I'm not sure on male female. But I can't see how it could hurt if you can afford another cat. It'd give Lily someone to play with and save you from getting scratched up as much? I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along soon.

 

I think a cat a little bit older might work well actually, because he or she could possibly teach Lily some cat manners. You would have to be careful to get a cat that could match her high energy level though - I have a 1-yr-old cat who is pretty laid back and doesn't play nearly as much as her approx. 5 yr. old brother. She is pretty much of a cat tree potato lol, whereas he runs around like a maniac and can't get enough of the wand toy.

 

How old is Lily?

I adopted my Ragdoll at 10 weeks (yeah, early)... not knowing that regardless of breed, kittens are kittens. And so he had boundless energy, running around, hijacking me (foot pouncing), play biting - beating me up pretty badly. All in play.

At six months I had enough of it and found him a compatible sister close to his age (rescue fosters know the personality of their charges). After the appropriate introductory techniques, problem solved!

All the energy he took out on me was diverted to his sister! Oh, there were epic olympic sessions - but no longer was I the object of his crazy kitten energies while remaining the object of his affection!

Yep, two has been a lot easier than one in regards to my sanity.

 

Hi Gpeg, you know my view on this from another thread you had . It's not to do with gender but personality is much more important I feel. A cat that is still quite young but not a kitten is great idea. You will need to do intros and doing them pays off in the long run. As Lily is quite active, you will still have a very playful home with two but the energy will get used up with each other far more and over 24 hour periods. But better it's aimed at each other than all at you and hubby. Pick a second cat wisely ( altho a lot of us here have had no choice, circumstance brought many to us not the other way)and it will be good for you all

 

Yes, I do. So another super active a cat?

 

Maybe some of you could email my DH?! Oh, and also pick out a cat for me? Cats don't seem to show up around here so there's little chance of a stray. And actually I had some trouble trying to get a cat from a shelter before I got Lily. If Lily had had an available litter mate I might have tried hard to talk DH into it. But she didn't.

I've looked around on PetFinder and Adopt a pet a bit today, but first, DH, lol!

 

I think you should tell DH that if he wants to save his skin (literally lol) , he should consider getting another cat. :grin:

 

Ha ha. I'll tell him. We had a short discussion about it at supper. He's afraid I'm becoming a cat lady.

We currently have male/female, but we once had 3 females who got along wonderfully and we're best friends. Our daughter has 2 males who can't move without doing it together.

Thanks. Good to know. I'm shopping the local shelters. Funny, now everyone needs to be an only cat. Actually, it saddens me how many cats are still on the sites that were there when I was looking earlier.

 

We currently have male/female, but we once had 3 females who got along wonderfully and we're best friends. Our daughter has 2 males who can't move without doing it together.

 

When I adopted Book, MowMow was 7. He had NO desire to befriend or play with Book and Book drove me BATTY. He was destructive, hyperactive, and by the time he turned a year old I seriously considered returning him to the shelter. I swore I'd never get another kitten because it was SO awful.

Now I've adopted Neelix and it's a WORLD of difference. Book is 3 and is still very playful. He's an EPIC babysitter for Neelix. They tussle, wrestle, and keep each other company. Early this afternoon they were both on the couch cuddling and Book was grooming Neelix. Neelix does all the same stuff Book did, but he doesn't have this pent up energy that Book did that seemed to turn him into a psychopath. He has an outlet and can burn off all that energy. When I put him in his room at night he settles right down to sleep. He's nice and tired and worn out.

Imo, two is better. Three is best.

 

I would go for another kitten closer to the age or maybe an older kitten, a teenager (in human terms). I think the introduction will be a lot easier with two kittens, and they'll also have the same energy level.

I have brother and sister kittens (will be "cats" tomorrow). They are high energy and great jumpers, but they spend most of their energy on each other, and mostly come to me for food and cuddling though I do play with them in the evenings too, and they now demand it every evening. They never grab my feet - they have each other for this, my feet are for rubbing on. They are also well-socialized and are very good in keeping their claws retracted all the time, even if they are annoyed with me e.g. when I brush them, they paw me with the claws in. I could simply be lucky with personality, but it also could be their socialization with each other, all the experience of play fighting. This by the way was apparent when I met them at the rescue - when I picked them up they stayed calm and kept their claws in and when they wanted to be let go, they pushed with soft paws.

