Do kitties need friends?

Hello, there. My kitty, Coal, is about a year old. She has been fixed but hasn't slowed down a bit. She still gets VERY playful and has LOTS of energy. You should see her run through the house.   She looks like a "parkour athlete." Running and jumping up on the bed, over to the table, down on the floor, up the back of a chair, over to her kitty tower, down one perch, up on the other, behind the TV, and into the window. 

Anyways, about every two weeks, she starts getting into things, knocking things over, tearing things up.... she just gets kind of.... bad! Someone once told me that this usually happens when the cat is bored, and the best way to help a cat not be bored is to get them a playmate. 

Is this good, sound advice? 

Coal is rather spoiled, and I'm not sure how she would handle another cat being in her house.... or even a dog. Heck, she wasn't happy about my friend bringing her kids over yesterday. Is a playmate always a good idea if done properly, or does it depend on the cat? 

Also, I'm worried about who would become the "alpha." This is Coal's home,and I think it would really sadden me to bring in another cat that might take over that role. I'm scared this might make Coal less comfortable in her own home. My boyfriend and I have worked so hard to give Coal the best life we possibly could.... right down to building her an ENORMOUS kitty tower to play/climb on. (I think that kitty tower has helped her to be as athletic as she is! And yes we built it... out of scrap wood/carpet) I just don't want to do anything that could make her less happy or less comfortable. I feel like that would be defeating the purpose. 

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

I would look for a teenager boy kitty and be sure when you are looking, to tell the people you want a laid back friendly boy kitty. You should not get a cat that is too old because you want a playmate, but you need the cat to be at least a teenager (10-18 mos old) because you want him to already have his basic personality and not pick up your kitty's "diva" traits. It sounds as if your kitty is on the dominant side. A good boy kitty will be a really wonderful addition to your family. Ideally he will groom her and they will become best buds. Be sure to specify the age and personality/temperament you are looking for i.e. active, friendly to other cats, not dominant. If the group cannot match you with a cat, then go to another group or ask for a month trial period. 

BTW, a lot of people who come looking for kitties ask me if boy cats spray, so I just want to say (in case you might be thinking it LOL) that both male and female cats spray, but only if they are very stressed out, i.e. if someone is hitting them or if their guardian dies, etc. You should never expect any normal cat to spray or mark and if that happens it means that something is wrong in their lives and you need to fix it :-).

Adding a cat to a house takes time and patience and you two sound like the perfect people to do that, considering all you have done for Coal. I think it is a wonderful idea to add a cat and nowadays a lot of shelters won't even adopt a single kitten to a family unless they already have another cat.

I do not recommend you getting a small kitten because you can't tell the personality until they are at least 4 months old and even then, you have said you want a kitty that will be sure to get along with Coal- which means you don't want a kitten who will be looking to Coal and copying Coal like a little brother, who will hiss back at her after he learns from watching her LOL.

Good luck and this is a great time of year to be looking to add a cat to your house :-). You will have your pick esp in that age group. 

We had a very similar experience with a small feral kitten that we adopted, which grew into an energetic 10-pound Siamese by about 8 months of age.  I can assure you that an energetic kitten which is left alone much of the day, will likely grow into a problem cat unless they have a companion!  I've had Siamese companions before, and they are typically high-energy cats which need alot of stimulation.

What we did with Yoda (the Siamese mentioned above) is to call a local cat-rescue organization, described Yoda, and asked if they had a cat who would be a good companion for a cat of this nature.  The lady I talked with understood our situation perfectly, and recommended a little girl kitten who had grown up with three larger brothers, and supposedly had plenty of assertiveness.  When we first brought her in (going through the gradual-introduction methods that are recommended here), he would grab her (who was about half his size) by the neck and drag her across the room, with her squalling all the way until we intervened and separated them.  This lasted about 3 or 4 days, then one morning he took off after her, she ran away as usual, but doubled back around a small love-seat in the room and hit him broadside, going full speed!!!  He flipped over sideways about three times before he fetched up against a wall.... and from then on, she has been the mistress and law-setter in the house!!

So, my suggestion is, don't overlook your local rescue groups for recommendations for an appropriate companion for your young lady... they often know their critters very well!

