Cats don’t *always *do better in pairs. I adopted Lily by herself but then adopted Teddy 6 days later. She immediately hated that she wasn’t an only cat. She adapted ok but was happier and more outgoing after Teddy died. When my husband moved in with his cat, Lily again was unhappy and became withdrawn and aloof. When she (husband’s cat) died, Lily again came out of her shell and has become a very well adjusted, happy, affectionate cat. We’ve decided against getting another cat - as much as we love cats - until Lily’s gone because she’s just so much better when she’s the sole focus of our attention. (She doesn’t seem to mind Thor, the hamster, though.)
So while in general I agree that cats do well in pairs so they have a playmate when you’re not home to play with them, it isn’t always true and some cats just like being the center of their human companion’s attention.
Exactly - when I was looking for a kitten and it wasn’t really kitten season, the local no-kill people had a little guy I liked - and I said, “Can I take this one?” and they said “Sure, we can schedule a home visit…” and I said, “Uh, I’ll think about it.” Nosy bastards - don’t they want people to adopt? I ended up getting one later at the city shelter, no problems.
The kitten will be homesick & lonely all day, while you’re at work. Might you manage to go out in the evening? Might you even dare take a trip lasting a couple of days? What will the kitten do?
Two kittens will be able to amuse each other. And you. Especially if adopted together, they will remain lifelong companions. Which mostly means sleeping in a pile. But they will still occasionally indulge in “kittenish” behavior.
Were these kittens from the same litter?
I think that makes a big difference.
The last 2 kittens I had were from the same litter and were nigh inseperable.
One kitten is a lot of fun, but two kittens is a complete laugh-riot.
Hmm. I’ll need to keep you in mind. I have two cats, and it would kill me to give one up, but I’m moving to an apartment sometime this summer, and I might (might!) have to give up one of the cats. I’d feel much better giving him to someone I sort of know. He’s about 5 years old, but still very kittenish and playful. He’d be fine alone during the day, but would be a good companion for you when you’re home.
I realize that shelters don’t want their adoptees to be abused or end up back in the shelter, but don’t they realize that people drown unwanted cats?
Go out to the country. Farm people have a more realistic idea of the status of animals, and are more likely to give away animals to anyone who isn’t Bill Frist.
My first visit to the Toronto Humane Society was also my last. Adopting an animal from them would have taken more time, and been substantially more difficult and personally intrusive, than buying a house. The place was filled to the rafters with dogs and they seemed to have deliberately created the system that would result in the fewest possible adoptions.
I got the very distinct sense that the people who organize the THS were not as interested in helping animals in any objectively measureably way as they were in being self-righteous, egotistical blowhards.
The kitten will do what all cats do when they’re alone; sleep, lick her or his genitals, and patrol their territory. Cats generally don’t get lonely, especially if they’re used to it. They’re CATS, for Christ’s sake. They’re solitary and territorial by nature. Cats are just fine and dandy by themselves.
Yeah, there’s something about kittens, isn’t there? The fur that looks like they’ve just been tumble-dried with no static sheet, and the pointy tails and huge ears . . .
At any rate, I’m not actively trying to talk you into an adult versus a kitten; I only made the suggestion because, as I said, lots of cat rescue sites will specify if the cat has to be an “only cat” (which means you aren’t pressured to adopt 2), but that’s usually (YMMV) something that’s not really noticeable until the kitten hits maturity.
Good luck with the search. And do check out the Petfinder site–they will undoubtedly have kittens.
Our three-year-old cats are still very playful. Not all adult cats are like that, but there are some that are.
Ours are pound cats by way of a local no-kill shelter (this shelter rescues cats and dogs that are on their last day at a kill shelter). If Luna were any more friendly and affectionate (except to the vet, of course), it would be a little scary. She gets between me and Mr Neville in the bed almost every night and purrs. She follows the woman who cleans our apartment around while she’s cleaning (except when she’s running the vacuum). Usually, wherever I am in our apartment, she’s not far away. If you, someone she’s never seen before, came to our apartment, within 15 minutes at the absolute maximum she’d be coming up to you to be petted and begging you for cat treats (though she might hiss at you initially, if you smelled like other cats). Again, not all pound cats are like that, but pound cats that are very friendly and affectionate do exist.
We do have two cats, and I recommend it if you can do it. It’s not much more work than one cat, it’s fun to watch them play-fight and chase each other, and it’s so cute when they curl up together and groom each other.
I just had the opposite happen–I adopted 2 kittens even though I was told they could be adopted separately. Our 10-year old cat is lonely, since our 21-year old cat doesn’t play with him anymore (she sleeps; she’s 21–what else is she going to do?). We wanted a new friend for Jack, but there were these 2 little girls (about 8 months old) that had been rescued from a shelter together and fostered together. The foster parent said we could take just one, but they were clearly close, so we took both. That was 10 days ago. They play like mad together and they’re getting used to Jack, who’s trying to get used to them.
I’m glad we took home both. If I were adopting and I wasn’t going to be home during the day, I would get 2 cats. My 21-year old was depressed as a younger cat when she was alone (she’s outlived 2 companions) and didn’t cheer up until we brought Jack home. Now Jack’s feeling better with the kittens around. A companion is nice, I think.
Precisely. They are encouraging the very behavior that they are trying to stop - puppy farms and pet stores. People WILL get dogs if they want them (and kittens, even one at a time). All they are doing is making sure they can’t place as many animals.
