Should we take on another cat?

[GermanHouseCat]

Three years ago, DH and I adopted a stray cat who we believe had been kicked out of his home. He was shy and insecure but instantly affectionate, which has developed. He is now a happy boy and very affectionate, cheeky and generally the boss of the household. We absolutely adore him.

We have been approached about a female cat who needs a new home as her parents are moving overseas and can't take her with them. She is beautiful and sounds like she has a lovely personality. She is used to living with other cats.

Emotionally I would love to take her on, but I have the following reservations -

1. First and foremost, impact on current cat. He is my main responsibility and I cannot have him unhappy in the home he has come to trust and love. He does seem to have some feline "friends" in the garden who he tolerates and even plays with, but then will fight with other cats. He is so affectionate with humans, even new humans, but I don't know if that would translate?

1. Integration period. DH and I are both extremely busy at work at the moment, right up until Christmas we are travelling a lot and while one of us will be sleeping at home, we'll be doing long hours at the office and neither of us will be able to dedicate days on end to helping the cats integrate.

1. Holidays. At the moment my DF looks after current cat when we go away together. There is a big difference between one cat being looked after (we take him to DF's house) and two. Money's not an issue, we could pay for cat sitters.

Despite this, I love the idea of having two cats who like each other, and I hate the thought of this lovely cat needing a home.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions/thoughts please?

Much appreciated, meow.

I think mostly I am terrified that my current cat will be so upset that he'll leave home and find somewhere else. Although he's only a moggie people fall in love with him because he's so affectionate.

Yes, he is my PFB

Hopeful bump

the fact that the other cat is a girl is good as opposite sex would say no if both girls, i would maybe try a trial for a week and see how that goes, i have just rehomed charlie my stray i took in two weeks ago , when i took him in he was a bundle of nerves and very meh about the other cats in the house, the home hes gone to has a female resident cat already and two children which is something hes not used to on a resident basis visiting grandchildren here

i had a phone call the other day to say he has settled in very well to be honest i was expecting the lady to say have him back hes not settled but thank god it has worked and it sounds like hes having a whale of a time with people who adore him

Our kitten joined our household in June. I thought he'd be good company for resident cat, who is very neurotic. At first I thought I'd made a terrible mistake, as MCat seemed to hate MKitten. A few months later, they are thick as thieves, even having a cuddle and grooming each other.

To be honest it doesn't matter that you don't immediately have time to introduce the two, as they would need to live seperately for a week or so first, and then start getting introduced to each others smell on blankets before the actual meetings. After that, start with 20 min meetings and then work your way up. It won't go well at first probably, but in my experience it never does, and friendship takes a while and comes long after mere tolerance and acdeptance. Most cats dont get along with neighbour hood cats, so I wouldn't use that as a guide.

Sometimes it can take months for cats to learn to live comfortably alongside one another, so don't expect an immediate result.

My cat was a feral, and as a result we have to keep her separate from our other two. Having committed to being her owner, I couldn't discard her now. Just be sure that, if you do take on a new cat and it doesn't work out, that you have a plan for keeping them both, but separately. I would also say don't let your original cat outdoors while the inroductory period is going on.

Personally I wish I had not readily taken on other discarded cats as they are usually problem cats and don't get along with each other easily. You get more out of a lone cat as a pet in my opinion. Then again, my younger cat takes good care of my oldest cat, who needs someone to help wash his wee ears and cuddle him when it gets cold, and they are sweet together. But you know yourself whether your cat likes other pets. How does your cat react to visiting dogs? Curious, or outright hostility? This, I think, is a better guide to how the friendship with another cat will go than the interactions with neighbourhood cats who are comepting for territory.

Cat intros done properly usually work in my experience - take your time and don't push them together - we've done 8 intros over the last 20 or so years and while they haven't all been best friends they usually at least tolerate each other and we've never had one leave home yet.

Our first cat used to play with our neighbours' cat until they moved away, we got a second cat in the hope they would get on. They were never friends but they got on OK. We no longer have the original 2 but the others all get on OK - cat1 keeps herself to herself and pretends she's an only cat most of the time. Cats 2 and 3 are brothers from different litters and get on well. Cats 4,5 and 6 are from the same mum but again different litters - the oldest and youngest (both girls) dislike each other but both love their brother. Cat 7 also adores the brother and they often cuddle up together. There are alliances between different ones (cat 1 and cat 4 get on OK sometimes) cat 7 gets on well with almost everyone except cat 4 who is very defensive so its more her problem than his. Cat 7's mum has just had kittens again (she's pedigree maine coon) and I'd love to have one but OH has put his foot down and been sensible - he thinks 7 cats are enough!