Hi Everyone, I'll try to be succinct.
Last year, in September, my SO & I adopted a cat from the Humane Society, Bebe. Originally, we were going to get two cats, but they mentioned that Bebe had just gotten over an upper respiratory infection, and that we should wait 30 days before getting another cat just to be safe. We agreed that was a good idea, and Bebe came home with us alone. We discussed that after the holiday rush we'd get a second cat.
By the time January had rolled around, Bebe had bonded very closely to me (I worked from home at the time). When I brought up the idea of going to get a second cat, my SO would just insist that Bebe would become terribly jealous of any other cat we got getting any of my attention.
Last month, I got promoted at work, which, while great, means I'm not around to play with Bebe all day, since I'm now required to work in the main office. I've gotten her a wealth of toys, but she's become extremely emotionally needy when I'm home (crying if I shut her out of a room I'm in, insisting on being held whenever I'm spending time with her, etc.) I've done my best to not encourage that behavior, but I really think she's just lonely, and needs a companion. My SO of course has a ton of objections, but they are reasonable, so I figured I'd ask people more experienced with cats than I am about them.
We have a very small apartment in a large city, (one bedroom) so we wouldn't have the space to keep the second cat separated from Bebe for very long. He's concerned that if they don't like each other we don't have the ability to keep the separate.
The Humane Society staff that helped us with the adoption said Bebe was terrible with other cats, but every other cat she's been around (my friend's cats, my SO's parents cats, my mom's cats) she has either been distant but not fighty (mostly just laying there looking at them like she's bored) or very friendly and cuddly (She likes to sleep in a puddle with my best friend's older cat). She does, however, have a major problem with dogs (she hisses at them and hides), but we're not discussing a dog anyway.
Do any of you have experience with introducing a second cat into a single-cat household? how has it gone? Do you have any advice for this? I know my SO is just worried about 'what happens if the cats hate each other?' I'd like to alleviate his fears as best as possible, so that we might be able to get Bebe a companion in February or so, when I'll have a week off to be home with both cats.
If you have any other questions for me to help clarify, please don't hesitate to ask.
Last year, in September, my SO & I adopted a cat from the Humane Society, Bebe. Originally, we were going to get two cats, but they mentioned that Bebe had just gotten over an upper respiratory infection, and that we should wait 30 days before getting another cat just to be safe. We agreed that was a good idea, and Bebe came home with us alone. We discussed that after the holiday rush we'd get a second cat.
By the time January had rolled around, Bebe had bonded very closely to me (I worked from home at the time). When I brought up the idea of going to get a second cat, my SO would just insist that Bebe would become terribly jealous of any other cat we got getting any of my attention.
Last month, I got promoted at work, which, while great, means I'm not around to play with Bebe all day, since I'm now required to work in the main office. I've gotten her a wealth of toys, but she's become extremely emotionally needy when I'm home (crying if I shut her out of a room I'm in, insisting on being held whenever I'm spending time with her, etc.) I've done my best to not encourage that behavior, but I really think she's just lonely, and needs a companion. My SO of course has a ton of objections, but they are reasonable, so I figured I'd ask people more experienced with cats than I am about them.
We have a very small apartment in a large city, (one bedroom) so we wouldn't have the space to keep the second cat separated from Bebe for very long. He's concerned that if they don't like each other we don't have the ability to keep the separate.
The Humane Society staff that helped us with the adoption said Bebe was terrible with other cats, but every other cat she's been around (my friend's cats, my SO's parents cats, my mom's cats) she has either been distant but not fighty (mostly just laying there looking at them like she's bored) or very friendly and cuddly (She likes to sleep in a puddle with my best friend's older cat). She does, however, have a major problem with dogs (she hisses at them and hides), but we're not discussing a dog anyway.
Do any of you have experience with introducing a second cat into a single-cat household? how has it gone? Do you have any advice for this? I know my SO is just worried about 'what happens if the cats hate each other?' I'd like to alleviate his fears as best as possible, so that we might be able to get Bebe a companion in February or so, when I'll have a week off to be home with both cats.
If you have any other questions for me to help clarify, please don't hesitate to ask.
