How to know if your cat will be open to new cats coming into the house?

[terestrife]

i adopted my cat, Kitty, when she was 3 months old, she will be a year old in december. shes the only cat i have, but there are two other dogs in the house. An american bulldog, and a small dog of unknown breed, they belong to my brother. anyway, i adopted her from humane society when she was a baby she lived in a home that had too many cats and chose to send some to the shelter. but since shes been with me she has gotten used to being the only cat. i even read that usually cats are not the social types.

my cat loves being petted, but hates to be carried, she will tolerate it for a couple of minutes and then whine until you let her go. she loves attention, but only when SHE wants it. if she doesnt want to be touched or looked at she will run from you. im worried if i bring in a new cat she will feel jealous or hurt.

but ive read so many posts of ladies saying they have 3-5+ cats that sleep with them at the same time. and im stunned, how do you guys get your cats to get along? is it just luck? i wanted to adopt one more cat to keep her company, but if its just going to cause problems im not sure i want to. advice?

 

[txcatmom]

Your description of Kitty sounds a lot like my Emily.  Emily was about 8 months old when we adopted a second cat.  She loves other cats and we now have four,  BUT, she hissed and protested at first just like most cats will.  The key, in my experience, was to read good advice on the internet about how to introduce cats and follow that advice.  You can't expect them to warm up to each other quickly like dogs.  It usually requires keeping them in separate rooms and taking very slow steps to introduce them.  If you do introductions carefully, and choose a cat with a compatible personality, your chances are very great that a one year old cat will enjoy or at least tolerate feline company. 

 

[terestrife]

Your description of Kitty sounds a lot like my Emily.  Emily was about 8 months old when we adopted a second cat.  She loves other cats and we now have four,  BUT, she hissed and protested at first just like most cats will.  The key, in my experience, was to read good advice on the internet about how to introduce cats and follow that advice.  You can't expect them to warm up to each other quickly like dogs.  It usually requires keeping them in separate rooms and taking very slow steps to introduce them.  If you do introductions carefully, and choose a cat with a compatible personality, your chances are very great that a one year old cat will enjoy or at least tolerate feline company. 

thanks for the reply! i will read up online before adopting another cat. thanks!

 

[orientalslave]

The short answer is you don't. 

However younger cats (and your cat is only just out of kittenhood) usually take to new cats or kittens better than older ones, and it helps if the new cat is younger than the resident.  Careful introductions can help as well.

 

[luvzmykatz]

Don't get too females not raised together females are more territorial.  

Male and female mixes work pretty well.

Get cats with the same activity and age level.

Talk to rescues that foster in homes they can get you the best match as they know the cats personality first hand or can match your cat with another.

Foster a cat instead of adopting right away to see if it works out.

If you have an adult cat don't get a kitten if the adult is an older cat.   I made that mistake and my 5 year old really gets annoyed with the younger cat who is always after her to play.   It took my older cat a bit longer to accept the new one but they are fine now after a few weeks of growls and hisses.

 

[terestrife]

Don't get too females not raised together females are more territorial.  

Male and female mixes work pretty well.

Get cats with the same activity and age level.

Talk to rescues that foster in homes they can get you the best match as they know the cats personality first hand or can match your cat with another.

Foster a cat instead of adopting right away to see if it works out.

If you have an adult cat don't get a kitten if the adult is an older cat.   I made that mistake and my 5 year old really gets annoyed with the younger cat who is always after her to play.   It took my older cat a bit longer to accept the new one but they are fine now after a few weeks of growls and hisses.

thats the thing, some people have said having a boy and a cat together is worse, because he will grow up and try to be the territorial male and take over the females space. so im not sure what to believe. My cat is 10 months old so shes not an older cat. but my main concern is finding another cat that will work well with her. shes the only pet i have, and if i get another pet, i dont want her being mistreated by this other cat, you know?

thats a good suggestion about fostering, i'll keep that in mind.

