How Soon After Your First Cat Did You Get Another?

kosame

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Three weeks after adopted my baby Bengal boy Theo, and I'm smitten by him <3 Ever since I've been tossing around the idea of a kitten to keep him company when I'm at work and gone.

So yeah, might be considering another kitten, but I really don't like to rush into things! There's a kitten I'm possibly meeting tomorrow but I'm having second thoughts. (I was planning on waiting a while but this cat kind of... presented himself. He's beautiful and very sweet apparently)
I don't want to stress Theo and I don't think we've bonded as much as I'd have liked before another addition.
I guess part of me feels like I won't be fully focused on him with a new kitty around. And he's my baby so I just don't know.
Kitten is from a lovely breeder (I would love to rescue but my sister has bad allergies- she's not allergic to Bengals at all and I'm kind of in love with the breed at this point), he's health tested and screened on all the big issues, he's within my current price range, etc. Everything seems perfect but I'm having second thoughts. I love my Theo boy and I'm just not sure if the time is right!
(I know I'm definitely getting another kitten at some point just not sure if now is the best time)
Any sage advice for me, folks?
Or your personal experience with second kitties <3
 

Katie M

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Charlie's not my first cat, but he's the first of my current pair. I got him when he was two months old, and I adopted Selene when he was a year and a half.

Charlie had been . . . shall we say, difficult? I wondered if he'd benefit from having another cat around though, and I was right.
 

Kat0121

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I got them at the same time. I saw Lilith's picture on the Humane Society website so I decided to go meet her. I was never able to have a cat before because my mother doesn't like them and my DH was allergic. After DH passed away, I decided to get a cat. I went to the shelter and she was in a room playing with her brother. He had already been adopted and was waiting for his family to pick him up. There was another cat sitting under a chair in the corner of the room. Lily's sister Midge.

When the worker brought me in, she handed me a bag of Temptations and waved toward Midge. She told me I could ignore her because she was "unfriendly". That really annoyed me. How could a shelter worker tell a potential adopter to ignore an adoptable animal?

There was a chair in the room where Lily and her brother were playing. I took some toys, sat in the chair and we played and I gave them treats. I noticed that Midge was watching us with great interest. I tossed her some treats and she started inching towards us. Soon, she was playing with her siblings and taking treats from my hand. She let me pet her and soon was comfortable enough that she started eating from the dish that was next to the chair I was in. She let me pet her while she was eating.

After we spent some time playing, I went to the front desk. The worker who brought me into the room was working the desk. She asked me if I wanted to bring Lilith home and I heard a voice say, "I'll take BOTH of them." It took a second to realize that the voice was mine. The worker was stunned that I wanted to take Midge because none of the workers or volunteers were able to bond with her and I must be "special". I found out later that they had been there all of 2 weeks yet she was writing her off as "unfriendly"?

I wasn't planning on getting two cats but I couldn't leave her there knowing that the employees didn't seem to like her and her siblings would both be leaving her. I called DD at college from the parking lot after I completed the paperwork and told her she was getting two feline sisters. She was the one who suggested the new name. That's how Midge became Sophie.

I love Lilith with all my heart but Sophie and I have just a little more. She's my feline soul mate. I guess that employee did the both of us a huge favor.

You know what the funny thing is? Sophie turned out to be the more outgoing of the two. Lilith is a mama's girl. She does like DD but does not seek out her company. She really only wants me. Sophie does when she's allowed in DD's room. She will sit on the back of DD's desk chair, lean against her back and purr away. When DD's BF stayed with us, Sophie accepted him almost right away. Lilith? It took her much longer. Sophie soon started yelling at him to come and pet her.

Sophie's more polite to strangers. When I had to have the AC repaired, the worker came in to check the vents. She sat at his feet and chatted at him so sweetly. He thought she was adorable. DD and I get yelled at when she wants something so when she started yelling at Lewis I knew he had been accepted. :lol:
 
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Maria Bayote

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Kittens are more accepting to one another especially if properly introduced. A bit older cat is also more accepting of a kitten than of cat his age. It is a good thought, but be ready of the silly antics combined. They will indeed entertain each other.

