Should I or Shouldn't I add a New Cat? HELP!?

Question

Let me first give you some background so you can properly give me advice. and PLEASE DO!

I have three 1-3 year old neutered male cats at home. They all seem to get along, they are very outgoing and friendly, and like to sleep together although they are NOT related. We live in the city by a busy street and lots of people so the cats are ALL indoor. We (my boyfriend and I) have a fairly small house with only 2 levels. We rent, and will probably move again in the near future, and continue to rent houses/apartments since we are both fairly young in our early 20´s.

Recently my boyfriend and I have been considering adding a fourth and final cat. Possibly a female, but we are not sure if it would be best to go with another male or get a female this time. We are really unsure and definitely want to give another kitty a home but don´t want to be denied housing due to too many cats, have them not get enough attention, not have enough personal space, etc.

please give me any advice you have, the good, the bad, don´t sugar-coat it! tell it to me straight! we are so confused!!!!

thank you!!!!

Carrie

Answer 1

I think you are lucky to have a landlord that allows pets and you may not find another one (it may be impossibel to find one that will house four cats).  I think three is fine for now.  I have two and don't think I could afford a third set of insurance, vet bills and food!  As far a space goes I think as long as you have more rooms than cats it is okay as then if they all want to be alone at the same time they can have their own space.  I think your cats may like a new comer (they may not though) but it would be of no significant benefit to them as they already live in a group.  I'm not sure about gender.  They may fight over a girl but they are neutered so maybe not.  They would find a kitten less of a treat.  

Answer 2

Let's look at the two real issue here 1-well being of the cat  2- housing problem with 4 cats.

1) As far as cats go, adding a new cat will proove to be stressfull for everyone. You must know that cats establish dominance over one another. If you don't have fights or urine marking in your house it's because the dominance ladder is well established in your house. Adding a new cat will disturb that balance and you will find yourself with a bit of growling, hissing and maybe fighting. Not that it is bad because eventually the dominance ladder will be re-established but still, it's a lot of stress for everyone. Adopting a Kitten of 6 months or less would be wise as he will not want to assert his domination.  As far as space for your cat is concerned, they don't mind. They will do with the space they have. Just be sure to provide them with places in heights to go. Cat tree, shelves and allowing them to go on the table and compter are vital things. Also be sure to have one litter more than you have cats or at least as many litter as you have cats and not located at the same place. That may proove difficult in a small house.

Again, they will adapt (there is a very minor tiny chance that a cat will not be accepted by other but that represent only 1% of the cats.

2) Now for the landlord....you might have a lot of problem of finding a place to go. There are actually laws in several city limiting the number of domestic animal in an appartement or in a house. Most of the time it's 2 cats and 1 dogs or 3 cats. Inform yourself. We have 4 cats in a normal house and we're thinking of moving to a condominum but cannot find any. We have to wait for our 15 years old cat to die in order to move...and she still running and playing like she's 3 yrs old....so we're planning to move in 5 years :)...and we don't mind.

Answer 3

I agree.  Don't get another cat.  You have enough.  Really.

If you MUST, I don't recommend a girl.  Get another boy cat, kitten age.  The smaller the better (so your other cats can establish dominance and not fight for dominance).  

Answer 4

I don't think adding another cat is necessary, honestly. You have three of them. Three should be tops.

Also, moving is hard with animals, and the more animals you have, the harder it's going to be to find landlords who are willing to let you pay a pet deposit to keep them there. And speaking of pet deposits, that'll get expensive! At my house, it was $200 per animal!

I think you should just enjoy the three you have right now.

Answer 5

as nice as it would be to get an extra cat it might not be practicle for you to get an extra one. maybe in a few years when you have maybe a bigger place and maybe access to a garden.