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'd never get just one cat, fwiw.

I went to pick the kitten I was getting and ended up with 2 - best decision I made. They are now nearly 6 months old and keep each other company, play and sleep together. I can't imagine only having one.

We've had one kitten in the past. We've now got two kittens, brothers, it's much easier and much more entertaining although twice the cost.

Always get kittens in pairs. Always get single puppies. Or get a single adult cat.

The pet will be yours to look after. You will be feeding, cleaning the litter tray, clearing up sick, dealing with rodents or birds that they bring in, and paying to replace or repair the furniture, curtains and carpets that they damage. Never mind what the children want. Be absolutely sure that this is what you want for you commit to 15 to 20 years.

You’ve the advantage with an adult cat of knowing what kind of personality they have, it’s harder to gauge as kittens.

So you can look for one that likes to cuddle up, or a playful one or what have you... because some cats aren’t awfully interactive, I mean, they’re still nice enough, but prefer just hanging about doing cat stuff rather than being petted or doing stuff with people.

Ours are siblings but we got them at 1 year old so missed the Kitten Years

They get on really well but not cuddling up together well
They like their own areas in the house and garden.

Our male has a friend in NDN female cat ,
Our female cat doesn't like other cats ( only her brother and that's more tolerance I think )

Have had various cats, sometimes multiple, sometimes one. Agree to get kittens together and siblings have the better chance of staying close as adults.

Like people, cats sociability varies. Some will only ever be happy as only cats, others will be happiest as a pair.

Have certainly had couple of pairs of siblings who adored each other throughout their lives and ended up with a few rescues at one point who all rubbed along happily and became friends.

All of that is utter bollocks. Do you work in a rescue? (I do of course know that the answer to that is no). Rescues home kittens in pairs because kittens are very distressed when removed from both their littermates and their mother and of course they have a playmate. We could actually home them quicker if we were prepared to home them singly, and so free up space more quickly, but we don't do that as we care about the happiness of the kittens we home.

And as for cats being naturally solitary - no they aren't. As someone who has spent years watching the behaviour of hundreds of colonies of ferals, and I can assure you that naturally they form close bonds with other cats. And once the males are neutered this becomes even more evident. Yes, some cats prefer to be only cats, but just as many prefer to have feline company.

Some rehoming centres let you take kittens much earlier than the recommended 13 weeks plus. Perhaps at that age they do get distressed being taken away from littermates. And if you’re at work most of the day I can see that they need company. But if they’re older and have human company during the day I don’t think it’s necessary, they’re quite happy on their own as long as they have lots of human interaction and things to entertain them. It’s not unusual for kittens to grow apart as they get older, whilst others stay bonded more closely. Some rescues can be quite fixed on their arbitrary criteria for adoption. Maybe try one of the larger charities?

Having said that we only home kittens in pairs we do have a few older ones (14 weeks or so) that we will home as singles if they are going to have plenty of human company.

Thing is kittens aren't born in pairs, so eventually there are going to be singles..... so they must re-home the odd one. Some cats only have one kitten, some three, some five.

And as for cats being naturally solitary - no they aren't. As someone who has spent years watching the behaviour of hundreds of colonies of ferals, and I can assure you that naturally they form close bonds with other cats. And once the males are neutered this becomes even more evident. Yes, some cats prefer to be only cats, but just as many prefer to have feline company

It is completely irrelevant what they do in a feral community though. You are re-homing to a family. The single cat becomes a member of that community. It doesn't have to be another cat.

While some kittens will go home as singles, it's not very common.

So, with a litter of five, they might go home as a pair and a three. If there's just a solo kitten and mum hasn't rejected them, then mum and kitten may get re-homed together.

When we got our latest kitten we were only allowed to take him as a solo as we already had older cats in the home so he'd have plenty of company.

@BigWoollyJumpers Yes of course it's different, but you can't say that cats are naturally solitary as, naturally, they most definitely are not. Some cats love to be with other cats and form very close bonds, and some, normally those brought up singly, very much don't like other cats. Certainly some cats, even when brought up in a largish group, still dislike other cats, but these are very much in the minority. What you can't say is that cats are solitary animals as, on the whole, they really aren't.

As for what rescues do with 'odd' kittens. Well, firstly we like to home the mum with one or two. If we do have a 'spare' then we will almost certainly have a spare of a similar age from another litter and so they will be paired up.

I got my cat as a lone kitten, she was fine and still is albeit old and cantankerous lol. I know plenty of people with one cat and they too are fine, happy and content cats. Obviously two brings double vet bills etc.

Don’t feel pressured to take two, do what works best for you and the family kitty will be just fine.

Why don’t you got for more of a teenager aged cat if you only want one? They are just as fun as kittens, and as previously said their personality is already formed. My friend had a kitten who was so lovely and playful and then turned in a complete dickhead that was a ball of hate and didn’t want to be around them when he was an adult

@thecatneuterer no I don't do paid work in a rescue centre but I was volunteer at Battersea cats and dogs home for 5 years in their London centre. My last 2 cats have been from there, the last was 4 years ago, both of them I just got the one, there was no expectation for rehoming in a pair. Both litters, all the kittens were re homed individually. But I know that a lot of the other rescues then would only rehome a pair and when asked about this, it was because they had too many kittens so would always prefer to re home a pair. This was the cats protection league. I am not criticising it, I get it. But I certainly do not believe what most are saying here about cats needing feline company. Some do but a lot don't. I'm sure it's lovely when they are kittens but every home I know with 2 cats, the cats choose to stay away from each other or actively hate each other, and that was my experience too.

This gorgeous boy is currently being offered by us as a single. This is partly because he came to us as a single and partly because he is around 14 weeks now, so past the really tiny stage. Having said that though he is very, very needy and will scream at the top of his lungs if left alone,and so we will only home him somewhere where there is someone home most of the time, or where there is an existing cat (he appears to love all cats and doesn't mind that they're adults not kittens).

So, while the general policy is to home in pairs, there are often a few exceptions.

A rescue we spoke to actually said they don't always like rehoming in pairs. Cats won't necessarily be best buddies with their siblings so what happens when they've decided they actually don't want to be around each other?

(I also assumed two was best since it is pretty much insisted on).

@GanymedemoonWell I'm amazed that CP stated that as the reason. As I said, if we were prepared to home singly we would home more kittens more quickly as that is what so many people ask for.

Could you either home 2 kittens together or get 1 but that’s slightly older?

I’ve just got an 18month old from our local rescue & I’m worn out! She’s just like a kitten! Wants to play all day, messes with everything, moves everything etc so a young cat on its own might be better?

If you only want and have money for one kitten it’s far better that you only take one. Vet fees and food are expensive so I wouldn’t be pushed into 2 just to get a kitten. Maybe look at any other recues or go for a slightly older one, there’s often a few at around 6 on this to a year who are still very much kitten like in behaviour and will bond with the kids. Bit more robust to be around children too

Yes, that's very true. But it was the reason we did not use the CPL as we only wanted one as we had a dog too, no way could I afford 3 pets!

I agree that if you can only afford one then you shouldn't take two, but in that case go for a slightly older one - probably six months to a year old.