Shall I get another cat?

[TreeOfCats]

Hi there,

We rescued a 13 month old cat a few months ago, we know very little about her history, only that she was found abandoned in a cardboard box, covered in fleas and scabs.

When we got her the shelter specified that she is an indoor cat, due to how timid and spooky she was and also due to our house, we live on a 20mph road (but do have fields and lodges round the back of the house)

She has now massively come out of her shell and is a bold, playful little thing.

I'm wondering whether to get another cat for company for her, since she is a house cat? We play with her loads, she has her own space, a cat tree, masses of toys, im training her to do tricks so she is mentally stimulated etc, but obviously I can't replicate her playing with her own species!

What do people think?

Thank you!

I would, especially if you work. Otherwise the cat will never meet other cats

Cats don't really need company the way we think they do. If you do get another make sure they match temperamentally. Your cat will likely find it very stressful.

@pinkpotatoez I do work, I WFH a lot but go to the office too.

@JamSandle Thanks, this is our worry. She is obviously our priority and I don't want to unsettle her in anyway. I wish I could ask her what she'd prefer!

If we were to go ahead (I think we probably won't) would you say to get a male or a female? A kitten or an older cat?

We adopted a pair years ago and had ongoing problems with litter training. Our vet said they see this a lot with pairs of cats and she disliked rescues homing in pairs, because adult cats essentially prefer to live alone. Sure enough, when one died the other stopped all the nervous weeing and had a much better quality of life. Multi cat households are common so it must work for lots of people, but I guess the vet saw more of the cases that didn't work so well.

After our experience I am not inclined to get a pair again. I can really see the appeal of giving a kitten a friend, but they are only kittens for a small part of their lives. I think the ideal is single cat with outdoor access, and I'm surprised a 20mph road would be a barrier to that.

Most cats actually prefer to be an only cat I see on here regularly people being advised to get 2 but in reality many fall out as they get older and live very separate lives and at worst can turn a house into a war zone with one needing rehoming. This can include urinating in the house to mark territory ect. You do not have this issue with a single happy cat.
If your cat is happy and settled I would keep her as a single cat. It sounds like she has bonded well. Also cats can happily sleep all day whilst you work as long as they get full attention when you come home it's absolutely fine.
My mother's rescue cat was in the shelter due to falling out with his sibling. He is blissfully happy as a single cat now, hates all other cats.
Does she really need to be indoors thought with a 20mph road out front and garden and fields at back?

i work for a cat rescue and our recomendation for a resident female cat is to get a younger male cat as cat society is matriarchal and a male would not vie for dominance like another female cat would,

Thanks all.

We were erring on the side of not getting another cat anyway, I think you've all solidified that thought. I'm putting my human emotions on the cat, she seems happy and I would hate to unsettle her. We have been so lucky with her, she has fit in perfectly and its like she's always been here.

I'll be honest, we don't know what to do with regards to letting her outside. There are speed bumps on the road we live on and I see other cats wandering about, however people do drive up it fast at times, i think they use it as a cut through. My plan was to always buy a harness and take her out for walks (I know!) but it's been difficult to get even a collar on her, we managed it once and she hated it, so we haven't tried a harness yet (or the collar again).

Definitely something to think about. I've only had one cat before and he went outside as soon as he was able, but he was half Bengal and absolutely wild. This little girl is quite chilled, she is happy to sit at the window and look outside but the second the door opens she hides under the table!

Do you have much of a garden op? My aunts neighbours have a fantastic enclosed cat space outside their back door. The cats spend a lot of time out there, playing, watching the birds/neighbours. I think he calls it his catio😄 Looks similar to the pictures I’ll attach. Might be an idea if you have the space.

At 13 months you don't have a huge amount of time when she would still play with another cat. At 2 they usually calm down and fall out with their litter mates.

I have a younger male with my female, and she gets on with him but honestly the second cat was for me and she would probably be delighted to see the back of him.

They say a younger male is better with an older female but ive had a younger boy who terrorised my older female cat in the past.

@FatToFitPart3 That looks ace and is a fab idea. We have a yard really, it isnt massive but I shall have a look.

