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The litter tray

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

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Original poster

Is it ok to get 2 kittens from the same litter?

32 replies

Mckayz · 05/05/2014 06:59

We are planning on getting a couple of kittens soon. I was wondering if it is ok to get 2 from the same litter. I know it is recommended that you don't get 2 puppies from the same litter but wasn't sure about kittens.

Also are 2 males better or 2 females?

Thanks.

OP posts:

KatieKaye · 05/05/2014 07:04

Two from the same litter would be lovely! As you are planning to get two of the same sex, it doesn't matter which sex it is - I've had 2 female cats in the past and also two male cuts. Currently we have two brothers from the same litter.
Hope you get your cats soon!

JaneZane · 05/05/2014 07:05

We've always had two from the same litter and it worked brilliantly
Last two times we've had one male, one female. As long as you get them neutered promptly that works well.

ImAMonkeyMess · 05/05/2014 07:06

We have brother and sister from the same litter. They are just over a year old and get on famously, though their personalities are chalk and cheese.

Original poster

Mckayz · 05/05/2014 07:09

Thanks everyone. We are all very excited.

OP posts:

JaneZane · 05/05/2014 07:13

Some might say that bed was too small for two cats...

Is it ok to get 2 kittens from the same litter?

Neena28 · 05/05/2014 07:14

I have a ds and a Dd and matching ds and Dd cats! They've both been done. Had them 4 years ish now they're lovely and kids have 'one each' altho in reality ds' s is the more cuddly and Dd adores him!

sashh · 05/05/2014 12:47

I've fostered a couple of sibling pairs, they are lovely, they groom each other, play together and sleep together.

One piece of advice that you will not need for a long long time, when one passes away of old age, let the other one see the body.

OwlCapone · 05/05/2014 12:51

Also are 2 males better or 2 females?

I would say that any combination is fine. The only slight edge males have is that neutering is easier and doesn't leave them with a huge bald patch and stitches :)

RabidFairy · 05/05/2014 12:53

I've never heard that recommendation to not get two siblings from one dog litter. Genuinely curious now, why is that?

MILs neighbours cat had kittens and we went along to get a companion for the kitten we already had. The last two kittens were ginger brothers, totally lanky and gorgeous. We took both home and promptly named them Fred and George They are brilliant companions for each other. I'm sure your kittens will be the same.

BertieBotts · 05/05/2014 12:56

I didn't know that about dogs either. With cats we've always had two sisters or two brothers.

BertieBotts · 05/05/2014 12:57

IME I prefer females - males tend to spray even when neutered.

BertieBotts · 05/05/2014 12:59

Oh sashh that's sad :( Why is that? We lost one of our cats when she was 2, unfortunately we couldn't recover the body as it was in the middle of a dual carriageway. Her sister pined for a long time and totally changed her behaviour, but became much more of a homebody and lived to a decent age, she was about 15 I think?

bigbadbarry · 05/05/2014 13:02

Sibling pairs are lovely. We have had two sets (one was girl-girl and one girl-boy). Sadly in each case one was killed on the road :(
When i was a kid we had non-sibling pairs of cats who invariably hated each other!

AreYouFeelingLucky · 05/05/2014 13:14

Bertie that's why. They pine and grieve, otherwise. Bizarrely, they move on much quicker quicker if they are allowed to see the body.

bigbadbarry · 05/05/2014 13:18

(My current cat didn't even seem to notice when her brother died, no pining or anything. She followed me around for all of a day. Heartless so and so!)

OwlCapone · 05/05/2014 13:28

They don't necessarily pine.

tabulahrasa · 05/05/2014 13:52

Dogs don't bond properly with humans if there are two and often go on to develop behavioural issues...short article here.

Cats are very different and it doesn't cause the same issues.

sashh · 05/05/2014 14:02

BertieBotts

They seem to accept death. If they see the body they know what has happened, if they don't then they think the other one is missing and will look for them.

Yes some don't pine, but it takes seconds if you can do it.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 05/05/2014 14:05

I have two from the same litter, a boy and a girl. Wr got them snipped promptly and they get along smashing.

qazxc · 05/05/2014 14:14

Once they are neutered same sex/different sex makes no odds really.
I find that maybe neutered males tend to be a bit more soppy and stupid than females but it will largely come down to the character of the individual cat.

Birdsighland · 05/05/2014 21:57

JaneZane, you lucky thing! What strapping bundles.

Birdsighland · 05/05/2014 22:24

Sorry, JaneZane. Just saw your other thread.

StrumpersPlunkett · 05/05/2014 22:27

we have sisters from the same litter and they are like chalk and cheese.
Both very lovely though

JaneZane · 05/05/2014 22:28

No worries bird, I chose to put up the pic, they were so cute when they were little but as adults they rarely slept squashed together. My older cat and the black/tortie teamed up after the first year (which is just as well in light of recent events). Still happy to show him off, he was a handsome devil

SelectAUserName · 07/05/2014 12:33

One of the reasons behind the advice not to get two puppies from the same litter is that it is usually very difficult for the average household to find the time to train two puppies properly. You need to give them both plenty of individual attention and train them separately - if you try to train them together, they will tend to focus on playing with each other rather than on you and what you are trying to teach them.

We got SelectACat as a kitten along with one of her litter sisters, who we sadly lost last year. They were never particularly close, never slept together or played much together - the odd play fight once in a blue moon but that was it. SAC certainly didn't pine when her sister died.

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