Should I get a little friend for my kitten?

Hi,
I got my new kitten, Happy, a month ago. He is now 3months and 1 week old. I was thinking about (maybe) get him a friend in a couple of months, but... this weekend.. Happy started to meow and scratch the corners/floor of our room. It's the same behaviour he had for the 2 first days when we got him, because he was searching for his mommy and brothers/sisters. The breeder I got him from assured me it was normal (at the time), maybe he was feeling lonely because it was the first time he was apart from his mom. These days, he's also meowing a lot without any (apparent) reason. We spend a lot of time with him since my boyfriend and I do not have the same schedule, Happy is alone only 2 days a week while my boyfriend and I are both at work. We play a lot with him, but somehow I can't help but to think that we might not be "enough"...

I don't know what to do. I love Happy just the way he is - playful, loving, and, I must admit, he's also spoiled, haha! And I'm scared he would not be so happy to share his things and owners with a "friend". He has is own huge cat tree on which he sleeps at night (it's in our room so he's not too far away from us and he gets up to greet us everyday when our alarm clock goes off).
So, I have to think about a few things; if I get a kitten, I know I wilk have to keep them separate so they get used to each other's scent. I have read it can take only a few hours since they are young (Happy would probably be around 4mths/5mths max) but some other websites say it can take a few days for the "resident kitten" to adjust. For those of you who have 2 cats, how did the introduction went?
We have a 2 bedroom apartment, but the other room is huge and I don't want either kitty to feel like the other one is more loved/cared for. It wouldn't be right either to keep Happy from "his" room which is our bedroom.. I want to have a special and strong bond with the new kitten, like I do with Happy. But for this to happen, I took 3 days off work to spend all my time with Happy. I'm not sure I could repeat it with the new kitty and not make Happy feel left out. But I know the sooner we get the second kitten, the easier it is to introduce them to each other.

I also read that people often get a female if their other cat is male. Is there a reason for this?
I'm a bit conflicted because I've always felt like males are more affectionate than females. Would it be a bad thing to get a second male?

And finally, I know a lot of you took your cats from shelters/rescue, and believe me, I'd love to do the same but I have very bad allergies to cat and so does my boyfriend. So I opted for a Siberian cat, which is not hypoallergenic but "almost" since complete hypoallergenic doesn't exist.
Now, and I'd just really like your thoughts on this: I have 2 options for which breeder to take my new kitten from. I could either go back to the same breeder I took Happy from; they have been doing this for more than 20 years and the kitten was completely socialized and loved to be petted when we got him. However, this particular breeder sells her cats for an expensive price.
Or, should I try another breeder which I found sells her cats cheaper, depending of the fur's colour. The more "normal" colour are a lot cheaper ($500 less than any other kitty I can get at the other breeder) but I don't think she have been doing this for long, 3-4 years maximum. (Not that 4 years isn't long but for sure it's a lot less than 20 years!) Plus, the lady has a weird way of letting us "choose" our kitten by its colour, meaning, the first person who goes to pick up one of the three brown/black tabby has the first choice, the second has the second choice and the third one gets the last one that the other two buyers didn't want. I'm a bit weirded out by this "selection process" because this breeder offers a free delivery to Toronto but it also mean I couldn't "choose" at all my kitten... she also doesn't put new pictures of the kitties as they grow up so it's hard to know what they look like. The 2 past litters I saw were all gorgeous, but, I don't know... I'd like to know which kitten is mine, you know what I mean?

Sorry for this very lengthy post; the ultimate question is: what is the best thing I could do for my cat and how can I get the new and current kitten to get along... without making my dear Happy mad at me? I love him so much, and I want his personality/mood to fit his name as much as possible. (lol)
Here is a picture of my baby I took while he was happily munching on my lamp!

I am surprised your breeder gave him to you so young.  usually breeders keep the cats with mother and litter mates until 3 months old.  This gets them socialized with other cats and humans. I do not think the earlier release is particularly bad - just not the ideal in my opinion.   However, your cat is probably lonely and I am sure you are playing with it.  Little toys and things which you can throw and he can chase.  YES, I would get him a playmate.  NO, doesn't matter which gender as I assume you will be fixing both.  Get him another kitten for them to grow old together.  I always have two cats as they keep each other company when I am not at home.  Enjoy your kitten.  They are fun to watch grow up.