 

Krissy, I was telling my BF about the difference between Book as a kitten and Neelix now...and he didn't get it until I told him "Book was a Doran-kitten, Neelix is a Muffin-kitten".

Doran was such a PITA (only for my poor BF, lol) and Muffin was (comparably) angelic. The reason we kept Muffin was because Doran needed a brother he could wrestle with, it helped keep my BF sane through Doran's kitten phase, lol.

OP, I agree with getting a teenager-sized kitten to befriend your little monster, lol. A slightly bigger kitten, ideally one who had been with siblings or other cats (so is well socialized) would do wonders with your naughty little one.

 

I've located a rescue that has a litter of 3 month old kittens I'm considering. How long could I expect to have to keep the kids separated? It's going to be a hassle doing it so I want to know what to expect and how long it might go on. I got something off that cat show I'm going to watch about it. It was on Facebook this morning!

 

I can't remember how old your current cat is. I think it's a kitten? If they are both young they should be OK. It won't be like an adult cat feeling its territory is being invaded.

IF there is a big size difference I wouldn't leave them alone until you're sure the little one will be safe.

 

Thanks for responding. Lily is 4 months now. 5 on the 24th.

 

I'm with MowMow, I don't think long intros would be necessary in this case since they're both so young, maybe just a few days to let the new little one get his/her sea legs in the new environment before becoming Lily's new toy lol.

 

I dont think it should be a problem. Just keep an eye out to make sure the play isn't too rough. Also, the new kitten will have to stay away until it's had a vet visit and been OKed to mix with the resident. You wouldn't want them to pass anything around.

My vet was great, I stopped by the office on the way home from the shelter with Neelix and they saw him right away for a quick inspection to make sure he could start being introduced. They set up another more comprehensive exam for the next week.

 

Okay, that sounds doable. Now just to convince my husband this is a good idea!

 

I have 2 almost 7wo siblings. (yes, they're VERY young.) But I can't imagine having just ONE! They have each other to play with + to RUN around the house with and generally burn off some kitten-energy - and of course, someone to nap with! They keep each other from getting bored + getting in trouble.

 

Gah, I'm so mad. This woman from the shelter first implies the kitten I liked was available, then today states it's getting adopted on Sunday with it's sibling. This was after she said I couldn't set up a time until after her grad party on Sunday. WTH. These shelters continue to screw me over. Which was why I ended up with a breeder before.

 

I don't think shelters do these types of things on purpose. They need to strike when the iron is hot to home these cats - what if you had changed your mind after they turned down this home that was taking two kittens and keeping siblings together?

She must not have been meant to be your kitten. The right one will come home eventually to be Lily's sibling. :thumb

 

G,
I understand your frustration...
But I agree with Heather...
Your Special one is out there, be patient!!
You'll find each other!!
Sharon

 

Maybe you guys are right! But Lily needs her pal now! I'm bummed.

 

How exciting, a new playmate. Maybe set up a time to go to the shelter anyway and see who is there rather than picking in advance? Then if you see a cat you love you might be able to take there and then. This way there will be less disappointment that you miss out like happened this time.

 

The shelters around here are mostly managed with foster homes. They are brought to different events around the city. I liked this one too because the fee is more reasonable than some of the others and the cats are fixed and fully vetted.

The Humane Society is about an hour away, there's a shelter with an actual place about the same distance. Now I'm kind of going back the other way. Lily been way more mellow the last 2 days. Maybe it's a sign.

 

Of course in the end it is your choice to have one or two and you need to be totally sure before taking another. But if you read Aoi thread you can see how much it has helped her kitten to have a playmate. I know it can be very stressful finding the one let alone the second.

 

Thanks. What's Aoi thread?

 

You mean this thread?

http://www.catforum.com/forum/37-behavior/282458-luka-noisey-its-night-time.html

 

No, this thread: http://www.catforum.com/forum/36-cat-chat/283170-now-im-piggy-middle-lol.html

Truly though, if all you want another cat for is so that your kitten doesn't scratch you too much, then perhaps you should rethink it. You should really, really want to share your home and your love with another kitty in need IMO, and you sound ambivalent about that.

 

Thanks. No. And actually, that's gotten better. Now it's the biting! Really though, as I said above, she's been better. And not as wild. I would love 2 just so they have each other when we're gone or on vacation, as well as someone to play with now. She doesn't play with toys that much even when we're playing with her.