Hi friends! It's a pleasure to meet you all--this is my first time posting! 
(I also apologize if this is in the wrong spot!)
I'm looking for a bit of advice because it's been a rather hard year of my life and I don't want to project my own emotions on to my kitty.
In October 2017, I adopted an 8-year-old Maine Coon male from the humane society (and named him Friend, haha). I'm in the process of returning to graduate school, and between being in classes and hopefully working part-time (I now work full-time, but am mopping up my last two weeks due to ADA noncompliance on the part of my employers) . . . I worry about him being alone too much.
He plays if I instigate it, and on his own, but generally he sleeps in the bathroom sink or on my desk. He seems like a perfectly happy kitty now--he's had no behavioral issues whatsoever. The shelter originally told me that his owners were surrendering him because he started peeing in their baby's crib when they were pregnant, and it got worse when the baby arrived; they also remarked that he fought with their cats. I've had no litterbox issues whatsoever; when I was out of town for surgery, a friend with two adult cats watched Friend, and said--interestingly--that within a day he was interacting with her kitties just fine. He was okay when her other cat hissed at him for getting "his" attention; he allowed them to use his litterbox and eat his food; "He was the most chill cat I've ever met," was what my friend told me afterwards.
From my very human point of view, his being alone for an unknown time of day (~12 hours, maybe more--and then, of course, I have to sleep!) doesn't sound ideal. I'd like it if he were to have someone to keep him company and offer some social interaction. But I also know that a cat who sleeps on his back in the middle of the room and greets me by rolling over and over and over on the kitchen floor when I come home is a happy cat. I really don't want to mess up his life (or a kitten's) by assuming that he "needs" company when maybe he doesn't. But I also don't want to deny him something that might be really good for him.
And I also know that sometimes in these things we just have to give it a shot and see how it goes; there are no guarantees. Once I had a single cat (he was about 4 at the time) and introduced a female kitten; after a day of separation they were playing with each other, grooming each other, and ended up exceptionally close. I once had another cat who was a domineering soul and couldn't stand to have another cat around unless He Was The Boss. Friend seems much like the first cat--very mellow and laid back--which is why I have hopes that integrating a kitten would be successful.
Any thoughts?
Thank you so much for reading all of this!
Take care!
Friend's friend. <3
(I also apologize if this is in the wrong spot!)I'm looking for a bit of advice because it's been a rather hard year of my life and I don't want to project my own emotions on to my kitty.
In October 2017, I adopted an 8-year-old Maine Coon male from the humane society (and named him Friend, haha). I'm in the process of returning to graduate school, and between being in classes and hopefully working part-time (I now work full-time, but am mopping up my last two weeks due to ADA noncompliance on the part of my employers) . . . I worry about him being alone too much.
He plays if I instigate it, and on his own, but generally he sleeps in the bathroom sink or on my desk. He seems like a perfectly happy kitty now--he's had no behavioral issues whatsoever. The shelter originally told me that his owners were surrendering him because he started peeing in their baby's crib when they were pregnant, and it got worse when the baby arrived; they also remarked that he fought with their cats. I've had no litterbox issues whatsoever; when I was out of town for surgery, a friend with two adult cats watched Friend, and said--interestingly--that within a day he was interacting with her kitties just fine. He was okay when her other cat hissed at him for getting "his" attention; he allowed them to use his litterbox and eat his food; "He was the most chill cat I've ever met," was what my friend told me afterwards.
From my very human point of view, his being alone for an unknown time of day (~12 hours, maybe more--and then, of course, I have to sleep!) doesn't sound ideal. I'd like it if he were to have someone to keep him company and offer some social interaction. But I also know that a cat who sleeps on his back in the middle of the room and greets me by rolling over and over and over on the kitchen floor when I come home is a happy cat. I really don't want to mess up his life (or a kitten's) by assuming that he "needs" company when maybe he doesn't. But I also don't want to deny him something that might be really good for him.
And I also know that sometimes in these things we just have to give it a shot and see how it goes; there are no guarantees. Once I had a single cat (he was about 4 at the time) and introduced a female kitten; after a day of separation they were playing with each other, grooming each other, and ended up exceptionally close. I once had another cat who was a domineering soul and couldn't stand to have another cat around unless He Was The Boss. Friend seems much like the first cat--very mellow and laid back--which is why I have hopes that integrating a kitten would be successful.
Any thoughts?
Thank you so much for reading all of this!
Take care!
Friend's friend. <3
I've only ever had one cat at a time, so I don't have personal experience with multi-cat homes. 
