Are 2 cats really double the work?
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Anonymous
| We lost our sweet 18 yo kitty girl this past spring and my family has been thinking about adopting a kitten. My kids want 2. I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of 2 cats since I think they would keep each other company and I know that our sweet singleton kitty got very lonely when we were not home or away on vacation. Since I was the one who did most of the work with our previous cat (mostly because I had adopted her before I got married and we had kids), but I’m a little hesitant about the extra work. Our old cat was a lot of work in her old age cleaning up lots of yak and bathroom problems and howling all the time. I’d make sure that we split up the responsibilities between family members this time, but I know that potentially that most of it could fall back on me again. |
Anonymous
| When they’re young 2 are not more work other than more frequent scooping. And it’s so nice for them. |
Anonymous
| ^^and the additional annual vet visit presuming no health problems come up. |
Anonymous
We went to the shelter to get one kitten a few years ago, and came home with 2! They were brothers and bonded, so we had to take them together. They are very sweet together, and I don't feel like its more work at all having 2. They also still play with each other, and it keeps them at a healthy weight. |
Anonymous
| We went from 1 to 2 a year ago. Yes it’s more work, but definitely not double. The bigger impact, IMO, is that it’s twice the cost but at least there were no surprises there going in. |
Anonymous
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No. We lost our 16 yo cat last November and got a young adult bonded pair (1 and 2 years old, they bonded in a shelter). It is the BEST. I have no regrets.
Going from an elderly cat with health issues to two young, healthy cats - the biggest adjustment was just how much more they use the litter box. We got a litter robot, which I initially laughed at with the price tag. Best purchase ever to make having two cats low hassle. Definitely is double the cost on vet stuff and food, but cats really aren't that expensive especially if you've been used to spending $$$ on elderly cat vet bills. Will it be stressful as they get older? Maybe, but it was with one cat too. The chances are they won't get sick at the same time. I am so so so happy with our decision to get 2. |
Anonymous
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Cats aren't like dogs or toddlers.
An extra cat will just make the kibble evaporate faster. They'll engage with each other and disappear for 'alone' time as well. |
Anonymous
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Also, if you have the funds - there are microchip feeders so they can only eat their own food. We do wet food 2x a day and don't have an issue with them eating their own, but they also get dry food once a day because I want them to stay flexible about what they eat in case we need to leave them overnight without a pet sitter or something.
Our big guy will totally eat all the dry food, and our girl can take or leave it. It was stressing me out a little because I knew he was hogging it. We got the microchip feeders and it helped a lot - which keeps boycat's weight under control too. The other thing is there may be a situation in the future where one needs a specialized food, so having a way to feed them separately is helpful. |
Anonymous
| It depends on personality. |
Anonymous
Kittens are definitely just like toddlers. |
Anonymous
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We adopted a kitten that had 2 siblings and 1 of the siblings hadn't been adopted at the time we got our kitten. I wish we had gotten the sibling cat as well as they played so nicely together and we now have a 1 year old cat that looks a bit lonely. In my opinion cats aren't much work in general, so even 2x the work isn't bad.
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Anonymous
This. And you can feel more comfortable leaving the house for a day or weekend b/c they have a companion. Two cats romping around the house is an absolute delight. Entertaining X 100. |
Anonymous
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It very much depends on the cat. When I was a teenager we took in my brother's cat when he moved abroad and couldn't take her. There was territorial peeing, even though both were fixed our male would sing love songs to her at 3 AM. And one cat was black and the other white and orange so we got all colors of cat hair, it showed on everything.
It was definitely a lot of work under those circumstances. |
Anonymous
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Everyone is correct that when they are young, two cats can be great because they keep each other company. It's especially good if you work a lot or the house is empty a lot during the day. And the cost of food of litter is negligible in the grand scheme of things.
But remember that any pet you get is going to age. And pets tend to get more expensive as they age, and you sometimes have to deal with tricky decisions, like whether to spend thousands on a surgery or let them die. They might wind up needing ongoing medical care. Or they can become difficult personality-wise as they age. With two cats, it's double these issues as they age. Also, cats become less social and more territorial as they age. Often kittens that are friends will lead to one always stealing the others food, or sometimes one will bully the other. They generally don't actually fight, thankfully (cats are usually not that aggressive with their family members, and they will treat another pet, even one they don't like, as a family member). But they can be aggressive to each other. So just be aware of this. People often don't think about what it will be like to have a 15 year old cat, much less two. But its not a rental. Just be ready for issues down the road, and with two, double the issues. |
Anonymous
| No. Two cats are pretty much the same work as one cat. |