Advice on multiple cat adoption?

[Mylita]

We are getting a female british blue and thinking about getting her sister or a brother (brother is from a different litter, is a silver shaded british shorthair) and debating the pros and cons. (The kitten(s) will be fixed, no new kittens desired.) My hubby just wants one kitty cause he thinks two would mean two litter boxes, thinks they won't share. My sister adopted two sisters and they had dominance issues that lead to undesirable behavior and the requirement for medication for one of them.

At one time we had a brother and a sister half siamese cats and they did have some minor conflicts. Eventually, we set up two separate litter boxes for them. I'm interested in hearing others experiences and thoughts on this. Am I unreasonable for wanting two? I just think that it would give them some security and companionship. Are two females more likely to develope conflicts than a boy and girl?

Mylita

[Merlin_Guinevere]

I've had my cats for 5 months (they were 6 months when I adopted them). I've only ever let them have one litter box, and they share with absolutely no problem. I guess it depends on the cats.

[gharrissc]

I've adopted two cats together in the past and had no problems. I've found it easier to have more than one litter box because it just makes it easier for the cats. One of my former cats wouldn't use a dirty box at all. If you get the two then I would definitely recommend a second box at least. If these two cats seem to get along now,then they may not have issues if adopted together.

[Merlin_Guinevere]

Oh, and as for your conflict question, there are many girl bonded kitties out there. Mine happen to be a boy and a girl, but I am thinking of adopting a third kitty (girl) on Monday or Tuesday. One of the workers at the SPCA told me that once cats are older adults, they MAY have trouble accepting a new kitty. She said that at that point, boys are more accepting of a new one than girl cats are, especially if it is another girl you are adding. I would take another guess, however, and say it probably depends on the kitties again. If your two are starting out as kittens together, they likely wouldn't have any problem since they will be growing up together.

[Arianwen]

It depends on the cats - litter boxes need not always be an issue. Although the ideal is one per cat plus a spare, I have never needed that. At one time I had only two cat - one I still have the other had to be PTS. They had two litter boxes but shared them both - bizarrely, they used one for pooing and one for weeing! Currently I have six and they don't seem to have any sense of "ownership" of any particular one.

[Nan]

I have two females. They were already bonded. (they came into the shelter together). I also have two litter boxes, one upstairs & one downstairs.

Two are nice because they have each other's company when I'm gone and they like to play with each other. But two cost more in terms of food and vet bills.

[ecat]

There's nothing wrong with adopting two at once, but definitely adopt kittens or already bonded cats. I adopted two cats who didn't know each other at the same time (already had one cat). Unfortunately it did not work out for one of the newcomers as she absolutely hated other cats. We tried Feliway, slow introductions etc. but unfortunately ultimately had to return her to the no-kill shelter within the trial period .

[ecat]

Oh - and regarding the litter boxes, I definitely recommend 2. They can be right next to each other... I'm not sure why this would be a deal breaker to be honest. The poo and wee from 2 cats will be the same regardless of the number of boxes. I actually have 3 boxes for my 2 cats, but we could definitely get away with 2.

[Arianwen]

It's hard to give hard and fast rules. My six started as:
2 x individuals
2 x pre-bonded but not related
2 x litter mates

Now one believes she is the mother of four of them (who also act like litter mates) and vice versa and one is fairly aloof from the others.

Who could tell it would work out that way?

[spidermilk]

I don't think it is unreasonable to get two cats. When I got my two kittens I was originally only going to take one (they were from a litter a stray cat my parents took in had), but when they needed one more home I gladly took two. Honestly, other than the double vet bills and eating twice as much food they are great. They take out all their extreme biting on each other and it is just as easy to scoop up both of them when they are getting into trouble as it is to scoop up one.

Not sure about the litterboxes- I have 3 for 3 cats and I'm going to add a fourth.

I know some people who won't get two dogs of the same age because (sadly) both will probably start having health problems at the same time when they get older and die around the same time. Financial and emotional burden.