Is it mean to keep a single cat?

[Anonymous]

OP? What have you decided to do?

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, our oldest cat would have really preferred to be the only cat in the house. She hisses and growls whenever the other 2 cats get within a foot of her. The other two cats are younger, and play with each other a lot. Your cat is probably fine. The problem is that you can't really know how your cat will do with another cat, until you get that other cat in your home. Is there a shelter near by that will let you do a trial run? Because I do agree that it can be unfairly stressful to bring in another cat.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. I am going to "borrow" a cat from a colleague who is going on vacation next week. I'll have her cat for 6 days, so will see if my own cat enjoys the company or not. If my cat likes having a friend, I'll get her a kitten.

[Anonymous]

I have two cats that were fostered together from different litters, but are BFF's. When I went to take one cat home, his friend jumped into the carrier and we took her too. They have a wonderful friendship- but they have a negotiated balance of power.

An older female may like a younger female. Male cats are very territorial and bossy- and a young one might really upset your female.

My cats have always had a cat door. I know this is a touchy subject- but this really gives them an excellent quality of life, to sit outside and climb trees. I do feel guilty about the bird deaths (not the moles), but I feel worse locking up a cat. All creatures need fresh air and sunlight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I am going to "borrow" a cat from a colleague who is going on vacation next week. I'll have her cat for 6 days, so will see if my own cat enjoys the company or not. If my cat likes having a friend, I'll get her a kitten.

Sounds like a plan. I would suggest, if you do end up getting a kitten to try and go for the same breed as the original cat you own. One of the reasons I think our first and second cats did not get along was that they were very different temperaments - and a lot of this was predicated by breed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I am going to "borrow" a cat from a colleague who is going on vacation next week. I'll have her cat for 6 days, so will see if my own cat enjoys the company or not. If my cat likes having a friend, I'll get her a kitten.

Not to complicate matters but some adult cats hate kittens. We had one very playful adult cat who just loved when we brought in a foster kitten. But our other adult cat flipped out with a weird mix of fear and hatred towards that little kitten.

It's great you'll get a trial though.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP again. Thanks for the advice about getting a female, and not a kitten. My cat is very bossy with her people, so I wouldn't want to get male if they are really more territorial than females (my dd used to sleep on her top bunk, but had to move to the bottom because the cat took over the top and likes to sleep stretched out across the bed, haha). My cat is basically a normal "street cat"; my friend found her sitting under her car in a mall parking lot when she was a baby. She is just basic brown with stripes, not a fancy breed or anything like that.

My friend's cat who we will "borrow" on Monday is a Ragdoll girl, supposedly a very calm breed. We'll see how my kitty reacts.

[Anonymous]

Your "street cat" will beat up the Ragdoll. I'd bet money on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP again. Thanks for the advice about getting a female, and not a kitten. My cat is very bossy with her people, so I wouldn't want to get male if they are really more territorial than females (my dd used to sleep on her top bunk, but had to move to the bottom because the cat took over the top and likes to sleep stretched out across the bed, haha). My cat is basically a normal "street cat"; my friend found her sitting under her car in a mall parking lot when she was a baby. She is just basic brown with stripes, not a fancy breed or anything like that.

My friend's cat who we will "borrow" on Monday is a Ragdoll girl, supposedly a very calm breed. We'll see how my kitty reacts.

Good luck! Although some posters (myself included) have some negative ideas about this situation, you have great odds that it will work out fine. I've had a lot of cats in my life, and although some fight like cats and dogs (who typically get along better than cats and cats ) some have been become best buddies.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Good luck OP. Come back and tell us how it all panned out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP again. Thanks for the advice about getting a female, and not a kitten. My cat is very bossy with her people, so I wouldn't want to get male if they are really more territorial than females (my dd used to sleep on her top bunk, but had to move to the bottom because the cat took over the top and likes to sleep stretched out across the bed, haha). My cat is basically a normal "street cat"; my friend found her sitting under her car in a mall parking lot when she was a baby. She is just basic brown with stripes, not a fancy breed or anything like that.

My friend's cat who we will "borrow" on Monday is a Ragdoll girl, supposedly a very calm breed. We'll see how my kitty reacts.

I've always had the best luck with male-female combinations rather than female-female combinations. And I've had a lot of cats.