Second cat advice!!

Queries and discussions about cat rescue & rehoming
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Jreardanz
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Second cat advice!!

Post by Jreardanz »

I adopted my baby girl from a rescue about 10 months ago. She's 3 years old and is shy (but has REALLY improved since I brought her home) but is sweet, friendly, and playful!

I've been thinking about adopting a kitten, since I think she may enjoy a companion (she shows signs of being lonely when I've been gone all day and she does have a lot of stimulation). I'm nervous that I'm not interpreting this right and she would be overwhelmed and regress back to being scared. Any advice????
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Janey
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Re: Second cat advice!!

Post by Janey »

Hi and welcome. It’s difficult to tell whether a cat will be ok with other cats unless the rescue told you beforehand or the cats have lived with other cats previously. But if you can afford two cats it can be a good idea if your cat is ok with other cats. We only have one cat at the moment, but in the past we’ve always had two cats, which has meant introducing cats to oneanother, very often older cats. They haven’t usually been big buddies but they’ve still lived ok together and there’s been no nastiness. You could have a word with rescues in your area and they may be able to help, some rescues near us do a trial homing so that’s worth asking about. You never know they may get on really well, as your cat is still quite young. You can find rescues if you click on your area here:

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-r ... uk-ireland

This information on introductions may be helpful too:

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/new-cat-introductions

Best of luck.
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Ruth B
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Re: Second cat advice!!

Post by Ruth B »

Some cats really seem to appreciate the company rather than being alone all day, others don't seem to care. I've always opted to have two, or at present 3, cats so they would have company as the house would normally be empty while both myself and my OH were at work. I know of very few cases when the cats couldn't learn to co habit even if they weren't exactly friends. A good supply of food, water and sleeping places means they know they aren't competing for resources as they would in the wild. and cats are incredibly adaptable to make the most of any situation.

My one thought is have you considered an older cat rather than a kitten. Kittens are incredibly boisterous for months and might be a bit overwhelming for your girl if she isn't overly self confident. A good charity will be able to help you select a nice placid cat, possibly one that is known to enjoy feline company. Kittens can be a bit of an unknown as far as character goes, while it is developing at 12 weeks, an older cat, similar in age to yours would already have its character settled and known.

Its over two years since we adopted our two youngsters, both about 6 months old at the time, one lad,full of confidence, and one girl who was extremely nervous. As the lad grew older he became more and more boisterous antagonising both young Freyja and Tiggy our resident granny cat. Freyja originally took her lead from Saturn, but as he became a little too much for her she change her allegiance and now is normally found following Tiggy around.
Jreardanz
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Re: Second cat advice!!

Post by Jreardanz »

Thanks for the advice! I do know that she got along well with the other cats at the rescue she lived at before coming home, so that's one of the things that leads me to think a second kitty may be a good idea. I've read that introducing a kitten can often go better than introducing another adult cat, which made me think a kitten was a better idea. Thoughts? Thanks!
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