New Pet???

[melinda_2212005]

My cat and I recently moved out of my parent's home and into an apt. My cat, Mieky is home alone a lot and I want to get another cat to keep him company. He was living with other cats at home and I think he might be okay with getting a new cat. Do you think it would be better to adopt a male or a female? Mikey is around 3, so would it be better to get another cat around that same age?

 

[yosemite]

I don't think it really matters what age a new cat would have to be but if it were me I would get a female and introduce them very gradually.

We spent a month introducing Bijou and Mika gradually and now they are best friends.

They do keep each other company during the day and they eat, sleep and play together. They are a joy to watch.

 

[emb_78]

Originally Posted by melinda_2212005

My cat and I recently moved out of my parent's home and into an apt. My cat, Mieky is home alone a lot and I want to get another cat to keep him company. He was living with other cats at home and I think he might be okay with getting a new cat. Do you think it would be better to adopt a male or a female? Mikey is around 3, so would it be better to get another cat around that same age?

It shouldn't matter if it is a male or female... If you are seriously looking, I live in Milwaukee & I am a foster mom to the greatest female cat. She is between 3-4 years...

 

[loraandjeff]

Hi Melinda,
Thank you for wanting to get a play-mate for Mikey. I'm going to assume that Mikey is male here, but at 3 years old it then I would generally say that a female would be better for him. Then you won't have to deal with alpha-male issues and such, even though your cat has been living with other cats, these are cats that he "knows" and is familiar with....new ones may or may not present issues, and for that reason I would suggest a female. Mikey may still have issues with the female, but "generally" they will bond faster and likely closer if they are opposite sex and you find one similar in disposition.

Notice I said "generally" because all cats are different and you have to gauge the attitude of your kitty. You know your kitty better than we do, so you will need to consider...how does he handle "new" situations and new humans? Is he shy? Is he boisterous? Have you ever introduced him to another unknown cat before? Is he mild mannered or is he territorial?

I applaud you for adopting a buddy for him. It does quite normally take some time to assimilate cats together when they are unknown to each other - and that means male or female, although my experience "generally" shows male-female relationships the most successful in terms of how quickly they will bond (since the alpha-male issue isn't there).

I would be more than happy to post any tips or answer questions if I can help with any other specific question.

Lora

 

[melinda_2212005]

Thank you so much for your help. There are a few cats I am looking at on petinder.com. But I will put more consideration towards the females.

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by melinda_2212005

Thank you so much for your help. There are a few cats I am looking at on petinder.com. But I will put more consideration towards the females.

Melinda...if it helps any....I volunteer with a rescue group and we find that it is more an issue of personalities than anything else. Make sure you find a female with a similiar personality to your boy and good luck.

Katie