I can't really comment on anything in this except that you should not go with the cheaper breeder. In my opinion that sounds extremely sketchy and you should stick to the person you know puts a lot of effort and time into their kittens. Typically the more expensive a kitten is just reflects how well cared for and well bred they are. Also never trust someone who doesn't let you meet and pick out your kitten on your own, along with the shipping this sounds like a scam.
Just be careful because so many people are out to make an easy load of money off of good people wanting a certain kind of animal.

Yes, I know it was a little soon - he was almost 10 weeks old when I got him (born on March 15, picked him up on May 21st). The ideal age would have been 12 weeks, but I couldn't really force the breeder to keep him... :/ Siberian breeders in Ontario tend to give them around 8-9 weeks. 8 weeks would be too soon, so I wouldn't want that.

What about the breeders? Should I post my question on the "breeder/showing" section?
I will get the two cats fixed, of course. I'm glad to know this was the only "difference" you could think of.

This is my third time raising a kitten, but the 2 before where living at my ex-boyfriend's apartment; I enjoy every second I have with Happy and the bond I had with the 2 other cats (I still love them dearly, but I moved out to another province and have not seen them for 2 years now) was nowhere near the bond I have with Happy.

haleyds said:

I can't really comment on anything in this except that you should not go with the cheaper breeder. In my opinion that sounds extremely sketchy and you should stick to the person you know puts a lot of effort and time into their kittens. Typically the more expensive a kitten is just reflects how well cared for and well bred they are. Also never trust someone who doesn't let you meet and pick out your kitten on your own, along with the shipping this sounds like a scam.
Just be careful because so many people are out to make an easy load of money off of good people wanting a certain kind of animal.

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Technically I could meet and choose the kitten, only if I went to pick it up, though... I didn't really think of it as a scam, only the kitten-choosing technique was sketchy. You might be right. Thank you!

i know some will disagree with me but i think it's a bit cruel to get a young kitten without another. they need another kitty friend to cuddle with, play, groom etc...and watching them play together is 1/2 the fun of having kittens in the first place. and i would get a kitten from a shelter or a rescue. it's kitten season so you should be able to find a beauty and save a bundle and a life..

ellag said:

i know some will disagree with me but i think it's a bit cruel to get a young kitten without another. they need another kitty friend to cuddle with, play, groom etc...and watching them play together is 1/2 the fun of having kittens in the first place. and i would get a kitten from a shelter or a rescue. it's kitten season so you should be able to find a beauty and save a bundle and a life..

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I know it's always better to have 2 at the same time, but honestly at the time I didn't want to overdo it - my boyfriend never had a kitten before, plus, since this is a purebred, I didn't have enough money to get 2 at the same time. My boyfriend didn't work for a month so we were pretty much relying only on my income for 2 rents in a row. I did intend on getting another kitten but I was hesitating because Happy looks like he is comfortable in his environment and I didn't want to rush him into accepting another kitten.
Like I said, I would have taken a rescued kitty if I could (I originally wanted a black cat from the toronto humane society) but I am really allergic to cats and so is my boyfriend, so I cannot have a normal cat. It's also about being able to keep my cats - it would break my heart to adopt a second kitty only to realize I cannot keep it because we are both too allergic.

I personally would go with the breeder you got Happy from for several reasons. One, you already have a relationship with them. Two, they know Happy and his personality, so could possibly help you in choosing a second kitten. Three, there would be no real surprises in the process.

When the resident cat is a male, I personally don't think it really matters whether the second kitten is male or female...personality is key.

Male-female have more of a brother/sister relationship. The female almost always ends up as the "boss", regardless of who was in the home first. (This is a general rule of course.)

Male-male tend to be more chummy with each other. One is typically more of the boss, and it tends to be the older one. Two Alpha males will have their issues, so you want two betas or one of each.

Female-female tends to work better if they are litter mates (and particularly twins!) and are raised together. You can have two females of different ages; but, one must be submissive.

Hello!

