Getting two kittens - any advice?

[playnicely]

So I was there for the birth of my friends' cat's kittens 2 weeks ago. She had 5 but unfortunately 2 subsequently died. There are 2 female and 1 male. My friend is thinking of keeping one and thinks she should keep one of the females because it would work out better for the mother to have another female in the house?

So we would then have a male and female kitten. Would this be OK? I have only ever had a single male cat before so have no experience or knowledge of the best "pairings". Would they attempt to mate? Forgive my ignorance!

Any advice greatly appreciated [busmile]

boing bump

They would attempt to mate so get them 'sorted' as soon as they're old enough. Other than that you should be fine. My friend has a brother & sister pair of cats and she's had no problems with them.

hi ive got a brother and sister combo, when jasper was about 5 months old he started to show a bit too much interest in his sister so i got him neutered first then his sister a couple of weeks later, some vets now will neuter at 16 weeks or 1kg others still go for six months, all i can say is my two are like one cat with two heads they eat, sleep, and play together and am so glad i got two, they do have the odd spat mainly because jojo the girl is bossy and jasper is timid but would definitely reccomend a pair from the same litter

Thanks ikiboo. Ah issey6cats am hoping for a similar close relationship from this brother and sister (though obviously not in the "mating" sense!). Won't be picking them up for another 6 weeks at least so will ask advice from the vet closer to this date. I lost our old cat in January unexpectedly - he was only 9 years old. I have forgotten the whole schedule of events now ie. when they get their vaccinations, when you let them out for the first time, when you get them neutered/spayed. Will be sticking around here for some advice [busmile]

awww i hope they are like my pair who are currently running riot round the front room nutters, vaccinations round about 11-13 weeks with follow up two weeks later, letting out round about 5-6 months and like you i lost my 12 year old a few weeks ago short illness at the moment so tempted by a one eyed four month old kitten at the rescue i work at hes adorable but dont know if i want to go back to 5 cats again

Sibling pairs usually have no problems with each other (except the mating thing) they will often continue to groom each other throughout life.

We have a brother/sister pair and have had no problems with them. We had them both neutered at the same time aged 6months. They were hilarious as kittens, chasing each other and play fighting. Now they are a little more laid back but you will still see them snuggled together sleeping and grooming each other. I'm so glad we got them both [busmile]

Vajazzler that is so lovely. We are besides ourselves with excitement at the thought of two little kittens. I think I might be more excited than the kids

Our bengal was trying to mate with his sister when we bought him.

Cat are mostly solitary creatures and don't stay attached to litter-mates once they grow up so it doesn't matter what combination of sexes you have, assuming they will both be neutered.

I bought a male and sister from the same litter 3 weeks ago. They are crazy. She is definitely the brains of the outfit. Having litter mates seems to settle them into the new home faster, they play together and sleep together.

Stay on top of the neutering and it should be a win/win situation, IME definitely better than having a cat then getting a new one subsequently.

female cats will always be the boss out of any household because feline is a matriarchal setup

Ah we are getting 2 new kittens too, probably around the same time as they are only about 2 weeks old just now. I've only ever adopted young or older cats before, never had kittens. Like you, I am sooooo excited. My last cat had to be pts a couple of weeks ago but he was nearly 19. These 2 are meant to be for the children as my cat would never have tolerated new pets being introduced to the house when he was here but secretly I am even more excited than them. Do you want to be kitten buddies? We can share our really cute, amusing kitten stories without boring the rest of the world lol

We have bro/sis twins..

Has been fantastic. She runs the show up to a point, and lets him know if he oversteps the line. They went through a patch of hating each other 5 years ago, but then we stuck them in a cattery when we got married and the balance of power changed and it's much more balanced now. They do still prefer their own space and their own time with me and DH, but have been known to curl up asleep in a corner together.

We got him done first at 5 months, and then she was done 2 weeks later as she was so much smaller than him.