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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Is getting a kitten to join my 3 year old boy cat a recipe for disaster?

15 replies

LadyDanburysHat · 25/11/2023 22:41

As the title says, would it be crazy to get a kitten when I have a 3 year old cat already. He can be quite territorial over our garden. But mostly with black or black and white cats. He seems to tolerate ginger cats bizarrely.

OP posts:
TooManyBastardingFucksToGive · 25/11/2023 22:57

After all the posts I’ve seen on here about them not getting on, soiling/urinating in the house in protest, moving out and refusing to come back in the house etc etc I would never risk it.

Wolfiefan · 25/11/2023 22:59

Not a great idea if he is territorial.

humus · 25/11/2023 22:59

Not worked out well for us

margotrose · 26/11/2023 00:05

We have three unrelated males and they get on fantastically. They're currently 8, 3 and seven months. Never had a single fight and probably less than ten "cross words" between them over the years.

They were all introduced to each other straight away too. Our newest kitten arrived on the Thursday evening and by Friday afternoon our old boy was giving him a bath and playing with him!

ReginaPhalange12 · 26/11/2023 00:27

Our cat was a little younger than yours but it's worked out very well. We introduced them slowly over a couple of weeks, at first our older cat would hiss / take a jab at the kitten but very quickly settled down & now they're so happy together

R4R1 · 26/11/2023 00:36

Cats don't really like company.

My cat blacky suffered from stress and anxiety because of her sister ratty.

Ratty was killed by a fast driver. I cried for days. I don't know what drove her to the road at the front of the house.

Blacky has totally changed now. She's happy. She stays home. She is so affectionate now since her sister died.

I sometimes wonder if blacky had anything to do with the death of her sister.

margotrose · 26/11/2023 08:11

Cats don't really like company.

Hmm. I'm sure there are some cats who prefer to be the "only child" in a household but I don't think it's true that they dislike company overall.

If left to their own devices with absolutely no human intervention, feral and farm cats form colonies and socialise together.

I do think one of the issues with cats not getting on is that many houses are not set up to house multiple cats - there aren't enough resources to share and so they become stressed. Cats can be territorial and need their own areas even within a home.

Blazingunicorns · 26/11/2023 08:16

I wouldn’t do it again. It didn’t work out well. My boy was 4 when we got a kitten. He started staying away from the house a lot and then got ill and passed. I would be very cautious.

Increasinglyfrazzledteacher · 26/11/2023 08:26

Our neighbours acquired a second cat so that their first cat would have a friend. The first cat hated the new arrival so much that she left home and moved in with us in protest.

Floopani · 26/11/2023 08:36

I have a territorial old boy, and wouldn't risk getting another. But I had to reply because your OP made me chuckle - mine also regularly fights with black or black and white cats but ginger cats...they can do what they like as long as they don't try to cuddle up with him in the garden, then they get a growl and a swipe.

R4R1 · 26/11/2023 09:28

margotrose · 26/11/2023 08:11

Cats don't really like company.

Hmm. I'm sure there are some cats who prefer to be the "only child" in a household but I don't think it's true that they dislike company overall.

If left to their own devices with absolutely no human intervention, feral and farm cats form colonies and socialise together.

I do think one of the issues with cats not getting on is that many houses are not set up to house multiple cats - there aren't enough resources to share and so they become stressed. Cats can be territorial and need their own areas even within a home.

I agree.

I should have said cats don't like unsolicited company. As a second cat would chase the first cat and annoy her.

I also noticed my younger cat would bully the older one and lick her food even if she doesn't eat it just to spoilt it for the other cat.

I stay at home a lot and observed it if funny and weird things between them.

Original poster
LadyDanburysHat · 26/11/2023 12:14

Thank you for all of your comments. I really don't want to upset my boy. Its such a difficult thing.

OP posts:
Clarich007 · 26/11/2023 13:42

It was a disaster for us too..

FrazzledDragon · 29/11/2023 19:31

Mine was four when I got a kitten. Did a slow introduction as recommended. He was unimpressed for a couple days - hissed a bit - but adapted quickly. Now they regularly play and snuggle up together, though it's generally her seeking him out for that. Occasionally if she's bothering he'll hiss at her, and she leaves him alone. They're indoor cats, so no chance of moving out in protest, but I don't think he would have.

minipie · 01/12/2023 19:25

Interesting thread. I have a weirdly territorial girl cat age around 5. She will hiss and paw through the window if she spots any cats in the front garden (which she’s never been in). She has regular stare offs and occasional fights with the neighbour’s cat. She has a couple of alternative homes up and down the street and I reckon if we got another cat she’d up sticks.

We always had two cats growing up (Burmese) and there was a huge variation in how well the different pairs got on. The worst was the siblings.

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