I recently adopted two Siberian kittens (littermates) who are now 16 weeks old.  I also have a family member with severe cat allergies so I decided to go with the Siberians, although I wish rescues were an option, as well.  At first, I had planned to get only one kitten but after doing a bit of research, I decided to take the plunge and get two kittens.  It was difficult to due to the cost but I am so glad that I did!  They constantly play, eat, and sleep together.  I have a male and a female and they get along wonderfully!  If it were me, I would introduce another kitten soon, while your first kitten is still young.  A friend of mine recently adopted a kitten as a mate to her older cat and the adjustment isn't going well.  I would also go with the reputable breeder since you have had a good experience!  My kittens are very sweet but I had a bit of a tough time socializing them and can only assume that they didn't get a lot of attention from the breeder, before I got them. And the kittens were quite pricey but worth every penny!  No allergy problems whatsoever since getting them

Hope this helps and good luck!

shanlarge said:

Hello!

I recently adopted two Siberian kittens (littermates) who are now 16 weeks old.  I also have a family member with severe cat allergies so I decided to go with the Siberians, although I wish rescues were an option, as well.  At first, I had planned to get only one kitten but after doing a bit of research, I decided to take the plunge and get two kittens.  It was difficult to due to the cost but I am so glad that I did!  They constantly play, eat, and sleep together.  I have a male and a female and they get along wonderfully!  If it were me, I would introduce another kitten soon, while your first kitten is still young.  A friend of mine recently adopted a kitten as a mate to her older cat and the adjustment isn't going well.  I would also go with the reputable breeder since you have had a good experience!  My kittens are very sweet but I had a bit of a tough time socializing them and can only assume that they didn't get a lot of attention from the breeder, before I got them. And the kittens were quite pricey but worth every penny!  No allergy problems whatsoever since getting them

Hope this helps and good luck!

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Hi Shanlarge, thank you for your comment! Yes, last night I took my decision and contacted the breeder to know if one of the male kittens on her website is still available, and he is! I'm currently waiting for her confirmation but if everything goes as planned, we should get the new kitten end of July/beginning August. I'll try to push to have the kitten in August so he can spend a longer time with his mom. On August 1st he would be 10 weeks old, so I'll see how it goes. Happy will be 4 months and a half around that time, i hope he will be fine with the new little family member.
I'm glad to know your family member does not have any allergy problems! do you think you could post a picture of your 2 kittens? I'm curious to see how they look like!
I wish there was a rescue for Siberian cats, too, I think there are a few rescue group (I found 1 or 2), and maybe I'm naive to think this way but I thought it was good, it might mean people are OK with the siberian cat dog-like personality and it does not create a lot of problems in their household. But like I just said, it might be a false idea that I have.

CatPack, I asked the breeder about Happy's personality when he was with his siblings and she said he was not dominant or really submissive, more like a beta, I guess. She was saying he would probably be OK with any of the 3 kittens that were available.

here are my sweet babies! I also looked for a Siberian rescue but could not find any in our area. I'm sure you won't regret getting a friend for Happy! Milo and Marley are so bonded together and I'm sure yours will be the same. Look forward to seeing pics of yours!

Ah get him a little buddy while hes still young a babyish enough to accept easy as pie. How sweet of you to do that. The pic of happy is gorgeous, sooo cute I was laughing. Little lamp muncher!

M and Ms Mom said:

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• m and ms mom
• Jun 21, 2016

here are my sweet babies! I also looked for a Siberian rescue but could not find any in our area. I'm sure you won't regret getting a friend for Happy! Milo and Marley are so bonded together and I'm sure yours will be the same. Look forward to seeing pics of yours!

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Milo and Marley are so cute! I thought there was only one cat on your picture!

Thank you SandTiger, he's a little cute rascal! I have a hard time to be mad at him no matter what he does!

Oh and, the breeder just told me the second kitten is actually Happy's stepbrother, they have the same father! how cool is that?!

Again too much cuteness. Stop with the cuteness! Lamp munching cute and this, this (above) sleepy dreamy cozy cute. Arrrgh.

I couldnt be mad at Happy either. I would just stand laughing at him (and making him even naughtier) /Oh thats fab, related, sweet,

I just got a new picture of Happy's little brother...Doesn't he look fierce?!
His right (technically left) eye looks a bit smaller than the other but the breeder says his eyes are usually the same size. (I would love him all the same!)

I know this is an old thread, I just wanted to share this with fellow cat lovers.

Soooo cute.

So adorable!! One of my favorite colors!

Thank you ! I'm struggling to find him a name. It's not a rush since I won't get him until July 30, but I might start a thread on the cat lounge, haha!