Cat lovers/experts advice please

[Micca]

Because of career demands, DW and I have been living/working in separate locations for a while. We are about to reunite and I have a question concerning cats. I have a small old sedentary cat, and DW adopted a kitten which is now just under two years old. We're concerned about how they will get along, and hoping they will just ignore each other. Today I started thinking about the logistics, and wondered if we should maintain two separate litter boxes. We have a 3 story home, so space isn't really a concern. Can we merge two cats into one box, or should they have their own box each.
TIA.

 

[alliecats]

My vet has always said, "one box per cat" as this eliminates any competition, etc. This works well for us, with our two. I think it would be even more helpful for you, since these kitties will have other adjustments to make. Good luck!

 

[robinb]

I assume the cats have not met each other before. I would keep them separated and introduce them slowly. Keep two litter boxes until the "new" cat is integrated with the "old" cat in the house. You can then probably go to one litter box, but not for a month or two.

 

[mamacatnv]

My Vet recommends one box per cat plus one extra. We have 2 cats and 3 boxes. This has worked well. If you are free feeding they should be fine, but if they are on scheduled feeding I would make sure they each have their own food bowl.

I doubt they will ignore each other, although they may. The youngster is going to want to play and the oldie will want to sleep. There may be some hissing, snarling & jousting until they establish who is in charge, who eats first, who gets the primo sleeping spots etc.

It can take several weeks for them to work it out. Unless there is major (not the occassional rolling snarl) fighting involved I would let them sort it out. If there is major fighting, you may need to keep them separated when you are not home and supervise them when you are until they reach some sort of agreement.

Blending animals can be interesting.

My brother who had been single for 40 years with his cat Penny, married a woman who had been single for 36 years with her dog Pippin.

Pippin hates my brother, Penny hates his wife but somehow the dog and cat have reached an agreement. They have been married now 1.5 years. The dog still doesn't like him and the cat still doesn't like her and I find it all just hilarious!

 

[chyam]

I would try 2 boxes for awhile and just see what happens, they may very well both use the same box anyway.... There will be a little adjustment but with your big house I am sure they will find away...........
1 cat per litter box.........geez I have 7 cats and only 3 littler boxes I could not imagine changing 7 cat boxes! I'm glad mine don't have any bathroom problems and seem fine in sharing! I'd have to buy over 100lbs of cat litter a week!

 

[azgal81]

We have two cats they use the same box and always did. One is about a year older then the other one. When we brought the kitten home to introduce to the older cat we just put them in front of each other. There was some sniffing and hissing but the meeting went over well. They are always chasing each other around the house and playing they get along fine.