Should I adopt a second?

I know there are multiple threads like this, but we are really looking for as much input as possible! We currently have an adorable 4.5 month old, spayed kitten (avatar). She was 10.5 weeks when we adopted her so we've had her home for nearly two months now. At the shelter she was in the kennel with her littermate, I'm now really kicking myself that we didn't get them together but we hadn't done enough research at the time! We saw her there a couple of times and she was always at the front of the cage trying to get attention while her sister was in the back. Even when we played with both, she seemed more interested in interacting with us than with her sister.   

She's incredibly feisty and wants to play ALL the time. She will tolerate limited petting/cuddling but sleeps in bed between my fiancé and I every night and basically wants to be wherever we are and will follow us from room to room (we are in a two bedroom apartment). She seems to adapt well to change, we've taken her to my mom's house for the weekend a few times, which entailed an hour long car drive and she went crazy exploring as soon as we arrived. She also doesn't mind being around a lot of people and has even had exposure to young children (which she didn't like as much, it's the only time I've ever seen her hide).  

We are starting to think that she would benefit from a companion and have found a really playful 8 week old male from the same shelter she was adopted from; however, I've read a lot of horror stories about cat introductions and am really scared that we could disrupt the harmony that we have in place. We've really lucked out with her in that we've had no litter box accidents and she doesn't scratch the furniture. I'm worried that, although we can't keep up with her demands for playtime, that she may enjoy being the center of our attention. She definitely has a dominant personality and I'm worried that she'll be really territorial with any new addition even though she's young. That said, I also really, really don't want her to be bored or lonely! 

We are currently working to enrich the indoor environment a bit (she's indoor only). We're building an enclosure on our balcony (3rd floor) so that she can have free access to it through a cat door. She absolutely LOVES being on the balcony but we only let her out there when we can supervise since it's not properly enclosed yet. We'll be bringing her kitty tower out there so that she can see over the balcony edge (which will be enclosed with cat netting) and then buying her a new, taller one for inside. She has quite a few toys although her preference is to play with toys which require us to interact with her (which we both do several times a day before and after work). Her favorite are the mouse-shaped toys and mice tied to strings, etc.

Another main reason I'm worried about needlessly stressing her out is because she suffered some major kidney damage after being spayed (not enough oxygen going to them during the surgery). Two days after we got her we had to hospitalize her and her kidney values went back to normal within two days after being off the charts. We have her on a wet food diet and every blood check since has come back normal (her next one is end of this month). She goes to the bathroom normally and her appetite is growing by the day, but I am worried that a change could negatively impact the progress she is making.

Anyway, this is quite long-winded but would really appreciate any insight/opinions/experiences with adding a second kitten.

Thanks in advance.

First of all, it sounds like adopting a second cat would be an excellent idea, good for your current cat, good for you,, and certainly good for the rescue cat you will be giving a home to.  You know your cat's personality, so talk to the folks at the rescue and try to find an equally bold and outgoing cat, and often adding a male to a house with a female works, but sometimes it works fine with another female a long as they aren't both dominant types. 

Introductions are the key to making it work..  One of our other Advisors, @StephenQ, wrote a long post about introductions a little over a year ago.  It was so good, in fact, that I saved a copy on my computer to use the next time I might need it to answer questions about introductions.  This is that time, so here it is:

Ok so this is for everyone who is in this thread doing introductions: :-)

There are several steps to a successful introduction, the goal being BFFs, not enemies or angry at you (especially the resident cat).  A careful introduction raises the stress level in incremental steps, allowing both cats, especially the resident cat time to acclimate to the stressor before being introduced to the next level.  You are going to move the "bar" closer and closer to the resident cat until the final step, a supervised face-to-face, becomes  a fender bender and not a car crash.

Step one: Complete separation, putting the new cat is a small room like a bathroom with food, litter and water.  Do not let the cats see each other - too much stress too soon.  Give the new cat time to adjust.  Give both cats time (a week+/-) to get used to this.  They will know each other is there.  Start feeding the resident cat nearer to the door, adjusting daily until he is at the door eating. Do voluntary scent exchange by rubbing the new cat's cheeks on a sock and then offering the sock as a gift to the resident. Don't force him to smell the sock, don't rub it on him. Observe his behavior and allow it.   Rub a clean sock on his cheeks and offer it to the new cat.  Continue to do this but never force either cat to interact with the other cat's sock.

