Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The litter tray

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

Original poster

Anyone had two male kittens?

48 replies

ifonly4 · 14/08/2018 07:27

Just wondered if anyone has had two male kittens? If so, did they get on okay together or did they fight? Was one more territorial? Were they home loving/human loving?

We had a boy and a girl before who seemed to just tolerate eachother. She was indoors and loving, he was independent and only really became a softie in old age. Just wondering what two males could be like longterm.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
YetAnotherSpartacus · 14/08/2018 12:26

Mmmmm if there are three I reckon that leaving them for someone who could take all three is fairest - maybe unrealistic, but ...

AreWeDoingThisNow · 14/08/2018 12:29

My boys did have a few adolescent scraps, despite being neutered asap, but got over it.

(I'd have taken all three but their sister was dead and went to an indoor only home)

AreWeDoingThisNow · 14/08/2018 12:29

*deaf

😳

Aprilshowersinaugust · 14/08/2018 12:29

Maybe if we came up with trio names the op would be able to sway her dh??

YetAnotherSpartacus · 14/08/2018 12:37

For some reason, I just thought of Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail...

wellhonestly · 14/08/2018 12:38

Oh dear, I am obviously bucking the trend here, but I got 2 litter-mates and they only tolerate each other. They got on well as kittens, we got them neutered quite early when they started to scrap/try and hump each other (I was mostly concerned about them learning to spray, tbh).

Eight years on, they mostly do their own thing. Occasionally they might have a very minor scrap (the usual aggressor is actually rubbish at fighting so gets seen off quite quickly), especially if they are getting hungry. They never curl up together or anything like that.

IllHaveALargeGlassOfRed · 14/08/2018 12:54

Not kittens at the same time but when my oldest boy was about 4 we got a 14 week old boy. I thought, naively, that bigger boy would take little boy under his wing so to speak. Nope. He hated him on sight. 7 years later he still hates him 😀

Iwouldratherbemuckingout · 14/08/2018 12:57

Ha ha - I went to choose 2/3 too - yup, all 3 came home with me! 2 boys were litter mates and the other boy was a little abandoned scrap who they had taken under their wing. No issues at all, played, snuggled etc together and just a joy. Especially when all 3 came and snuggled me together.

Dumbledoresgirl · 14/08/2018 13:05

Another person bucking the trend, and actually quite surprised to read so many positive stories about brothers getting on as I have been led to believe this is not common.

I have 2 brothers. I have had them since they were 3 months old, they are now 13 years old. They have never done more than tolerate each other. They have never groomed each other, never sit together, in fact usually one will leave the room if the other comes in.

Weirdly, the least human friendly of the two now has a better relationship with my third cat, another boy, only just 2 years old, and both older boys tolerate the whippersnaller better than they do their brother.

I would never have brothers again.

Dumbledoresgirl · 14/08/2018 13:07

*whippersnapper

AlonsoTigerHeart · 14/08/2018 13:09

Will you posters telling her to get all three even though Op says she can't be paying the insurance,vet check bills and food for the extra one?

HirplesWithHaggis · 14/08/2018 13:22

My littermate brothers are 14 months old and came to me at eight weeks (leaving two sibs who also went to loving homes). I already had a 12 y o male and did worry how they might all get along, but they're fine. Sometimes they sleep together - notably during the winter in my draughty farmhouse - and sometimes apart, but they don't actually fight. And the kittens bring their gifts to the old boy, who appreciates them a whole lot more than I do...

Aprilshowersinaugust · 14/08/2018 13:32

Yawn at the fun police.

AlonsoTigerHeart · 14/08/2018 14:53

Yawn away.
On any other getting a cat thread the op would be asked if they could afford its food/ insurance and certainly wouldn’t be encouraged to get more then they could

WindyWednesday · 14/08/2018 14:57

If you can’t take three, maybe take one. Or wait until there are two. I couldn’t split them up if they are all brothers.

bengalcat · 14/08/2018 14:58

My two old Burmese boys adored each other

LucheroTena · 14/08/2018 15:55

My two boys adore each other. Boy cats are generally cuddlebugs and laid back if they grow up together.

Original poster
ifonly4 · 14/08/2018 16:20

To everyone suggesting we take all three, don't worry, I do understood where you're coming from.

My old boy had CKD and we really struggled with my girl in old age keeping her hyperthyroid and other levels in check - she'd often cost us £140 every two months in vets fees, on top of which they'd be tablets and changing taste buds as they got older to cater for. At 18 with a pre-existing conditions, insurance would have been expensive as well, so I just need to be realistic and hopefully give two cats lots of love and a really good life.

The charity are advertising two must be kept together but on talking to the foster carer this morning she didn't understand why and felt we could chose the two that suited us more - we'll see when we get there. On the positive side, we can't take them until 1 September (charity are aware) so hopefully the extra one will be rehomed before then.

Will let you know how we get on, although, if it's positive I'll need to start making a list of purchases for them and some online shopping first!

OP posts:
gwhizz75 · 14/08/2018 16:36

I’ve got my two brother kittens next to me right now - they’re snuggled up together and grooming each other. They are about 18 weeks old and I’m so pleased we got them both. The woman at the rescue centre said that keeping them together was the best gift anyone could ever give them which I thought was quite sweet.

They play fight a lot but never with any aggression/noise, they chase each other round the house and round the garden but they also eat together, groom each other, sleep snuggled up together and have their own little language. One of them fell in the bath a couple of weeks ago and as soon as he was out he was doing his special ‘help’ cry and his brother came running upstairs to help dry him. So cute!

Our friends have adult brother cats (adopted from a rescue centre at about 1 years old) and I don’t think they’re as affectionate with each other but they’re still together a lot of the time. Whenever we look after them, we always find them sleeping on the same bed as each other.

It sounds like maybe two of the kittens in the litter have a stronger bond and one is a bit more independent? Hopefully you’ll get a feel for the situation when you see them. There were several other kittens in the litter with ours but they were all adopted on their own. They would have split our boys if they’d had to but really wanted them to go together. I definitely don’t regret taking both - not least because they keep each other entertained!

Booboostwo · 14/08/2018 17:56

I have two brothers and they love each other. They play fight a lot and then cuddle up together to sleep.

You sound very sensible, if you have budgeted for two cats you should rehome two.

Original poster
ifonly4 · 15/08/2018 20:52

Looks like I might be joining the club with two male kitties of my own soon, just need a home check. We visited them last night, absolutely fell in love with one of them but someone else wanted him. They changed their mind, so we're getting the one we fell in love with, and his little brother who needs to be rehomed with a sibling as he's a bit more apprehensive. i'm happy about that as those two chose to be together when we went into their homing cage. They are little black and white boys with similar faces.

OP posts:
IlPorcupinoNilSodomyEst · 16/08/2018 16:12

Ah that's lovely! Pics when you get them please!

Booboostwo · 16/08/2018 21:44

Great news OP! My two are black and white, almost identical but luckily one has more white on the tip of one ear.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread