My Male Cat Lost His Brother And I Think He's Bored With Our Female. Should I Get A Kitten ?

[marie-josee]

Hi,

I need your advise. I am debating if I should get a kitten for my male cat, Porthos, to play with. He lost his brother (accident) last october. He is now ok with that, but I think he's bored. He wants to play with my 10 year old female, Empress Sissi, and she just runs away. He approach her very gently and lick her face. She stays there, but if he wants to make a move to play, she goes away.

I feel bad for my Porthos. He used to play to much with his brother. My husband and I take turns to play with him everyday, but since we work during the day, he's pretty much alone.

His character is pretty shy and reclusive when people come at the house. He hides and come out eventually, but he was always like that. His brother, D'Artagnan, was the alpha cat.

From your experience, should I get a kitten for him to play with? Of course, we'll have to put the kitten in a separate room at the beginning when we're at work until they are used to each other. I will definitely get a male, because females are very independant.

Thank you so much for your advise.

 

[Timmer]

Awww....! I don't see any harm in trying but my opinion is that just because they were buds with one, does not necessarily mean they will be with another.
You didn't say, how old is Porthos?
My feeling is there are so many kitties out there that need homes, I think I would go for it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It does seem as if he would welcome an older kitten or young cat to play with. I'm going to give you links to some of our articles that will help make your decision and, should you get him a playmate/brother, introduction easier!

Your Second Cat: How To Choose The Best Friend For Kitty
Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Now, if and when you get him, be sure to introduce us! We'd love to see pictures of ALL of your cats!

 

[rubysmama]

My family, and now myself, have only had one cat at a time, so I am not the best one to offer advice on multi cat households.

However, it's not just Porthos you have to consider, as you also have Empress Sissi who at 10 years old might not be thrilled about a new kitten moving in. That said, lots of people have multi-cat homes, and make it work.

Until some more members post with comments, I'll add the links to a few TCS articles that might be helpful.

Your Second Cat: How To Choose The Best Friend For Kitty
The Multi-cat Household
Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[marie-josee]

Awww....! I don't see any harm in trying but my opinion is that just because they were buds with one, does not necessarily mean they will be with another.
You didn't say, how old is Porthos?
My feeling is there are so many kitties out there that need homes, I think I would go for it.

Hi and thank you for your comments. Porthos just turned 3, April fools day :-)

 

[marie-josee]

My family, and now myself, have only had one cat at a time, so I am not the best one to offer advice on multi cat households.

However, it's not just Porthos you have to consider, as you also have Empress Sissi who at 10 years old might not be thrilled about a new kitten moving in. That said, lots of people have multi-cat homes, and make it work.

Until some more members post with comments, I'll add the links to a few TCS articles that might be helpful.

Your Second Cat: How To Choose The Best Friend For Kitty
The Multi-cat Household
Introducing Cats To Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

You're absolutely right. I have to also think of Empress Sissi. I am more worried about Porthos though, who just lost his beloved brother D'Artagnan last October.

I have to give it more thoughts. Thank you for your comments and links

 

[catlover73]

It may be helpful to Porthos to have a play mate but a young kitten may be over whelming for Empress Sissi your ten year old. It might be better to look for a young adult instead of a young kitten. A high energy young kitten my be too much for Empress Sissi to handle if she does not want to play with Porthos. A young adult male might blend into your household better. A young adult cat would be more likely to respect boundaries with Empress Sissi than a young kitten. I adopted a 6 week old kitten with two mature adult males but they were both very laid back. One of my males did step up and teach the kitten boundaries. I am not sure that is something a ten year old female cat would want to do. My kitten was female and my adults were both male. I also adopted a 7 week old kitten to be a companion to another young adult cat when my female was around 8 years old. Casey was very well socialized and respected Starbuck. He was able to figure out her communication and mainly stuck to playing with Apollo. My now 12 year old female Starbuck does not play with any of my other cats. She will hiss if they chase her and tends to run to us for help. My 8 year old male cat will play with my other younger cats. I have had times where I have had to use toys to get the younger cats to stop chasing my older cats and it was hard work getting them to not see Starbuck as pray because she is a very small cat and she is a munchkin with short legs. I am very lucky because for what ever reason my other cats respect my desk as Starbuck's space and will not chase her once she is up there. My current household has been together 4 or more years and there are still times Starbuck has issues with my other cats but there are ways to stop them.

 

[danteshuman]

Hmm I tend to be on the kitten side. Why? Because a kitten will respect the established hierarchy. I would think a 4 month old male kitten that is calm or more laid back would be an ideal fit. Calm would respect your reigning queen's rule but would be young enough to play with your male cat. 3 cats can get along just fine.

 

[Kat0121]

Considering the ages of the resident cats, I would not get a kitten. I would get another cat but an older one. I seriously doubt that Empress Sissi (what an amazing name and I'm sure that it suits her purrfectly!) would take to a kitten's antics and bad manners at all. I think that an adult male (with the introduction process done carefully using the links above) would work out much better. She has already lived with 2 adult boys and I don't get the impression that she minded this. She is the queen of the house so it's going to be harder to convince her that this is a good idea than it will be for Porthos.

I'm so sorry for the loss of D'Artagnan. may he rest in peace. I'm sure he'd enjoy watching the shenanigans that would take place during the introduction of a new brother to the household from his place at the bridge. He would only want happiness for all of you. If it is meant for you to bring another lucky kitty to the household, he will help you find each other. Likely when you least expect it.

 

[Blakeney Green]

Depends on if you want a kitten. Porthos may or may not play with your new addition, so if he is your primary motivation, I would try to keep him entertained in other ways.

If you do decide you want to add a kitten to your household, I would strongly recommend a pair rather than a single kitten. That way they can get their energy out with each other and not pester your adult cats too much.

I added kittens to a house with older cats who are twelve, eleven, and eight years old, and it has been great... but it has really helped that I have two kittens, so the big kitties aren't the main target of kitten mischief. They can play when they want, and go off and let the kittens entertain each other when they need some downtime.