Multiple cats

I was told by a friend that it Is wrong to have just one cat. My husband was never fond of animals in the house & it took an act of God to have him allow me to get Meowlison before she was taken to the shelter so I know he would NEVER allow another cat (BTW - he loves Meowlison as much as I do now)...what are your thoughts? Will she grow up lonely without another cat??

If your cat seems happy then she is happy. It's untrue that there must always be two cats in the house. Some cats like company, some don't. Even if you got a second cat there is no guaranty that they would even get along with each other.

Don't give this another thought.

It depends on her and on your household. 

Natural behavior in cats makes them more of a solitary creature. They hunt alone and will usually live alone in well defined territories. This does not mean that they never interact with others though. Usually there will be neutral zones where territory overlaps and cats may interact with each other. They also come together for the purpose of mating. When there are enough resources to share cats have also been known to form colonies (feral colonies are the most well known) where the females primarily share in the feeding and guarding of young and the males tend to live on the edges of it once they reach maturity. 

So what does this mean in a home? 

Within the home there are enough resources so pet cats often form the same type of colony behavior of bonding and living together. Some households have cats that tolerate each other and others have homes where the cats form tight bonds. The sad home finds out that their cats don't tolerate each other and end up being a tense place. In the home environment it really depends on the personalities of the individual cats. 

Cats don't need another cat to have a happy life for the most part. The humans in their life can make up the social bond that some may desire. Most of the time when you hear someone say two is better than one it is born out of the idea that "Cats are like chips, you can never have just one" or knowledge that two cats will play, groom and interact with each other on a level a human can have trouble filling (or with kittens an energy level that is hard to keep up with). If you are petting, playing with and caring for your cat well then it will likely never miss having a feline friend. The only time you *need* a second cat would be if your kitten is acting out in a manner that indicates it or you have a cat that came from a multi-cat home and is having difficulty adjusting to solo life. 

If your cat is happy as is, don't worry about it. 

That made me feel so much better...i love Meowlison so much that I don't really want to share love with another cat right now (unless it was a situation where another cat was going to be taken to the shelter, then I would consider it)...thanks much!!!

Thank you so much!!!

I have a cat, Shadow, that should have been an only cat.  She'd have been perfectly happy if I had never brought another cat home and she has never failed to let me know that for the last 14 years.

(Though funny story - when I was forced to have a roommate, we had our three and she had her two.  Shadow, who can't stand the other two we own, actually took to charging while growling and snarling at the roommate's cats if they chased Montressor.  And then 5 minutes later she'd glare at Montressor if he came too close.  This was also when she was 14 and ill; I'd hate to have seen what she would have done if she felt well.)

I feel that kittens ought to have another cat around. But when it comes to adult cats, some do better with a companion and some don't. If your kitty is happy the way things are, no reason to change .