out the day.

As for the sex, I don't know if it really matters if they are fixed. Echo and Tiki are my females & Bud is the only male. They all get along like best buddies!

Good luck and bless you for thinking about getting an older cat. There are so many in shelters that need homes!

Yes, I think you should have two sets of everything.

I successfully introduced a second cat into the household. There are lots and lots of threads here explaining how to do it. I spent a long time (at least six months) looking at the cats for adoption, and finally when I was ready to spend the time with the kitty introductions, I found one with a personality that I thought would suit Sam. (And ner name is Bailey). He was about 6 1/2 and she was about 3 - according to my vets best guess. I thought that I would look for a cat that was smaller than Sam, which is not hard to find, as he is a big guy, and I wanted to get a female, thinking that would be less threatening than another male. I have no idea if that really made any difference, I am convinced now that the personality traits of cats vary so much, the size and sex don't really matter as much as the individual cat's temperament.

I already knew that Sam liked other cats, I had taken him to my sister's house, and saw that he interacted well with her cat. So I think that you need to see the new family member through your cat's eyes, so to speak. If you have a very calm and laid back cat, you need one that isn't too wild. If you have an energetic cat, you need one that will like to play. I somehow knew when I found the right cat to fit into our household. And they got along really well right from the beginning.

However, I did make sure that I fed them out of separate bowls, and gave them separate spots to sleep, just to avoid any jealousy problems. And two cats need at least two litter boxes, and probably 3 if you have room.

I would start out with 2 of everything. If the cats get along fine, than you could probably reduce the feeding dishes to one. But I would recommend keeping at least 2 litter boxes.

As for the male/female thing, I'm not sure it really matters as long as they are neutered. I agree with an earlier post that it's more about personality than gender. Some cats just aren't going to accept a new member. Also, the degree of acceptance should not serve as a disappointment to you. Know that though they may play together, they may not sleep together and groom each other.