How Many Only Have 1 Cat?

[GranolaLouise]

I am thinking of adopting again. My cat passed away.
However, in visiting my local shelters, I find they are really trying to push the adoption of bonded pairs, or those who have met at the shelter and get along.
My cat was old & not well and so preferred the single life. But I think it would be cruel to let a young Adult live alone indoors or stay by herself when I have the occasional appointment or have shopping, etc to do.
What say YOU?

 

[catapault]

Two cats are four times as much fun as a singleton cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

I have always had only one cat except when I was a kid, we had barn cats outside and Mom had a couple of applehead Siamese housecats.

The only time cats deliberately congregate together in the "wild" is when food is involved, for example when a person is taking care of a feral colony and food is placed in a certain location repeatedly.

Cats are very good at entertaining themselves with catnip toys, cat trees, birds outside the window, and sleeping.

That said, this spring we were considering a bonded pair because I still have an image in my head from years ago of two bonded, big orange cats in a Petco for adoption, (at that time we still had Poppycat. He was an alpha his entire life, not just when he was older, and very territorial about everything even being neutered).

Additionally, I wanted to help with the shelter overcrowding which is why you're finding that they are really hoping to adopt two cats--they desperately need the room. However in our case, I saw the video of Mr Captain thoroughly enjoying chin scritches, we went to meet him, and that was that. We were his.

 

[Tobermory]

I’ve always had two or three cats at a time…until last November. I always felt better about leaving them when they had buddies to keep them company when I went to work or on vacation. Even if they weren’t best buds—and often they were—they were family to each other and it made me feel better to know they were interacting and stimulating each other.

After losing Iris in November, I now have only Mocha. She isn’t nearly as active now and spends more time sleeping without Iris to keep her engaged. It makes me feel bad, but I can’t get another cat. I’d always advocate for two if someone is set up for it.

 

[Emmypeps]

Two cats are four times as much fun as a singleton cat.

COULD NOT AGREE MORE

 

[Kflowers]

More than one is less destructive. They play with each other inside of the curtains and the furniture and your feet. Especially your feet.

 

[Lennybells]

Only have one kitty. Two would be way too destructive in my place. So far, he is a huge attention seeker and I can’t see him with another cat.

 

[neely]

Our present cat is a single only cat. However, in the past we had as many as four at once. I think two is the perfect number and I'm sure Carleton would have loved a buddy but when we adopted him he needed a lot of dental work so it wasn't the right time to bring in another cat.

 

[IndyJones]

I am thinking of adopting again. My cat passed away.
However, in visiting my local shelters, I find they are really trying to push the adoption of bonded pairs, or those who have met at the shelter and get along.
My cat was old & not well and so preferred the single life. But I think it would be cruel to let a young Adult live alone indoors or stay by herself when I have the occasional appointment or have shopping, etc to do.
What say YOU?

I think they try to push so called "bonded" pairs due to overcrowding and with spring comming the pressure is on to clear out the cages.

Many cats do fine as a single cat. I don't belive in so called "single syndrome" but some people do.

That said, I currently only have Indy and probably will get another adult or young adult cat since I've just always had 2. I do not want a kitten because they are too much work.

 

[GenCat]

imo if you know your cat is the type who likes other cats it is always better to have a buddy for them since you won’t always be available (even if just to ease your mind). But we did make the mistake of thinking high energy = will like to play with other cats and were surprised when YanYan ended up despising XiaoXiao with every fiber of her being lol I would still do it over again because he found us, we didn’t purposely go looking for a friend for her and I have worked at making her safe spaces away from the annoying little brother we forced on her lol

I do believe bonded pairs are a thing but I don’t think you will absolutely destroy the cat by separating them. Having had a bonded pair I could never split them up though and if I ever had the space would adopt a bonded pair on purpose just because their affection for each other is absolutely beautiful to see.

 

[IndyJones]

I can't afford more than 2 cats vet care is expensive even for the yearly exams and vaccienes.

A bonded pair is out of the question for me since I already have Indy. Its also nicer if there is an age gap so you have less financial and emotional strain later on.

 

[iPappy]

I can't afford more than 2 cats vet care is expensive even for the yearly exams and vaccienes.

A bonded pair is out of the question for me since I already have Indy. Its also nicer if there is an age gap so you have less financial and emotional strain later on.

This bolded part, so much. I had 3 sets of litter mates for years, and one cat passed away last month. I have two sets of litter mates, one set is bonded but not strongly, and the other set is bonded VERY strongly, almost with litter mate syndrome. With 6 cats that are technically mine, 3 are pushing 16, two are pushing 12, and one is going to be 10 soon. I've been dreading this for years, knowing I risk losing them very close to one another.
A nice bonded pair would maybe be an adult mother cat with one of her half grown kittens.

 

[GranolaLouise]

This bolded part, so much. I had 3 sets of litter mates for years, and one cat passed away last month. I have two sets of litter mates, one set is bonded but not strongly, and the other set is bonded VERY strongly, almost with litter mate syndrome. With 6 cats that are technically mine, 3 are pushing 16, two are pushing 12, and one is going to be 10 soon. I've been dreading this for years, knowing I risk losing them very close to one another.
A nice bonded pair would maybe be an adult mother cat with one of her half grown kittens.

