So my cat is 2.5 years old right now and I'm currently thinking of getting her a new friend. Would it be better if adopted a kitten 3 months or 6 months compared to say 1 years+? My cat is pretty skittish but does hiss and growl at other cats around so I'd like to give my cat the best chance she's got. I know about the slow introduction but not sure if the new cat's age matters or not.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Thinking about adopting a second cat, age suggestion?
- Thread starter Sammiches
- Start Date
Kitten, 3 months old. Age matters a lot. So does temperament and activity level, but the advantages a kitten brings are large and you always get them. Specifically, kittens do not try to hurt the other cat, always adapt and are willing to extend friendship within say a week, and never get attacked by big cats. Those are powerful advantages. There are some downsides to a kitten too. They are super active, and sometimes they won't take no for an answer to play, jumping all over a stressed older cat. So if you have an older inactive cat, some people say its better to adopt another low activity cat known to be chill around other cats. Still, with a 2.5 year old, I think most will agree a kitten is the best bet.
There is no risk free situation unless both cats are kittens (which is risk free), both are very young (which is low risk) or both have recently done fine being introduced to other cats in a home situation and have similar activity levels (which should be very low risk). On the last one, I chose my wording carefully -- "recently done fine being introduced to other cats in a home situation" is not the same as "became friends with another cat that they were introduced to years ago" and is also not the same as "did fine with other cats in the shelter." Both of those two are not as predictive as one might think.
There is no risk free situation unless both cats are kittens (which is risk free), both are very young (which is low risk) or both have recently done fine being introduced to other cats in a home situation and have similar activity levels (which should be very low risk). On the last one, I chose my wording carefully -- "recently done fine being introduced to other cats in a home situation" is not the same as "became friends with another cat that they were introduced to years ago" and is also not the same as "did fine with other cats in the shelter." Both of those two are not as predictive as one might think.
Last edited:
Knowing nothing else, get a 3 month old neutered kitten. Your cat is still young enough to be active and playful and would probably, eventually, enjoy an active little friend. Older cats come with baggage, which you may or may not know about, and might be difficult to integrate.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Thanks for the replies guys! So with a younger kitten, does the gender matter? My cat is a female but I plan to get her a male friend. Both fixed of course because we already have too many homeless cats out there 
You will get different answers about gender - some will say it won't matter, some will say two females have more potential for trouble, others will say boys are more easy going (I tend to agree with the last one). Don't go in set on a gender, but keep those potential problems in mind.
When we were looking for our third, I wanted a male tuxedo, we got a female tabby/callico mottled kitten. Why: Her personality - she was very forward and adventurous and friendly - a strong enough personality to stand up to her two new big brothers. She "clicked" with us immediately (based on her picture, I would never have picked her). The shelter actually had a tuxedo at the time but he had the wrong disposition.
When we were looking for our third, I wanted a male tuxedo, we got a female tabby/callico mottled kitten. Why: Her personality - she was very forward and adventurous and friendly - a strong enough personality to stand up to her two new big brothers. She "clicked" with us immediately (based on her picture, I would never have picked her). The shelter actually had a tuxedo at the time but he had the wrong disposition.
Count me in the gender doesn't matter category. I'm also not a believer that you can really tell much from how a kitten acts with you in a short visit. Adopted our current kitten because my wife wanted another female; the male kittens were actually much friendlier. Maybe she was tired or overwhelmed, but as it turned out she is everything we could want in a kitten (once we get her more reliable on the scratching posts!) So its not insane to pick a kitten because its cute, because someone wants a certain gender or a certain breed. How they act in a shelter isn't necessarily that predictive either. So don't worry overly much about choosing the right kitten. (Might be a few breeds that are so active they are exceptions. Get an Abyssinian or Bengal at your risk!)
Here's a TCS article that might be helpful: Your Second Cat: How To Choose The Best Friend For Kitty
And the introduction ones:
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
And the introduction ones:
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
