Should I give George a new brother/sister?

[botolo]

George and Holly lived together since they were born. 10 years.
Two months ago my beautiful Holly passed away.
We are now giving George tons of love during the entire day, but he is still behaving differently. First, it looked like he lost a little bit of appetite. Now he also hides in the closet every time we leave it open (he never did that).
George went to the vet and to the dentist a few days ago and had full blood panel done. Everything looks great so I don’t think this is due to illness (it’s true that some illnesses do not appear from blood work).

I wonder whether we should bring one or two kitties home and give George new friends to play with. What do you think?

 

[ArtNJ]

Nope. Not for the purpose of giving him friends to play with anyway. The odds of a 10 year old cat making a new friend just aren't great. Cats get less adaptible and less able to make friends as they age. More likley, your looking at a difficult introduction with some lingering tension for a good while, potentially a bunch of months, as you slowly inch towards toleration. I've had it take a year or two to really and truly get pretty much all the way to toleration, although things weren't that bad after a much shorter period. So YOU kind of have to want the kitten, not be doing it for your current cat. As long as you do in fact want a kitten for yourself, not for your resident cat, and know what you might be getting yourself into, its not an unreasonable thing to do.

 

[Kflowers]

George already has a lot to adjust to. He's grieving, with cats as with people it takes as long as it takes. He will slowly return to the cat he was but put yourself in his place and how sadly his world has changed. He wants Holly, not another cat. Only time can heal his grief. You will need to keep an eye on his eating and consider adding treats, or maybe changing some of his meals to higher calorie kitten food until his interest in food returns. When you think about making him feel better remember the times you were grieving and what helped you. With cats quiet is good, a shared chair, or just being in the same room.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I agree with the above posters.

Try a heartbeat toy and/or a purr toy, and Cat Music. There's even cat music that has purrs in it.

 

[botolo]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Right now my heart is broken in pieces for the loss of Holly. While I melt every time I see a kitten ready for adoption, the idea of going through everything I lived with Holly one more time truly scares me.

At the same time, I would be ready to adopt a kitty if this would make George happy. I read on other forums of lonely cats who were happy to get new fluffy member in the family, but I was also concerned about the issues you described. What if George is slowly getting used to his new world, and then suddenly he will have to adapt to a new situation?

 

[vansX2]

Here's a idea. Have you ever considered adding a Ferret to your family? I have read that they can be suitable companions for adult cats. Just a thought.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I wouldn't adopt just for George. The reason to adopt is if YOU want a new cat. If you truly want a new kitten, and have the time and resources, I'd get 2 so the playfulness isn't overwhelming to George. Or a chill adult who has lived with other cats before. A lot of shelters will do foster to adopt if you want to try it out.

 

[Kflowers]

In my experience, when George is ready you will find an stray kitten or cat in desperate need. I think the cats put out signs that say, help is here, when they are ready.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Instead of a kitten, adopt a cat close to George's age. Then George won't have to deal with the over-exuberance of an energy filled kitten.

This will help a senior cat needing a new home. Senior cats have a harder time getting adopted than younger cats.

 

[Alldara]

Is George showing signs of separation anxiety when you leave?
It's good to let him have some time to mourn.

If you do decide to add some cats to your home, the best thing you can do for George is prepare, prepare, prepare.

1. Consider what personality of cat he would get along best with.
2. If a younger cat, consider two so that they have one another to play with and won't harass George.
3. Prepare to add a lot of enrichment to help keep stress levels low.
4. Watch many introduction videos to know what to expect and how to proceed.
5. Prepare to spend a lot of time on the introductions and play. Consider taking some vacation time to really devote time to this.

It can help an older cat to have some younger cats around. However, you will really need to adopt based on personality if you want success.
A cat that likes to do similar things as George does and one from a foster home with an older cat would do well.

Keep in mind that a cat's mourning time is 6 months usually. Longer then that and it is considered depression.

Ultimately, you know George best.

Companionship really helped Nobel. He's thrived from us bringing home two younger boys. He has arthritis but he still likes to play with the you get two, though it looks more like letting them hide and they poke each other or a bit of wrestling without the chase. He's also learned to play with many new toys and they all like to birdwatch together.

It took 6 months to fully integrate each cat. We took some vacation time and adopted on Friday evenings.

 

[smbsocal]

We just went through this and I would say NO.

We had two cats that had been together for 16 years and the male passed away last year. We thought the remaining female was lonely and got a couple of kittens. The older female took the new additions hard and eventually put up with them but it wasn't the same kind of bond that she had with the other cat. She passed away this month and I can honestly say that she was never happier with the new kittens than when she was the only cat in the house.

 

[danteshuman]

Do not get 2 kittens, they will gang up on him! Instead I think you need 1 golden ticket male kitten. You want a male kitten that is calm & brave. When I say kitten I mean a 12 week old obnoxious baby. That way George can show him who is boss with lots of clawless head boos, from the start. Because of George’s age; I would keep the kitten in a room for 8-12 hours a day for the first weeks (be sure to play with the kitten when you release him.)

do not pick the kitten by fur color but rather personality! My guy’s brother is a black cat with that Mojito cat personality you wanted...... no one wanted to adopt him! He is a fantastic cat that is friendly to strangers, likes dogs, is brave, he is calm, he isn’t to hyper or to sedate.... he is that rare right in the middle temperament/personality wise cat that is people friendly. I think this is ghd type of kitten you need.So look for this type of kitten no matter their color of fur.

 

[SirCatsAlotz mom]

No kittens. He is grieving, and cats as a whole dont particularly like other cats, unless a mating pair. If another animal is a must, a different species might be better...Rabbit, something he is unlikely to eat. So sorry for your loss. Truely.

 

[Kflowers]

Many cats catch kill and eat rabbits any chance they get. Also, many form close friendships with other cats of either gender.

 

[vansX2]

No kittens. He is grieving, and cats as a whole dont particularly like other cats, unless a mating pair. If another animal is a must, a different species might be better...Rabbit, something he is unlikely to eat. So sorry for your loss. Truely.

Here's a thought. How about a "Ferret " . I've read that they can be good companions for a Cat.

 

[botolo]

Just a quick update. George seems to feel better now. He is back to eating normally. We still wonder whether he gets bored during the day, but I can say that the emergency moment seems to be gone at this point.