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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.

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Original poster

Advice on adopting - kitten or young adult? One or two?

39 replies

Chocolatestain · 15/11/2023 16:53

We’re looking into getting a kitten and I’d welcome some advice. Having spoken to our local vet, the costs for routine vaccinations, worming, insurance, etc. are perfectly doable for us for one cat. We could afford two, but obviously the costs would be doubled and I think DH would need a bit of convincing. Both DH and I grew up in families with a single cat and we both remember our cats being perfectly happy as only pets. (We had our cat as quite a young kitten and I don’t recall her ever seeming distressed but it was a very long time ago.) I’ve also lived in households with pairs of cats - all sibling pairs - and not all of them got along with each other as adult cats. My mother’s pair of sisters hated each other and the underdog (or should that be undercat!) was so much happier after her dominant sibling had to be put down.

I’ve been browsing local cat rescue centres and they all say that kittens must be adopted in pairs because kittens need company. We could, however, adopt a single young adult. I’m slightly confused by this as lots of people have a single cat, which at some point must have been separated from its siblings. Do you have to get one from a breeder if you want a single kitten (I don’t want to go down that route for all sorts of reasons) and is it actually cruel to have just one? For context, both DH and I work mostly from home and 11 year-old DS is very much looking forward to playing with a kitten/young cat, so it wouldn’t be left alone for long periods. Any advice from experienced cat owners would be welcomed.

OP posts:

MissusNiceGuy · 15/11/2023 16:59

We had a single kitten, my mum was a sahm and the cat was besotted with her. If you are at home you can easily pet and play with a young cat (ours liked to retrieve soft or foil balls, she would leave the balls in our shoes on purpose so we would find them and throw them for her).

i do not personally agree with keeping cats inside the house and never letting them outside; ours got daily exercise and stimulation in the garden and that also helped keep our cat happy and healthy.

I wouldn’t worry about ensuring you have two cats, seems a shame you can’t adopt if this is the rule

fgjhb · 15/11/2023 17:03

I've had cats all my life.

Growing up we sometimes had up to 4 cats at a time, but not usually related. Some liked each other, some did not.

The closest pair we ever had was a mother and her daughter. They truly loved each other.

We once had a sibling pair that despised each other. The female only showed us her true personality after her brother died and she was able to relax.

I now have a single 5 year old male cat who I've had from a rescue since he was tiny. He's very happy.

AnnaMagnani · 15/11/2023 17:08

Kitten- it is much easier for you and them to get two.

However around the age of 2 they tend to fall out with each other and lead independent lives, sometimes with previously very bonded cats barely tolerating each other if not full on bullying.

So one older cat would be fine on its own.

verdantverdure · 15/11/2023 17:09

Kittens are needy furry chaos.

If you have two who get on from the same litter they will amuse each other and comfort each other and will be less dependent on you.

Get them from a good rescue and they will already be well socialised and the fosterer will recommend two that get on. Don't choose the two you find cutest.

EarthlyNightshade · 15/11/2023 17:11

We got a kitten/young cat from a rescue. He was about 5 months old and on his own so we adopted him alone.
Do the rescues randomly pair up kittens if they are not bonded, or could you look out for a single kitten/young cat?
I am at home a lot so cat is not left on his own much and we all play with him/love him so I think he is ok without a cat friend.

Original poster

Chocolatestain · 15/11/2023 17:14

Thank you. I think we will go for just one. We have a huge, rural garden so there will be plenty of space for a cat to entertain itself once it is big enough to go outside. (And fortunately none of us are squeamish about rodent entrails!) I was just quite surprised at the rescue centres insisting on them being homed in pairs.

OP posts:

Paddleboarder · 15/11/2023 17:19

We got two kittens from a rescue, they are male siblings and very bonded. I couldn't imagine not having both of them, they are really close and they are 6 now. They sleep together most days and play together. Obviously, it's double the cost for food, vets etc. It wasn't our intention to get two, but it was the rule at the rescue and so we went with it. They were found as six stray kittens together, I think you only have to have two if they are from the same litter, they don't pair them up as someone wondered about.

If you only want one, you can wait until one on its own comes up, I'm sure I've seen them. Sometimes they are slightly older but not by much - I'm sure I've seen 8 month old kittens alone, for example. Good luck!

