Should I Get My Cat A Friend?

[catquestions232]

Hello All!

I currently have a Siberian cat who is a year and a half old. She is very friendly and gentle and is an overall awesome pet. Recently, my girlfriend has spent too much time looking at kitten pictures and decided she wants another. I told her she would have to convince me, and her main point was that our cat is at home all day while we work and she probably gets bored.

Because of this one point, I have decided that it may be a good idea to get another. I really would ONLY be doing this for my cat (seriously...i would rather just have one cat haha) as I think it is my responsibility to provide a good life for her.

However....I have a few concerns I want addressed if you don't mind:

1) If I do the right thing as far as introducing the, are they guaranteed to get along? My cat doesn't seem to mind my parent's dog, so I'm hoping she could befriend a kitten.

2) Do cats actually even need or want a companion? Is my thinking that she needs a friend a human concern? Is she actually more content on her own and my bringing in a kitten would make her feel unwanted or as if it is not her territory in our house anymore?

3) If they don't get along, what the hell do I do? I would not be willing to let my first cat be stressed out and unable to be happy with a new cat in the house. I would probably have to rehome the new cat then which would suck (im allergic to cats so I have to get hypoallergenic cats which are quite expensive. My siberian cat was about $1200, and I would rather not just lose that kind of money).

4) My girlfriend and I have a fabulous relationship. I hope I am with her for the long haul. However...If something were to happen to us and she left with the new cat...could that cause my original cat to get depressed long term? Would that be cruel?

5) If I am to get a cat, what gender would I get? My cat right now is a female Siberian. I have heard that a younger male might be smarter than another female?

6) If you all tell me to just do it....should I have a timeframe to act? I have heard that the earlier you introduce a new cat, the better. Is it already too late for that to apply being that my cat is a year and a half?

7) Lastly, does having 2 cats make it even harder to find an apartment. Right now with the 1 cat I am nervous it will make my apartment search this year harder....

 

[MeganLLB]

I can try to answer some of these from my experience.
1) Nothing in life is guaranteed. It's a lot easier with a kitten and if you do all the right steps its even better, but still we have done that and have had cats that just like to be alone and should have been in a single pet household. It depends on the animal.

2) Have no idea. I also think it depends on the cat. I tend to think its a human concern and they are fine by themselves, and maybe your girlfriend really just wants another cat and is trying to find a "reason" for it. Just my thoughts. Because I do that.

3) You either adapt you life to work around two cats that don't get along. My parents do this with the dog and cat. we have baby gats, new doors installed, we reroute our normal path through different parts of the house to keep them separated, and basically live in a separated house. Or you give away the cat. We also tried this. I took her for a while but it didn't work out. She's a special cat...

4) If it gets attached to her then yea. Kitty wasn't happy leaving my mom, she was her person. But eventually she adjusted but was never really as happy.

5) Definitely male

6) Soon

7) I can answer the last question- Yes. Having ANY animal makes it harder to find an apartment. That said, if you can find an apartment that is pet friendly with a laid out pet policy like for every pet it's $20 per month more plus a pet deposit, or be prepared to work out something like that. More places are accepting of cats than dogs though, so you have that going for you.

 

[ArtNJ]

Cats with mismatched activity levels are somewhat more likely to have some sort of problems, at least for a time. Most kittens fall in the crazy-active bucket, and they tend to annoy the heck out of inactive cats by repeatedly jumping on them regardless of how the older cat tries to discourage them. Your Siberian is 1 1/2, not 10 though, so I don't know how big of a mismatch there is going to be. Still:

(1) No. There are no guaranties. Your older cat liking a dog that doesnt jump all over her is not predictive of how she will feel about a kitten jumping on her. A good introduction doesn't solve the activity level difference. However, your older cat is only 1 1/2, so your risk of problems isn't super high, and there is a decent chance they will end up buddies;

(2) Cats definitely get bored, although it isn't as big a deal as one might think, since cats sleep most of the day, and have the ability to adjust their sleep somewhat to focus their awake time when you are around. Because of this, getting another cat can sometimes have unexpected side effects on their interaction with you even if the cats get along -- i.e. your cat, sleeping less during the day, may be somewhat less interested in you when you come home.

(3) Many many people have some sort of difficulty, but it is rarely all that lasting or terrible. It is true, however, that they may never become friends, and may even permanently dislike each other to some degree. My current older cat will sometimes leave the room when the younger cat comes in, and does sometimes still growl or hiss. But it just isn't a big deal at this point, and isn't negatively impacting the older cat. It would be very rare to have worse problems than this that last. Your definitely right to be thinking about this stuff, but with your older cat being only 1 1/2, the how will they get along dice roll is generally favorable.

(4) You can't really predict how subtracting a cat will affect the other cat. Smokey used to dote on Bandit, and if Bandit didn't love him back, he at least played with Smokey and never protested his company. When Smokey died, Bandit immediately became much more affectionate with us on a permanent basis. (See point 2 for a possible explanation.)

(5) No comment. Many will give you some sort of theory, but its not clear to me that there is any real difference;

(6) Yes, sooner is better. Waiting a month or two won't change your dice roll odds, but waiting a year or two might. Its not too late...kitten to kitten introductions are the easiest, but 1 1/2 years old is still young enough that your odds should be ok;

(7) No idea, but I've never heard of a one cat is ok but two isn't policy. Certainly having two in an apartment isn't the easiest. When they start playing at 3 am, you'll likely hear it. Been there, done that.

Bottom line - I personally think getting another cat for the sake of the current cat is usually not a great idea and tell people to only get another cat if you want one. That said, I'm guessing your girlfriend wants another one, even if she has herself convinced it is to find your cat a buddy, so the royal you probably passes that test. My only advice would be that if your cat seems fairly inactive for a 1 1/2 year old, you try and find a breed of kitten that is more likely to be low key, like a Persian, and avoid a breed more likely to be very active, like an Abyssinian.

 

[catquestions232]

Great points both of you! Thankyou! As far as the breed, I really have to go with a siberian again as I know that my allergies are okay with this breed and I don't want to roll the dice on that as well.

As far as splitting the house up, its not really an option in a small apartment, so them getting along is a must unfortunately. Also, I would not be willing to subject my current cat to stress as I care very much for her.

Also, you are both probably right that my gf is probably getting a case of kitten fever. On my side, I'm very practical and don't usually give in to those types of feelings. The only way I would do this is if it would be beneficial purely to my current cat. The reason I'm thinking it might is that I think my cat gets upset when I leave. My girlfriend has said that when I leave the house and she is home, the cat will whine at the door for a few minutes, and she is always right at the door when I get home. I really hope she isn't like that all day when I'm at work =/....

 

[mightyboosh]

You've got some good answers so mine is simple. Yes, get another and it will work out in time.