Thanks both. I would hate for another cat to terrorise her, I dont know her past and this may be the first time she's ever felt safe, i don't want to spoil it.

I think I've decided to just leave things be, she seems happy. I will now have to think about whether I should let her outside. She is such a tiny thing!

If they are happy and content, I wouldn't get another.
It's good with kittens to have 2 and a cat which loses a bonded mate can be lonely. But, many cats are quite solitary and happiest as the only cat in a household. I think my oldest cat rues the day we got a pair of kittens! She definitely preferred being a solitary cat.

It looks like you're decided but I have a completely different perspective on having multiple cats.
We got a rescue cat who was around 12 months old and he was very quickly bored of us and staying indoors (which he had to as we lived in a flat at the time).
We got 2 kittens to keep him company and after a rocky start (he was quite rough with them so needed slow introductions), they are the best of friends. 6 years on and they are all currently snuggling in bed together. They have a catflap now we're settled in a house but get along so well. I can't imagine having kept our first boy on his own all this time, he was bored and lonely.

If you let her out make sure you are there with her the first few times. She might end up requesting your presence on her outings!

I have 2 cats, a male and female but from same litter. They have never known living alone. They are 5 and are very happy. I would love another cat but too worried adding another cat into the mix might upset my two wonderful cats. If anything happened to one cat I would get another one though.

I also have a catio, we live on a street with fields behind but I cant bear the thought of our cats getting lost, stolen, injured killed on road.
We have a female and a yr later got a male kitten, they get on great

I would normally say absolutely get another cat but your cat is a stress head and she’s happy, playful and comfortable with you. There is no guarantee that she’ll like the other cat. If she doesn’t you’re going to see her become anxious and withdrawn.

My stress head little cat pees on things when she’s very anxious.

is there anyway your cat can meet another one first?

This is what we were told. We lost our elderly male cat who was worshipped by our younger female.
She had never been an only cat so we got a younger brother. She bosses him but he’s very patient with her and she’s definitely happier with him than she was without.

@Shanksponyorbust She is a stress head, 2 children (family members) visited a few weeks ago and she absolutely hated them. The second they left she sprawled out on her back in the living room, looking shell shocked 😂

If we were to get another the plan was for us to contact the rescue we got her from and just tell them what we are looking for and wait for them to contact us with something suitable, under the provision that we would introduce them and if that didn't work the new cat would go back. But I'm not sure even that is worth it now.

@BlueKaftan If I let her out I would definitely be stood there with a bag of Dreamies!

She is just so small and has already brought so much to our lives, as @Cats23 said, I am worried about something bad happening!

I should have just stuck with what I know, dogs and horses!

If your cat is a highly territorial stress head, then she doesn't want a playmate.

Mine totally meets this description and I still inflicted another cat on her. The only reason she started to get on with him was when she realised he beat up all the neighbouring cats - who she hated more than him.

Even so, if he were to die it would probably be the happiest day of her life. She didn't even miss her sister (who she was hugely bonded to) for more than about 15 minutes.

@AnnaMagnani Thank you, youre right. That's quite sweet, that he looks out for her!

Am not sure he does, he's an entitled bully outside the house.

However inside he does what she tells him. And she likes that he evicted all the other cats from 'her patio'

No one believes it as everyone else just sees the neighbourhood thug.

We have 4 cats, all adopted from the same shelter. 2 are a bonded pair and fight sometimes, snuggle sometimes but mostly ignore each other. 1 watches the other 2 but doesn't interact and gets on with her job of catting. 4th picks fights with all of them and is a dick.

Don't get another cat for Dcat1's company as it's unlikely they will bond and enjoy being with each other. But don't be put off getting another if you want a 2nd. They will learn to tolerate each other unless you get a full on dick of a kitten, who will terrorise DCat1 and you for a good 6 months.

Obligatory cat pic attached.

We got two kittens when our male cat was 1. He seemed a lot calmer and happier to have the company. I didn't realise he was lovely before. He was much less clingy once we got the younger two, and he loves playing with one of them. One of the younger ones is very friendly with the older one, and her sibling. The other younger cat ignores the older cat and vice versa, but they all seem calm and share trays well. They have a catio too.