[minikin44]

I've read that having two kittens at the same time is better than just one, because they can play with each other. Right now I have 3 cats... one is 10 years old (Binky), one is 7 years old (Tugboat), and the third is about 4.5 months old (Bear). Of the two older cats, the Binky does nothing but hiss and growl at the poor kitten, so I keep them separated, and the Tugs will tolerate the playing some, but weighs 9 pounds more than Bear (so he could really accidentally thrash him) and often gets irritated by Bear's non-stop desire to play. Bear will launch himself at Tugs old constantly when they're together, so they only have supervised play time. I try to play with Bear as much as possible, and so does my mother, but she has work and I'm in college again, so he spends parts of the day alone, and even when we're home, we can't constantly play with him.

With all that being said, I could use some opinions. Would it be better if I got another kitten to be buddies with Bear, or will he be fine spending a lot of his time alone? What are the pros and cons of sticking with 1 kitten and with having 2?

Petfinder Adoptable Cat | Domestic Medium Hair | Edinburg, VA | Thistle
I have my eye on this little sweetheart if I decide to get another and the two of them get along.

 

[3furbabies]

I seriously recommend two!!! Based on experience. I first got sophie when my dog was 6 months old, originally for a friend/playmate. They loved each other off the bat but it didn't work out like I expected. Sophie kept trying to play with the dog like a kitten who then in returned played with her like a dog and usually hurt her by accident.

I went back to the rescue and got her cage mate who I wanted to get with sophie but didn't, two weeks later. It was amazing. To this day they are super bonded and chase each other and wrestle non stop (they are just over a year). 6 months after i got them I adopted an older cat who is 6. Not to say I regret her, but if I could do it again I would stick with two. They all get along and occasionally the older one plays with them, but its mostly the younger two who play , groom, cuddle each other.

By getting a second one, you will indeed make the older cats very happy. Your kitten will leave them alone completely and spend all of his time with the new kitten. They will grow up together and be completely bonded. They younger they are the easier it is to introduce. :smiles

 

[jadis]

The biggest thing to consider imo is double the vet bills. If you can afford that, then I recommend two, especially since you already have multiple cats and know what is involved. I've only had littermates once but it was neat. I would have gotten a second kitten when I found Tigerlily but I had a sick senior at the time and I couldn't afford it .

 

[sueasinsue]

two!

I was presented with the opportunity to rescue a kitten, a friend of a friend's cat had kittens and he couldn't afford to keep them. I initially planned on adopting one but my husband talked me into two litter mates and I am SO glad he did. I personally think taking it slow when introducing them to the resident cat is the way to go, my resident cat, EZ, is an aggressive tortie with a wicked tude, so I kept them separated at first, the kittens keep each other company when they are in their room, and you won't feel guilty locking them in their room for the night when you first get them, plus that gives your resident cat some down time away from the kitten antics. They also play together which keeps them from jumping on my resident cat, and she can watch them from a far.

 

[Tobietoes]

I agree with the others... two kittens are better than one! They will keep eachother busy and not bother the older cat so much. At least in my experience, the older cats grow to love and accept the newer cats... once they are no longer kittens, that is. That takes a couple years.

 

[marie73]

Not a bad idea, and that little kitty is freaking adorable, BUT, things could backfire - the new kitty could bug the CRAP out of the older cats, and teach Bear bad habits. I'm just saying.....

 

[minikin44]

Gah it's like sending human children to school and they learn bad habits from other kids... lol

 

[marie73]

Seriously. The twinz taught Cleo bad things. Heck, they still are!

 

[Jezahb]

I am on the other end here where I regret getting 2 kittens at once. The main issue was, they bonded with each other so much they ended up being a LOT less affectionate to me. I got litter mates, a brother and sister and they are attached at the hip still even at 6 years old. I just find them to be way more aloof than any kitten I got as a single, because when you get a single you are their world and IMHO it does form a stronger bond. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Milky's Mammy]

That's also making me quite undecisive about having a 2nd kitten. Milky is now 1.5 yrs old. We want to get a kitten but the kitten will most likely be under 5months and with this gap, I'm worried if they'll adapt to each other or find each other annoying. That and vet costs, as jadis mentioned.

A friend of mine got a 2nd kitten when her 1st cat was around 1.5yrs too but they haven't gotten along even after almost a year.

What do to what to do what to do???

 

[marie73]

^ Speaking from experience, getting a second cat can also change your relationship with the first. I wouldn't mess with a good thing. :grin:

 

[minikin44]

Blah... see, it's a good thing right now, but a good thing with issues. When I first got Bear and was nursing him back to health, my mom was on break from work (she works in a high school) and I was on break from college, so we were both around 24-7 giving him "lovings." Now I'm at school part of 4 days a week and mom is at work most of 5 days a week. You can tell he's been lonely when we're gone, because when we get back, he wants to stick to us like glue. I give him as much attention as I can, and I love getting the affection from him, but I can only do so many things with one hand, and I feel awful when I have to put him down and/or not pay attention to him. I'd thought that my cat Tugs would keep him company by the time we had to leave him, but he's still so much smaller, and annoys the crap outta Tugs, so we can't leave them in the same room unsupervised or for long periods of time. Meanwhile Tugs is lonely now too because I mostly can't spend time with him and Bear at the same time. The third cat I have is well... borderline demonic and wants to be left alone except for being fed... so poor little Bear is all by himself trying to play and occupy himself. I guess I'm just going to be really careful about the kitten I select and hope that they're both still so young that they'll love each other. I've emailed the shelter asking if I can bring Bear in to meet the other kitties and see who he gets on with best, but I haven't heard back from them yet.

