Is it better to have an even or odd number of cats?

[sweetkara]

This might be a really dumb question but I have two cats that get along great. My husband and I rent a condo and are in the process of buying a house- should move in January if everything goes well. So.... since my square footage is going up by about 50% I'm thinking of getting a 3rd kitty in the future

Is is bad to have 3 cats, though? Like will two cats gang up on the 3rd? Is it better to have 4 than 3?

Or am I just overthinking it and it all just depends on the individual cats personalities? Right now I have 1 female and 1 male. The male is super laid back. The female usually will hiss a little with new introductions but is submissive/not agressive at all.

Thanks!

 

[brookesphynx]

I think it depends on the cat...I have 4 (2 boys and 2 girls), sometimes all 4 of them are together, other times only 3 of them are together and one of them is off doing his/her own thing, and other times 2 of them will play, but they don't ever "pair off". I don't think you have to worry about having an even number.

Congrats on your move and good luck finding a perfect new furry friend!

 

[ldg]

Congrats on the new condo!

I think it totally depends upon the personality of the cat(s). I would consider age and gender if you're going to add just one. If your kitties are seniors, I'm not sure I'd get just one kitten. They tend to have a LOT of energy, and it is often best to adopt them in pairs, because then they help "use up" all that kitten energy on each other.

We now have seven cats - we were stable at six for four years, then rescued a kitty. The one thing I will say, having four boys and three girls - our boys are ALWAYS better about new intros than the girls. We have one female that is always OK with new intros - the other two are terrible. It takes forever. In my experience, females are more possessive of "their people" and "their space" than the males.

I would make sure to read up on cat introductions, I would invest in Feliway spray, I'd consider adding new kitty(ies) shortly after the move so territories aren't so "set" with your existing two - but long enough after that your two have de-stressed a bit, and I would make sure to have as much vertical space as possible dedicated to kitties. This really helps in a multi-cat household, because cats naturally live in a 3D world, and the ability to go "up" helps with heirarchy issues.

 

[Asteria]

Just wanted to pop in and agree it depends on the cats! My cats are littermates and extremely close. A third cat would almost certainly be excluded, so in my case I think it would be most fair to get another pair.

 

[tortietudelove]

I agree about the personality being the main factor. Personally, I prefer no less than 3. My reason for this is if they do bond then when the time comes for one to cross the bridge, then the other two still have each other, which can help with the grieving process. Also, like in my case, I have two kittens and two adults, all girls. Siana is the extremely active one. Malyka and Teya are very similar in they enjoy playing sometimes, but not nonstop, so Siana rotates between the two as to who she's playing with at the time. Sara is our loner. She doesn't like to play and would rather do her own thing than be bothered with the other three.

My advice would be to really think about your cats' personalities and then try to find one that would blend well. Of course, you will have to go through the normal introductions, but if you take the time to really search and think about yours (which you have time before you move), then you should have a better chance of a good match.

Good luck on your move and congrats on your home.

Erica

 

[auntie crazy]

Well, by now you've received plenty of confirmation that it's all about personalities, but I'll throw my own story in here, too.

A little over a year ago, I had three two year cats, Allen and his sisters, Rachel and Meghan. Allen's personality requires a "buddy" or he plays extremely rough with his sisters. He had lost his buddy a few months prior and was beginning to escalate his rough and tumble attacks on the girls.

That's when the neighborhood litter of feral kittens was brought to my attention. I trapped them and began the socialization process, with the intention of adopting them all out. There was only one male in the bunch and he was by far the most violently feral. He was also the first to come around.

I decided to adopt Spencer myself for two reasons, one, he adores me ('though he's still a feralish little fellow) and two, both of Allen's previous buddies (his deceased brother and my no-longer-living-with-me daughter's cat) had been male and Spencer might be acceptable enough for Allen to lesson his aggression toward his sisters.

I also adopted one of Spencer's sisters, Heather, because Spencer was a kitten - a tough kitten, but still just a kitten - and needed someone his own age and energy level to play with.

This is how I ended up with five cats. Thankfully, it has all worked out pretty much as I'd hoped. Allen hasn't yet fully accepted Spencer as his "best buddy", but they do play and cuddle together - enough so that Allen, for the most part, no longer chases his sisters around with mayhem on his mind. Spencer and Heather are as close as siblings can be, and all five cats play with each other.

It's all about the purrsonalities.

 

[cococat]

If I were you and thinking about adding a cat I would get two kittens

 

[goldenkitty45]

I find it better to have an even number of pets so no one is left out if they pair up. We have 3 cats and 1 dog - the boys play together and Ling has the dog to hang out with (she likes that better anyway).

 

[otto]

When I have three cats it seems like the perfect number, until I had four cats it seemed like the perfect number, now I am back to three (Ootay went to the Bridge in May).

Each of my cats were adopted at different times, and the relationships change with each new addition or loss. Ootay was top cat, all four pounds of her, and I was very surprised to discover that a few weeks after we lost her, it became clear that Tolly, my ten year old red boy took the alpha cat position, rather than either of the two girls.

Tolly was deeply attached to Ootay but she prepared him for her leaving, and he did not suffer as badly over the loss as he did when he lost his Bibbs five years ago.

Anyway, at that time, Tolly and Mazy were closer than Jennie was with either, mainly because Jennie has been here the shortest time.

After Ootay left it was very interesting to watch the changing dynamic and shuffling that has gone on in their relationships. Now, 6 months have gone by and the three are almost inseparable. Not sleeping in three cat piles yet, but Tolly and Mazy will pile and Tolly and Jennie, or Mazy and Jennie will share the chair but not pile.

But as far as bonding, the three are always near each other, they play three way games together, they talk to each other, they really like eachother.

There is room for another should I be chosen, and I don't have any doubt that the dynamic will adjust to accommodate the newbie, when it happens, but four is my limit.

 

[icklemiss21]

Mine never really pair up, my three boys were together so long that they were really bonded and never really accepted Scully when I brought him home. He prefered the company of people anyway after having an aggressive male housemate with his previous owners so it was never a huge deal. When I brought Autumn home, they instantly bonded (they actually all accepted her and all but Bumper loved her, and those two still have their days). But when Scully died, she was just heartbroken, she cried all the time so we got Quincy and went back up to 5 cats - it seems to be what works for us because of the bond the other three share.

So like the others have said, it really depends on the personalities of the cats involved, although with mine they rarely get a say in me taking home another one, Quincy was the first cat I chose to take home without there being strings attached (Autumn was a feral with not much hope in the shelter, Scully was going to be taken to a kill shelter when he was 9, diabetic and obese, Bumper and Magnum chose us and Matt was talked into Boomer when a neighbour's cat got pregnant)