should i adopt one kitten or two?

[bigkittylove]

I want to adopt a kitten, but have been reading on your site the preference for adopting in pairs - the reasons being that the kittens are better socialized, entertained, and generally happier.

On the flip side, I seem to know many that have adopted a single cat without complaint, and it seems as if many on this site write about various issues related to their single cats. So there are single cat owners out there...

Is raising two kittens two times the work? What is the appropriate square footage per cat - would my 1000 square foot loft with no outdoor space be enough for two cats?

I want only the best for my pet, but have limited space. What do you think?

 

[purrfectcatlove]

Hi bigkittylove

I personal would get two #1 both kitten can play with each other #2 both kittens can keep each other company while you gone and so one kitten is not lonely #3 well

it is more fun watching two play with each other .
I just think it is better to have 2 kittens together and they will be happy in a small place too as long they have a window to look out and a cat tree to climb on and all the other things you need for them . Sure you can just keep only one kitten and have all the things mention above . I just notice that a kitten is more happy to bond with a other kitten , just like we humans like to bond with other humans .

 

[tnr1]

bigkittylove..I can only speak to my situation....I live in a 1200 ft condo...almost 6 years ago I was finally ready to get a kitten. My friend's cat had given birth and I had already picked out which kitten I wanted...I went to a petstore to buy all the necessities and ended up talking to someone from a cat rescue group. The woman strongly recommended getting 2 kittens. I heeded that advice and allowed my bf at the time to pick out the 2nd kitten. I will say it was the BEST advice I ever received...my cats are best friends...they entertain each other while I'm gone...they are both well socialized and it hasn't cost me much more in kitty litter or food...but I get twice the amount of love.

Katie

 

[monica's six]

I'd definitely recommend getting 2 for all the reasons Heidi mentioned. If you can get siblings that's preferrable. I would swear they know they're siblings for years after you bring them home and they have an extra special bond as a result. Having a cat and bringing in a new kitten is harder than bringing in two cats together.

If you think you have enough space for 1 cat, then you more than likely have enough space for 2. I think the key with space is running room. I live in a town house and it's enough room for the 6 I have because they have two floors to run around and chase each other in.

Also, you are already going to be feeding and cleaning a litterbox for one, it's not much more work to do the same chores for two.

I'd say get two! They'll both love you and they'll love each other too!
-

 

[dima]

I have 1100 sq ft flat and I have 3 babies of my own and am about to be a foster mom for another. They are not crowded, they're as happy as can be!

Two are definitely better than one for many reasons - reasons both for you and for the cat(s).

Here is a great article about getting cats in pairs:
http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catsinpairs.htm

If you want the best for your pet, I'd say the best gift you can give him/her is a fluffy friend he can snuggle with when you are at work. Plus, you get twice the snuggles when you're home!

 

[rapunzel47]

Well, let me just say this...I started with one cat, and that was the way of it for 14 years. And there's nothing wrong with it. BUT. It took no time at all after we took in two more to discover the multiplied joy of a multi-cat household.

They really do benefit from having another of their species to interact with; and they are such fun!! And the cost and work are not significantly increased.

Go for it! Get a pair. You won't regret it.

 

[bigkittylove]

Thanks everyone for your insights. It sounds like 2 kittens are the way to go. I'm going to visit a mobile adoption group this afternoon to check some little guys out. The group had images of several kitten litters on the internet that were adorable - I might have a hard time keeping it down to 2! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[purrfectcatlove]

That sounds great to me and I am sure all of us like to know how the turn out will be . I know it will be hard just picking 2 baby's , they are all just to cute

 

[momofmany]

2 are better than 1 for all the reasons stated above and in the thread on the topic. I have found that bringing in 2 at a time is actually EASIER than 1. They entertain each other and put less demand on you. If there are other resident cats and the kittens are bonded littermates, they will play together and be far less threatening to the older cats, so introductions go very easy.

