Researching before adopting #2!

I wouldn't focus on a gender, look more at the purrsonality. If you get dead-set on a specific gender you may overlook the best match for Monet.

As far as age goes - I'd go for someone close in age, perhaps 1 - 4 years range. Then again, don't focus on age, it's only a number, look for a personality match/energy level match.

As far as deafness - I have two deaf cats. Both white w/ blue eyes. Neither relate that great to other cats. One in fact tries to kill them, but that probably has nothing to do w/ being deaf. She's just a crab. I've known many deaf cats that co-exist just fine with other cats

Our deaf kitty is the one that gets along fine with all the other kitties and never has a problem with new introductions. She does LOVE to be high up - always at the top of the cat tree, up on a shelf... when we noticed this, we made lots of "up" places available. If it's in the corner of a room, she especially loves it. I think this is because she's deaf - she can see all the goings on from her perches.

Some people "stomp" train their deaf kitties (One stomp means come here, two stomps means meal time, that kind of thing). Ours is just... intuitive LOL. I call for dinner, and she comes running - and not because the other cats do. We get out the vacuum - and she wonders why everyone is fleeing. (She also only has one eye and lousy sight out of the other). SOME deaf kitties have problems with other cats though - someone on TCS adopted one that was just always aggressive to their other cat, and they just could not get it to work. I don't know if it's because the cat was just aggressive to other cats, or perhaps it wasn't born deaf, and the change affected it?

But the lesson there is... it's just best to talk to the shelter workers about the cats. You definitely need one that is cat friendly.

We have 8 cats, all feral rescues. Three of them are female. Our experience says that males tend to be more social with each other.

One thought on deaf kitties... it seems a pretty universal thing among them that they like to push stuff off of things. (Falling items tend to get our attention!) So if you live a "cleared surfaces" lifestyle, you won't have any problems. If you have breakable things - remove them or get a cabinet with a glass door.

Oh - another thought. Our deaf kitty is the loudest cat. Ours are all feral rescues, and taught by their moms not to talk. Flowerbelle never got that training (rescued too young) and obviously cannot hear herself (though she also makes the SWEETEST chirps and trills too. ). Anyway, after about a year of Flowerbelle being around, they all started talking. Some people love talking kitties. Personally, I preferred being able to sleep through the night, rather than waking up to someone MEOWING loudly in my ear. But that's my only other thought on deaf cats... some of them are REALLY loud!

You can match a male up with a male or female, it doesn't matter. The only issue I hear of sometimes is when you have two females together, they can be a bit moody.

Wesley and Buttercup are stuck to each other like glue though, and usually sleep snuggled together after grooming one another for a while. And believe it or not, but the female is actually the more affectionate of the two now always jumping in my lap, which usually males are more lap-friendly.

Since your male is brave and playful, I don't think he's too likely to feel threatened or annoyed by a kitten, so any age would be fine. Kittens are the cutest and most fun and the easiest to mold IMO, but also a LOT of work. I probably wouldn't go younger than about four months or so, else he or she may be a bit small as a playmate. If going for same age, just try and match personality, and one benefit of a 2yr old is the personality you see if pretty much what you get as they're set in their ways by then.

When looking around, the first thing I always ask is about personality. The foster mom or shelter know these cats from everyday interaction, and are a huge help. The only other really important thing is health, health, health, as an unhealthy kitty can cost a fortune, unless you're specifically looking to help out a special needs kitty. Listen for sniffles, check the eyes and ears, smell kitties breath, and just give a general looksie over after playing together for a while.

Also at your first vet visit, one thing they love to do is to give a million shots, deworm, deflea, you name it, right when a cat is just transitioning to a new home to boot, and thats a huge shock to the system all at once. If your cat is indoor only, you don't need everything under the sun. And I'd ask what food and litter the cat was used to, and give that at first, even if you think its poopy stuff, you can upgrade later when kitty is feeling at home.

BTW, while I don't have any specific experience with deaf cats, one thing it seems all cats universally hate is being startled.

Slow moving earth pounding and perfumed humans aren't going to startle a deaf kitty. But a playful cat that is slinking up and play pouncing is likely to evoke a hostile reaction in a cat that was really startled.