Should we get another cat?

[jandcrosewolf]

So my fiance and I have been discussing whether or not to get another cat to keep our fairly new cat company while we are gone. Right now we are just talking about it seeing as we just got laid off, but when we do get new jobs, it will be in the next town over, so we will be gone about 12hrs of the day sometimes. I mean our cat is fine entertaining herself for hours, but I still feel really bad for leaving her alone. I already know that I should get a cat close to her age, and I love kittens, but I want to get an adult cat who is sweet but less adoptable.
 

 

[sunflowers]

From what I have read and seen it depends on the situation. It really comes down to if you are lucky enough to get a good fit. It might be less stressful for your current cat to deal with being alone then being with another cat that stresses her out. It wouldn't be very beneficial for her to have a companion that she doesn't care for or ignores. Some cats just don't like other cats.

Speaking from experience, its very stressful as an owner getting another cat. I had it easy getting another kitten for my current kitten, but it was still stressful monitoring the long introduction process and hoping they would get along. You also have to consider what would happen if they just don't get along. You would have to decide if you keep the new cat and deal with the stress of separating them in the house all the time or try to find the new cat another home.

If you do decide you really want another cat then I would recommend you get it sooner rather than later. That way you can use your home time to monitor the introduction.

 

[lamiatron]

 
From what I have read and seen it depends on the situation. It really comes down to if you are lucky enough to get a good fit. It might be less stressful for your current cat to deal with being alone then being with another cat that stresses her out. It wouldn't be very beneficial for her to have a companion that she doesn't care for or ignores. Some cats just don't like other cats.

Speaking from experience, its very stressful as an owner getting another cat. I had it easy getting another kitten for my current kitten, but it was still stressful monitoring the long introduction process and hoping they would get along. You also have to consider what would happen if they just don't get along. You would have to decide if you keep the new cat and deal with the stress of separating them in the house all the time or try to find the new cat another home.

If you do decide you really want another cat then I would recommend you get it sooner rather than later. That way you can use your home time to monitor the introduction.

i couldn't agree more with @Sunflowers

1) bringing another cat into the mix will definitely change your current cats behavior towards its home, and especially towards you guys (her parents). Your cat will be more concerned with what the new cat is doing, where the new cat is going, etc. and once they have gotten used to each other, both of their focuses will mainly be each other.

2) your cat might be content just the way she is. bringing another cat into the mix could stress her out. even if she gets along with the new kitten, say the new kitten is not working out with you guys, separating them from each other once they have bonded will also affect your cat. its something to consider.

3) your food, litter, and vet budget with double at the very least if not triple.

4) during the whole cat to cat intro process, someone should be home with them both at all times. when i intro'd my cat Charlie to Jet, they were both kittens, however they both needed constant supervision. especially because my 2nd cat Jet was a sick cat. she needed round the clock care. she needed to be given medication, and syringe fed. At that time, my BF was not working and was able to take care of them, but I still had to take some time off of work to run around behind Jet and take her to the vet, etc. The first 2 months that Jet was with us, was 2 of the poorest, and stressful months i've had since I moved out of my parents home lol

5) If you do decide to get another kitty, i agree with @Sunflowers  , you should do it sooner rather than later. When cats are still young, its much easier to have them get used to certain changes in their environment. I've gotten a 3rd cat recently, and the cat to cat intro's have been a nightmare because my 2 existing cats, who are now 1 yr old (Charlie) and 10 months old (Jet) were not as receptive to the new guy as I hoped they would be. So if you do get a kitten, sooner is better.

6) please follow proper cat to cat intro protocol when getting a new cat and introducing it your existing cat. You should not let the cats interact with each other when you bring the new kitten home. here is an informative article from TCS that should help you if you decide to get a second kitten http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Adding a second cat to your household is a great idea...but just a lot of things to consider. also, if you want to get your girl a companion, I would say get another kitten, except a boy kitten. female cats don't get along with other female cats as there is always a fight for there to be a dominant kitty. that's why out of my 3 cats, I have only 1 girl..she's the queen of the house. lol

 

[caelesto]

I did the same thing when I got Ivy and (not knowing that it would have been better to get a boy and not another girl) I had a lot of trouble in the very beginning. It took like two months before they stopped fighting and being aggressive towards each other, but in the end it really paid off. Harley and Ivy are BFF's now--always playing and snuggling. Harley is really needy as far as attention, so it was really good for her to have a companion. 

 

[escia]

I don't think you should get a second cat unless it seems like your cat would benefit from having another one around. You shouldn't get a second cat to make YOURSELF feel better about leaving her alone, some cats just don't have the personality to cope with having another cat around.

I have two cats, Momo (turning 1 in a few weeks) and Beanie (turned 1 a few months ago), and thankfully they get a long really well. I had Momo (she was about 5-6mos old) for about 3-4 months before bringing in Beanie (about 8-9mos old). Momo had acted out when I was home because she wanted more and more attention when we would play with her for 30-45 min after coming home from work. If I was focused on something else, she would jump on me or attack me. If I was doing dishes, she would jump on my back and claw into my shirt, meowing. That all stopped when we brought Beanie in - having another cat gave her someone to play with and watch, giving her something to do.

Does your cat act out for attention or more play time? When you first got her, did you see how she was with other cats, or was she raised alone? I think you should consider these things, along with financial commitment. Our cat Beanie was having health issues recently and we were hit with an unexpected $641 bill.

