better to get one kitten or two?

[giraffe17]

Any ideas or experiences please?

I had a lovely single female for many years, I will never match her temperament and she died about 10 years ago - it has taken me this long to be ready for another cat.

I have 3 children, 1 young and one a toddler - I would like friendly affectionate cat(s) so am thinking of getting young kittens instead of rescue cats so that they get used to the noise/kids/harassment , although I know emperament plays a part.

My question is, what are the advantages for pet and cat in having 2 siblings and what are the disadvantages.

Advantages I thought they will enjoy each others company and we have twice the chance of having at least one friendly cat.

Disadvantages I wondered, less likely to seek out human company, how does the remaining cat feel if something happens to its partner (or dont they much mind?)

Thanks

[FrankelSaysRelax]

We got 2, a brother and sister.

They kept each other entertained and provided company when we were out. Sadly after a year we lost the little male to an idiot driver . His sister didn't pine as such, but she spent a few days sitting on the garden wall looking out for him. After a week she had forgotten all about him. 5 years later, she's still with us.

[RedwingS]

I think it's an advantage to get two. They keep each other company, they learn from each other and play together, and it means they are socialized to other cats (and so will accept other cats into the house when they are older - just in case you think of getting another in the future!). They will still bond with you - it's not like dogs, where two littermates will bond too much to each other and not the human. They will grieve if something happens to the other cat - but with a bit of luck they will provide each other with 15+ years of company.

[SummerRain]

On a very practical note, as kittens they tend to do a lot of play fighting. If they have another kitten to do it with it'll save you and the kids a lot of scratched and bitten extremities.

They do keep each other company, and like you said temperaments can vary so it's no harm doubling your chances of getting an affectionate cat.

They don't get upset for very long if one dies, a couple of days of quiet searching and they tend to forget, and if you have kids then a second cat can really help ease the trauma if the worst does happen.

I usually have lots of cats but had a single pre kids and he was a lot more work then the 5 I have now as he was always desperate for attention.

[SkipTheLightFanjango]

So much easier with 2! I have a brother and sister who are 6 months old. We have had n problems with scratches or bites as they play with each other rather than us, we are reserved as comfey laps rather than playmates. I have a friend with a single kitten the same ag eand it's driving her mad..climbing her curtains and taking chunks out of her BF, not that all kittens are the same but seems like many on this thread agree.

[lljkk]

Get 2. Or 3 even; my only regret now tends to be how much better it might have been if we had the third cat living in the cage (cat Rescue) with ours. I had kitten brothers as a child & we got kitten brothers 8 months ago. They are fab, they still play & groom each other lots (nearly 1yo). I assume the clock is ticking on some of that, but we know they will get along life long.

I can't think of any disadvantages; well, double the bills & double the possibility of any problem. But well worth it.

[issey6cats]

definitely two as others have said brill they keep each other company and double delight of seeing two kittens interacting with each other, please consider getting the kittens from a rescue as all the cat rescues in the country are overloaded with kittens at the moment and they will come to you usually microchipped, flea treated, wormed vaccinated and some like haworth where i work already neutered.

[giraffe17]

well i support the work of rescue centres but my concern in getting a kitten from there i guess is that at say 12 weeks the kittens are most likely mainly unhandled and not desiring or enjoying human company, unlike kittens in a home with children where the poor kittens will have been cuddled all day long?

Am I right do you think? Am just wanting to get the most suitable animals for our home.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

Our kitten from the Cat's Protection League had been fostered before he came to us so he was used to children and dogs, it might be worth asking if the charity you are thinking of rehoming from do the same?

[lljkk]

Just ask the cat rescue people if they have what you want, I was very direct about saying that friendly was our number one priority.

Our kittens were born into a family home before going into the pen whilst fostered, there from approx age 12 until 18 weeks The foster carer handled them daily & had her children interact with them (but they still spent 23 hrs/day in a cage, I think).
We got them at almost 5 months old & they are (were) very friendly.

[SummerRain]

Not being handled young has very little bearing on friendliness. The feral cats we've taken in have often turned out to be the cuddliest, the cat we've had since birth and was handled from that moment onwards is the most aloof and hates being rubbed.