I’ve had our dog a week and a half already, and it was a week after this agency pissed me off that I got him - and the dog I was interested in is still up on their website and they are still pleading for a family for him.
(The rescue agency we adopted him from was at a Petco - we stopped in to see the dogs, talked to his foster mom, gave them cash and had a dog home two hours later.)
When we adopted our 2 kittens, the shelter told us the reason they only adopt in pairs is because they have found that when they adopt kittens out singly, they end up getting more complaints about the cat’s behavior, and frequently end up having the cat returned to them. Since they started adopting kittens in pairs, they’ve had significantly fewer “returns.”
Now, the shelter where we got our furry monsters seemed a reasonable place – no home visits, etc., but a fairly in-depth application – and they really seemed to be in it for the welfare of the cats. But this, to them, means the welfare of each individual cat, so if they can make better adoptions but have to do fewer of them, that was preferable. And I can see where they’re coming from – it makes sense to do what you can to ensure that Fluffy’s first adoption is her only one, so that the cat is happy, the owners are happy, and there is less work for the shelter.
I’m not saying this excuses the places that want to do multiple unscheduled home visits and that sort of thing – there is a limit! But cats, generally, are not as solitary as we think they are (there will always be exceptions), and if the humans are gone all day, they (kittens especially) are more likely to get bored and then get into trouble.
This used to be the thinking, but I don’t think this is entirely accurate. If my cats were solitary and didn’t care about other beings, they wouldn’t follow me around the house and sleep wherever I am, or always sleep within 10 feet of each other (even though they have an armed truce between them), or run to greet us when we come home, or (in my husband’s cat’s case) cry when her human leaves. I think cats are a lot more sociable than we have traditionally given them credit for being.
The “territorial” I won’t argue with.
Have you thought about an adolescent cat, Antigen? I got Feather when she was about six months - old enough to be out of the cute ball of fuzz (and into everything) stage, but still quite young enough to be very playful and fun.
There always seem to be “Free to a good home” adds in our newspaper for kittens, have you tried the classifieds? Maybe there aren’t so many kittens around a city, so maybe you could check the classifieds for more rural areas near you. There are definitely kittens to be had in West Virginia.
And the problem there is that “only cat” usually means “will try to murder any other cat who comes near”, and I’d like him to get reasonably friendly with my boyfriend’s cats so I can bring him there on weekends sometimes.
Yes, I’d like two cats. Cats are fun and I’d love a half dozen of them - but with an extra $25 tacked onto my monthly rent for each one, I can’t afford it. And if I move out of here, either back home or to my boyfriend’s, I’d have two cats to worry about. No, I’m only getting one, and I don’t feel that bad about having him home during the daytime. There will be toys, and comfy places to sleep, and windowsills to sit on for bird-watching. I’m home pretty much every evening, and on weekends I’m either here or at my boyfriend’s (where I’d probably bring the kitty anyway).
I’m not opposed to getting an adolescent or adult cat. I guess we’ll see. My main worry is (again) that an adult cat in a shelter will have gone through some tough times and might have attitude problems. I need a friendly purring loving beast. I’m waiting to hear back from a coworker about whether a friend of hers has kittens to give away, and if she doesn’t get back to me, I’m off to the shelter on Saturday to see who I fall in love with and who they let me bring home alone.
Cats are solitary by nature, but not kittens. In nature they grow up with siblings to play with and a mother to teach them. It seems reasonable to presume that the lack of a stimulating environment when young could lead to less-than-adequate mental health when older. Of course, every cat is different.
I see on preview that you’re open to taking in an older cat. Perhaps the shelter employees could point you to cats that would be more suitable to your situation.
Okay, one thing I learned about cats when I got Dewey is that you shouldn’t expect to just be able to take them on playdates. When carefully introduced to a kitten, Dewey learned to accept it. When Walt, my boyfriend’s roomate’s cat, had the same thing, he accepted it too. However, we were dumb and thought, soon after we got Dewey, hey, maybe he and Walt would like to play together! I mean, hell, just two weeks before Dewey was living with like a hundred cats at the shelter!
Bad idea.
Walt’s owner almost needed stitches.
You have never heard such a noise come from animals. I am so not kidding here.
Unless I intended two cats to actually live together, I don’t think I’d introduce them ever again.
You can generally tell, when meeting a cat, whether it’s going to be a friendly purring loving beast or not. In fact, it’s easier to tell with an adult cat than with a kitten- kittens’ personalities aren’t quite set yet, but an adult cat that was friendly to you at the shelter and purred when you petted it and picked it up is likely to be a friendly cat.
If your coworker’s friend does have kittens to give away, insist on going to see the kittens and picking one out for yourself. Don’t let your coworker or her friend pick out a kitten for you. My parents did that (let someone who was giving away kittens pick out one for them), and they ended up with one of the meanest, least friendly cats I have ever seen. Do insist on picking out your own kitten, and don’t let them rush you through it or pressure you into taking one if you decide none of those kittens are right for you.
I second this whole-heartedly. We did something very similar to what you’re thinking of doing with our two adult females, Antigen, with the hopes of getting the cats used to each other before we moved in together, and it was just traumatic for both parties. I’d just wait to throw the two cats together until you have to when you and your boyfriend move in together.