It depends entirely on the cat.

I would get a baby boy kitten, or a male cat her own age. Do not get a female cat, because this increases the chance of them not getting along. When I brought Cookie into my home when Candy was thirteen (lived as the only kitty in the house all her life) she was quite upset at first. Of course, Cookie is female but I don't think it really mattered to Candy. After a while, she accepted Cookie and they got along well, except for the occasional spat.

I would definitely go ahead and get another kitty. Coal will most likely enjoy the company.

PS. The picture of Coal in your profile picture is SOOOO cute. She's adorable!!

kittylover23: I would (gently) challenge the notion that a female is harder to introduce than a male; in my few experiences, I've found females easier to introduce than males, they are more adaptable to change, and more willing to get along, than males have been. 

Of course, with my number of experiences being so small, there may be many external influences that I'm unaware of, but certainly bringing Jasmine (Yoda's companion) into the house was much easier than bring Yoda in was...

derelict said:

kittylover23: I would (gently) challenge the notion that a female is harder to introduce than a male; in my few experiences, I've found females easier to introduce than males, they are more adaptable to change, and more willing to get along, than males have been. 

Of course, with my number of experiences being so small, there may be many external influences that I'm unaware of, but certainly bringing Jasmine (Yoda's companion) into the house was much easier than bring Yoda in was...

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I agree that female kitties are easier to introduce overall. I have two fosters that I cannot let out of their foster room bc my boy kitty doesn't like other male kitties. By the same token, I suggested a male kitty for her because I think they are more likely to groom each other and sleep together. Also she said that her kitty is a little bit of a princess and I thought she would be most inclined to accept a non-dominant male. 

We also had our female cat first and went with the theory that adding a non-dominant male would be best.  We added two males that way with no problems using the slow introduction approach.  (One male was more assertive than we were expecting but things worked out fine anyways....he is a benevolent dictator.  )  I think a female could work out.  I think choosing someone with a similar play drive and personality is helpful too. 

I think boys are easier than girls, and the idea of a playmate is a great one.  Also the idea of ringing a rescue and asking if they have any real live-wire kittens or very young adults.  Just be careful incase they are willing to try any home for a difficult to home kitten.  I'm told by a friend who runs a Cats Protection branch in Scotland that they find blacks very hard to home, and gingers easy.

Thanks for all of the advice guys! It has been REALLY helpful. It seems that my boyfriend and I have been on the right path for little Coal. I guess our parental instincts have kicked into gear. hehehe. My boyfriend and I decided if we did get her a playmate, we wanted it to be a boy. Actually, we thought Coal WAS a boy when we first got her. We wanted the boy first. Oh well... she's still an awesome cat, and I love her dearly! 

BarB, you TOTALLY get me and my kitty and our needs. She is DEFINITELY a princess!! 

This might be wrong, or entirely too picky.... but since Coal is a black female and named for her blackness, we wanted to get a white male and name him Albus. (Most people think Albus Dumbledore, but albus is also latin for "white.") If we would have planned better, they could be Ying and Yang. Or Daye and Knight. Oh well. Coal and Albus it shall be. Oh... and Coalie's sister's name is Asher... or Ash for short. They are Coal and Ash. <3 

kittylover23, thanks, hun! Your advice has been helpful. The compliment was sweet as well. We took that pic when we still thought she was a he. LOL. I thought it would be great for my little boy to wear a jersey for the games. Oh well.... my little girl makes a great cheerleader. LOL

BTW, "soul cabal" is an anagram for "Coal Albus" ... so maybe those are good names for them!!

Mind. Blown. Definitely gonna stick with the Coal Albus thing... err.. or.... Soul Cabal. hehehehe. Can't wait to tell my boyfriend that!!!!!

Just an FYI, a lot of white kitties are deaf, so be sure to ask about that before adopting.
 

Yes, white cats with blue eyes are the ones that are often but not always deaf.  If they have odd eyes (one blue, one some other colour) they may be deaf on the side with the blue eye.  Messybeast has a good page on white cats:

http://www.messybeast.com/whitecat.htm

And all cats have selective deafness, in my experience. 

My very active outgoing cat I feel benefits from friends, even dogs are OK.