 

[LestatTheCat]

I was just perusing my local shelter's page and came across this poor fellow:

Petfinder Adoptable Cat | Domestic Short Hair-Black And White | Philadelphia, PA | HIPPY

My guy is super attached to me and that's ok because I work from home. I wonder if, like the other poster said, it would make him less attached? I kinda like the attention... but this little man looks so so sad. I wanna scoop him up and love him!

 

[minikin44]

Aww he's so cute! He does look really sad though, and he's young to have been out on his own as a stray!! Well, I can let you know how it goes with Bear but I won't be able to get to the shelter til Saturday, so you may want to base your decision on what's already been said here instead. I'm not sure whether or not it will make Bear less affectionate toward me (I hope not) but I can't make him be lonely just b/c I love his attention, and I recognize that I can't give him all the attention he wants. :-/

 

[LestatTheCat]

didn't mean to hijack your thread mini I was just browsing the shelter pages thinking about a second and then saw your thread.

That poor guy looks so sad, I want to save him. If you get to the shelter before I do, let me know what happens.

 

[minikin44]

No need to apologize :-D He really does look sad, poor baby! I'm going to the shelter this Saturday, so exciting! Still waiting to hear from them whether or not I can bring Bear with me to "pick" his new friend...

 

[sueasinsue]

interactive play

What about interactive play with Bear and Tugs-Get a toy-I used one of those fishing pole things with a stuffed mouse on the end, I would play with the kittens then switch it over to the resident cat. Resident cat didn't really play with it, but sniffed it a lot and stayed put while I switched it back and forth between them. Also when resident cat would lay down and the kittens would lay down or sit "near" her I used a cat nip stuffed fish and I would let "her" touch it, paw at it, then back to the kittens, then back to resident cat. I would do this for about 10-15 minutes whenever I caught them in the same room together and acting decent (not attacking and wrestling and crawling up the curtains).

 

[BigDaveyL]

I am thinking about getting a friend for Gadget so I'm watching he thread with interest.

I do have some anecdotal evidence. My gf's mom has watched my kitten Gadget when we have gone out of town.

Gadget seems to play well with the gf's mom's kitten who is a month younger than him. They love to run around chasing each other and wrestling. When they have gotten tired they sometimes snuggle.

The older female cat is very sweet, and loves to watch them run around.

 

[Alpaca]

Well..since a couple of ppl have shown interest in multiple cat friends, I can share my experience.

Miu is the resident cat and the smaller of the two. She's dominant and at first, wouldn't hesitate to remind Jack who was boss. He couldn't even look at her without risk of a face slap. She seemed so disgusted with him. He's a big softie and you could tell he wanted so much for her to accept him. He would test his luck a lot to see if she changed her mind. Sometimes you could hear him yelp and run away after she's smacked him. It was heartbreaking back then.

Miu was about 1 yrs old when we got Jack. His age is unknown but probably around 2-3 at the time we got him. Miu is now 3 and it's only been the last 6 months or so that she seems to finally accept him. After dinner, they would both disappear at the same time to the basement like they had a play date. She now chooses to sleep beside him, in separate chairs, but at least together.

One major step was when she was inside a cat house. Jack wanted to be close so he got on the ledge right in front of the house opening and sat down, his butt in her face. He was effectively blocking her view and exit point but she didn't move to slap him away.

There are still times when she hits him but they are more softer slaps that lack force. But on the whole, I think they are way better playmates to each other than I would be. They are of the same species and approx size compared to me.

You really kinda take a gamble when you get two. They may be great mates or be mortal enemies. It's just like people.

It's true tho that food would be double the amount.

 

[minikin44]

I wish

What about interactive play with Bear and Tugs-Get a toy-I used one of those fishing pole things with a stuffed mouse on the end, I would play with the kittens then switch it over to the resident cat. Resident cat didn't really play with it, but sniffed it a lot and stayed put while I switched it back and forth between them. Also when resident cat would lay down and the kittens would lay down or sit "near" her I used a cat nip stuffed fish and I would let "her" touch it, paw at it, then back to the kittens, then back to resident cat. I would do this for about 10-15 minutes whenever I caught them in the same room together and acting decent (not attacking and wrestling and crawling up the curtains).

Sueasinsue, sometimes Tugs will play with him, he'll even groom him, but even when trying to play nice, Tugs will get too rough and accidentally hurt Bear (he outweighs him 13 lbs to about 3.5). He will definitely hurt him a bit, perhaps on purpose, when he gets sick of Bear play attacking him, which doesn't take long. There is just, unfortunately, too much of an age/size gap for me to leave them together unsupervised.