 

[jcat]

I'm one of those "single cat" owners, and would recommend that you get two. We already had an older cat, since deceased, when we got JC, and although we had planned on adopting two kittens, we were advised not to take another from the litter if we were taking JC, because he didn't get along with other cats. That was definitely true. We had to keep him separated from our older, very sociable cat, and had the horrible experience of seeing him try to kill a slightly younger kitten when he was just a few months old. He doesn't get along with other cats, but that's an exceptional situation. I'd adopt two littermates, if possible, or at least two kittens of roughly the same age. The other alternative is to adopt older cats who have forged a relationship in a shelter.

 

[bigkittylove]

Thanks everyone - I'm sold on 2 kittens! And, it sounds like littermates are a good idea, too? Though, what if you find a litter of 3, and can't take all 3? Do you take 2 and leave the other guy to fend for himself? This crossed my mind, when I saw a very sweet litter of 3 up for adoption this weekend - and simply couldn't imagine separating one out!

 

[tnr1]

I adopted 2 littermates. The rescue I volunteer with tries to adopt out littermates...but when we have "odd numbers" we will allow the 3rd kitten to be adopted with another kitten from a different litter.

Katie

 

[jeeperscat]

I only got Jeepers and am gearing up to get a second. I wish I'd taken one of her littermates as well, at least that way I would have avoided 'introductions'.

 

[rang_27]

My two boys are not litter mates, they are a month apart in age & while they aren't as bonded as litter mates would be, they still love each other & play together. If you can't find 2 litter mates do what I did get 2 kittens about the same age & bring them in the house at the same time, that way no one is invading anyone's territory they are both new to it. We find at our shelter that you can put unrelated kittens together with little to no problems. It seems that kittens are so used to living in a group they adjust well to other kittens. As far as square footage, don't worry, you've got me beat, I'm in 400 sq feet & my boys are just fine. A cat will adjust it's territory to the space you allow it. Just make sure you have lots of toys to enterain them, a bored kitten is a destructive kitten. I know about this because I came home one day to a picture off the wall, garbage all over the kitchen floor & everything from on top the microwave on the floor. You see my boys had managed to get all their toys under the refrigerator & when they couldn't get them out Levi went to sleep so Jordan was bored & decided to make his own fun. I am so glad I have 2 because I dread the idea of how destructive Jordan could be if he never had anyone to play with!!!!

 

[sicycat]

TWO!!!!!!!!!!!

I should have gotten two in the first place! But I got Zoey first, then Saki. Even though they are not related, they get a long fabulously.. and now I feel better being at work knowing that Zoey isnt bored out of her mind!

 

[cla517]

When I got my second kitty I was living in an aparment that was 800 sq.ft. There were no problems. My kitties were adopted about a year apart so litter mates would be good, but I can attest that they are not necessary. My boys are best friends!

 

[dima]

Frodo (stripes) and Pookie (white with spots) are about 4 months apart in age, both were rescued from the humane society (Frodo in Aug. 2003 and Pookie in Nov. 2003) and are inseperable, as you can see

Took this a little while ago when I went in to make my daughter's bed.

 

[donnageorge]

Originally Posted by bigkittylove

Thanks everyone - I'm sold on 2 kittens! And, it sounds like littermates are a good idea, too? Though, what if you find a litter of 3, and can't take all 3? Do you take 2 and leave the other guy to fend for himself? This crossed my mind, when I saw a very sweet litter of 3 up for adoption this weekend - and simply couldn't imagine separating one out!

Our two cats were originally from a litter of three. It was difficult to choose, but eventually we were able to pick two. The remaining third sibling and her mother were adopted by other people, so in the end, it worked out fine for everyone.

 

[ldg]

BigKittyLove, I think in your other thread you mentioned the Mobile Adoption set-up was a little intimidating? It sure can be!

