Anyone else only have one?

[blazewind]

I'm the owner of  (or is it owned by,) a single cat.  While it seems very common to have 2 or 3 ,and certainly 5 is hardly unheard of, I'm  not sure I'll ever get a second cat.  Though I suppose, never say never.  I'm curious though for you other owners of single cats, what you think of having only one.  I've often heard at the cat should have a playmate, but at the same time, I;ve heard that many are antisocial and aren't guaranteed to like each other.  Are you ever worried your kitty is lonely or something?   Mine I find begs for attention alot, but I'm not sure, if thats just her nature or becuase one cat on its own will be more needy.  

I'm just curious to hear from other one-cat kitty parents.  

 

[blackjack]

We had one cat way back but then happened onto another and another and had 4 at one time. When we had just a single cat it hey were fine but we were home most of the time and gave them lots of attention. If we did happen to go away we had someone spend an hour minimum a day with them because they can get lonely and bored. I think it is personal choice and as long as your cat seems happy I wouldn't feel the need to get another. If you decide to introduce a new cat to the family you should talk to your vet for ways to do that. It has to be done gradually. We have lived with many cats and have never had a problem introducing new ones because we did it gradually. The newest member has to have a safe place to go. Hope this helps.

 

[jcat]

Mogli is our second "anti-social" cat, and the shelter volunteers urged me to take him because they knew I'd had experience with a cat that couldn't get along with others, and therefore I wouldn't be too tempted to add a second cat. He ended up at the shelter because of problems with his first family's other cat, and the shelter's attempts to slowly introduce him to other cats failed, so his adoption contract stipulates "no other cats".

A number of cats in rescues and shelters are put up for adoption as "single cats only", so it's a fallacy that all cats can do well in multi-cat households provided they're introduced properly. Trying to force them to live with others can result in behavioral problems like inappropriate elimination or overgrooming, or even stress-induced health problems. The vast majority can adapt provided they're introduced slowly, there are enough resources like litter boxes, food bowls, beds, etc., and ample room for "alone time". For some, that's simply not enough, and they're miserable and/or aggressive.

The key to keeping an "only cat" happy is lots of interaction - time spent playing, petting, grooming, etc. - so a one-person household where that person is away for long hours every day isn't the ideal home for a singleton. However, it's probably preferable to living under constant stress.

Mogli, like his predecessor, likes dogs, so a puppy may very well be in his future. Right now, he's never left alone for more than 6 - 7 hours at a stretch, and that's only a couple of days a month due to our different work schedules and long school vacations. He gets lots of attention and stimulation and can keep himself amused by getting into mischief. He came with his bad habits (mainly chewing, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, stealing food), so I doubt they're just the result of being bored here for lack of feline companionship. He can spend time out on his secured balcony, too, where there's always something to watch and he can tease the dog next door. They're really funny - they actually call each other to come out.

 

[mani]

Mine was a one cat household but ended up with another as he desperately needed a home.  I thought my girl would be pleased, but I think she'd really prefer to have me to herself (as would he). There is no guarantee that cats will be best mates. 

I agree with jcat.. a single cat who gets lots of attention is usually a very happy cat indeed.

  But if he or she doesn't get the stimulation she requires, there can be problems and an unhappy kitty.

 

[chestersmommy]

I find this interesting. I've NEVER been a cat person. I've had dogs my entire life (have 2 now), and though I love animals (also have a bunny), I found I never felt a real connection to any cats I'd been around....until I walked by Chester and he reached for me through the glass. He owned me in minutes.

I don't see myself getting another cat (though you never know....I always said I wouldn't have one at all). He seems perfectly content having me to himself. He plays with my older dog, to her chagrin, when he gets frisky. I'm sure my younger dog would LOVE to play with him, but I don't dare try that yet. I know he doesn't want to hurt Chester, but he gets excited easily.

I'd say feel it out. My older dog was my only pet for 8 years, but my parents had a dog that she visited often. When he died, she seemed to get a little depressed, so I got her a brother.

You'll know if the time is right. I'd say make sure to get a cat you know will get along with others if you do decide to go down that route. I took Kaia (dog) to the shelter with me to get Roscoe (other dog) to make sure they got along.

 

[betsygee]

I agree with Mani and Jcat about interaction and attention being the key to keeping a single cat happy.  My first cat was an "only child".  She was with us for almost 18 years, never with another pet in the house.  I think what made it work was that I worked at home at the time so she got tons of attention.  She often slept on my lap while I worked on the computer and followed me everywhere when I was doing other things.

 

[rubysmama]

So far Ruby's an only cat.  And I'm not sure how she would feel about another feline in the house.  Maybe someday.