Goodluck :)
 
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Sonatine

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I waited around a year and a half, until I lived somewhere bigger (otherwise I'd have preferred to get two from the start).

I got lucky; even though I had two adult females to introduce, they adjusted to each other and became friends very quickly (resident cat was around 2.5, new cat around 1.5)

They say that kittens almost always end up getting along, and he might benefit from the extra exercise and stimulation that comes from having another cat to play with.
 

taralynnallred

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I got Kevin two weeks after Mavis. I had planned of getting two from the beginning, as I was told that kittens need companionship. The reason it took two weeks was because I was wanting to make sure their personalities fit and would suit each other! I’m pretty sure the shelter I got Kevin through was so tired of me, I met so many kittens, trying to find the perfect one

I was lucky that it worked out between the two of them, but I had no idea, as they were my first kittens, that kittens might have an adjustment period‍♀ But that didn’t last long.

I found out apparently the younger they are the easier it is to have them get along, if that helps!

Mavis definitely took a bit of convincing, but her and Kevin (I believe), although most of the time to not snuggle, do enjoy each other’s company. They play together a lot!

For sure there were tears and fears as I searched for a companion for her, for a lot of the same reasons as you have said, but it hasn’t changed my relationship/bond with Mavis at all! If anything, she was very possessive of me when Kevin first arrived

Go with your gut, you will know which cat is right
 

misty8723

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Our first two cats, Swanie and Cynthia, were adopted together in Dec. 2005. After that, whenever we lose a cat, we adopt another within a few months. We are believers that our cats should have a companion of the same species, which is why we do that. When we lost my precious Swanie last October, I was in no way ready to adopt another cat, but we went and found Austin. It took me a while to warm up to Austin, not because of him, but because I just wasn't ready. Cricket had her tail in a twist about him for a while, and I was afraid we made a mistake and she would rather be an only cat. But now, 11 months later, they are great friends. Cricket has a playmate she didn't have with Swanie (being older and having health issues), so it has worked out. And I've definitely come to love the little guy.
 
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kosame

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Thank you all for your responses! Went out to meet him today.. and fell in love. He's perfect.
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VinceL

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Our first cat was a stray who "followed" our daughter home from the school bus stop. He was an indoor/outdoor cat who was hit by a car after we had him for about 5 years.
We couldn't bring ourselves to adopt another cat for over a year...we were afraid of projecting our late cat's personality onto a new cat.
Once we decided it was time, we decided to get 2 cats so they could keep each other company. We checked with the SPCA shelters in our and nearby counties. One shelter said they had a couple of cats who had lived together (they were about 8 years old). My wife and I went to the shelter to see the cats. They had come in the day before when they had been surrendered by the owner because of her health issues. We asked if they could hold them until that night so we could bring our kids to see them. They said no, but we went back that evening with our 3 kids. While we were looking at the 2 cats, our son was looking around and discovered that there had been 3 cats that had been surrendered together. Each of our kids was holding a cat and looked at my wife and me and asked if we could adopt all 3 cats. My wife looked at me, said I should handle the situation, and then left the room. I wasn't about to break up this family of 3 cats who had apparently lived together for many years. So, I said yes, of course we can adopt all 3. The SPCA had the names of the cats, and while the names were a bit odd, we decided not to try changing their names. They have now all crossed the rainbow bridge.
Our 2 most recent family members, Bonnie & Clyde, were adopted from the Humane Society at the same time.
 

susanm9006

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My second cat was unplanned. My first cat was around two when I found a nearly grown kitten playing outside in the blazing hot sun. I didn’t want a second cat and so ignored her for half the day. But when she was still there in the evening I had to bring her in. She and my first cat were immediately best friends so no intros needed. Unfortunately beautiful smart Daisy only lived to be two before dying of cardiomyopathy.
 
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