Should I get my young cat a playmate?

Question

I have had cats my entire life, but I have had my first one on my own, away from my family for about a year now. She is eleven months old and is extremely playful.

I work from home and take her outside on her cat leash, etc., play with her, but she still seems bored to tears (or bad behavior: knocking things off shelves, demanding that I get up so she has company) half the time.

When my family introduced cats into our household with another cat already present, the cat eventually tolerated the other one but that was it.

I am thinking my cat might do well with a playmate, younger than her, probably male as she is still almost a kitten and enjoys playing with the little dogs next door.

Can anyone give me an opinion about this? Share experiences? I know that in general, cats are solitary animals and the last thing I want to do is make my cat feel abandoned/unloved by a new kitten.

Answer 1

We tried this and now we have two solitary cats.

Answer 2

i dnt like cats, if its unhappy thn buy another one but personally i couldnt care less

Answer 3

Yes, I think you should probably get another kitty.

Don't worry too much about the solitary thing.  They live on their own if they're in the wild, but this is not the wild.  They basically get to live as perpetual kittens so having a buddy can be fun.  If they were wild they'd be busy hunting during their waking hours, since they don't have to do that they need something else to fill that time.  Sometimes they can get pretty territorial (both males and females) but generally someone is willing to back down and things work out pretty well.  

I got a male kitten for my adult male (5 yr old) cat and they became very close.  They would bathe each other, snuggle, play...  

Thanks to putting food out for strays and ferals we are now up to 6 cats.  Two are kittens at around 9 weeks and 22 weeks old and one is just over a year old.  Kittens really love other kittens.  They are adorable playing together and seem to really have a lot of fun together.  It took the one year old a few days to warm up to the younger kitten, he actually spent a day hiding from the little one, but now they're very close.  

It may take some patience but your kitty is young enough that she'll probably adapt to new friend and enjoy the company.  

Answer 4

Yes, having two kittens together is ideal, especially if yours is hyper-active but beware when introducing a new kitten into your house.  You want to find one with a similar activity level and not a super mellow sleeper and cuddler.  Ask your local shelter if you could bring in your cat with you to meet the new possible kitten to make sure they get along before adopting a new one, and know that since she has viewed YOU as her personal playmate for the past year transitioning her to play with her new friend may take a little time.  Most of the time you may no notice the two cats interacting with each other a lot because when you are around they will want your attention still.  It's when your not around that they tend to bond and play together, but be aware they may still be mischievous and get into trouble, so only get the second cat if you really want it and not just for her.  

Answer 5

I would do it now, before she gets much older.  

I did this for my kitten, and it eventually worked out beautifully.  I do now have TWO cats waking me up in the morning, however.  But my original cat is much happier and only needs me to play with it a few times a day instead of 24/7.  No more crying outside the bathroom door!

Read up on the internet on how to introduce a new cat.  You'll have to isolate the new cat until you make sure that its healthy and won't make your kitty sick!  Follow all the advice, because it really worked for me.  Especially about things like , while the new kitty is still in quarintine, rubbing the cats with towels and then giving it to the other cats so they get used to each others' scents.  And letting the kitties sniff each other and paw each other through the door.  When they are introduced, have extra food dishes and litter boxes in different places so that if one of the kitties is a bully, the other kitty can at least eat and p**p in peace once in a while.

They will initially fight.  It may take a few days to a few months until they sort out who's in charge.  

It was hairy for a few days around here.  I would put them together a few hours and them split them up because the smaller cat was shrieking whenever the older cat would pin him down.  Eventually I just gave up and let them sort it out and after about a day of constant exposure to each other, they got hungry and tired and stopped fighting.

Now, two weeks later, they are lying on my bed, half sleeping in the sun and grooming each other.  They each have their own food dishes, but they insist on eating, together, from one and them moving to the other one.    

They still chase each other and the little one still shrieks, but he chases the bigger one half the time and is loving and happy.  They each cry when they can't find the other one and the other one comes running!

I have heard that you shouldn't have two males, (I have a male and a hermaphrodite) and I have heard that you shouldn't have an older cat and a kitten.

Answer 6

I would say yes.  They would stay entertained with a little buddy.