[RedwingS]

I am sure the rescue centre kittens will have been handled lots. The place where I go has volunteers coming in throughout the day to play with the kittens (and adult cats) so they get plenty of cuddles and socialization. Depending on the age they come in, many of the kittens go first to a foster home. If a pregnant cat is brought to the shelter, she goes to a foster home and the kittens are born at the foster home, only coming in to the shelter when they are old enough. And like issey says, they will be vaccinated, chipped, wormed and de-flead, which is excellent.

[issey6cats]

can promise you that kittens in rescues get lots of attention, try keeping volunteers out of the kitten house lol, to free up pens most rescues foster the moms and kittens or kittens to homes where there are children, sometimes other cats, dogs to socialize them, i foster kittens sometimes for the one i work at, a few weeks ago i took on a hissy spitty feral kit of six weeks and within3 days she had turned into a purr monster lap klingon, she was delightful, the kits will give an indication even at 11 - 12 weeks of future temprement, sadly the reason rescues are overflowing is because people who have a cat at home think ooh i will just let her have one litter or oh its a male cat dont need to get him neutered and its the rescues that get left with picking up the pieces, good luck in your search :)

[sunflowerseeds]

I'm so glad to read experiences of private home versus rescue kittens. I want a kitten but older cat came from rescue and has never wanted to be touched so I'd thought I should get one from a family home. Now I'll contact Cats Protection instead.

[giraffe17]

yes sunflower - thats exactly what happened to us

[giraffe17]

why do rescues have lots of 10-12 week old black and white kittens then? really bizarre - is there a reason (for the colour I mean!)?

[mollymole]

My 2 - from a cat shelter - came to us 7 years ago, a lovely tabby brother and sister, they have grown up together, they played, fought, learned together and are the 2 most adorable animals. The boy is big, strong, bright, lazy and very gentle. The girl is smaller, scatty, a bit slow on the uptake and a brilliant mouser. They are still very close and often sleep cuddled up together
and groom each other.
Get 2.

[TheOriginalNutcracker]

Yes, get two.

We got one kitten last year, and we already have an older cat. The kitten wants to play, and older cat doesn't. I really wish we'd had two now.

[stealthsquiggle]

Definitely get 2 (although the last time my DM went to get 2 kittens from rescue she ended up with 3, as it was a litter of 3 and she couldn't bring herself to leave one on it's own ) - it won't affect how affectionate they are with people at all IME. Likewise rescue vs private home kittens - my parents 3 were all completely different characters - ranging from aloof hunter to soppy lap cat.

[cozietoesie]

Just one small reservation to post. Many moons ago, we had a rather solitary older cat and thought to get a couple of new cats to join the household. They were fine with each other (litter brothers) and with the family but after only a few days they 'ganged up' on him and he started crawling around on his belly and being seriously depressed. The kittens had to go back to the breeder and found a great new home almost immediately, thank goodness.

I'm sure that was just the cat personalities involved though and while I might be a little wary myself, I think it would be a great idea to get two in your own situation, OP.



PS - issey

Are you seriously saying that people think 'don't need to get them neutered' if they have a male kitten? Do they not realize?

[stealthsquiggle]

cozietoes - I agree, with an older cat I would be slightly more inclined to 1 kitten. With our ancient cat we decided as soon as we lost the other one that she would no way accept a new kitten - so she has been an "only" cat for 8 years now.

[issey6cats]

sadly cosietoes yes people still think dont need to get a tom neutered and then when they dissapear off after the ladies, come back thin, covered in scratches and bites from other toms and finally vanish altogether they cant understand what happened, probably 90% of the stray toms who come into Haworth cat rescue are whole toms of around 2-4 years old and most are not microchipped so more difficult to try and reunite them with thier previous owners

[theredhen]

Giraffe - I think the amount of black and white cats is because they are the least popular colour. Wouldn't bother me but apparently it does to other people.

[Stephdon1]

Can I ask how much it costs on average to keep a cat per month? I am trying to decide between 1 or 2 kittens and cost might be a factor. TIA

[mybestchildismycat]

Received wisdom on MN us very much that two kittens are better than one.

Just to add an alternative perspective - although litter mates always seem to enjoy the company of their siblings while they are kittens, plenty of them grow up into adults that would be happier as single cats. This board regularly sees threads about cats that have fallen out as adults, sometimes with very difficult consequences such as fighting and urinating on floors, beds etc.

Personally I think it's a lot like human siblings. If they get along it's magical, but there are no guarantees and lone cats can lead very contented lives.