 

[orangetux]

Tiki is my "only" and very spoiled, my fault of course. He demands a lot of attention and is very vocal when ignored. I have been tempted to add another and would love to. I'm just not sure he would be happy. He is very seldom alone.
I have had two cats and a dog together and it was fine but I was gone all day. I think it depends on your pets. :kitty2:

 

[larussa]

I have one cat and would have liked to have a couple more but I've had bad experiences when adopting other cats.  I've never tried giving Autumn a friend but I did with my Rainbow Angel Misty and it was a disaster.  I tried twice but it just didn't work out.  Now I am just satisfied with my one kitty, also at this time I couldn't afford any more unfortunately.

Autumn seems very happy on her own, I am retired so am home with her all day so I know she isn't lonely. 

 

[alainasmom]

I have one cat, Alaina. Like jcat, she's very antisocial with other animals (but social with people), so I've never been tempted to adopt another cat. I used to foster cats before I adopted her though, and I would often be fostering 3 - 5 cats at once. Alaina just likes all the attention to herself (I call it our "monogamous relationship" 

) and I feel very blessed to have her.

 

[random gemini]

I find this interesting. I've NEVER been a cat person. I've had dogs my entire life (have 2 now), and though I love animals (also have a bunny), I found I never felt a real connection to any cats I'd been around....until I walked by Chester and he reached for me through the glass. He owned me in minutes.

I don't see myself getting another cat (though you never know....I always said I wouldn't have one at all). He seems perfectly content having me to himself. He plays with my older dog, to her chagrin, when he gets frisky. I'm sure my younger dog would LOVE to play with him, but I don't dare try that yet. I know he doesn't want to hurt Chester, but he gets excited easily.

I'd say feel it out. My older dog was my only pet for 8 years, but my parents had a dog that she visited often. When he died, she seemed to get a little depressed, so I got her a brother.

You'll know if the time is right. I'd say make sure to get a cat you know will get along with others if you do decide to go down that route. I took Kaia (dog) to the shelter with me to get Roscoe (other dog) to make sure they got along.

This sounds so familiar. I also only have one cat. When our first cat passed, I told the family, no more cats. Fuzz was special, but I'm not a cat person and I still feel like I wasn't the best cat owner there ever was so I thought the best thing to do was to stick to what I'm good at. I have dogs. I love dogs. Dogs are awesome. I get dogs. Everything was fine for 7 years and I miss Fuzz all the time, he was my buddy, my partner in crime, but my youngest dog sticks to me like glue and thinks that a 70 pound Labrador, can also be a lap dog, so I was good with that. 

All of that changed a month ago. I got this text message from my daughter. "Can I adopt a cat?" She's a legal adult. Of course she CAN adopt a cat, but she still lives at home, so she has to be subject to my rules. I replied, "No." then she texted me a photo and said, "But he's ten years old and his owner died and he's been here forever." Me, being the sucker for senior pets that I am, said, "We can discuss it over dinner, ok?" Her next text message came 30 minutes later and all it said was, "Please don't kill me." 

I should have known she would bring home a cat at some point. Fuzz slept in her crib next to her to guard her from evil the day I brought her home from the hospital. They were inseparable until the day he passed when she was 12. She has cat person written all over her soul. 

This is how Porter came to live with us after 7 years of my insisting that we not own another cat. I'm not entirely sure that Porter will ever mill around the house with my dogs. I'm worried because Jet and Lexi do chase squirrels and will chase cats out of the back yard if our neighbors let their cats loose, but at pet stores, they have not bothered cats. I'm hopeful that they are of the mindset that the rules of the "chase game" are different indoors. If they can't figure that out, then I guess Porter can live downstairs and the dogs can live upstairs and I'll make my daughter move her bedroom to the basement and Porter can move out with her when she gets her first place, not that I actually want him to go. Secretly, I fell in love with Porter the first time he nuzzled his nose against mine. I would love it if my fur family could all get along and I'll work hard to make that happen, but I think one cat is enough for this house. 

 

[chestersmommy]

This sounds so familiar. I also only have one cat. When our first cat passed, I told the family, no more cats. Fuzz was special, but I'm not a cat person and I still feel like I wasn't the best cat owner there ever was so I thought the best thing to do was to stick to what I'm good at. I have dogs. I love dogs. Dogs are awesome. I get dogs. Everything was fine for 7 years and I miss Fuzz all the time, he was my buddy, my partner in crime, but my youngest dog sticks to me like glue and thinks that a 70 pound Labrador, can also be a lap dog, so I was good with that. 


All of that changed a month ago. I got this text message from my daughter. "Can I adopt a cat?" She's a legal adult. Of course she CAN adopt a cat, but she still lives at home, so she has to be subject to my rules. I replied, "No." then she texted me a photo and said, "But he's ten years old and his owner died and he's been here forever." Me, being the sucker for senior pets that I am, said, "We can discuss it over dinner, ok?" Her next text message came 30 minutes later and all it said was, "Please don't kill me." 


