Looking for a kitten - only seem to come in 2s

[legophoenix]

Hi, my kids are desperate for a kitten and I had it in my head that we just wanted one, but the local shelter seems to specify that the kittens can only go in pairs or to a home that already has a cat or dog.

Anyway we don't have any pets currently so I guess my question is, are two kittens harder work than one? Or would we manage ok with two?

Both DH and I had cats in the past when we were young but just one and it was a looong time ago!

Thanks 😊

I have one and he is bloody perfect 🐈

He has the best temperament and gets a huge amount of attention.

I don't think you need two.

This is your opinion though. And that’s fine! You can prefer single cats and less bills.

There is a reason kittens are rehomed in pairs, by most rescues, because they have years and years of knowledge and know what they are doing. Typically cats that have bonded as a pair when young stay bonded throughout adulthood. Of course they can scrap but like you said, they’re animals and that’s very normal.

Yes it is more expensive, but you could have a line cat get hit by a car and cost you thousands, or nothing ever happens more than needing to pay for flea and wormer. Animals are expensive however many you have and money should be carefully considered whatever the decision.

I have 1 cat. She's not lonely she's fine. A couple of cats come onto our garden regularly and she walks away. She can leave her food and come back for it later. No need to rush it incase it gets eaten. I've never known cats needing a mate?

@Ostryga no rescue centres have limited space and a huge amount of unwanted animals waiting to be rehomed. They want you to have 2 to free up more space. Which is totally understandable. I don't agree that cats should automatically be in a pair, if you want 2 fine but the option for 1 is completely fine for a instinctively solitary animal.

I once had two kittens .... grew up to hate each other :D
Would always prefer to have two, though.

I had 2 cats years ago, they very quickly grew out of the playmate relationship and lived very independently in adulthood. I have one kitten now, she does need a fair bit of interaction to stop chewing and other undesirable behaviours, that perhaps would be easier with a sibling, but she's already calming down from what she was like a couple of months ago so I suspect it'll continue to improve. I do work from home most of the time so she's not on her own very much.

I’ve just brought two kitten brothers home from the sanctuary I volunteer at. They’re an absolute joy and actually easier than 2 my older cats who were single kittens as they’ve each got a constant companion and playmate. And yes, seeing them snuggled up together never fails to make my heart melt!
I completely understand why rescue centres insist on rehoming in pairs. It’s better all round for the kittens and their new cat parent, it’s not about shifting kittens en masse as pp suggested!

I don't know why people insist cats are solitary animals.

If that were true, why do they naturally form colonies when left to live feral lives?

We have two brothers. They were very close as kittens. Now they are adults they are a bit more aloof with each other but still enjoy a good playful scrap and don't like being separated unless by their own choice.

Well we have five cats (don’t ask!) They are all fine but at least one of them would probably have chosen to go it alone.
So does depend on cat.
Two cost twice as much as one, once you have the bowls, cat trees etc. Sounds obvious but it is worth saying, in case people churn out the “two is cheaper than one” trope.. really not true.

Absolutely recommend a pair. Lovely company for each other.

And those saying ' get two, it's no more bother.'Well it is. In terms of double the insurance costs, double the food, double the potential vet bills

Totally agree with this-it will be double the price! Whilst the insurance might only be £6 a cat each month whilst they are tiny, this will quickly rise. Food/flea/worming treatments are also ongoing costs and things are getting pricier by the day. Our rescue charged £120 per kitten so you’re also looking at nearly £250 for two.

The money side of it isn’t something to ignore.

We have a rescue cat Ivy, we bought home from the cats protection around 4 months ago, she was 12 months when we got her, she was there because she hated all other animals and her family had other cats and a dog already.

She's very happy as an only, we occasionally have my exh's dogs for a few hours and she turns into a cartoon cat hissing and arching her back at them, then retreats to the bedroom until they leave.

I wfh four days a week so she's always got company though, and the cats home were very specific that we couldn't get a second as she wouldn't be happy.

Photo as required

Two kittens is really fun playing together but as adults most cats much prefer to live alone, and merely tolerate each other. Humans are a social species, cats are not.

When your kitten (hopefully) reaches old age, it will eventually get expensive medical problems - thyroid, heart, etc. I don’t want to be depressing but I have two cats and so the costs are all doubled and it gets really expensive. Yes I can ‘get insurance’ but at this age it’s £50 per month for both of them before food etc and then you have to pay excess and 20% copay for old cats. One old cat is a lot cheaper than two!

Nothing wrong with it if you want only one cat OP. If cat shelters won’t cooperate look at gumtree ir pets4homes but make sure to take a kitteen at least 10 weeks old thet comes from a loving background or it won’t be friendly with humans.

I've got 5 cats, they don't rush to eat their food incase it all gets eaten either .

OP, get two. But don't get them for the kids. Get them because you want them. Get decent insurance, decent food, decent litter, and a tall hidey hole tower/space they can get away from little people when they need to and you'll be fine. It's true, they probably won't give a shit about each other as they get older, but they will benefit from being with each when they're small. Saying that, I lost a cat (8y) to illness earlier this year who was pretty bonded with another one of mine (9y), and she really feels it still. Requires much more attention from me now he's gone.

Unseelie · Today 09:58
Two kittens is really fun playing together but as adults most cats much prefer to live alone, and merely tolerate each other. Humans are a social species, cats are not.”

nobody’s told our 4! 2 of them siblings, the others not, they’re to be found in a pile on the sofa/bed most days. They all greet each other nose to nose when they come in from the gardens. If one isn’t back yet, at least one of the others will sit at the back door, looking out for them.

There's nothing 'loving' about irresponsible idiots who let their random moggie breed indiscriminately and then flog them on Gumtree or Pets4Homes. Also, all my cats were feral kittens, who are now all loving, friendly mature cats.

Scotland

Thanks everyone for all your advice! Still thinking about it...... DH I think would go for one but not two, mainly due to the cost factor.

I originally had one cat as I got him from the shelter and they recommend he had a home with no other pets as he’d come from a family of 20 cats and it was a bit stressful!

He was such a needy cat. Would rob his gums in me, meow at the door whenever I had to leave him, he’d couldn’t settle at night until he was curled up on me.

I was asked if I’d foster 2 kitten ms that someone had found. He was like a different cat! He played with them, sought them out, slept in their bed and although I he was still affectionate to us, he wasn’t needy.

Needless to say it was a failed foster placement. They love each other so much and are so much happier!

Would rob his gums in me

I’ve never heard that expression before! Can I ask what it means?

Two kittens is really fun playing together but as adults most cats much prefer to live alone, and merely tolerate each other. Humans are a social species, cats are not.

My cats must have all missed that memo then! I've owned multiple cats as an adult and they've all thrived on feline company. We've had siblings in the past but we have three unrelated adults - they share food, water and litter, love a cuddle, bundle up on the sofa or in the sun and sleep together. When one is at the vets they actively pine and look for them, and seem really pleased when they're home.

In that case, how about a young adult cat from a rescue instead of a kitten?

Solo kittens can be quite intense and they need a lot of human interaction in the early months (we've done paired siblings, a completely solo kitten and a solo kitten introduced to adults) and by far the hardest one to cope with was the kitten on her own - she needed to play and as she was alone, that play had to come from us.

2 kittings is better than one.