Should I get a second cat to keep mine company?? Need to make a quick decision

[ramarama]

I have a super friendly one year old Burmese female. I think she could do with company during the day (as i'm heading back to work soon) A 2 year old Abyssinnian female with similar sounding temperament needs rehomed and i'm torn as to whether I should take her.

I'm mainly worried about pissing off my current cat/ruining our chilled house hold dynamic. It could be great but what if it's not?

Anyone have any disaster stories to put me off, after attempting the same thing? Or stories of proper cat bonding after adding a second cat to the household at this age. Any advice welcome as I need to decide pretty soon or risk losing her to someone else.

(for reference, it's not a breed that comes up often, even as kittens, so it's really rare for adults to become available)

Nightmare here. While they appeared to get on, grooming, playing, sleeping etc, the territory issues showed up in spraying and other stress behaviours. Ended up separating them after they blew the electrics too many times and fried several toasters and a dvd player.

Tried everything. Fwiw as well my vet said this kind of thing is worse in oriental cats, and his personal issue was abyssinians, he thought thats what one of mine was to start- she was part siamese though.

I know someone who got a second cat for company, unfortunately the cats never got on at all.

I got another Persian when mines sister died. Original cat gets on much better with this one than with her sister. But they are both similar temperaments and very chilled out.

We have three unrelated cats and they all get along absolutely fine.

But I've always gone against the official advice and just let them get on with it - we've never done scent swapping, nor have we spent weeks keeping them apart so they can acclimatise!

Thanks all for responses! Still undecided.

We likewise mixed cats at different ages growing up without much issue BUT this is a flat rather than a house - ground floor with outside space, and split level, but it will feel small in winter if we have warring cats inside it.

@Reallyreallyborednow your tale is making me err on the side of no!

(If they are both female then spraying shouldn't be an issue??)

NB should add that she's coming from a (small scale?) breeder who don't want her as she's too small to breed. She therefore is very used to other cats and also children (they've sent a short video and she does look super affectionate)

I'd have thought this would make her more malleable to a new cat environment?

We did this twice, with all female cats. First kitten we had, we got another unrelated after about 3 months. Initially the original cat wasn't impressed, much hissing etc. but within days they were snuggled up together and they adored each other until original cat was killed on the road age 1. Remaining cat was really heartbroken, followed me around miaowing and we got another kitten after 2 months of this. Again initially original cat was unamused, especially as the age gap was bigger and kitten wanted to play a lot. But original cat eventually started to mother her, would wash her etc. They rub along together fine as adult cats, I genuinely think they would miss each other if one were to go. Im not sure how it would go introducing 2 adult cats of similar age though, I think what worked for us was the clear hierarchy established by age.

Female cats spray too (.I know from bitter experience, kettle, toaster and doormat were favourites) we had females that didn't bond, didn't fight but did spray, I'm so glad now not to have that to deal with although o do miss having a cat

No. Cats don't have friends.

If you want a second cat then do it, but read up about cat introductions, be prepared to go very slow and to basically have 2 cats co-existing together.

I have 2 cats, we are 2 months in since arrival of second and he was known to be laid back and friendly with other cats.

Silky cat is about barely tolerating him. Maybe in 6 months she will have stopped growling.

No. Don’t do it. Too much stress if they don’t get on.

Cats don’t need company

@ramarama all our cats are indoor cats if that helps. Two males (aged 6 and 1) and a female aged 5.

We got the female first, adopted the male about 9 months later, and then got the youngest last year. They're all neutered too.

We've honestly never had anything more than the odd hiss and swipe. No fights, no issues sharing food, water or trays. Nothing.

I do think this tendency to humanise cats doesn't help. I love watching Jackson Galaxy but I think the whole thing of introducing cats over 6-8 week periods is a bit bonkers

@cupsofcoffee thats exactly what we did too. All settled in a matter of days.

Ten years ago we bought two beautiful kittens, brother and sister. After one year the little girl went out one night and nine years later has still never came back. She was chipped, we posted fliers, contacted all the local cat places, nothing

We did look into having another girl, a lovely young rescue cat who we went to see. In the end we decided against it and we don't regret it. Our boy has always seemed happy and we didn't want to risk making him unhappy

hmmmm. i'm erring on the side of not getting her....because it feels like the easier option.

I thought an adult might be easier if we know in advance what their temperament is, but yes, maybe the only chance of it working is a clearer heirarchy by at some point introducing a kitten

Also be 100% honest with yourself, are you doing it for your cat or you ?

I find it interesting reading all the negative responses on these threads.

I've never ever experienced anything negative between our cats beyond the first day or two of wariness. They all sleep together in a pile, groom each other, share beds, toilets and food with zero issue whatsoever.

We've never ever had growling, accidents outside of litter trays or problems with spraying etc.

I think doing overly slow introductions can be less than beneficial tbh. If they met outdoors they wouldn't spend weeks scent swapping or being fed apart for months on end.

I know that's a controversial opinion on here though and I'm prepared to get slammed for it

[quote InpatientGardener]@cupsofcoffee thats exactly what we did too. All settled in a matter of days. [/quote]
It's weird how fast they sort it out between themselves tbh.

I do think humans make these things worse sometimes!

I get general moggy rescue types so can’t comment on pedigrees but I’ve always had success introducing and mixing younger cats. And I think they’re happier for it - young cats need more play and stimulation. Had a problem once trying to introduce 2 adult females (mine was 10 years at that point). I think she was too old by that point.

They might hiss & growl for a bit but surely they will establish hierarchy & then just get on with it...if they don't love each other then they will just determinedly ignore each other with the odd swipe when pissed off. Can't you introduce even & see how that goes? It cd be the best thing ever for both...

My neighbour just chucked hers in together. Years later one still lives in the porch and when they are together they have proper fights, not just an odd swipe.

@AnnaMagnani

My neighbour just chucked hers in together. Years later one still lives in the porch and when they are together they have proper fights, not just an odd swipe.

But as you can see from the thread, doing it slowly doesn't guarantee success either.

I'd rather do it quickly and then if I find out they really hate each other, the newcomer can be re-homed somewhere where they'll be an only cat.

It was easy to introduce my 2. They are half brothers but i don't believe they ever met when they were at the breeders home prior. They are Ragdolls so notoriously laidback. They were young adults when introduced (I think one was 1 year, the other 2 years old). The original cat, the younger one, immediately went low to show submissiveness, and there was one hiss from the dominant older one. Then it was all over and they adored each other and have ever since.

It really depends on the cat. My sister's cat was devastated when his older brother (from a different litter) died and would sit at the window crying if he saw a similar-looking cat pass by. She got another kitten and that cheered him up.

@Sunnyday321 Haha! valid question but think I actually am doing it for the cat.

I go away sometimes for the weekend, think she would be happier with some company. She's the type who follows us from room to room, plays fetch, tolerates the overly adoring child......

All the differing opinions on here sound like the conversation in my brain....

When i last had cats we always just mixed them and it was usually fine - one notable exception but he was a rescue with other 'issues' anyway. But bigger house, more outside space, diffferent country....