I should have known she would bring home a cat at some point. Fuzz slept in her crib next to her to guard her from evil the day I brought her home from the hospital. They were inseparable until the day he passed when she was 12. She has cat person written all over her soul. 


This is how Porter came to live with us after 7 years of my insisting that we not own another cat. I'm not entirely sure that Porter will ever mill around the house with my dogs. I'm worried because Jet and Lexi do chase squirrels and will chase cats out of the back yard if our neighbors let their cats loose, but at pet stores, they have not bothered cats. I'm hopeful that they are of the mindset that the rules of the "chase game" are different indoors. If they can't figure that out, then I guess Porter can live downstairs and the dogs can live upstairs and I'll make my daughter move her bedroom to the basement and Porter can move out with her when she gets her first place, not that I actually want him to go. Secretly, I fell in love with Porter the first time he nuzzled his nose against mine. I would love it if my fur family could all get along and I'll work hard to make that happen, but I think one cat is enough for this house. 

I think they do kind of understand that the chasing game is only for outdoors. My older dog, who after only 2 weeks with the cat, now snuggles up to sleep with him every night, used to be the WORST cat chaser. The only incident we've had was when the cat got a bit too close to the dog's food bowl, and they handled it amongst themselves. I'm kind of surprised how well things have gone.

 

[laralove]

Oliver is an only cat. He is intimidated by other animals, so the shelter thought he would be better on his own. He's afraid of people, too. He's fine with those of us who live here, but when I have company, he hides the whole time. I don't know if I could successfully introduce another cat with him. Perhaps when he's a bit older I could add a kitten. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

 

[chestersmommy]

Oliver is an only cat. He is intimidated by other animals, so the shelter thought he would be better on his own. He's afraid of people, too. He's fine with those of us who live here, but when I have company, he hides the whole time. I don't know if I could successfully introduce another cat with him. Perhaps when he's a bit older I could add a kitten. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

It's so funny how animals really are just like people. Some are social and love to be in groups, others prefer to be alone, while others prefer company of other species.

 

[random gemini]

I expect they will get into the cat's food and all sorts of stuff will go wrong before it goes right, that's normal stuff. I can deal with all of that. The food bowl is a scary issue around here right now though. I'm working with Jet on guarding his bowl. Feeding him in his crate actually made the behavior worse, not better. It's been a really complicated thing to unravel. I can manage the other dogs around the food bowl, but Porter's still getting used to how things work in this house. When he finally gets the cone of shame off and can come out of his iso room, things will be really interesting around here. Wish us luck!  

 

[di and bob]

Dogs often chase anything that runs, if the cat is not afraid of them and doesn't run, most of the time the dogs will back off. The only way to be sure when introducing a dog to a cat is to keep the dog on a leash whenever the two are in the room together.

I think most cats are perfectly happy alone, but it depends on their personality. If they seem to seek out attention, or seem bored, a little kitten seems to blend in better, most cats will tolerate a tiny kitten. It's harder to get older cats to tolerate one another. But then you almost need to get TWO tiny kittens so they can play with each other and not bug the older one so much!

 

[fhicat]

Being new to caring for cats, I started with one. I drill only have one, and would like to add another, but it's not high on the priority list. Jed had lived with other cats before, so he should be okay, although you never know. Right now I don't have the right environment for another cat yet, and I'd like to wait till Jed is more trusting before I get another. No rush.

 

[rainbow22]

Hi. I also have just one six month old kitten and am a little concerned about how much time he is on his own.

I work full time although only 5 mins from home so I come back at lunchtime to play. He has several beds at differing heights, lots of toys and views of the garden from the conservatory.

He seems happy and when I'm home he likes to spend time with me although petting is really only 'allowed' by him at meal times [emoji]128512[/emoji].

My concern is that I'm often ready for bed by 9-9.30 and whilst I do try to stay up sometimes I'm just too tired. At night he is confined to the dining room and conservatory so it's a lot of time on his own.

I rarely go out in the evening, maybe once or twice a month and I'm around a lot at the weekend.

I was considering letting him out but for safety reasons I can't, neither can I afford another cat.

I really want to get this right.

 

[random gemini]

I wouldn't let him out. I rescued a cat last summer, more than likely from an owner who left him outside. My son saved him from being hit by a car in front of my house. No microchip. No ID. He wasn't neutered. He looked to be about six months old and the poor guy was exhausted. He slept for two days after we took him in. Afterwards, I learned about the awful things that cats do to each other when left outside. 

If you think he's happy, and he's not showing you any negative behavior due to your work schedule, then just leave things as they are. Could you spend more time with him? Sure, but he's safer where he is with you, with a person who wants to do the right things for him, than he would be just about anywhere else. 

 

[cheylink]

 I have only Maia as Maia has only me

! We find this relationship is awesome........... Its a perfect relationship.