Question
If I already have a cat (or a kitten), and I want to get another to keep it company.
Say the cat I have already is a couple years old, is it okay for me to get a new kitten? Or the other way around? it matter what age the new cat is?
Answer
A few general observations from my experience:
- Kittens will usually adapt to entering a new household or having a new cat join them faster than older cats.
- Cats from multi-cat households will adapt to a new multi-cat household faster than cats who were the only cat in the household.
- In general, adding a cat to a single-cat household works better if the cat that's added is of the opposite sex than the original cat.
- Extremely elderly cats may not tolerate a newcomer. I had this situation with a 19 year old cat who refused to accept the newest cat in the household. After 18 months, the two have settled into a routine of mostly ignoring each other (the new cat - 5 years old - plays quite happily with the 7 year old cat).
- The personality of the cats matters a lot. Easygoing cats will accept newcomers more easily and be integrated into a new household more easily.
- Jealousy will happen. I've found it helps to take turns petting the cats, especially when they're still working out their standing. This helps to reassure the original cat(s) that the newcomer isn't going to replace them.
- Separate the food bowls. This isn't so important for kibble on demand, but I've found it necessary to make sure the bowls with the canned food get placed at least one cat body-length apart, especially at first. Once your cats settle down, you may be able to bring the bowls closer together depending on the way your cats interact. I still have to keep the bowls separate to make sure the 19-year-old cat gets enough.
Answered By - Kate Paulk