Adopting a second cat

[hbeaudoin]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums, but have been a long time lurker. I have been going back and forth about adopting a second cat, and would love some input. I tried to reach out to several shelters and rescue leagues with this question, but they haven't been much help.

Some background...

My husband and I adopted our first cat, Salem, back in November of last year. He was a stray, so we don't have a lot of information on him. He's 2-3 years old, indoor, declawed, and male. He has been an absolute joy -- he's very sweet to us, extremely mellow, timid and takes time to get used to other people. While he's needy, he also has an independent/grumpy side (then again, don't all cats? ;-) ). We have been watching him very carefully over the past few months and really think that he would benefit from having a companion. We would love to get another cat, and think it might help with his boredom. He does enjoy playing with us, but gets bored easily.

Other personality traits -- I do think he is territorial, but I know this is common. When he sees another cat outside, he goes nuts and makes these piercing meows (it's like nails on a chalkboard!).  He NEVER makes sounds otherwise, so not sure if he's just protecting his "home" or is trying to communicate? He also LOVES to groom my husband -- when he gets out of the shower, he has to lap his hair for at least 5 minutes. It's strange, but it seems like he sees my husband as one of his litter.

I work from home, so I initially didn't think he would need a friend since he has my company. But, we aren't home a lot at night and most weekends are out and about doing things. By the time we get home, it's evident he's very lonely.

My question is -- how do I really know if he would do well with another cat? Is it truly a gamble or are his personality traits indicators? I just want to give him the best life possible, especially since he's indoors. Since he is around 3 years old, would it be smart to adopt a cat of similar age or a kitten? Male/female? Any info would be greatly appreciated. We would absolutely love another kitty, but the potential of losing such a great bond with our existing cat breaks my heart.

Thanks!

 

[tulosai]

To be honest it is kind of a crapshoot but I still think you should go for it What age cat you can get depends on his energy level. I'd suggest one similar in age but anything from 1-3 yrs could probably work.  I would strongly advise against a tiny kitten, they tend to have too much energy and really annoy older cats.  That doesn't mean it can't be made to work, but it is almost always a rocky start and it looks like you are trying to avoid that.

I'd search for a friendly sociable cat (toward other cats not just humans) go slow with introductions, and not have any real 'expectations' other than the expectation that given time and patience it can work.  There is no real guarantee the cats will ever be best buds but they will definitely be able to live together and probably will grow to be friends.

 

[hbeaudoin]

Thanks for the reply! I'm also concerned because my current cat is declawed. What happens if we get another cat that has claws? Is this going to be a problem?

 

[msbedelia]

I don't have experience with that, but I've heard that as long as you keep the clawed cat's nails trimmed it isn't a problem. (And, really, even if they both had claws, that's still a good idea to trim in order prevent any injury if aggression ever pops up, and it might even in cats who are friends if someone spied something through the window that makes them upset/threatened.) You may want to be extra slow and cautious in your intros as well to make sure no fights break out.

We've been in the process of introducing two females for a month and a half now. Things are finally looking up, lol, though I think we made a number of mistakes along the way! (And I'm sure they'll throw us a number of kinks yet.) At this point, I can't say whether or not they'll be friends (though I'm hopeful), but they are spending some time allowed to mingle finally. It's been a long and hard road- mostly because of the newbie, Squeak, who I think felt like she was dropped behind enemy lines and had to fight (not literally) for territory- and I don't think that's typical or will be your experience (though its not unheard of). While they haven't been able to keep each other company yet in the way I would like, they definitely do keep each other interested and stimulated ("omg it's the other cat, omg she's in there, omg"). They both get lonely when the BF and I are gone, so I think they're good for each other.

It can be a challenging road. Some people give up really soon bc its stressful and/or they weren't prepared to take time with it. But I personally do think every cat deserves a feline friend.

 

[sivyaleah]

Our male cat, Casper was 12 years old right before we added our 2nd (female) cat. She's about 3-5 years old - not sure, she was a rescue. He was very territorial to outsiders that would come near our home but other than that, a lovable non-aggressive cat overall (in fact, really well behaved).  However, we felt that perhaps he would benefit from the company of another feline and eventually after much deliberations and consultations, added Cocoa to our household.  Part of this was also for us of course, and the desire to give a homeless kitty it's forever home.

We followed all the introduction instructions exactly as written lol.  Seems to have worked pretty well because while it did take a few weeks for them to acclimate to each other, there never was any out and out slap downs or fur flying at any time.  Casper would growl and hiss a little bit, but really not as much as we feared he would.  And within a few weeks he stopped that.  

I'd say it took maybe a couple of months before we felt the two of them were really "friends" - when we caught them snoozing on our bed cuddling together, we knew everything was going to be fine (of course, Cocoa was and is still, the one who initiates those close moments, but he doesn't get up and leave, so all is good).  Getting her turned out to be really good for him as his energy level picked up substantially (he's 13 now) and she, was a very social cat who would have needed a feline companion in her home to be happy I think.  

You just don't really know how it's going to go but if you don't rush through having them meet, and do it the right way, most likely all will go fine.  

As for your resident cat being declawed, as already mentioned, all you'd have to do is keep the new cats claws trimmed.  And I'll tell you I've never seen either of my cats use their claws on each other at all.  They mostly paw at each other with them sheathed.  If anything, I worry more about biting, both have a tendency to give little nips when they are wrestling with each other.  Freaks me out kind of but it's obvious they are playing nice and having fun, so I've learned to relax about it (mostly 

 ).