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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.

Get him a friend?

1 reply

user1471548941 · 06/07/2022 09:11

We adopted the biggest, cuddiest FIV+ ginger cat from the RSPCA last year. Super affectionate, chatty, LOVES our company, you can’t leave a room without him and he even comes to the loo with me!!!

I’ve been delighted that he has settled beautifully as a house cat and doesn’t show any interest in going outside, except when next doors ginger kitten now comes into our garden, when he makes the saddest little meows- I think because he wants to be friends!!!!

he also went to the cattery for 2 weeks whilst we went on our honeymoon and they commented on how much he loved the other cats and human company and recommended getting him a companion!

We currently live in a 1 bed so getting another cat was out of the question as we felt it was too small/ didn’t have enough rooms to do gradual introductions. However we are about to move to a much bigger 3 bed house, so it’s back on the table!

firstly- is it the right thing to do? We feel like we hit the jackpot with our boy, so would we be just rocking the boat unnecessarily? Getting another cat is not for us, we are happy with just the one- it’s something we would do because we feel he would like it, but how do we know 100% he will appreciate another cat and actually he doesn’t just love being the centre of our worlds?!

if it is, do we hunt out another adult FIV rescue? We would rescue rather than buy but how is introducing 2 adult cats? I have a big (6kg) cat who was a stray for 4 years so I presume was fighting and territorial, though he’s now been “done” so is much more chilled! Male or female? The rescue we got our boy from has another FIV+ male at the moment who sounds also sociable and playful with a similar background but do we need similar or different? What if I don’t hit the jackpot again and new cat is not happy indoors?

or do we get a kitten? This is what the cattery recommended, saying that if it only ever is an indoor cat, it will know no different, but I think cats can have so many different personalities and have had cats in the past who would only ever be happy if they could roam and you can’t really tell until they grow up, so this feels like a gamble? Also, what would my boy prefer, adult or kitten?!

so many questions!!!! Any thoughts?!

OP posts:
IodineQueen · 06/07/2022 11:46

Congratulations on your lovely cat!

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to a second cat so have done a fair bit of research. My impression is that adding a second tom can be risky. If you wanted to go down the kitten route, I would recommend female indoorsy breeds like British shorthairs, ragdolls or Persians.

I’ve had my BSH boy since he was a kitten and he’s very happy lounging around the house. He does join me on the balcony sometimes (on his harness just in case) but he runs back inside after a few minutes and never pines to go out. BSH cats are known for being gentle, laid back, easy-going and sociable with other pets. I don’t know much about ragdolls and Persians other than that they tend to be content as indoor cats, but worth looking into!

A reputable breeder (look for GCCF registered) would be happy to take the kitten back if it didn’t work out for whatever reason.

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