Expert: Brandy - 1/2/2007

Question
I've had Oreo for over 4 years now...got him when he was 11 weeks old from the Humane Society...no real problems with him. About a year and a half ago, a friend moved away and left me her cat...another boy. At first, there was friction...but after a time, they got along pretty well. When Socks (the other cat) took ill, Oreo watched out for him. Socks eventually passed away and for about a month, I could tell Oreo missed him so I got a kitten. Oreo and this little girl kitten hit it off pretty quickly. Only problem was that she couldn't adapt to being indoors. I gave her to a friend with a farm (she's now queen of my friend's barn, for the record...lol) and took a cat that someone had just left on her doorstep. This new cat, Cassie, couldn't be outside, I guess. She and Oreo didn't fight...at least not much...but they didn't get along that well, either. Well, the other day, I let her out and then a couple days later found her in the basement dead. There was food and water as well as litter for her down there because sometimes she liked going down there...and sometimes I liked her going down there because she had a habit of destroying things. Anyway, I'm just wondering how to deal with Oreo...I don't know how much he's gonna be missing her since they didn't exactly get along...don't know if I should look into getting another cat at the humane society or not. He's my big concern. The last few weeks he's seemed to be asking for more attention...so I don't know if I should get another cat...that would divide my attention...but also possibly give him a playmate while I'm at work

Answer
I wish I could reach into my cats' minds and figure out how they deal with each other, especially when they don't seem to tolerate each other, at least how we see it.

How does Oreo seem when he's the sole cat in the house? Cats don't really seem to need to be entertained throughout the day (mine seem to be too busy sleeping), but some cats do crave companionship of other cats. If Oreo seems 'okay' with just having you for companionship,  then the (easy) answer would be to at least wait a bit until you get another cat from the humane society.

From observing my cats, especially in the days after my oldest cat passed from age, it seems that they, like people, handle the lack of another cat in the house quite differently. Oreo's need for attention may be that he does want the companionship (dealing with Socks was most likely the typical territorial thing, same with Cassie), though a the same time he might also love  the undivided attention (dealing with cats is always a 'could be this AND that' issue).

If Oreo is an indoors only cat, I would see if the humane society could figure out if a potential kitten for you would also be amenable to being indoors only.

Oreo, on a first look, would be fine being by himself. I have to say that this would be a decision that you need to make (sorry if I sound like I'm passing the buck, but he seems like a perfect cat, okay with another cat, okay without one....)