Would a second cat really sort the problem??

[WakeyTryingAgain]

I have a beautiful tortoiseshell cat, she is 10 months old next week and is my PRECIOUS (yes say it like gollum). But she is pretty badly behaved. We got her at 8 weeks exactly, we wanted to wait until 11 but the owner was going to get rid of her if we didn't take her. And she was ridiculously tiny but very spirited and balshy.
She has been spayed, chipped and integrated into the family rather well and is an only cat. But her play fighting has become silly. She will jump at your arm like an attack dog and bite and scratch until you physically throw her off. She scratches the furniture but it seems she does it just for attention.
We are about to install a cat flap so she can go out as she pleases but for now she's kept in during the day and. As a little adventure from about 6-9 each night.

My DP thinks that she needs a playmate as she was taken from her litter too early (she was the last to leave as the others were gone at 6 weeks!!)
Her mum is pregnant again (despite me offering to pay for her to be spayed!) and he wants one of the new kittens when they arrive.

Is he right does she need a friend?
I have a feliway plug in, used the feliway spray but they haven't made a difference, and sometimes her behaviour is lush and she's purry and cuddly and lovely but we are finding it difficult to deal with her Alsatian impression!

Any help?? Or will she grow out of it alone??

I heard Tortys are notoriously badly behaved and ours was a bit of a madam! We got her a playmate and she hated her so I honestly don't think it's the solution or you might end up with two ass pains ....sounds like she is going through a "toddler" phase and she should grow out of it!

She's a torty, they have a reputation for being a bit feisty.

Once you fit a flap she will find more interesting things to chase.

Poor you though

I have heard this so much about torties! Funnily enough only after we got her!
At the moment she is curled up on the sofa, an inch out of stroking reach, but close enough for her to feel secure. She is a funny little thing.

I can't wait to have the flap fitted, it's a sureflap to work with her microchip (thanks mn litter tray for the idea!) but we just have to wait for a new glass door to fit it into!

And I definitely don't want to get another one if it's going to stress my little madam out further (although the mum cat does make beautiful kits!)

I don't think more cats solve cat problems. They are solitary critters. Unless they've always been together, like siblings or mother/ offspring. Also if she has behavioural isshoos, they might be inherited from the mother, so it's half sibling is more likely to be affected. Oh, and you'd be encouraging the mother's feckless owners to continue breeding from her.

We had a torty once. ONCE.

I'm having a nice black cat when the time comes.

I've already offered her money to get the cat done. And offered to take her in in the past because the owner 'hates cats' in her own words but she makes about 30 quid a kitten usually and this will be the mums 3rd litter and she's not 3 years old yet!

I took in crazycat because the girl couldn't sell her and was just going to 'set her free'!!!

Poor cats going to breed till she drops isn't she? What a way to make money.

I don't think another cat will help at all. I also don't think it's play fighting. I had one like this. This behaviour escalated and she would hide and jump out and attack us and the other sweet-natured dogs and cats. She particularly hated me (even though I was the one who saved her from being pts ). I had to use long gardening gloves to get her into her basket to take her to vet, administer meds etc. She was a liability tbh, but we stuck with her to the end.

It's a long time since we had a torty, but I can't remember her being any trouble at all! Maybe it's just the kitten stage, I was quite small when she arrived, she then stayed 18 years! (Tinkerbell was her name).

Fluffycloudland I am having trouble with my all black boy cat. I have 2 girls who are a black and white mix and they are what I would call 'normal', eat, sleep, go out, etc.

The black boy, however, who is the sibling of one of the girls, is a yibbering wreck, clingly to me, follows me to work, meows constantly, has no backbone and cowers in submission to all the other local mogs. Worst of all he pees in the house and on my worktops! Think again!!

Noo! He will be mommys little boy & not wee.

Ours wees anyway if his tray isn't perfect so I'm used to it.

I have a Bengal - a high energy, high maintenence, non-stop frenzy of loveliness. I got a second cat - a low energy, low maintenence, highly bewildered ball of fuzz.

Sadly, my second cat spend much of his first year very ill so wasn't quite the playmate I'd imagined. He's now much better and has he moments when he helps the Bengal burn off some of her energy.

At 10 months, you'll need to get a kitten rather than an older cat. And yes, it will give her a wrestle mate. Mine have a good run around and chase together around twice a day.

I'd also recommend you get a boy cat. Female cats tend to find male cats less threatening than a female.

Oh, I forgot to say that at 10 months your kitten is very much an angst-riven teenager and she will grow out of some of her behaviour.

But as a tortie - she'll still remain a little on the fiesty side!

We have had out rescue Tortie for nearly a year and she's calmed a lot now. Loves sitting on laps and being stroked but when she's had enough she will attack the hand. But I've learnt to read her better when she's got to overstimulated and stop in time to save myself the pain!

She is bold and feisty and I love her. Brilliant around the kids, not scared and likes watching them play. Goes out and guards her territory scaring off cats twice her size with her fearsome swearing.

Lives happily with our tabby rescue who was here before her. He soon learnt she will play chase a bit but will not be pounced on. He is twice her size literally so I get her point. They now share food, treats, sofa, sleep on my bed together at time and watch each other. She will run up and sniff his face when he comes in from a hunting trip to see where he's been and he brings her a mouse every so often to play with.

Firstly I would let her out for her few hours during the day as most cat fights, road traffic accidents etc happen in the dark so the daytime is by far and away the safest time to let her out.
She may love a new playmate she may hate it cats are funny things. I would consider a lot of the behaviour you are seeing as normal young cat behaviour particular in an entirely indoor cat, she is making her own cat games. It does lessen when they get to go outside as they do that stuff outside and also between about 1 year and 18months it settles any way.
Have you tried exhausting her with a laser pen, fishing toy or even my new latest find cat games on a tablet?