Should we get another cat?

[MildredHubblesCat]

We recently lost our beloved boy cat after 12 years and wasnt sure if we should get another. We have a 15 year old girl cat who got along great with our boy and I am not sure how she would handle a new addition? I was thinking of a younger male cat again as that worked last time but do you think it would stress her out? She was only 2.5 when we got our boy and she is obviously considerably more elderly now! I just feel like we have a hole in our family now and feel sad that my girl is on her own.

She could well be thoroughly enjoying being on her own now with everyone dancing attendance on her. How is she behaving?

It really is hard to say, but if you find the right cat - any shelter will know which cats like other cats and which don't, then the chances are it will be fine.

There will likely be some hissing at first but they should end up at worst tolerating each other and at best close friends.,

She didnt seem to notice at first and wasnt any different but this last week or so she has been really clingy and following us around the house a lot. It has only been a couple of weeks since we lost him though so perhaps she would settle down?

Depends what you mean by 'settle'. I suspect that at her age, she'll turn back more to the humans - but that doesn't mean that she'll be unhappy doing that. What would the people in the household want in terms of the balance?

Well I would like another cat I think but I wouldnt want to upset her especially as she is getting on a bit, I dont want her miserable for her last few years! I also worry that she misses the company when we are busy with work and school etc but I am probably projecting human feelings on to her.

You could be just a little. Older cats sleep a lot and tend to adjust their activity to the times when their people are around - so she might not be too unhappy to snooze away in comfort during the day.

I think you have time to decide anyway - maybe give it a few weeks to see what happens?