When did you get another cat?

[Kellogswontdo]

We sadly lost our beloved 15 year old cat 4 months ago. I said I wouldn’t get another as I was heartbroken and didn’t want to feel like we’d replaced her.
Now I’m considering it because I miss her so much and miss having a cat around the house. My children miss her too and have commented on how the house doesn’t feel like home without a pet.
Im considering adopting brother and sister cats but I weirdly feel very nervous about the prospect. Yet I already have an online shop order in a basket ready to check out for new bowls, bed, scratch post etc.
How long after losing your cat did you get another? Did the feeling of replacement disappear? Did you know you were ready when you brought them home? How does having 2 cats compare? Are you glad you got another?
Sorry for all the questions, I don’t want to upset my family so I need to ensure it’s the right choice for us before fully committing.

I took a bit over a year. It would have been sooner but I was working on a project that meant I was travelling a lot. I got two kittens who entertained themselves, and have given me no end of joy as they have grown older.

Although my last cat had been on her own for over a decade, I’d originally got her when I already had another, older male so I was used to a two cat household.

If you’re at this stage, you just need to jump. Good luck 🐈🐈‍⬛

28 days, hated being catless

We were 14 years between our old cat and our current overlords , not because we thought 'no more cats' but animals are a responsibility and my DD and I had guinea-pigs for 8 years ( eight of them over this period ).
DH wanted a cat again so when the piggies got to dwindlimg numbers and we lost three oldies over 6 months , we looked into cats again.
I found it difficult getting a new piggie as I felt it was replacing the one that died but they do need company and we gave the new ones a home .

We have a brother/sister cat pair they were a year old when we got them. They jog along together nicely and like their own space which is fine , they often sleep on our bed during the day ,

3 days
I rang my boys old foster home to tell her that he had gone. She was upset, and we had a chat, she said "I've actually set up my own rescue and weirdly had a cat come in that reminded me straight away of X, I know it's too soon"

He didn't even make it to the website before I adopted him

The photos show how I knew it was right. He's so similar and so different. I still cried over my boy for a good few months but it helped and it never felt wrong

I was 3 months following the loss of our 19 year old cat. I went for a ragdoll and after having him for about a year, decided to get him company and got a rescue cat about the same age. My 19 year old was an outdoor cat so was fine on his own, but the two I have now are indoors and it’s so much better when they have company.

I knew about Penelope within hours of Magics death as I told the rescue she'd died and they suggested Pen. She actually came home about 6 weeks later. I still missed Magic terribly, but knowing there was another cat coming, really helped.

Less than a month.

We still had two cats at home when our girl went but it didn't feel right with just two! The third (a kitten) settled right in within about 24 hours.

I never leave it longer than about six weeks. My kitties are my whole world. I love them with all my heart and it breaks me every time I lose one but I can't bear to think of all those other kitties sat in rescues and desperately waiting for a home when I have the perfect one for them.

And I just know it's what the kitty who I've just lost would want me to do ❤️🐾

About a month. Didn't really have much choice as I work out of home & Girlcat is indoor only. She'd also been with her brother since birth. So every second I was in the house she was crying & wanting attention, I did try working from home a few times but it was impossible with a) those eyes drilling through my seat, b) the constant crying & meeping coming from next to me and c) the delicate little pats on my thighs every couple of minutes.

So it wasn't for me I brought Tobias home, he was for her. I actually didn't go for a few cats who I would have adored, but he was clearly the best fit for her. Regarding me, he's still a work in progress but he and Girlcat get on very well - especially now he knows she is the boss!

We have multiple cats (four at present), and I've never been completely catless because I 'top up' before that happens. Usually with pairs of kittens.
For us a home wouldn't be a home without a cat presence.

And I don't think you ever 'replace' a previous cat. Cats are all such individuals, with their own quirks and personalities, that they each create their own unique position in a home.

Day after the cat died I was googling rescues.

This is a 2 cat household and feels wrong at any less.

Next door neighbour is the same with dogs, she makes sure she is never 'dogless' as it's too awful to contemplate.

It was about 5 months, but I got in touch with the rescue after about 2 and a half.

I was specifically looking for a pair and the first possibility didn't work out (owners changed their minds) then I was about to go on holiday when the second set came up, so they moved in on my return.

My adorable little pair of sisters didn't replace my old boy, but they filled the void he had left, and they bring joy every day. Had them about 2 years now.

Great story

Really, indecently, quickly. I couldn’t bear having no cat in the house. Our girl was pts on the Thursday and I met our new boy the following Wednesday. He came home two days later. I was so utterly grief stricken, and had periods of thinking he was “the wrong cat”, but six months on, he is 100% the right cat.

I still miss our darling girl every day, but he is a joy and I am sure she sent me a little orange thug who would keep me on my toes.

2 years but I had a baby two weeks after our first cat died so it was full on for a while.

Two weeks after beloved boy pts. Friend was looking after a big boy on her allotment and it was obvious he was an abandoned pet, very affectionate. Treated as a community cat by cat protection and had been outdoors for two years. He had been sleeping in a greenhouse up to last Xmas. Took him home, now soppy total lap cat, he loves his comforts including my lap and chest and also his heated pad. I was not really ready, but I couldn’t leave him and it was fine.

Sorry for your loss.
We had to have our old boy put to sleep at the start of the year and we adopted a mother & daughter pair from our local shelter within 5 weeks.
The house was so quiet without having a pet and we all made the decision together.

I'd had cats for the past 44 years. The last one died almost 2 years ago and I didn't intend to ever have another. A little cat kept turning up in my garden in the summer, tatty and in poor condition. I fed it occasionally. It was out in pouring rain, and at night as well. I asked around the neighbourhood, also on Facebook, if anyone owned it. Nothing. I eventually gained the cat's trust, took it to the vet 2 weeks ago, it wasn't microchipped and was an entire male. I was told he'd got a couple of broken teeth.

I had him neutered and chipped, and the vet removed NINE teeth. Since then, he's been on a soft diet, had 2 lots of antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, and a blood test showed he's got FIV. He's a lovely, gentle cat, but is likely to have further health problems due to the FIV. I didn't want another cat, but am SO glad this one found me.

I don't this too. Currently at 5 though. I think this is my limit.

Though we have an elderly dog and my eldest cat is 16 and slowing down a lot recently. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.

I had 2 cats and the older one died. He was 100% my boy while the other cat was (and still is) permanently attached to my DD.

I got my ragdoll 3 months after he died and for me it was far too soon. She was a beautiful loving little kitten but when I held her I just got upset because I missed my boy too much so ended up ignoring her a lot of the time (luckily she got a lot of love from other members of the household).

It took me weeks to start to bond with her and 4 years on I absolutely adore her.