Worried about kitty introduction

Hi all,

I have a beautiful 3 year old Siamese but would love another kitten. I am a careful owner and love my cat to bits. Chula is my only family and we are very close. She sleeps with me and we have a very close bond. Also, I work at home so we spend a lot of time together. I think she would like the interaction of another cat and would love to get another Siamese. The breeder is well researched and tells me this will be fine. I though, am worried that the bond between me and Chula might be destroyed and she will prefer spending all her time with the other cat. I am told this could happen intially but that in the longterm nothing will change. Does anyone have any views on this? Chula is at present, my best friend. Thanks

Why not ask the breeder if you can bring Chula along to meet the possible new addition to your family?

My concern in introducing a new fur baby to our family is whether or not the other pets will get along with it.

Cats are very territorial, and not always likely to get along with a new edition.  One thing I have found, however, is that the love and affection for me has never changed, so I wouldn't worry about Chula's affection for you changing.

What I always suggest when someone has an adult cat that is bonded to them is that you get TWO kittens, preferably litter mates.  That avoids all sorts of problems, especially with Siamese, who can be very jealous or very loving.  If you have two kittens, you can do proper introductions slowly, and the kittens will have each other for company in whatever room you plan to start them in.  Your adult will have time to get used to there being other felines in the house and may be hissy at first but may then get curious.  She will see that your bond is the same with her, i.e. the kittens will have their OWN space and not be intruding on hers.  Later, she will probably be amused to watch them play with each other while she sits high above them somewhere watching.  Eventually they should all get along, and she will stay bonded to you and the kittens will bond more tightly with each other to start, which will prevent jealously on her part.

I advised this to a friend a few years back and she wouldn't listen.  She had an older female Siamese.  She got one Siamese kitten.  She couldn't leave the kitten alone in another room at night because it was lonely and howled, and Siamese kittens are LOUD, so she brought it in bed with her.  The kitten was happy and purred but her adult female was disgusted and retreated to the study.  Everytime the female saw the kitten, she hissed and retreated.  There was never going to be a friendship there, and her own relationship with the adult was suffering.  The poor kitten, on the other hand, wanted to get love from the adult cat.  After all, it LOOKED like mom, and he had just been taken from his mom at 8-10 weeks of age, so he drove her nuts chasing her around just trying to be close.  After about a week of this foolishness my friend went back to the breeder and got another little boy kitten.  After that, things proceeded as I jjust explained.  The boys bonded and were inseparable.  The adult female tolerated them because they n longer bothered her, and she got to sleep with my friend again.  Several years later when my friend died unexpectedly, her daughters took the cats.  One daughter took the female, and the other daughter tok the two bonded males.  Everyone lived happily ever after since then as far as I know.  The boys are in New York City with the older sister, and the girl is in Atlanta with the younger sister.

So do it right, get TWO kittens to start with.  Don't wait. 

Your concerns are certainly valid.  Chula may certainly feel violated with another kitty in the house, especially since you didn't discuss this with her first!  I am not a fan of meet and greets for kitties as they almost never go well.  The stress of the road trip, the carrier and the new surroundings can take a toll on kitties and they will either cower and hide or hiss and attack.  Rarely do meet and greets go well.  

I would get that second kitty and place her (or him) in a separate room for a few days.  Visit with her, read to her and just generally make her feel safe and loved.  This gives Chula time to get used to the idea of a new kid in town.  After that, you can swap scents (use an old sock and rub each other with the other's scents.  Once resident kitty is calm again, I will crack the doors so they can see and smell each other then just open the doors and hope for the best.  Growling does not bother me, hissing does not bother me but an all out fur fight bothers me.  Everyone needs to retreat to their spaces for an addition couple days if that happens.  I primarily adopt seniors so never know what I will be bringing home personality wise, but it always works out.  Relationships change and stretch just as they do with human interactions.