One kitten or two?

[SpikeGilesSandwich]

Our gorgeous cat died last year of old age last year and we are ready to start again and hoping for a kitten to grow with and get used to my ASD son (our old cat was too set in her ways to adapt to him really).
However, our local rescue will only let people adopt kittens in pairs and it's kind of thrown me.
I've only ever had one cat at a time and I've so many questions, will they share bowls or do I need two lots and the space for them?
Same with a litter tray, will they share? I don't have the space for two.
Double the vets bills, double the flea treatment, double the cattery bill if we go away, double the food bill, etc...

I really miss having a cat but is it really so important to have two or should I just look somewhere other than the rescue centre for a single kitten? I wouldn't want to make it miserable!

Honestly we got two kittens and they amused each other. But in future we have decided to stick to adopting adult cats. With kittens you have no idea what sort of character you’ll end up with. In what way would a cat need to adapt to your child’s behaviour?

Thanks for replying, that's another worry, would two kittens not be interested in us and just play with each other?

My son is very gentle and loving to animals and very keen to get a cat but he can be very loud and bouncy, we were advised by our health worker to get a kitten who would just accept it as normal. I'd love them to form a close bond but you never know how it will go.
I have obviously spoken to him about cats needing their own space and being left alone when they want and it would have somewhere he couldn't get to if he won't stop trying to play.

In my experience the answer is always two (unless it's three). Convinced that cats are happier with a friend.

I should add that DS doesn't really have any friends and it would be heartbreaking if the kitten/kittens rejected him too.

I have two cats, adopted together as kittens. They are now 4 years old, and one of them hates the other one. It's fine if they get on, but obviously not if they fight.

I generally have two or more of everything, as they don't like to share. One of them (not the mean girl) has no off switch when it comes to food, so I had to buy her an expensive microchip feeder. And then there's the two sets of vet bills - I didn't know that having a cat's teeth cleaned would be so expensive. If we were doing this all over again I'd only get one kitten.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/4982146-to-get-one-kitten-or-two

I’m fostering two kittens at the moment & they entertain each other most of the time, but also like playing with me & come for attention and cuddles.

I think whatever decide, you need to be really clear with the rescue about your son being loud and bouncy, then they can offer you kittens that are likely to be ok with that.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about. The other thread linked is great, I did look but must have missed it, sorry to be repetitive!

Two. Kittens learn socialisation skills from each another e.g. a bitey one gets bitten back and begins to understand 'I'm playing too rough.'

We got two kittens from a rescue centre, they had to be homed as a pair (as were all their other kittens), to be honest I think they would be both happier as single cats, particularity the less dominant of the pair.

I was also told to always get 2 kittens. It was fine for us at the start. We adopted them together, they entertained each other (but still loved to play with us) and they really loved each other sharing beds etc. they were always together. Im not quite sure what happened, but As they got older they became more distant. Its now at the point where one of them barely comes home and when she does, the other one growls at her. They havent really attacked each other, but they definitely stay away. Our girl only comes home and stays indoors a bit if im around. The boy is home all the time, but he requires so much attention (hes more like a dog than a cat) and i think he just hates sharing this.
The cats are only 3 years old now, so this all happened in a short time.

Just for the sake of balance, I will add that cat behaviorists - so I have read - are often called out to multi cat households where one or more cat has become stressed, so it's not an exact science. Kinda pot luck if your kittens get on as they mature.

It seems homing kittens in pairs is good for the kittens. However as adults, be prepared that one may need rehoming if they don’t bond as adults. I adopted a cat in this context. Both cats had a much better home life as a consequence. Rather than the alternative of making each other miserable

Our son got 2 Siamese and much as they play and love each other they both love people , they are as a breed known to be very friendly and love their humans . WRT litter trays you need one more than you have cats ideally so for 2 cats that would be 3 not 2 .

My cats happily share a litter tray. I have a multipet discount on the insurance. And the cattey is an only a few £ extra for the cattery. So it's not double the cost. And having two is wonderful!

OP, keep us posted on how you get on.

We're actively looking for a cat or bonded pair of cats after our lovely old cat got cancer last year. My younger child has autism and LDs and is very noisy/chaotic. He is totally indifferent to animals and left our old cat alone (it was mutual!) but I'm very much aware that we need the right (bombproof!) cat who won't freak out at him, so I also wondered about getting kittens. I don't really want young ones though, would rather older kittens or cats under the one year mark.

I'm fairly sure this is going to mean that we'll be rejected by all the local cat shelters. They're already very picky - last time we adopted, many of them felt our childre were too young and this time I suspect my son will be too autistic.

Update - I got two and they are adorable. Best decision ever, highly recommended!

Pay your kitten tax then!