Does my cat need cat company?

[Scarecrowrowboat]

We lost one of our cats to cancer about 6 months ago. Her brother has become much more vocal and needy since, guessing he's mourning. He didn't seem to like having her around all that much but he does seem to miss her. I honestly don't know if getting another cat would benefit him or annoy him. The vet said if we did get another then would be best to get another male. Any positive stories or is it a terrible idea to get another cat?

My sister's cat was similar when his brother died, and responded well to a new male kitten. But you'll need to be prepared for slow and steady introductions.

I think you can tell if a cat from a bonded pair misses the company - my older cat definitely was happier as an only, but I really missed the extra cat vibes! So I got 2 more...
Introducing a boy kitten to an existing friendly male cat is worth a try. I would.
Some cats like a house to themselves and others do like company.

I saw my cat visibly relax when I bought her new sister home. They get on well and. Work together to Gang up
On me. I'm completely bullied by two 4kg cats.

I'm curious that the vet recommended a boy kitten, I would have thought a younger female would have been a safer bet in terms of possible aggression and territory issues. Although I admit I've never read up on it.

I think females are generally thought of as more territorial, but a huge amount will depend on the individual cat.

I was a bit surprised at it too but he seemed sure it was the best combination.

Every neutered male I've known has been a great big softy.

I really wasn't expecting him to miss her because he got v grumpy at her a lot although whenever he found a favourite spot in the house she'd steal it. They were v cuddly until they were a couple of years old but it stopped. He is so needy with me now, he's literally waking me up in the night for cuddles but I'm worried he'd grump at and fight with a new cat. So difficult to know what's best.

Male cats get on better, although l have had mixed male and female and still got along fine. I currently have three neutered males and one female, the female rules the roost, even though males are bigger. My sister has two males and two females the males get on fine, but the two females don't.

Our boy is a big softy and our old lady hissed and fizzed a lot but they mostly ignored each other. I'd love another but he seems quite content since she died.

If you do get another cat then I would recommend a pair of kittens. An older cat used to living either others cats will usually after a couple of months tolerate kittens. If you get two kittens then they have each other if the adult cat doesn’t warm that much to them. Introductions with kittens can be a lot quicker than with other adult cats. I would never introduce an adult cat to my mutli cat household but we recently took in a rescued feral kitten who found frozen and head death and as soon as he was successfully warmed up in an incubator he came here. The other cats still hiss at him but he is now allowed onto the favourite sleeping place (our bed!) and at least one of the cat’s has adopted him as they’ve started bringing him in live mice to train him up! Thankfully he’s just worked out the cat flap so the live gifts should be finished now!! Cats are considered the most adaptable mammal so I would do what you want to do. Enjoy the extra cuddles or get kittens whichever you prefer.

We had the same, even more needy than she previously was after her sister died. Got a kitten and initially it was a bit rough as kitten annoyed the hell out of 18 month old cat but they settled and whilst now they're older I don't think they're very close anymore, I think each would miss the other if they were gone. They eat together and I quite often see them pratting about in the garden together. We didn't get an older cat because we thought potentially they wouldn't get on and we needed to have a very clear hierarchy which seems to work, even though Dcat 1 is tiny and Dcat 2 has turned out huge.

We had a pair of Siamese brothers who were very bonded. When the adventurous one was run over, his brother (DCat 1) really grieved, so we decided to get him a companion from the same breeder. We weren’t sure whether to get a male or a female at first, but I’ve always found boy cats a lot more relaxed than females and the Ginger Whinger (aka DCat 2) was too handsome to resist!
It may have helped that DCat1 was only about 15 months old when DCat 2 arrived. We did take introductions extremely slowly and carefully, but now they are the best of friends with DCat1 taking his older brother responsibilities extremely seriously, even chasing DCat2 back in whenever he’s been out too long.

My very much loved cat is an only in our house but he used to have a friend who he hung out with and he was nonplussed when Hugo wandered into the house to get a cat nip fix, they would sit together in the garden and go off catting together. Hugo moved away and Haribo no longer has a friend. Haribo doesn't like the other neighbourhood cats.

I'd love him to have a new friend to live with but I'm worried it wouldn't work out.