Reaction to new kitten after loss of brother?

Hi,

Two nights ago one of our 11 month old kittens (Cats?) was hit by a car and died of head injuries. his brother is obviously upset as they were very close and he doesn't know what happened to him. He spends a lot of time looking/ waiting for him and seems to be a little lonely as he is seeking a lot of attention (Even though he already did!).

My question is, would it be better to leave him to get accustomed to not having his brother around and let him get on with it, or would it be better to get a new kitten (Maybe a little younger than him) to take his mind off things? If so would straight away be good so he's occupied, or would it be better to wait to let him realize his brothers not going to run back into the house before adding a new one?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Martyn

I'd love to have another cat but didn't want to get one just because i wanted to. I was more concerned it might make our current one less happy that first it can't find it's brother and now it's been thrown in with a new one.

Would it be wise to leave it a little bit or would it be better to get him one quicker to give him something to occupy his time? He's a very playful, friendly cat so i would have thought the sooner the better as he's just sitting there looking all the time in hope his brother comes running round the corner.

Thanks

Thanks for you help. I do agree now that it would be a good idea to wait a little more. He seems to have settled a little bit more and become resigned to the fact that he's gone, and the process of getting another cat isn't immediate anyway which will obviously give a little more time.

Thanks

Callista - We have now gotten another kitten (Our older one had adjusted to normal quite quickly) and to be honest we'd like to keep them outdoors. Our neighborhood is very quiet and i think it's just one of those unfortunate things but thanks for the advice. We previously had a cat for around 14 - 15 years without outdoor issues... Just never multiple ones!

misstorri - Our new kitten is quite a shy/ sweet little female so i think this is ideal in the sense that out older one will definitely always feel dominant. However, we are finding it quite hard so i was wondering if anyone had any tips...

Basically she is settled in our bedroom as my other family are on holiday so to be away from our other cat this is the best place. Obviously they have seen each other once or twice when the new one explores and the older one is hissing quite a bit (which we expected).
The main problems are, she is VERY scared exploring outside the room as she knows that it's the other cats territory. For example, today she sat under our sofa for 7 hours as she was scared the other cat might be around (Even when it is likely to be out). They both cry when they are left (the older one more occasionally though).
Now the biggest issue... Sleep. She won't sleep at normal times! We haven't been to bed before 6-7am yet as she just cries until you get up and give her visual attention. I had to sleep in another room last night as by 2.30am i had to get some sleep to be up for work at 6.30am.

So in short... Ideas to help her sleep/ explore and whilst we are trying to mix scents, our older cat won't go near it's own bed because we tried to put some of her scent on it... Any tips for introducing them more effectively (They both seem to just run from each other!).

Thanks,

Martyn

P.S I'm not sure if the nighttime crying is for attention, attention related to fear of our other cat or loneliness (She had siblings where we adopted her).