Here's our situation. Gary and I live in an RV. It is 8 feet wide and 40 feet long. We have five cats with just two litterboxes. This is NOT ideal!!!!!!!!! There should always be at least one litterbox for cat. We make up for the restricted space here by scooping VERY frequently - at least four times a day (unless we both have to go to the office, and then it's just twice a day). We took out the "dining room" and put in a 5' 8" cat tree, a cat castle that's about 3 1/2 feet tall, and currently what we call a "log" - a large tube with a side opening on legs and a base (covered in carpet). We have sacrificed every surface (except the kitchen counter and Gary's table for his laptop next to his chair) with cat stuff - sheepskins, beds, tents, etc. We bought forming tubes from Home Depot (the kind you pour cement into to make pillars for piers or whatever) and layered them on one side of the bed, so they have three levels of stuff to race through. My "bedside table" is a cat condo with three levels - I use the top, they use the three inside levels. We purchased an open-ended book shelf for Gary's side of the bed - that gives them three levels over there. We emptied out two of the overhead compartments - one in the living room and one in the bedroom - for them to jump up into and hang out in. Vertical space is VERY important to cats, especially if there is more than one. We put up window perches in the living room windows - and birdfeeders that attach to the windows via suction cups (GREAT cat "TV"!!!!).

We rotate toys out frequently, and we make sure to play interactively with each of them (as individually as possible) for at least 10 minutes a day. They love being brushed, and we brush them every day.

I'm allergic to cats, and I vacccum at least twice a week and I use one of those masking tape lint rollers on their beds, the open portion of the couch and Gary's chair daily (and the cats!)

Having two (or three) cats increases the amount of work by about two minutes per litterbox, five minutes of brushing per cat, and 10 - 15 minutes of play per cat. The cost is the additional food - and vet visits.

Bottom-line - I love having multiple cats. I don't feel guilty when we have to head into the city and we're gone for 14 hours. For us - there was NO WAY we could have more than one. Then there was NO WAY we could have more than two. Then there was ABSOLUTELY no way we could have more than three. Four? Forget about it! But a dying feral that was wasting away not eating had bonded to hubby, so we had no choice but to bring him home. We did adopt out several fosters along the way. One of foster just needed too much medical attention - and then she was living here, part of the family. So the fifth kitty (Flowerbelle) just kind of slipped her way into the family.

They have each other to play. They LOVE playing "hunt and hide," cuddling together, play fighting - or batting that ball in the round thing game back and forth to each other. They pile up on each other to watch their "cat TV" (the window). They groom each other. The fourth kitty in here isn't too into the other cats. When someone gets too near, he bats them in the head to let them know, and they move along!

I would NOT recommend this to everyone. The point of the story is - it isn't the size of the space that matters so much as the quality of space and time.

And... if you want just one kitty, there are very many single kitties out there that are perfectly happy. Cats do spend a lot of the daylight hours sleeping.

Just know that if you adopt kittens as opposed to older cats, there's a lot of work the first few months. You will be completely sleep deprived! BUT - the offset to that is that they are SO DARN CUTE you probably won't mind being half-asleep at work for the next few months.

They are high-maintenance.

We were very lucky - all of ours took to scratching on the cat trees, sisal posts and rubber/sisal scratch pads right away. Just make sure you're armed with various types of "appropriate" scratching stuff for her/him/them. Most cats like vertical - our Tuxedo loves horizontal, so we have two scratch pads - one sisal side up, one with the rubber side up, and one of the sisal scratching things you're supposed to hang on a doorknob lying on the floor inbetween the cat tree and the cat castle. Until you know what the kitty(ies)/cat like best (and they'll probably like two or three), best to have a wide variety of options.

There are a lot of wonderful things about older kitties though - perhaps you should start another thread - kittens or older kitties? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bigkittylove]

Thanks for your story, Laurie! Kitties are so lucky to have you!

The mobile cat adoption thing WAS incredibly intimidating - and the more I think about it, I just get mad. The volunteers should've been there protecting the cats and doing the outreach that they had obviously volunteered for, but were simply caught up in their own chatting. I've been tempted to write a note to the organization about it. I hear there's a very well organized ASPCA, where you can sit in a living room filled with kittens and 'try' them out. It sounds as if they probably also have an available staff to bombard with questions, too.

Maybe we should start a cats vs. kittens thread, now that the 1 vs. 2 has been sorted out!