OwlBasket · 15/11/2023 18:17

I’d go for a single, male, young adult cat. 8 months or older. Kittens are a massive faff, I’d never have one (or two, as I also have previously) again. No way of really gauging the personality of kittens either

OwlBasket · 15/11/2023 18:19

I suppose I’m meaning an adolescent or very young adult really

Original poster

Chocolatestain · 15/11/2023 18:23

Having been leaning towards one young adult, I’ve just had a chat with DH about the pros and cons of one vs two and he’s coming round to the idea of two. He seemed to think it would be harder to organise cat care for when we’re away with two, but whenever possible we’d be getting friends/neighbours to pop in and feed them so I can’t see it would make much difference. And I assume they’d be less stressed while we’re away if they were a sibling pair.

OP posts:

Vegemiteandhoneyontoast · 15/11/2023 18:30

Don't have cats myself but am thinking of a woman I used to garden for who had two from a rescue place. Males, if I recall and I think they were brothers. All okay to start with, but they became territorial and started shitting absolutely everywhere. The woman described them as 'trying to shit each other out of existence'. Honestly, I've never seen so much cat shit in a garden, it was all over the beds and all over the lawn, plus in the house. I had to stop working there as I couldn't handle the sheer amount of cat shit. If we were to have a cat, that experience put me off the idea of ever having more than one.

margotrose · 15/11/2023 18:30

I would either go for two kittens or one young adult.

It's worth remembering that two cats aren't necessarily double the price of one, because you can get a multi-pet discount on insurance and can often take them both to the vet at the same time for their jabs, so you only pay for one appointment (at least, that's what we do at our vets).

We have three and even though I know I'm obviously paying more than I was for one, it's not really that noticeable. Cats are generally very cheap pets - I'd say (including insurance) my trio only cost me just over £100 a month.

AnnaMagnani · 15/11/2023 18:30

Whether they are less stressed depends on the pair and the individuals!

I had a bonded pair of kittens. Kitten 1 can manage to be stressed over anything at any time for any reason. Kitten 2 was happy and confident - sadly so confident she got hit by a car after going over to see a fishpond.

So maybe the anxious cat was on to something?!

Now we inflicted a new friend on her. He was greeted by her with absolute loathing, however now if he hasn't turned up she gets anxious about that.

It's lucky for them they are so cute.

Original poster

Chocolatestain · 15/11/2023 18:38

Thank you everyone, lots to think about. It seems like there isn’t a definitive answer and a lot is down to the individual personalities of the cats! Hopefully a reputable rescue centre will be able to help on that score.

OP posts:

MayContainCats · 15/11/2023 18:43

This time round I wanted two kittens because kittens are cute. I actually ended up with one 6 month old cat, who turned out to suit our family perfectly. I’d be flexible about it, talk to the rescue and see if there is a cat or cats who stand out.

I have adopted a pair of cats before, mother and daughter, they ended up hating each other. I think if I was doing a pair again I’d definitely look for siblings.

Wolfiefan · 15/11/2023 18:45

We adopted two sister kittens. They now hate each other. Our previous pair were a young mum and son. That worked much better for us.

MayContainCats · 15/11/2023 18:49

@Wolfiefan Maybe given our experiences two females is a bad idea?

GoodVibesHere · 15/11/2023 18:56

As you say OP, there is no right or wrong. Rescues will be quite keen for you to take two kittens but often they may appear 'bonded' at that young age only to end up hateling each other further down the line.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 15/11/2023 19:14

On the basis that I always 'top up' with two kittens at a time, my recommendation is obvious.🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Don't necessarily expect that two bonded kittens will end up being bonded adults, but ours always seem to rub along quite happily.

susiedaisy1912 · 15/11/2023 19:23

I've had a single cat, when he passed we decided to get 2 kittens, they are siblings and we've had them since they were 8 weeks old, two is much easier in my opinion! It is double the cost of everything but they are such good companion for us and each other.

Wolfiefan · 15/11/2023 20:03

Next time I would go for a bonded adult pair. And no tortie buggers either. 😆

AnnaMagnani · 15/11/2023 20:06

I had a stealth tortie - she covered it in tipped tabby so it wasn't immediately obvious (stunning coat though)

Full on tortie behaviour though.

No bloody ginger toms either.

Superbroom · 15/11/2023 20:19

i think 2 for kittens as they will entertain each other. I saw something on a rescue site saying single kittens were commonly returned, so maybe that’s why they encourage you to take a pair.

TedWilson · 15/11/2023 20:22

Definitely two. We have just adopted two and they play and fight and take energy out on each other. I have previously had a single kitten and he was bonkers and hard work from being on his own.

cudbywestrangers · 15/11/2023 20:36

We adopted 2 kittens a few weeks ago and had a pair of sisters before that. Our old pair got on OK. I'm glad the current ones came together- they definitely play differently together than with us and burn off far more energy! We'll have to wait and see how things go once they grow up... hopefully it won't end in a garden full of 💩

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