When they are reasonably calm with everything in step one go to:

Step Two:  Allow the cats to see each other.  Two baby gates stacked on top of each other in the open door is a great way.  Cracking the door open and blocking it into position so they can't get through the door is another way.  With many cats the stress of this will make them revert, but it would have been much worse if you had started with this step.  Continue as if this was step one, but now with them seeing each other.  When they are both calm, no hissing or growling, you can go to:

Step Three: After eating meals and feeling satisfied (full stomach = less aggressive) and trimmed nails, you can start to do brief supervised introductions face to face.  Watch their body language and reactions and increase their time together until you are confident that they can manage on their own.

In General, treat the resident cat like he is King.  Don't do things to make him jealous. Don't discipline either cat for showing aggression, punishing them for what they feel is a normal behavior (and is normal for them) just raises the stress.  And follow your cats' lead on the speed of the introduction, there are no rules other than to listen to them.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/a-simple-little-trick-to-use-during-new-cat-introductions/

Stephen  

Adopting a second cat was probably the best choice I ever made.

After I adopted Zoey, I was so in love with her and never even considered another cat. However, in my duplex she was always getting in to things and keeping me up half the night wanting to play. At the point when she destroyed my blinds I didn't really know what to do because she was driving me nuts.

This was the point when I looked into getting another cat. I had some reservations. I didn't know if Zoey had ever really interacted with other cats and I didn't want a second to stress her and I both out.

I made the jump and got Luna. I isolated in in a room, for awhile she also went away for a spay, and after she got back I started slowly introducing them. It was rough. Even once I felt comfortable leaving them out together it was weeks, 3 I think before they got along. There were times when I thought they never would and I even considered rehoming Luna.

However, three weeks in when i saw them cuddling on the couch it was all worth it. I actually feel immensely guilty that I ever considered rehoming Luna.

Adopting Luna has not only been great because she's great and I love her. But giving Zoey a playmate, lets me sleep at night and my house not get destroyed. Young cats have so much energy and I think a playmate can be the best thing if it's possible.

Thanks so much to both of you for your responses and sorry for my late reply! I didn't realize I had gotten replies

We did go ahead and adopt a second - little Oliver is a 9 week old male and is the sweetest thing ever. Catmomma - so far it has been a really rough process and although we are only a couple days in, the thought of returning him has already crossed my mind but your message gives me hope. The rescue we got him from suggested that we introduce them after 24 hours since they are both young, which went disastrously! After another try the next day that also went poorly we realized that we needed to slow things way down. Oliver is now in his "sanctuary room" and we don't plan on any in person sightings again until she stops growling and hissing at the door.

Catmomma, how did you deal with isolating your second in a room by herself? I feel terrible for Oliver because he is really social and cuddly and already dying to get out! We can't spend as much time as we'd like with him, especially now during the work week and when we are at home we are trying to show Pia (resident kitty) that her life has not been disrupted by the intruder! How did you balance both?

It made me feel guilty having Luna locked up, so I get what you're saying. I tried to spend time with her, I would do it in like 15 minute intervals, several times every evening when I got home from work.

I also broke the rules, even before I felt comfortable with Luna and Zoey together, I would bring Luna into the living room, and let her sleep in my lap. Zoey would watch from afar, which seemed to work out okay. All in all, once Luna was spayed, I really only kept her in her room for a week. Which I know isn't as long as most people recommend, but it just felt like it was okay.

Once they were both loose in the house, it was a good 3 weeks before they actually got a long. Since Luna was ~4.5 months and Zoey was just over a year, i don't know if that made them more or less able to handle it.

I guess for me what it came down to, was that as long as I didn't feel like Zoey would harm Luna (which I didn't) I was okay with letting her hiss and growl until she got over it.

As time goes by, SITE SWAPPING is a good thing to do.  You put the resident cat in the sanctuary room and let the new cat out for awhile to explore the house.  This way they each get used to each other's scent even without seeing each other, and the new cat isn't the only one to be isolated.  They take turns.