[novangel]

I keep toying w/ the idea of getting a 2nd cat but I already have a fixed male that's 10yrs old. I adopted him from Humane Society when he was 5 and I have no other pets. Good or bad idea? I don't want any pee wars.

If it's doable would it be better to get a female?

This is not a do or die situation I just happen to love cats but if its a possible disaster waiting to happen I'll pass. Yay or nay?

[Missy Krissy]

A lot of that depends on the "personality" of your cat.

My cat, Poopers, is 10, almost 11 years old and I've had her since she was a kitten. After having been the only cat (she did live with a dog for a time) my boyfriend at the time got a kitten when she was about 3 years old. The two of them got a long splendidly. When I broke up with that boyfriend and met my now husband, Poopers was about 4 or 5, at which point DH and his adult cat, Duchess moved in.

It took a long time for the two of them to tolerate each other. We didn't have problems like urinating outside of the cat box or anything like that, but they wanted nothing to do with each other and would fight if they were stuck in close quarters together. Both of them are female, and both are spayed.

The point in all this, is that if you do decide to get another cat, I would definitely recommend getting a kitten. Another adult cat is going to be set in it's ways and may not take kindly to your already established companion.

[novangel]

Ok, so a kitten that makes sense. I can see how two older males occupying the same space might cause a problem. Does male or female make a difference? I would prefer another male but again I'm more worried about alpha pee wars than the gender.

[Lolo70]

It is entirely dependent on your cat. Top cat personality will clash with another top cat. And if your cat is territorial, there may be problems ahead. The male/female thing may work. Though I tried to add a male kitten to my household of one female cat. I lived through a cat war/ pee war for 5 months, then had to give the male kitten away. But my cat is a Bengal cat with lots of Egyptian Mau mixed in. That creates a territorial personality that is not into sharing (and that includes me) at all. I learned my lesson. But I know other cats that had no problem with an addition to the household. Though most cats will prefer to be single.

[Cattails]

What Missy Krissy and Lolo70 said: it mostly depends on your cat's personality, and a kitten (or two!) would be your best bet. I've added kittens to adult populations lots of times, and the personality factor is more important than the gender, IMHO. The hardest part is maintaining your cat's schedule as much as possible and nearly ignoring the kitten(s) to reduce jealousy/displacement feelings in your cat. Good luck!

[Tuscany]

As others have said, a lot depends on the personality of your current cat. If your current cat is skittish, a bit of a "scaredy cat", very shy, anxious, etc, then I would recommend against another cat. Skittish/anxious cats are the most difficult to introduce to other cats, especially at 10 years of age. If your cat tends to be relatively friendly and outgoing (with other people, etc.), that will increase your chances.

As a few others have mentioned, I too would recommend a kitten, although I'd try for a kitten of about 4-6 months old, as opposed to a really young (12 weeks or less) kitten. Kittens who are too young (less than 12 weeks) typically have not been kept with their moms/littermates long enough to learn good "social skillls". In addition, very young kittens can just be a PITA to an older cat. A kitten who is 4-6 months is not quite as rambunctious, but is still small enough to be non-threatening...plus kittens' territorial instincts are not developed, which also helps to smooth an introduction to an older cat.

I would actually suggest another male, but one that has already been fixed. I'm very active on a cat forum and 90% of all problematic cat introduction issues that we see on that forum involve one or more females. Interestingly, I now have two females, who were introduced as kittens...and it was World War III for months before they finally decided to get along (fortunately no inappropriate peeing). They're now best friends, but that took a lot of time, work and patience. Males just seem to be more friendly! Still, I wouldn't bring a non-neutered male into the picture, so make sure any male is fixed before you bring him home (most shelters/etc. have kittens fixed very young these days).

Most importantly, if you do bring home a kitten (or a cat), don't just put the kitten together with your current cat right off the bat. You should do a slow and proper introduction, one sense at a time, which will typically take a few weeks. If you don't know what I mean, you can post again or google "cat-to-cat introductions", and you'll no doubt get all sorts of information on how to properly introduce two cats.

[aniela26]

I second Tuscany's advice of a slow introduction...my cats lived separately for almost a month during the introduction period. Some just take longer then others.

That said, introducing an energetic kitten to a 10 year old adult could be pretty stressful for your current cat. Would you ever consider 2 kittens so that they could play w each other instead of pestering him? Food costs for the additional cats wouldn't be that much more, and most reputable shelters/rescues will spay/neuter before they're adopted so you wouldn't have to pay for that. If you google "why kittens should be adopted in pairs" you should find some good info.

Just my 2 cents!

[MAK247]

It's been my experience that (fixed) males are usually more laid back than females...I have 3 males and they get along great...Sometimes a little too well. Growing up my family had 6 cats, 5 females and one male. The females tolerated but avoided one another, the male was constantly trying to snuggle and love on all the other cats (and dogs, and people, and sometimes even groomed a pillow or couch cushion lol)

[Vex]

Yes, kittens tend to go over much better with other cats. It may be a harrowing few new days though or even couple of weeks. Don't give up on it if they don't get along right away.

[VioletDolphin83]

If you get another cat I would suggest getting a kitten rather than another adult cat. My mother got another adult cat and had problems. I would also suggest that having 2 male cats can be difficult as I had bad past experiences with that and one of them nearly died. I now have a male and female cat and they get along fine.

[gailr42]

I had two, older, neutered male and female cats who never have liked each other very much. Six months ago, a friend of an acquaintance died leaving behind a middle aged cat who I took in. The two original cats still don't like each other and the "inherited" cat seems to think she is queen of the house, but doesn't interact much with the other two. No litter box problems. The inherited cat sometimes uses the bath tub to pee in, just because she can, I guess. I don't consider that to be a problem like using the floor would be.

[Only Believe]

I have 2 cats. Both were strays and both female. After having one for a year we got the other one. At first it didn't go too well. The older one didn't like the kitten and I was afraid it wouldn't work out. But it wasn't long before they started playing and now they give each other baths. LOL I would suggest not putting them together right away. Look into the steps of introducing a new cat or kitten to an older one.