 

[odiakkoh]

Yeah you really don't know until the other cat is there. There's also the individual cat thing.

I've had all sorts of gender combinations and what has worked best for me is 2 boys and 1 girl. I haven't had any issues with any of them though. Had 2 girls just fine. Had a boy and girl just fine. Had 2 boys just fine.

I just have 1 boy now.

 

[annamariesmomma]

Actually, getting 2 girls is one of the better combos, because you'll have a couple weeks of territory disputes, then the cats will realize the other isnt going anywhere, and they'll begin to get along. if you get a boy cat make sure he is younger than your female, because he will try to dominate the female if he is older, and the female will mother the younger boy.
 

 

[luvzmykatz]

Actually, getting 2 girls is one of the better combos, because you'll have a couple weeks of territory disputes, then the cats will realize the other isnt going anywhere, and they'll begin to get along. if you get a boy cat make sure he is younger than your female, because he will try to dominate the female if he is older, and the female will mother the younger boy.
 

Actually my 5 year old Rasta ran and hid when I first brought my 3 month Odie home.   He was like all over the place and nothing fazed him.   They now get along fine with an occassional moan when Rasta get annoyed with him.   I thinks he's good for her though he keeps her active and on her toes she gets depressed without a lot of attention and he seems to really like her though I see shades of him taking the Alpha role as he grows older but Rasta doesn't seem to know what to do with the Alpha role she's so docile.    I guess that's really the key for cats getting along.  One cat will always want to be the alpha if the other doesn't mind then they get along if one fights it then I've seen the struggle go on for months till one gives in.

 

[orientalslave]

All the male cats I've had have from kittenhood have been lads who want a quiet life.  All were neutered before puberty (6-7 months) which might make a difference.

 

[missymotus]

The short answer is you don't. 

However younger cats (and your cat is only just out of kittenhood) usually take to new cats or kittens better than older ones, and it helps if the new cat is younger than the resident.  Careful introductions can help as well.

Agree with OS.

Also the sex doesn't matter when they're all neutered, the personality match is important.

 

[terestrife]

All the male cats I've had have from kittenhood have been lads who want a quiet life.  All were neutered before puberty (6-7 months) which might make a difference.

thats true. because once they have bad habits developed from not being neutered, neutering them wont just make the problems disappear.

i would love a boy cat, so i can have a boy and a girl.

 

[aeevr]

I'm not sure, but I think the case of cats living together harmoniously (after a period of adjustment) is more common than the case of cats fighting all the time.

I've lived with three different pairs of cats and all three pairs got along with varying degrees of cuddliness.

I kinda get the feeling that if your cat can get along with dogs it will more than likely get along with another cat.

In other words, I think the odds favor getting another cat.

 

[missymotus]

thats true. because once they have bad habits developed from not being neutered, neutering them wont just make the problems disappear.

Even late neutering helps and often eliminates behaviours and many will stop spraying, there's also a hormone shot that can be given to mature boys while being neutered. 

 

[eb24]

If you can, I would highly, highly recommend fostering a pregnant cat from a shelter and then keeping a kitten from her litter (or the Mom if the two get along). I have been fostering for a few years and learned pretty quick that my resident cat was not going to take to another adult on her turf. So, I keep the fosters in a separate room and when the kittens are old enough I start bringing them out and introducing them to my girl. By doing this I learned that she likes the kittens because she gets to be in charge and loves to boss them around. Finally I am keeping one from this past litter so she has some company and the integration has gone very smooth because she was already used to him being there! Not only will you get a cat to add to the family, but you will save some lives in the process- not a bad way to go about it!

If you can't foster I would recommend getting a cat that is younger than her. It does seem to minimize territory issues but still be prepared for a slow introduction period. I don't think gender matters nearly as much as personality! 

Give yourself time to look and find the perfect new addition- I know s/he is out there and your girl will be much happier with a companion!