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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Looking for advice on mixing cats?

11 replies

ArielsShinyFork · 27/08/2014 20:42

Hi, we have a three year old British short hair, he was a rescue cat but we have had him from being a kitten.

He's a very chilled chap, tends to sleep/eat all day and then becomes very playful in the evening, and occasionally likes to venture into the garden.

We have been thinking of getting another cat, both so he has a playmate and also because we would like to add to our family . When other cats visit our garden our cat loves to play with them so I think he would enjoy the company of another cat.

I just have some questions on how would be the best way, would I be better getting a male or female cat? A young or adult cat? How would be best to introduce them slowly and to avoid any conflict?

Any advice on this would be brilliant, thank you for reading.

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ArielsShinyFork · 28/08/2014 08:58

Bump

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cozietoesie · 28/08/2014 09:07

Good morning Ariels

Here's some guidance on introducing a kitten. And here on introducing an adult cat.

As to which you should go for - Lordy. It so much depends on the cat(s) involved. I think my own preference would be to introduce a youngster (as being less threatening) but then kittens can be a right PITA because they're so full on.

What sort of house and family have you got?

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JadeJ123 · 28/08/2014 09:23

I have a Older Male Bengal and wanted to get him a friend so went and bought a female kitten as they'd get on better a good breeder should be able to help you

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ArielsShinyFork · 28/08/2014 09:25

Hi Cozie, thank you for the links. Will have a good read of them.

It's a pretty quiet household, just me, 2 year old DD and the cat at the mo. Pretty small house but a decent garden.

A female cat used to visit us last year and our cat was quite submissive with her, would let her eat all his food and play with his toys etc with no problems, do you think that's a good sign? I wouldn't want him to feel pushed out but he does seen to love the company of other cats! I saw him showing two cats around DDs Wendy house the other day

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ArielsShinyFork · 28/08/2014 09:28

Thanks Jade, think a female is the way to go. Will talk to a breeder

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cozietoesie · 28/08/2014 09:32

.....showing two cats around DDs Wendy house the other day.....

A male cat will usually cede dominance to a female and he may just be a really nice and placid boy as well. (I'd have introduced anything to The Lodger who was brought up on the street and had great cat manners as well as being a thorough gentleman. Seniorboy (my old Siamese) is a whole different ball game though. He's a natural singleton.)

Sounds as if you have a lot of extra cats on the block, though? Do they come in your garden/house?

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ArielsShinyFork · 28/08/2014 09:42

Well we moved house last year, at the old house there was a lot of cats and they would often come in the garden and occasionally pop in the house. At our new house there are not so many cats around, we have had a couple.of cats pop in the garden on their travels but none have come inside.

Our cat coped with the house move very well, he is very laid back and placid . The only problem we've had is when a friends dog came to visit, he wasn't keen and hid on top of my wardobe for hours

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cozietoesie · 28/08/2014 09:51

Cats usually get on with dogs in my experience - although depending on the breed. (I've found that in the longer term, they're better with the big flobbly ones rather than the terrier types who may have ratting in their bloodlines.) Maybe he just wasn't used to the size of it and couldn't read its body language etc. A couple of hours in a high place is actually quite sensible (keeping out of the way while seeing what the lie of the land is like) so not anything to worry about really.

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ArielsShinyFork · 28/08/2014 09:58

Yes that makes sense, it was a small yappy dog. He's mixed with a boxer before with no issues.

Thank you for your advice, will have a good read of the links you sent me and decide where to go from there

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Pipbin · 28/08/2014 15:27

Friends recently did this as they had a cat who came with a sibling. The sibling passed away and they wanted number one cat to have a friend.

They got new cat and put her in one room of the house only for a few days. Then they shut number one cat in one room and let new cat mooch about a bit. This let her smell get about a bit and mean that he could get used to her. Then they introduced them after doing this for about a week.

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ArielsShinyFork · 01/09/2014 10:23

Hello just wanted to thank you again for your advice. I had a good research and decided the best thing would to get a female kitten. She's currently nuzzling on my shoulder .

Following all advice on keeping both separate for now and giving existing boy cat lots of love and attention. Things are going great!

She is a lovely black/chocolate brown colour. She is very playful and affectionate. She is very full on but I have got a lot of time to devote to her at the moment so im happy I've made the right decision.