How did your cats' dynamic change when adding a third cat?

[Ellis75]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for experience/advice about adding another cat to the household.

I currently have two cats: Pim, a ~3 year old neutered male, and Sarabi, a ~1.5 year old spayed female. Both are tripods, both missing their right hind leg. I've had Pim for about a year and a half, and Sarabi has her one year anniversary with me in a few days. I originally adopted Sarabi partly to be a playmate to Pim, but she much prefers playing with my boyfriend and me over playing with her brother. Their relationship is pretty good right now, although they're far from bonded. Sarabi will sometimes ask Pim to groom her, and she tolerates his play style for a little bit before hissing at him to back off when she gets overwhelmed.

I do think Pim would enjoy having a sibling who plays with him more reliably than Sarabi. I've thought about looking for another male cat, preferably another tripod so they're on an even playing field. However, I'm worried about how another cat may throw off the balance in Pim and Sarabi's current relationship. Sarabi is also a very small cat (about 5.5 lb) and I worry if two cats might gang up on her.

I know it varies by the situation and the individual cats, but I'm wondering if anyone has experience on how adding a third (or fourth or fifth...) cat changed the dynamic between their resident cats, or if anyone has thoughts on my situation in particular. Thanks so much!

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I adopted Remy and Maisie together and they had a good relationship. Remy is a little brat and would often pick on Maisie though. I spontaneously decided to adopt Flora last May and she fit into the family very easily. She gets along with Remy and Maisie and Remy and Maisie still have a good relationship. I got Flora as a kitten and Remy is about 4 and Maisie is around 7 or 8. Maisie got another cuddle buddy and Remy got a kitten who was very willing to rough house with him.

 

[betsygee]

We adopted a bonded 3 month old pair, brother and sister, and then added another young male six months later. He fit in just fine. It only took a few days for them to integrate. The boys mostly played together and the brother/sister remained bonded. The girl and new boy didn't really bond but didn't fight, either. Those three lived happily ever after--until we took in four elder kitties when a friend died of cancer. That integration was what we euphemistically called 'challenging' and is a whole other story.

Eventually, the older kitties died and we were back to our original three. Then the brother died of lymphoma last year and to our surprise, the remaining sister and the other male became friends. They never had been before. Now they sleep together and groom each other.

All that to say...every situation is so different. It's almost impossible to know how the relationships might change or evolve. I think your plan to bring in another male, preferably around the same age, 2-3 years old, and maybe a tripod as well, would be a good plan.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

 

[maggie101]

My cat Maggie is very attached to me and territorial so she was not happy when I rescued Coco. Coco spends lots of time on me needing her paws and rubbing against me while Maggie stares. Peaches is bonded with Coco and they play together while Maggie watches. I thought of getting a playmate for Maggie but what if the new cat spends time with peaches and Coco? And leaves Maggie out?

 

[Heart For Cats]

First of all, thanks so much for adopting 2 special needs cats. Many people would have ignored them after seeing they only have 3 legs. Do you know what happened to the right back leg on each cat?

I respectfully disagree with Betsy. Males fight over territory and are usually bigger than females so I would not even consider a male cat, especially to be a tripod's best friend.

When I had 3 cats, the third one (and only boy) tried to play with my first (and oldest) cat, but she smacked him on the head with a loud hiss. She still loved my other girl, who LOVED the boy. I think it was a dominance issue.

 

[vince]

There is only one relationship between a pair of cats. When you have three, there are individual relationships between each cat, plus the group dynamic.

The relationship changed between my two boys when I brought a small female kitten into the home. One male bonded with the female more closely than the two males had been. Eventually that changed, but it made for some odd situations for a while. Now, the oldest male has turned into a grumpy old man who grumbles a lot, but still gets along with everybody. Mostly, his displeasure is expressed in a quiet hiss when he's disturbed.

The three are all closely bonded now, and the group dynamic really doesn't show up that much after three years together. They don't do much as a group. Twos, yes, but not all three. About the only thing they do all together is sleep some of the time.

 

[maggie101]

My cat Maggie is female and fights over territory. She is long and tall. One reason my other 2 cats do not like her chasing them,even for play. This reminds me of a feral old battle scarred grandpa Mason who fell in love with kittens. How about fostering?