Calling All KITTEN OWNERS!!

[funnybunny]

I currently have a kitten of 9 months and he seems a little lonely. His name is Shadow and I'm not sure whether to get him a lady kitty friend or a male kitty friend Do you think two males would fight or get along okay?

Also having a new kitten means NEW NAMES So has anyone got any ideas for names?

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I have 3 neutered males and they get along just fine. They are all adults now, but did fine together when they were younger. Thinking back, almost all of the cats we have ever had were male, only a couple of females and of course they were spayed.

If they aren't neutered, I would make sure to do that as soon as they are old enough. Your kitten, I'm sure would probably love another kitten to play with. It may take some getting used to, but probably not long.

Suzanne

 

[ChiCat]

From my understanding cats aren't pack animals so they don't need a kitty companion. However, I've had my oldest cat for about 4.5 years (I got her when she was a couple of years old), I lived with a roommate for about a year and although they seemed to just "tolerate" each other, my cat seemed less needy than she used to. Before having a second cat around my cat would follow me room to room and would cry at the door when I came home like she was lonely. So after my roommate left I got a kitten (by mistake! a friend found her and I didn't realize she was so young when I agreed to take her, kittens are a handful). So they aren't best friends by any stretch of the imaginiation but I think it does provide company for them when you aren't home.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I used to think my cat was lonely, so we brought another cat in just to see how it would work out. She is very territorial and hates other cats. She was constantly attacking the other cat. Might be comparing apples and oranges, because mine is a spayed female and the other cat was a neutered male. We gave the male away because it definitely was not working. He was quite a bit larger, and I was afraid he would get tired of getting his behind kicked on a daily basis and hurt my little gal.

That being said...probably (I am speculating here) if the cat is young enough, it might be an easier adjustment to sharing with another cat.

 

[shortbun]

Boy kitties will beat up on girl kitties if they are older and in the home first. Best to get a boy....but is yours neutered yet? He might spray if he's not neutered and you introduce a male. Fun thinking about these things isn't it? Get a dark grey or black kitty and name him Thunder or Cloud. My current kitty, Sophie Tucker, is my first girl cat ever. I had always had two males but things happened and she came to our family. The male we had was just awful to her-wouldn't let her eat, beat her up, bit her all the time. I had to keep them separated when I wasn't home. We lost the boy and Sophie blossomed. She gained weight and her personality became apparent. She's been our only cat now for 13years. Years from now, when she travels over the rainbow bridge, I might get a couple males again. For now, she rules the roost.

 

[Kath2003]

We have a Big Soppy Cat. He was mine and lived with another cat whilst I lived with housemates. After I'd had him about 6 months, I moved in with my partner and we got a male kitten. They got along great, mainly because the kitten ADORED my Big Soppy Cat - there was a LOT of mutual grooming etc.

We lost the kitten in an accident, however, a couple of days before we moved house, so we moved with just the Big Soppy Cat. A few months later, we rescued another Fiesty Little Cat. They get on but the kitten had to learn his place - there was a lot of "playful" sqabbling as Fiesty Little Cat wanted to be top cat, but eventually he learnt his rank. They don't sit together often but sometimes if we get up in the middle of the night, we catch them cuddled up together in their basket

Interestingly, indoors Fiesty Little Cat ALWAYS starts the play fights and Big Soppy Cat whinges because he just wants to sleep - but outside, Big Soppy Cat enjoys nothing more than playfully chasing him around the garden and they happily play together.

Get another male cat. Let the big cat give him a good "whack" a few times so he knows who's boss. They'll live happily ever after. Getting a female cat would be a bad move - our Big Soppy Cat HATES female cats and would probably reject one if we brought one home.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

It all depends on the cats in question. I've seen males and females get along splendidly, I've seen males get along swimmingly. I don't see females get along quite as often, but it does happen. (Female cats are mostly Mean Girls. Seriously. Not all of them, but the majority.)

Some cats just do NOT like other cats too. But sometimes a cat you'd think wouldn't like a roommate does. . .

Honestly, the only thing you can do is try. At 9 months, your kitten should get along with another kitten of the same age fairly easily though. I'd go hunting another kitten his age with his approximate level of energy. My best guess is that you have about a 95% chance of things working out. (And this is said as a long time cat adoption volunteer with a cat rescue.)

 

[funnybunny]

Haha, sounds like a cute kitty family
Thanks everyone for the response, still need to find a name but a male kitty friend will definitely be an option

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I originally had a boy and girl.

We introduced a MALE cat and he got along with the MALE cat in our home-NOT the female.

 

[BGK]

The best thing I ever did for my oldest cat, Jack, was to get him a friend. Jack was about six months old, a black and white Siamese mix. He was easily bored and, even though I was working from home, demanded so much attention that I was nearly broken down with frustration.

