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I had posted on the forum earlier regarding adding a dog to our family of 1 adult and 1 6 month old kitten. However, that post seemed rather premature, as it turns out. We ended up with some unexpected expenses recently and after going through out budget and lifestyle, getting a dog/ puppy would not be the best thing for us till we buy a house in 2.5 yrs (we will mostly likely be moving to a different city when my husband is done with his present training here). Getting a dog will mean way more initial expense and since we are interested in a large dog, the cost to feed, vet cost, insurance cost - everything will be more. I do not want to get into a commitment and then have to think twice about vet visits - no pet deserves that.
So would it be a good idea to get another kitten, since we were either ways thinking of 2 dogs and 2 cats in our future?
Some considerations:
1) Calvin loves to hang out with us but at times I feel he's bored. He sometimes plays on his own but at other times he just sits there looking at us while we work. DH and I are both in academia and our work does not end when we are home. We spend at least an hour actively playing with Calvin - some high energy, some low but I am sure he can do with more. When we go out he vocalizes some and then usually goes to his room and sits on a chair and then snoozes - he usually does not play alone when we are not there. Or else he perches on the back of the sofa and looks out the window for a bit and then heads to his room. He is really happy to see us when we are back. Will having a friend help him miss us less?
2) Calvin is well taken care of (barring my stupidity and him injesting a string recently) and is generally a loving, well behaved guy, though a tad spoilt, I must say. Since the day he's been with us (2 months now), he's made the house his own and have favorite spots in each and every room where he hangs out. I don't know how this territorial aspect will play out if we get another. We, at times feel, that he has a tendency to be protective of his toys etc. He was previously fostered with 3 other kittens and 3 adult cats and 1 dog and the foster mom called him "demanding" and when I had emailed to ask how he was with dogs or cats, she did not really elaborate but rather said that he should be fine since he has socialized well with both dogs and cats. We saw him around the brood and he was fine, except 1 time when the dog was irritating him and he hissed at the dog. Calvin is good with his litter box and needless to say, I do not want that to change due to stress with another kitten.
3) I have an upcoming research trip for 6 weeks or so and Calvin will have to be with DH (who either way is his favorite). Now DH is out of the house 12-13 hours and we have set his mealtimes accordingly - we free feed him dry and he has wet at 6 am and 7 pm. So Calvin will remain home alone at this time. I was home most days since he's been here and occassionally we has been left alone for 10 hours or so (maybe a total of 4-5 times). This is a matter of 6 weeks and then I will be back and home most of the time. So is it worth the stress of introducing a kitten for 6 weeks or so when he can be really lonely? If they bond - great, if not, we may have trouble in our hands.
We thoroughly enjoy having Calvin and at this point feel that we are ok with just having him but we want to do the best for Calvin - there is definitely the guilt of being on this trip for 6 weeks. We'd be happy to add another kitten to our family, just do not want to stress Calvin a lot.
What would you have done in our shoes?
So would it be a good idea to get another kitten, since we were either ways thinking of 2 dogs and 2 cats in our future?
Some considerations:
1) Calvin loves to hang out with us but at times I feel he's bored. He sometimes plays on his own but at other times he just sits there looking at us while we work. DH and I are both in academia and our work does not end when we are home. We spend at least an hour actively playing with Calvin - some high energy, some low but I am sure he can do with more. When we go out he vocalizes some and then usually goes to his room and sits on a chair and then snoozes - he usually does not play alone when we are not there. Or else he perches on the back of the sofa and looks out the window for a bit and then heads to his room. He is really happy to see us when we are back. Will having a friend help him miss us less?
2) Calvin is well taken care of (barring my stupidity and him injesting a string recently) and is generally a loving, well behaved guy, though a tad spoilt, I must say. Since the day he's been with us (2 months now), he's made the house his own and have favorite spots in each and every room where he hangs out. I don't know how this territorial aspect will play out if we get another. We, at times feel, that he has a tendency to be protective of his toys etc. He was previously fostered with 3 other kittens and 3 adult cats and 1 dog and the foster mom called him "demanding" and when I had emailed to ask how he was with dogs or cats, she did not really elaborate but rather said that he should be fine since he has socialized well with both dogs and cats. We saw him around the brood and he was fine, except 1 time when the dog was irritating him and he hissed at the dog. Calvin is good with his litter box and needless to say, I do not want that to change due to stress with another kitten.
3) I have an upcoming research trip for 6 weeks or so and Calvin will have to be with DH (who either way is his favorite). Now DH is out of the house 12-13 hours and we have set his mealtimes accordingly - we free feed him dry and he has wet at 6 am and 7 pm. So Calvin will remain home alone at this time. I was home most days since he's been here and occassionally we has been left alone for 10 hours or so (maybe a total of 4-5 times). This is a matter of 6 weeks and then I will be back and home most of the time. So is it worth the stress of introducing a kitten for 6 weeks or so when he can be really lonely? If they bond - great, if not, we may have trouble in our hands.
We thoroughly enjoy having Calvin and at this point feel that we are ok with just having him but we want to do the best for Calvin - there is definitely the guilt of being on this trip for 6 weeks. We'd be happy to add another kitten to our family, just do not want to stress Calvin a lot.
What would you have done in our shoes?