Is It A Good Idea To Add A New Cat?

[Noirele]

My mother saved a kitten a couple of months ago. He is around 6-7 months old now, healthy, neutered and very handsome, though a bit of a pest. He loves to run around in the garden and climb trees.

She has some health problems and asked me to take the cat with me.
Problem is, I have Merlin which is one year old and still not neutered (for health problems, we have the surgery scheduled in april), even though he is lovely and wouldn't hurt a fly.
Also, I live in an apartment. I am planning to secure the balcony soon, but at the moment there is no way for cats to go outside.
What should I do? And if I do decide to take the second cat, what would be the best way to introduce him? I work 8 hours a day, at the moment.

 

[Carpinus]

Short answer - no. There are many places on line that explain how to introduce cats. It wasn't much of a problem when we lived on the farm and the cats lived outside & in the barn. But I have tried twice now that we live in the city and the cats stay indoors. I thought it was successful with one of the introductions (they slept together & ate at the same time) but I noticed that one cat was being constantly & quietly bullied. I tried these two cats together for 6 months but finally realised it wasn't going to work out. There was no overt fighting, but the bullying was very subtle and hard to see. Now I have only one (happy) cat.

 

[rubysmama]

It should be fine, as long as you separate them at first, and do a slow introduction. My only concern is Merlin not being neutered yet. Another cat could cause him to become territorial and start spraying around your apartment.

Can your mom keep the kitten until Merlin is neutered? Or can Merlin's neutering be moved up sooner?

Here are some TCS articles on cat introductions which will give you an idea of how to go about letting them meet:

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat
The Multi-cat Household

Good luck.

 

[Furballsmom]

Every cat is different - there can be subtle bullying as mentioned, or overt, or sometimes a person can end up with both cats regularly in one contented lump on the sofa.

If you decide to take your mom's Mr Gorgeous, would you be able to take a little bit of time off so you could supervise for more than just over a weekend?

Also, it will be an adjustment for him, --this might also help;

How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)

 

[kittyluv387]

He is beautiful! The only concern is about your boy being unneutered. But he's getting fixed soon so that's a non issue. And the kitten is younger so he may accept him without as much of a fight. You just need to do a slow intro. I have 3 cats and only started out with one and many members here have even more with minimal issues. Goodluck!

 

[ArtNJ]

Cats this young there are usually no serious problems to introduce to each other, especially if you follow the guides linked above. Carpinus likely tried with older cats. However, with the older one not being neutered, there could be some difficulty, especially given the small space -- would be better to wait if you can.