Exactly what I have my eye on.. you must have been there with me last night!!

 

[iPappy]

Exactly what I have my eye on.. you must have been there with me last night!!

Need details!

 

[GenCat]

This bolded part, so much. I had 3 sets of litter mates for years, and one cat passed away last month. I have two sets of litter mates, one set is bonded but not strongly, and the other set is bonded VERY strongly, almost with litter mate syndrome. With 6 cats that are technically mine, 3 are pushing 16, two are pushing 12, and one is going to be 10 soon. I've been dreading this for years, knowing I risk losing them very close to one another.
A nice bonded pair would maybe be an adult mother cat with one of her half grown kittens.

My bonded pair had this kind of age gap, Sissy cat was approximately 3-4 years older than Bubby which was why we were surprised when they took to each other so well when he was brought home as a tiny kitten. I swear they acted like lovers once he started maturing into the less playful adult stage. I should find photos of them on my bed to share sometime.

Do we have a thread for sharing memories of cats from the past? Like long enough back that it’s mostly happy feelings and memories that are left rather than the raw new sadness. Would be a nice place to enjoy others experiences with their cats and interactions amongst them.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I've had 3 cats - all solo. Two were about 6 months old, and the current cat was 2ish when she found me. I think they did well as solo cats, and the latter one probably would not have tolerated another cat, even when she was younger. Maybe my cats were/are more subdued than ones who were part of a group, but they didn't seem to mind. Not do I! And, in some ways (trust me, not all ways) they were/are more like a dog for a companion.

Getting an older cat whose owner has died or can no longer take care of them, especially those who have been solo cats, might be your best bet. I know it can be hard getting a cat who has some age on them, for fear of illnesses showing up quicker than they might otherwise, but it is well worth it to give these little ones a second chance in another loving home. As much as I shudder to think of another cat with an illness (all 3 of mine ended up having something wrong), this is the route I will likely go after Feeby passes - which I hope is not soon!

Do we have a thread for sharing memories of cats from the past? Like long enough back that it’s mostly happy feelings and memories that are left rather than the raw new sadness.

I don't see why you can't post to the Crossing The Bridge Forum. Not all of the thread in there are from just recently passed cats.

 

[maggie101]

I have three cats,all resqued

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I currently have two cats, had them since they were 4 1/2 months old and they just turned 15 last week. They are NOT bonded, nor do I think they are really even friends. One of them I would say actually despises all other animals, including our other two cats who now have crossed the bridge, and the other would probably get along with anybody, cats included.

 

[GenCat]

I currently have two cats, had them since they were 4 1/2 months old and they just turned 15 last week. They are NOT bonded, nor do I think they are really even friends. One of them I would say actually despises all other animals, including our other two cats who now have crossed the bridge, and the other would probably get along with anybody, cats included.

Good to hear I am not the only one with a reluctant pair of kitties lol YanYan and XiaoXiao barely tolerate each other (mostly from YanYan’s side of things, he attempted to bond when he was small but gave up). I felt the “I am NOT your mom!” energy from YanYan

 

[Caannes]

I am thinking of adopting again. My cat passed away.
However, in visiting my local shelters, I find they are really trying to push the adoption of bonded pairs, or those who have met at the shelter and get along.
My cat was old & not well and so preferred the single life. But I think it would be cruel to let a young Adult live alone indoors or stay by herself when I have the occasional appointment or have shopping, etc to do.
What say YOU?

Cats often enjoy being solitary animals—it depends of course on the cat. And if you’re talking just being gone for a few hours—s/he will probably sleep the entire time.

shelters push bonded pairs for two reasons: sometimes the cats are actually very fond of each other, or sometimes the shelter just wants to clear its cages. At a shelter where I volunteered they were extremely insistent on “bonded pairs” …often the cats hated each other but if they came in together the shelter always tried to adopt them out together.

I recall in particular two pretty young calico sisters. One was a wild child. One super shy who’d hide in the litter box while the sibling was essentially swinging from the chandelier. People would want only the wild child and get turned down. This went on for many weeks. Finally I went to the director and said “look. You all call me the Cat Whisperer. I’m telling you now if you don’t let me adopt these girls out separately we will end up sending two beautiful cats to the rainbow room together rather than to forever homes separately. And when that happens I’m out of here”
They relented. Wild Child left with a couple who said they’d happily let her climb their drapes. Within 48 hours I had Shy Girl out of her shell: she meowed hello, played with toys, strutted around her cage and was gone to her doting new mom’s house two days later. Sometimes one of the bonded pair is actually a bully and the other cat longs to be in an only cat household.

My advice: if you want a single cat the cat will probably be fine with that and shelters often know which cats prefer to have it that way. If you want two (because you want two not bc you’re told to get two), shelters also often have bonded pairs and will give you a deal if you take both. Otoh you can adopt two totally unrelated cats but it takes time to introduce them and needs to be done right so get advice from shelter and vet —my current generation of cats are two unrelated males (one of whom doesn’t like other cats but eventually made peace with and now adores his “brother”). Luckily the other cat was very confident and easy going, and I had a few decades of experience w cats. Finally if you want only one of a bonded pair it can’t hurt to ask (and explain why)—the worst thing that can happen is they insist it’s two or none and then you can decide.