We are thinking of adding another cat....

[azul]

Hope all of you guys are doing well. My wife and I are thinking of adding our 2nd cat to our home. Am I concerned? Yep. We have a British 'Blue' Shorthair and he is about 2 1/2 years old. Seems to be very territorial as when he see other cats outside walk by the sliding glass door he is ready to rumble. Looking at a female Scottish Straight. Temperaments and personalities should be close I think. I'm currently researching the introduction process etc. he is neutered also. He seems content with being the only pet in our home but we love him so much we want 2. My question is, how many of you guys have had a 2 1/2 year old male alone, and kind of territorial, but, added a female and it went smoothly. Thanks

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• azul
• Feb 24, 2016

 

[tulosai]

Hi and thanks for considering adding another cat to your family.

The most important thing is to make sure to introduce the cats slowly and properly.  While in reality not all cats can or will end up best friends, in over 99% of cases, peaceful coexistence can be achieved if you take the tim to correctly introduce the cats, making sure to go at their pace.  We have some great articles outlining this process:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-successfully-introduce-cats-the-ultimate-guide
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

You should, again, be prepared to go at the cats pace and aware that this process may take a long time- up to months- though some cats also adjust quickly.

This article discusses how to choose a second cat: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-other-cat

In general if you have a male it's better to add another male.  Is there a reason your heart is set on a girl?

This article discusses some adjustments you may have to make in general: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-multi-cat-household

Let us know if you have questions, and best of luck with this decision and transition!

 

[kittymomma1122]

He is stunning!! I have never seen a cat like him.
On to the question, I had a 7 year old male, always an only cat. We introduced 3 kittens. Two males and a female, littermates. I was very surprised with the results. He scolded them when they got too rough by tapping them on the head with his paw. He groomed them, cuddled them and took them in like they were his own. They are now almost 3 and he still grooms them and cuddles with them. We joke that he thinks he is their Momma.

 

[azul]

Thanks guys. I read through all those articles, and they were very helpful. Really appreciate it.

 

[kittymomma1122]

I find my boy cuddles more with the other boys than the girl. They are all spayed/neutered. Also there is a thread call post pictures of your precious blue/gray/maltese cats here. I think everyone there would love to see pictures of your beauty.

 

[engine4154]

Bugs was 12 when I added Clyde to the mix. Their intro was delayed because he was feral when he let himself in. I kept them seperated for a few days until I could have him checked out at the vet. He was about 3 months old at the time and once he was given a clean bill of health, I brought him home and they got along fine.

A year or so after Bugs passed, I decided to get him a friend to keep him occupied while I was at work. My sister, who works at the vet, said they had a nice tortie kitten. After meeting her, I decided she was perfect. I brought her home and after she hid for a day or so getting used to her new home, they too got along fine. The only time I've seen Clyde remotely act territorial is at a couple of neighbor cats who sometimes hang out on the porch that's limited to hissing at the door.

 

[sivyaleah]

First, your cat is absolutely stunning! He looks so soft and cuddly!

Anyway. Casper, our ginger boy was about 11 when we adopted our Tortie, Cocoabean.  Casper had been a solo cat since kittenhood. We weren't his first owners - we got him at 9-1/2. He is a very social cat with humans but, was quite territorial with any visiting "enemy" cats as we call them.

We really wanted a friend for him, and us too of course, but weren't sure if it would work or not.  We took a long time for their introductions, probably longer than is typical because Cocoa was somewhat traumatized and was not ready to be social.  We kept them apart for a month but they were able to smell each other under a heavy, closed door and play "footsies".  

Once we were confident that Casper was not being aggressive we opened the door and let her come out at her own pace.  While I can't say they were fast friends, they also didn't get into any arguments - were more weary of each other for a while, allowing the other space.  It took about a month in total to get to that point.  However, once they were living in the same spaces of the house and became more acclimated to each other they did start playing together, grooming each other and we even caught them sleeping right near each other a few times.  Cocoa happened to be more cat oriented at that point in time, so she really tried to play nice and she was pretty submissive to him.  

It's now 3 years later and I can definitely say they are friends and have been for a long while.  I think they have been good for each other although I do wish they were closer in age - Casper is now nearly 15 and slowing down.  She is about 6-8 (we have no idea really) and still has bundles of energy.  I think she could use a cat friend who can match her activity level but we're not about to add a third (yet) 

 

 

[NewYork1303]

We were in a similar place last year. We had an extremely affectionate 2 1/2 year old male. He wasn't aggressive to other cats, but wasn't friendly with them either. We decided that we wanted two cats partially to give him a friend (he was very needy) and partially for us since we wanted a cat who was more of a lap cat (ironically our older cat has now become more of a lap cat as a result of cuddling skills learned from the second cat). 

We ended up introducing him to a female 10 and 1/2 week old kitten. It took a bit of time and he reacted with aggression initially but now they are good friends. Here is a link to a photo thread of their introduction:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306236/gradual-introductions-work

I feel it really helps to illustrate the gradual process of cats becoming friends.

There is definitely going to be a difference between the way he acts toward stranger cats that he sees outdoors and a cat he sees you interacting with. With a slow introduction it definitely isn't always easy, but it gives you the best chance of success.

 

[azul]

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• azul
• Feb 24, 2016

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• azul
• Feb 24, 2016

This is the one we are looking to add. It is a male... Scottish Straight Shorthair

 

[kittymomma1122]

Great tips from NewYork1303 and Sivyaleah. I did not detail that my kittens were quartined in a saferoom for 9 weeks before introductions. He knew they were there and they played footsie under the door, They were from a feral mother so I had to have their shots, testing, spaying/neutering all complete before they met.
He is beautiful also! I love the face and eyes.