Second cat?

[Stripedbag101]

i have a four year old tabby cat who is quite shy around people and terrified of other cats. I had intended to get two kittens but my friend found her alone on his farm at four weeks old so I obviously had to take her!

I have always thought it best not to introduce another kitten because she was so timid. We moved house last year and she is bullied by a neighbourhood cat so she doesn’t leave the house much now.

I am toying again with the idea of getting a kitten. It could go really well and she might love the company or or could go really really badly.

any advice / experience to share?

I live alone and wfh one day a week so she is home alone quite a bit. She is spoilt rotten and sleeps on my pillow beside me every night!! Another kitten might ruin her life - or it could really enrich it

I have an 8 year old, very similar, extremely skittish, runs from people, won't even go in the garden if she hears too many noises. She's never been particularly playful, even as a kitten. Last year we got 2 kittens. It took her a few weeks to get used to them (keeping them separate for a little while), then eventually she started to tolerate them a little more as long as they weren't leaping all over her. Now she actively seeks them out to play, which has been a revelation for a cat who spends most of the day asleep! They all curl up on beds or sofas together. It took us some time to decide whether to have new cats after an older cat died, but eventually we decided to go for it and were glad we did. It seems to have given her a new lease of life! If you do decide to have another, maybe have one that's around one or two years old so a little past the crazy stage of kitten hood but still young enough to play and be company.

To be honest I wouldn't.
I've known 2 families introduce new kittens to their lone female cats, the original cats 🐱in both households have never seemed happy or relaxed again, one in particular stopped using her litter tray for good and as the kitten had frightened her when on the tray, so she was weeing everywhere.

I think if you had a boisterous male cat then a bouncy new kitten would be ok, but I wouldn't do it to a previously timid & bullied shy female cat who is used to your sole attention. Don't forget that your home is her whole world.

Thank you both. I think it’s a no. The reward would be lovely if it worked - but I love her so much and I wouldn’t want to make her unhappy in her new home.

I should have got a second kitten from somewhere else when I first got her but she wants in great shape and needed a lot of attention and special milk etc. Then the window was gone!