Adopting two unrelated cats together

[Okidokey]

Hi,

I am looking for some advice. We would like to adopt two kittens/young cats. We registered with a local rescue and have had a phone call offering us two cats for adoption. They are both male, 5-6 months old and have both been found separately as strays. I have been told that they play together and sometimes sleep together but obviously they are not a bonded pair, they have only been together for a few days. I have never had cats before and am wondering whether it is a good idea to adopt two unrelated cats and whether it is likely that they will get on! They are both being neutered by the rescue which presumably will help.

Any advice welcomed!

They will probably get on as well as any litter siblings.

Some adore each other and play lots, others ignore each other. Most are in between.

My personal experience is that boys get on better than girls but at 5-6 months old, there may be dominance issues which arise but they might just be young enough to avoid that being a problem, especially if they are neutered soon.

My cat gets on better with her unrelated sibling than she ever did with her own sister!

We had 2 boy kittens at the same time from 2 different breeders and had huge problems several months in with one spraying due to becoming extremely territorial and more dominant. The other boy then joined in. It might be different in this case if they’ve been introduced and are OK together, but you don’t know how being in a home will affect them, or puberty or other neighbourhood cats coming in to your garden. After our experience, I wouldn’t risk it.

If the shelter recommends them as a couple I'd be guided by them. We adopted an unrelated pair from a shelter at a similar age and they were absolutely fine together.

Get them spayed as early as possible before any spraying starts!

Agree if the shelter says they sleep together then they’re forming a bond already. My two are allegedly bonded but they hate each other - I’m sure it was just a way of getting rid of two cats to one owner

They’ll be fine, they’ll get to know you and your home together and both put their scent on things. Maybe some feliway friends plug ins to make sure they settle and lots of catnip and dreamies!

Oh and you know the rules - photos please!

Thank you all for your insights! I don't have any pictures yet but hopefully we'll go and meet them soon and see if they will be a good fit for our family!

Have you met them yet?

We had an unrelated boy/girl pair who were great pals