 

[lamiatron]

 
I don't think you should get a second cat unless it seems like your cat would benefit from having another one around. You shouldn't get a second cat to make YOURSELF feel better about leaving her alone, some cats just don't have the personality to cope with having another cat around.

I have two cats, Momo (turning 1 in a few weeks) and Beanie (turned 1 a few months ago), and thankfully they get a long really well. I had Momo (she was about 5-6mos old) for about 3-4 months before bringing in Beanie (about 8-9mos old). Momo had acted out when I was home because she wanted more and more attention when we would play with her for 30-45 min after coming home from work. If I was focused on something else, she would jump on me or attack me. If I was doing dishes, she would jump on my back and claw into my shirt, meowing. That all stopped when we brought Beanie in - having another cat gave her someone to play with and watch, giving her something to do.

Does your cat act out for attention or more play time? When you first got her, did you see how she was with other cats, or was she raised alone? I think you should consider these things, along with financial commitment. Our cat Beanie was having health issues recently and we were hit with an unexpected $641 bill.

@escia  sorry you had such a rough time with your cats, but you bring up an excellent point. OP should pay attention to her cat's behavior.

My cat Charlie would not eat or use the litter box until i came home (he was with his litter mates at the shelter, and upon adoption i asked about adopting one of his sisters too, but someone else had already adopted her). He was missing his litter mates and it really showed in his behavior. When i was not home, he would be hiding the whole time and would not eat or use the litter box. When i came home he would eat, use the litter box, and want to play ALL NIGHT and would not leave me alone. That's when i decided to get my 2nd cat Jet. She turned out to be a sickly cat, costing me a total of over 800 over the first two months of having her from vet bills to meds to diff types of foods (not to mention i also had to take time off work to take care of her). My 3rd (and hopefully FINAL cat) Gunther was a street cat. Poor guy almost followed me into the street so i had to bring him home...and now he's part of the family. lol

 

[jandcrosewolf]

So my fiance and I have been discussing whether or not to get another cat to keep our fairly new cat company while we are gone. Right now we are just talking about it seeing as we just got laid off, but when we do get new jobs, it will be in the next town over, so we will be gone about 12hrs of the day sometimes. I mean our cat is fine entertaining herself for hours, but I still feel really bad for leaving her alone. I already know that I should get a cat close to her age, and I love kittens, but I want to get an adult cat who is sweet but less adoptable.

 

Ok I will have to wait until we get home to read all of the replies because my phone isn't cooperating with me.
But here is all about zelda that I left out

We got her on August 14th, my fiance and I were at the park fishing later in the evening to celebrate our 2 year engagement anniversary. A black car zoomed in, opened a door dropped out a cat and the took off back down the road.
We coaxed her into my arms with some of the bacon(we almost named her bacon but thats her middle name) I was using for bait we took her home and fed her, she has been our little Princess Zelda ever since then. She has a big personallity and loves to love on us and talkes to us, and she loves to play. but she only plays with her toys when we are home. As soon as we leave she goes straight to our bedroom and sleeps all day until we get home, then she wants to play all night. We just got back from taking her to the vet and the groomer, and she has an appointment to be spayed on the 10th of november. The vet puts her at a year old because she was lactating when we got her.
If we do decide to get another cat it will be male around her age, and neutered. My fiance will most likely be home more than me. So she can watch them.

 

[lamiatron]

Ok I will have to wait until we get home to read all of the replies because my phone isn't cooperating with me.
But here is all about zelda that I left out

We got her on August 14th, my fiance and I were at the park fishing later in the evening to celebrate our 2 year engagement anniversary. A black car zoomed in, opened a door dropped out a cat and the took off back down the road.
We coaxed her into my arms with some of the bacon(we almost named her bacon but thats her middle name) I was using for bait we took her home and fed her, she has been our little Princess Zelda ever since then. She has a big personallity and loves to love on us and talkes to us, and she loves to play. but she only plays with her toys when we are home. As soon as we leave she goes straight to our bedroom and sleeps all day until we get home, then she wants to play all night. We just got back from taking her to the vet and the groomer, and she has an appointment to be spayed on the 10th of november. The vet puts her at a year old because she was lactating when we got her.
If we do decide to get another cat it will be male around her age, and neutered. My fiance will most likely be home more than me. So she can watch them.

hMM. if you're really considering a second cat, I would wait till your princess has been fixed, and at least 1 more month has passed, so all her hormones, or at least most have left her body by then. Your adorable little princess can quickly become aggressive and mean towards the new comer, you'd be surprised. at least having waited till she's been spayed, you don't have to worry about her being as aggressive or territorial or as stand offish as she would be if she was not fixed. 

 

[jandcrosewolf]

 
hMM. if you're really considering a second cat, I would wait till your princess has been fixed, and at least 1 more month has passed, so all her hormones, or at least most have left her body by then. Your adorable little princess can quickly become aggressive and mean towards the new comer, you'd be surprised. at least having waited till she's been spayed, you don't have to worry about her being as aggressive or territorial or as stand offish as she would be if she was not fixed. 

lol well that was our initial plan, seeing as we might be getting a new apartment after december that's when we will look into getting another cat

 

[catman513]

Cats are territorial. Most all of the problems in this forum stem from interactions in multiple cat households. I have been a one cat household for 35 years and never have any behavior problems. I have video security cameras all over the place and my cat goes about his day with no misery. He follows the sun around the house, visits his automatic food machine every hour or so, and I usually have to call him when I get home.