Do cats need a friend?

[GSD20]

We had two cats. Both boys who were best friends, cuddled and slept together. Sadly one vainished/presumed died around 10 months ago. The remaining cat is middle aged, the other was younger. Hes always lived with another cat, at one point we had 4 but now down to just him.

Since then his friend has been okay, mostly potters around the garden keeping the mice population from exploding and sleeping on our beds. He seem fine, no negative behaviours. He sometimes unsuccessfully tries to get the dog to play with him but doesn’t really bother with us other than to request food.

I was thinking about getting another younger cat to keep him company (and to help with the mice- we live very rurally with outside pets and there’s millions of the buggers in everything!) Im a little worried it would upset the balance though. Do cats need friends? Can they be happy solitary?

At 9 yo my dcat's db died. Dcat was distraught for months. I caved... 2 weeks in...

Oops..

2 years in...

Until a few years ago I had five cats - four who lived inside and one who didn't - and none of them really got on. I'm now down to one and he seems perfectly happy, although he does have three cat friends who visit from the flat next door. I did wonder if I should get another cat, but have decided against it.

My 2 cats are besties. They've known each other since day 1

I had a dog who couldn't stand dogs - I'm not sure what she thought she was! She tolerated my cat, but we adopted her from a household with another two dogs and she was making life hell for everyone, and it was getting worse - even though she had lived with those dogs for years.

If you want more cats, a pair of kittens would be more likely to work as they will rough and tumble with each other instead of bothering the older, unrelated cat.

But it sounds like he's perfectly content.

We used to have two cats who were littermates but were pretty uninterested in each other. They didn't interact much at all. When one died, the other didn't seem to miss her and was perfectly happy as an only cat.

The cat we have now is an only cat but has a best friend who lives nearby. They call for each other most days and go out to play together, it's very cute.

Boys are far happier living together than girls so you may find he’d like a pal again. We have a boy/girl combo and they’re very much like human brother & sister siblings. Sometimes they are very cute cuddling up to sleep and other times they just go out of their way to annoy each other 🙄

It also depends on the number of people and space. We had a pair of brothers, then got a kitten when they were about 8. One took to the kitten well, the other less so. The dynamics between the three seem to change week by week, from mild tolerance to fighting, they never snuggle and my eldest cat would definitely be fine alone.
When we go away though my daughter says they're all really hard work as they all demand people time and it's harder to give it with fewer people in the house
I don't think it hurts them to have a buddy but I also don't think they need one.

We have just adopted our third cat (the other two are not with us anymore, they were solo cats too). We were told he didn’t like other cats. He doesn’t. He’s not going out yet, but is not happy at seeing them through a window. In fact we’ve only just stopped him trying to attack his own reflection in a mirror.
We fear many fights once he starts going out and protecting his garden!

Up until today I had 2 cats, siblings, a boy and a girl. They never really interacted with each other even as kittens. Max was very much an outdoor cat, only coming in for his dinner, and would quite happily stay outside in all weathers - the neighbours eventually got used to the fact that he wasn’t neglected, he just refused to come in! Lucie only goes out for 5 minutes at a time, if that, the rest of the time she mostly spends asleep on her iPad box (ignoring the radiator bed, comfy chair with fleecy blanket, cat scratching post with special hidey hole…) or on my lap if I’m trying to knit, crochet or read a book.

Today we had to put Max to sleep as he had FIP (https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/cat/health-and-injuries/feline-infectious-peritonitis), and despite spending £1200 on different treatments he was just too poorly. He was only 6 years old. We brought him home afterwards and let Lucie see him so she would understand what had happened and not be wondering where he’d gone. She sniffed him briefly, then trotted off into the kitchen and asked for her dinner.

I don’t think she will miss him at all, and I think she’ll be quite happy as a solo cat.

(We will miss him dreadfully though. Stupidest cat I’ve ever owned, bless him.)

I grew up with cats, had them all my adult life (50 now). It really depends on the cats. At one point I had 5 together. 2 pairs of siblings (unrelated), and another random. The sibling pairs were closer but they all lived in harmony. I've also had single cats who despise any cat entering their territory but will happily bugger off to the local colony to be fed with the ferals or by the tourists (I live abroad)🙄 Cats can be fickle assholes but that's part of their charm 🤣

The fact he keeps trying to play with the dog and has always been around other cats happily, I would go for it. We always had 2 cats together and they never had any issues. Like you we had lots of outdoor space so they could get alone time if they wanted it.

We have two cats (7 and 3) who get on like yours did - cuddle, play with each other, groom each other etc. When the older cat had to stay at the vets, our younger one pined for him!

We got another cat because my older cat had always been around other cats and he was on his own for the first time in ages. He was fine but always wanted to play and was super affectionate when we got home from work. Call me daft but I thought he was a bit lonely. We got a kitten; initially our older cat wasn’t keen but the kitten persisted and won him over. It helped that he was a youngish cat I think too.

I would suggest rescuing a kitten as they aren’t a threat to older cats whereas an adult cat might be seen as a threat and upset him.

I agree with the 'all cats are different' comments.

We, like others, got a cat to keep the other company during holidays. She 'nests' with him regularly, but generally he's in her way. I think they do love each other, but it's like a teenage sibling love. Half the time they rely on each other,the other half they want to kill each other.

We have one cat that tries to bond with all other cats. The other cats are relatively horrible to each other. Like my teen DDs.

I am forever haunted by the decision to get my darling girl a 'friend' and utterly ruining her life with a great big bully. Both cats long since crossed the rainbow bridge now, and even though I loved big boy cat I always regretted spoiling sweet girl's lovely happy life.

Agree with pp saying it depends on the cat. I have two and they loved each other as kittens but now they tolerate each other at best, and wee inside to mark their territory when they fight, which is gross. I wouldn't want two again.

Makes sense really. Some people are sociable and some aren't. Even sociable people wouldn't necessarily get on with any random person who suddenly appeared in the house!

I’ve never really seen a cat that needs another cat. However we have a 4 year old male cat and just got another male kitten. It’s working really well and they are playing together a lot. It has brought the 4 year old to life, he’s playing like a kitten again!

I would say it is cat dependent though. He’s a chilled out boy and extremely tolerant. If your other cat is sensitive then I probably wouldn’t - although with a big house and garden you may find that they just co-exist.

We have a very old boy and a middle aged boy. Middle aged one came with his sister, as kittens, and they loved each other. She died about 3 years ago, quite suddenly, and it was just the two boys. Old boy completely dominated the other right from the start and even though he's now 19, the other (younger, bigger, stronger)is still cowed They are not friends.

We got a boy kitten a few months ago. We did v slow introduction.Old cat totally ignores him. Middle aged cat has discovered a new lease of life- they play together and play chase. Kitten waits for him to come in the room. They sleep together. Middle aged cat does see his arse occasionally and puts him in his place, but it's working.

I have three they all get on, l did up to recently have four but sadly one had to be out to sleep. I have always had multi cat household, l think it works a lot better if cats are allowed outside, that way they have more space. Both my sister's have several cats taken in as strays at all different stages and they get on. You have to allow quite a while for introduction to be successful,.I always allow two weeks before cats even get to see one another, slow and steady wins the race. People plonk a new kitten down in front of older cat and expect them to be best friends, it takes time.

Had two older cats. Got a kitten. They hatred it. Got another kitten. Kittens happy. But it must be how crazy cat ladies start.

Have you thought about fostering a cat for a little while to see if your other cat wants a friend or not? That way you're not bound to keep the foster cat if they don't get on