Would it be a good idea to get a kitten?

[Kacox]

My cats are Greta 7F and Keith 6M, I introduced them when they were 3 and 2. They get along well for the most part, but aren't super affectionate. The main issues they have is that Keith can be a little bit of a bully with food (I feed him separately now), and he wants to play with Greta so bad but she wants nothing to do with it. She's incredibly dramatic when he tries to wrestle with her and screams and gets mad at him. I know Greta just wants to chill but it makes me sad that Keith can't play like he wants to and. I can tell it frustrates him.

I want to know if it's a good idea to get a kitten. My idea is that maybe if Keith has another friend who will actually play with him he could maybe lay off Greta, and a baby would be easier to introduce than another adult. My friend found a baby last night and is going to foster.
Thoughts and ideas?

 

[Biomehanika]

Honestly minus the food bullying I am in basically the same exact situation as you. My cats are F (almost) 13 and M (almost) 1. They get along and will even sleep together/groom each other when the boy is calm but when he wants to play/wrestle he drives my old girl absolutely mad and it frustrates him that she is so uninterested in play. She gets very upset by these play advances and will hiss and growl and yelp at him too.

I bit the bullet and adopted another 1 year old male on Friday for the same reasons you are considering doing so. They haven’t met yet nor have I even started introductions/scent swapping, but I think/hope it’ll go well and balance out the situation and give my younger boy a friend to play with. This kitty is already a mature adult despite being young, so there may be hiccups, but generally kittens are much easier to introduce, so if you did get a proper kitten it would likely go quite smoothly as long as introductions were done properly. Adult cats generally don’t feel threatened by kittens in the same way they can feel about other adults.

If you think your cats will benefit from it, and you can provide the costs of food/vet care for a third cat, and are able to separate the new cat in order to do proper introductions while still giving them all attention and love, and are willing to work through any issues that may occur, then I say go for it. There are lots of kitties out there that need homes.

 

[Kacox]

Honestly minus the food bullying I am in basically the same exact situation as you. My cats are F (almost) 13 and M (almost) 1. They get along and will even sleep together/groom each other when the boy is calm but when he wants to play/wrestle he drives my old girl absolutely mad and it frustrates him that she is so uninterested in play. She gets very upset by these play advances and will hiss and growl and yelp at him too.

I bit the bullet and adopted another 1 year old male on Friday for the same reasons you are considering doing so. They haven’t met yet nor have I even started introductions/scent swapping, but I think/hope it’ll go well and balance out the situation and give my younger boy a friend to play with. This kitty is already a mature adult despite being young, so there may be hiccups, but generally kittens are much easier to introduce, so if you did get a proper kitten it would likely go quite smoothly as long as introductions were done properly. Adult cats generally don’t feel threatened by kittens in the same way they can feel about other adults.

If you think your cats will benefit from it, and you can provide the costs of food/vet care for a third cat, and are able to separate the new cat in order to do proper introductions while still giving them all attention and love, and are willing to work through any issues that may occur, then I say go for it. There are lots of kitties out there that need homes.

I am a huge advocate for adopting older cats. My only issue this time is how much harder it is, it took me almost a year to get my two to be cool with each other

 

[ArtNJ]

Its a bit of a dice roll. The kitten could potentially bug Greta as much or more than it helps with Keith. Maybe the most likely outcome is some benefit, but its hard to say. I tend to think its best to only get another kitten if you actually want one, and regard the potential help as a nice bonus.

 

[Kacox]

Its a bit of a dice roll. The kitten could potentially bug Greta as much or more than it helps with Keith. Maybe the most likely outcome is some benefit, but its hard to say. I tend to think its best to only get another kitten if you actually want one, and regard the potential help as a nice bonus.

I know that's the gamble
I have really been wanting another cat for a while regardless, but I'm trying to gauge if it's a good idea. And also justify it to my husband haha

 

[Tik cat's mum]

We had 2 cat's and one of them has a abundance of energy at 4 years old. He was good with the older cat until he wanted to play, then wouldn't leave him alone. My older boy 7 is pretty chilled and even though he does have a mad half hour that's him for the day. Patches doesn't want to wrestle like Bandit. So we decided to add another thought was a girl up to 1 year's old. Anyway ended up with another boy 4months old. Now Lucky and Bandit are crazy together and Patches veiws from a safe distance. My suggestion would be a older kitten around 5 or 6 months not a tiny one, that way you won't be panicking when they play about the little one getting hurt. Even at that age it can look so rough but as long as the kitten still keeps going back for more it's all good. It worked for us but it could go both ways.

 

[di and bob]

I agree with the above, get a young MALE, who will be buddies with your cat. Females almost always act like yours, it is in their nature to be the one to doscipline and teach manners, not play. If you get a female then you will have two that sit there and be dramatic!

 

[Alldara]

I would say IF you can pick out a younger cat (6months to 1 year), based on personality, then there could be a benefit.

My late Lily and late Nobel got along best with a younger cat around. They thrived as a threesome when my roommate had a young male cat for them to play with. Their relationship slowly deteriorated to just tolerating one another when we spent years without a third wheel for them.

After Lily passed, we adopted a 4 to 5 month old kitten for Nobel (14). He played with and loved Magnus. He could not keep up with Magnus's energy though. He learned how to use many puzzles and toys by watching Magnus and just generally his life was enriched. But we had to get ANOTHER kitten later to play with Magnus to calm the home.

So that's why I recommend getting a, not as much of a kitten, who likes to wrestle and is used to older cats. Check with your local rescues and talk a lot with the fosters to ensure you have a good fit.