I brought home Rizzo, a Maine Coon mix, at the time a three month old kitten. Jack was ecstatic. Rizzo wanted nothing to do with Jack and out of unwarranted fear of fighting I kept them separated for about a week. My vet advised me to let them have it out, and, as long as no one screamed, stand back. They chased each other like maniacs for about three hours, then proceeded to ignore me for the next six months. They were inseparable then, and are still good friends today. I've since brought three more cats home - one more male and two females - and Jack was hopping-happy for all but the last. I attribute that to the fact that Jack was seven and Angus was five when I brought Angus home. It took them about a year to get to the really friendly. With the females, who were four and five months old at the time, integration took about 15 minutes.

My advice is do it early, as integration only gets harder as the "resident" cat gets older. I think two neutered males are easiest to integrate, but male-female works well if the former is older and the latter three or four months old.

As for names, I strongly prefer real names, and not silly names or made-up phrases. Something you would have no compunction naming a child.

 

[Tigger2252]

I have been really fortunate that mine all pretty much get along, even though there are some BIG age differences (they range from 10 to 1). The youngest get along the best because we found them all at the same time so they have been together pretty much since birth. We have 4 girls and 3 boys. The boys get along with everyone. The girls, not so much. The ladies tend to tolerate each other but like the boys. I like to pick unusual names that still "fit".

 

[chell]

Ours never had trouble accepting new kitties. At first when we rescued a mom and her babies Galaxy did some spraying to let me know he wasn't happy. He was fixed and this was just because he was jealous.

My suggestion is to see if you can get the 2 cats together to see how they do, like a play date. At the rescue I work with we do this with dogs. I actually recommend it so that an animal doesn't go into a home then have to get moved again because they don't get along. I know you can't see everything in a play date but you can at least tell if they will tolerate one another.

I think an additional kitty is a great idea! It has kept Galaxy active. He and Luna chase each other around. Sometimes they just snuggle. It is so dang cute!

 

[LuvOrlando]

I don't think gender matters all that much with kitty cats

When it comes to names I love all the ones from The Aristocats and Figaro from Pinnochio

 

[sixcats]

You just need to be patient when introducing a new kitten to your cat. Be sure to neuter your current cat first and the new kitten when it is still young. I would keep the new kitten seperated for two weeks-have the new kitty tested to protect your resident cat from diseases and parasites. Let the cats explore eachothers spaces a bit to get used to the other's scent.

Expect a little spitting and swatting. I adopted littermates about two weeks apart and when first reintroduced they spit at eachother for a few hours. There isn't any bloodshed here. Some of my cats cuddle, some are loners. I do think that even the loner appreciates having another cat around.

 

[*JoGo*]

We JUST adopted a kitten!

We have a 6yr old female. She's a scaredy cat. We got her from a shelter when she was 18mos old - someone had adopted her as a kitten and returned her, so we do not know what happened to her during that time. She is the best lap cat. But not much fun for my boys.

Our kitten is a male Savannah cat. They're active cats to begin with, and he's a kitten, so he can be nuts! I specifically got a male cat b/c I've read females get on better w/ males rather than 2 females. We also had 2 female cats when I was growing up and they never got along.

After a week of her hissing and growling (something she had NEVER done before), they are getting along and even playing now! She never went at him, and I think she was afraid of him more than anything.

We kept the kitten in a crate when we weren't home, and the first week, we kept the kitten in the living room to keep an eye on them and better control their interactions. We also kept him out of my bedroom as that's our older cat's favorite place and we didn't want him bothering her in there.

I think you should google introducing cats. You don't want to just throw them together. And I don't think 'play dates' will give you an accurate picture... it took mine a week of being in the same house to tolerate each other (no hissing from original cat).

Good luck!

 

[njmom47]

My dd#2 brought home a kitten last summer (male). We have 2 older cats (males, both declawed - they came that way, ages 9 and 15). Brody (kitten) is mostly in dd's room, but when he is out, he usually torments Boo Boo (9 yr old) more than JR (15 yr old). After Brody was fixed, he did chill out a little...I actually found him sleeping on the couch all by himself, without bothering anyone! It can be done, but I think I would get another male.

 

[pixiewings71]

We have 2 girls cats (sisters) and 1 boy kitty, he's about 7 months old now. We found him when he was about 4 weeks old so it was touch and go for a while (we actually found him and his sister but his sister didn't make it, we lost her after 2 days ) Tink and Tigger get along fine, Mouse HATES Tigger but Mouse also hates Tink half the time and like I said, they are sisters. LOL We also have a mini doxie, she thinks Tig is hers....LOL She and Tigger play and play and play, they chase each other all over the place, it's very cute.
My advice is to try to find a cat about the same age as your guy, I really don't think sex matters but make sure to get them both fixed. Good luck!! As for names, we generally try to wait a few days to a week before giving names, that way we can see their personality and give them appropriately. FWIW our Tink is a calico, Mouse is a gray tabby and Tigger is an orange tabby, and man Tigger fits him to a T! He's bouncy bouncy bouncy.....LOL