Thoughts on adding a 3rd cat?

[lucicat]

We have two cats, a female 1 year old and a male 9 month old. They get along very well, no issues there and also no potty accident issues, they sleep pretty well at night, etc.

I have been fostering kittens this summer (kept separate from my own cats) and one of them I have really bonded with and am considering adopting. But I'm nervous about disrupting the calm relationship of my other two. This new one is also a male and is currently 3 months old. Any thoughts on whether adopting a third would be super disruptive?

 

[susanm9006]

I can’t say it would be super disruptive. The three might get along well together especially since they are young. Or they might now but not as adults, hard to say. But getting a third certainly isn’t a crazy idea if you can afford it and have the time and energy to deal with any future issues.

 

[ArtNJ]

As susanm9006 mentioned, age matters a lot! If you think you will want a third at some point, now is a good time! There is no hard cut off of course, but I usually tell people that a resident cat younger than two has an excellent chance of becoming friends with a kitten.

As Susan also mentioned, to some extent, three does increase the chance of random cat relationship problems down the road, but that is very hard to quantify. I've usually had two, and the one time I had three, I did have one of those later-developing problems, but I don't think they are all that common, or too much of an increased chance above having two cats. So if you want a third cat, I'd say go for it!