Expert: Jessica - 6/4/2010

Question
I have a 3 year old female cat, and would appreciate an opinion on whether I should get a new kitten/cat, as I have limited space and a cat who's been used to a single pet household.

My cat is highly dependent on human interaction and I can never play enough with her. Even though she's mostly confined with me in my bedroom, she'll sleep by me when I'm at the computer, follow me to my bed, or sit in front of the bathroom door. If I go out of my room, she'll bang on the door demanding to be let out as well. When I worked full-time last year, I could tell she was very bored/lonely, because she would meow frantically at the door when I got home, dash around the room crazily, and try to wake me up at night multiple times to play. Now I've finished school so will be working again in the near future, and I'm very concerned about how bored she'll be, hence the idea to get a new kitten.

I've read that adult cats who're playful and still asking for more interaction than you can give are quite likely to be able to accept a new companion, but I've also been told that a new cat might make my current one depressed.

My problem is that my cat is mostly confined to mine and my sibling's adjoining room (altogether say roughly the size of a studio apt) and I only let her out a couple of hours each day under supervision, as my flat-mates don't have their windows covered in mesh. So I'm worried about introducing a new cat to her with limited space. My brother won't want a litter tray in his room, so when introducing them I'll have to use a large cat cage rather than the adjoining room as a 'safe room' for the new cat too.

Also, although my cat is a ragamuffin and rather docile, sometimes she can be aggressive when annoyed, such as chasing my brother if he plays too much with her tail. She's not the gentlest cat while playing either, as she was never taught to retract her claws or bite gently. I got her when she was 10 weeks old, and she hasn't had any other interactions with other cats since, although as a kitten she played with my ex-flatmate's puppy (not present anymore).

Based on the personality of my cat, would you recommend I find her a companion, or does she seemed too human-centred to appreciate a feline companion? If she may like a companion, what gender/age/temperament a cat would be most suitable for my cat and our living conditions?

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Winnie.  There's never a 100% guarantee that a cat will get along with another cat you bring home, but 99% of cats do enjoy the company of other pets, and it sounds like your cat is a good candidate.  I strongly support the idea of keeping cats in the company of other cats.  I believe it's healthy for them emotionally and physically, and it sounds like your cat really needs continuous companionship.  Another cat will be able to provide that when you're away from home.

There are advantages to adopting adult cats - you will know the personality of the cat ahead of time, so you will be able to choose one that's not too excitable (one who's very pushy may clash with your cat, since she has a tendency to be a little aggressive), but also who is outgoing, since a shy one will become easily frazzled by your cat's tendency to get rough.  But it's usually easiest to introduce kittens to adult cats.  If you go for a kitten, I would aim for one around 4 months old, but not too much younger.  If you get a much younger kitten, you would need to monitor their interactions very, very closely.  The size difference would be so great that any physical contact between them could result in an injury, even if they were only playing.  If your cat seems to play rough with the kitten, you will need to separate them while you're not home until the kitten is around 4-5 months old, anyway.

Hopefully a cage will be fine to help with the introduction.  I would suggest that you cover the cage on all sides but one with a sheet for the first couple of days.  As my fosters become comfortable with this, I will lift the sheet off of another side, until eventually the whole cage is uncovered.  If you're introducing a kitten, you may only need to have the kitten in the cage for a couple of days before you introduce it directly to your cat, but you should return him/her to the cage if your Ragamuffin gets annoyed.  If you decide to go with an adult cat, the introduction time will probably take longer, most likely about 2 weeks.  However, they can develop just as close a relationship.  It just takes a little more time.  Gender is generally not important as long as the cats are neutered, although I do find that in my groups, my females seem to form closer bonds with one another than they do with the males.

Best of luck!

Jessica