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

[Chocolatestain]

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.

I would also recommend getting black and white cats, of whatever sort you get, because I have always found them to have lovely temperaments. Whether it’s mine or ones I’ve met in the streets. They are also often overlooked because people think they are too ordinary.

Completely agree. Much easier to have two.

It depends a fair bit on your circumstances. You need to bear in mind that kittens will need to be kept in for at least 6 months or so until they are old enough to be safe outside, whereas a young adult will be able to go out after 3-4 weeks of getting settled in. So if you're going to be home most of the time either should be fine, but a single kitten having to stay in for months with no daytime company wouldn't be fair on it.

If you are planning on indoor only for any reason and you aren't in the house a majority of the time, then two is a must whatever age they are.

One good reason for kittens being adopted in pairs is so they are likely to play with each other, thereby vastly reducing the wear and tear on the house!

And I'll just add that a) the kitten stage doesn't really last that long in their lives and b) with a kitten you never know what their temperament will end up being, whereas with a young adult that's likely to be set so you have more likelihood of getting the type of cat you prefer e.g. no use having a killing machine if you want a lap cat and are squeamish, but equally no point in getting a lap loving slouch if you have a rodent problem.

Ours were a year old when we got them bro/sis
They get on well but don't sit together . Often not even in the same room.
They do join forces to gang up on us when its food or Dreamies time

We had two kittens and I didn't enjoy their kitten hood overall although of course they were super cute. It was definitely better for them that there were two of them. They are almost three now and still really love each other.

Battersea rescue say the typical cost of a cat is £1500 a year and two is very nearly double, maybe £2 a month discount on insurance for a second pet and maybe £20 a year discount at the vets.

Kittens are cute but can cause a bit of havoc and the problem with kittens is you don't know personalities. We had a resuce kitten and he was a stressed out cat who ended up dying prematurely as had massive organ issues and cost a fortune in vets bills etc. My DC soon got bored of playing with it too just FYI.
We now have 2 older cats, both rescues and adopted at different times. We were able to adopt knowing quite a bit about the cat and able to understand how the cat would fit in our lives.
For example our second rescue is such a sweetie, calm and loves to sit on laps and watch TV with us. Which I love. He is 12 and doesn't need to have much entertainment so is no bother at all.

@Allergictoironing
Ideally I’d like a rodent-murdering demon that turns into a bit softie when it comes home for sunggles! 😆
I had one of those many years ago - a little ball of tortoiseshell fluff who liked to climb inside my cardigan and fall asleep in my armpit, but would happily take on a rat. (Her big, ginger brother, on the other hand, was a total wuss.)

The personality thing is a really good point and I’m definitely leaning towards either one or two older kittens/young adults. I’m guessing that at this time of year there may be a few of those who are left in the rescue centres and really need a home.

The sadly missed Boycat was thick, terrified of almost everything, clumsy and definitely had some "issues". He also became to complete cuddle monster - as long as there were no other people around of course. Totally incompetent at anything "cat". Indoor only - general opinion was he wouldn't survive 5 minutes in our own back garden supervised.

Then came the day I had some mice move in to the conservatory area, so I let the cats in there. And he turned out to be a magnificent hunter. He would even growl at his sister (never before or since) if she came near HIS prey. No eating or even disemboweling, would just play with them until they were dead then leave them for me to throw out.

Im glad i have the two. They're not related but they are besotted.
they play all day together, curl up together and comfort each other.
when i’m out i know they’re fine.

Two cats is wonderful, but I'd definitely go for young adult or older adults. Kittens are overrated!

If you are having one, the second doesn't cost much more. It's not double the cost. Insurance companies offer multipet discounts.

I've got 2 young adult sisters and they love each other so much. They make me smile every day: curling up together, washing each other, chasing each other around the house... 😻😻

Previous cats I adopted as young adult males. They overlapped by several years but didn't get on (ignored each other mostly), though I loved having 2. Which is why I specifically wanted a pair after my remaining boy died last year.

We once had two Siamese siblings who got on very well, adopted as kittens. Mind you, the female didn’t seem to miss her brother who predeceased her by about seven years at all. No noticeable change in her behaviour when he died.

Our current recent adoptee appears to be a cat-teenager and was found with her brother, but is here on her own. I’m off sick and she appears completely content to follow me around or in fact most humans and she doesn’t seem to miss cat company at all. Maybe it has something to do with how they’re kept in the shelter? If they’re separated they probably don’t want or need a sibling or friend but if they’ve gone though stress with their siblings or friends they probably want to be together.

Two kittens I had years ago brother and sister, they had a love/hate relationship, the brother was more affectionate to her but she’d hiss at him.

Similar to @CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau the female didn’t seem to miss her brother when he died (13) but you don’t know.

Two can be great hunting machines (their brother lived next door so made it three!).

A friend of mine has Burmese or Tonkinese brother and sister pair from kittens (house cats) and says they get on really well, lockdown cats.