I’ve been offered a female kitten by a friend of mine, and if I agree, I’ll get it when it’s ready to leave the mother. We’ve already got a cat, about a year and a half old, a female whose a bit rowdy at times. We’ve been wondering if it’s because she’s lonely during the day when nobody is home and have been considering getting another cat to help keep her company.
Now…Is this a good idea? I’m slightly worried that the cat we have now will beat the royal crap out of a kitten we bring in…considering she already does the same to parts of our body(I know she’s playing, but it still hurts). One of the other things that bugs me is that I’ve gotten the impression from somewhere that female cats are very territorial and will not accept another living in the same house. Is this true? Or have I gotten a wrong impression?
I’ve also been told by the owner that the kitten is a “survivor” because the others in the litter didn’t make it this far(the kitten is about a week or so old). I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
I have a fat, moody diva tricolor girl cat. When I got a female kitten, she freaked out, but the kitten was unfazed (as they usually are). They soon became fast friends, and I have pictures of them hugging each other. It was so cute. That kitten died suddenly at 1.5 years, which was horrible , but the friendship did happen, and it didn’t take long at all.
I have found that older cats tend to accept kittens much better than they accept another grown up cat. This is not universally true, as I have two males who met as adults and are devoted to each other, but the diva hates them both. However, everyone gets along with the kitten; the diva grooms him lovingly. I think you can expect some hisssstrionics for a week or two, but if you stay out of it and let it run its course, I bet you’ll see them playing and hanging out in short order.
We have two females that were introduced as adults. They have reached a state of “armed truce”, and will probably never be good buddies. They get along well enough, though, and even play together sometimes when they forget themselves. Even though they would never admit it, they enjoy having another cat around in the day when we’re gone. I think a mostly-adult female and a female kitten would be just fine together - cats have a very strong maternal instinct.
I heartily recommend female cats. Ours are great - they never miss the litterbox, no matter how delinquent their humans are.
As for the kitten being a survivor, you should probably have it checked by a vet before you take it on. The others may have died from an infectious disease, and you don’t want your existing kitty getting sick.
You are recommending to the owner of the mother cat that they get her spayed, right?
, but the friendship did happen, and it didn’t take long at all.