Getting a friend

[GraciesMommy]

I noticed that many of the people I know that have cats have multiple cats.

A lot of people on this board have more than one cat as well.

I only have one cat.. and my mom was talking about how she wondered if she was lonely...

Do you think it is better for a cat to have a friend?
We give her a lot of love and attention.. but I'm not sure if we should get her a friend to have another feline around.

[Traci]

It is mainly a personal opinion. I personally feel a cat who has another feline companion is happier, more adjusted, more secure and generally healthier. Another good reason for a cat to have another feline companion is the time you may be away from the home....having a buddy for your kitty could help to keep her active, more interested in her surroundings/environment, and more likely to be social, attentive, etc.

[Guest]

Thanks, I'll mention that to my mom to see what she says!

[gsc4]

I'd seriously consider getting her a friend. I grew up with a dog at home. Then when I moved out on my own I got a cat and had her for 15 years. Then my boyfriend got a second dog. Then I got 2 cats.

I can honestly say that now I have seen how much happier both dogs and cats are when they live in pairs. There are lots of articles on the benefits of having a second cat in the home. Go to a bookstore and browse through the cat book section. You will find almost all of them have a section on multiple cat households. And you did not mention how old your current furry friend is, but if she is still young herself having a playmate will have a lot of benefits.

Now for the day to day advice I'm sure your mom is concerned about. Yes, having 2 cats is a more expensive then having one. Twice the vet bills, twice the food, litter costs , etc. The daily effort is not that much different. When I had a single cat I would get away with scooping the litter box only every other day, now I must scoop at at minimum once per day. And yes, there will be more cat hair to clean up.

But the benefits to both the humans and the cats far out weigh the drawbacks.

[LisaLisa]

I love having more than one cat...Smokey was the only cat I had for 6 years...then when I changed jobs, relocated to a different state and started to travel...Caz became a part of our family..they are so wonderful together and I can tell you, my Caz cannot live as an only kitty...


Hope you get another addition to your family soon...

[GraciesMommy]

Gracie is almost a year old, so she is still little. She gets tons and tons of attention because she is rarely left home alone. My mom works at home so she is her companion during the day.

But sometimes when my mom leaves Gracie meows and screams up in the hallway (even if I am home) so I think that when we DO leave the house she probably is very lonely.

My mom said "We will consider it" so I guess we will see what happens. Thanks everyone!

[GraciesMommy]

I forgot to mention that my brother has "joint custody" of a miniature pinscher who comes over to play with Gracie a lot. They play a lot and Gracie will go look for her whenever my brother is home. Unfortunately Sophie is never left here and we are afraid to leave them alone for a long time because sometimes they get annoyed with each other.

[gsc4]

Now that I know that Gracie is very young, I definately say look into getting her a kitten playmate. She still has a lot of kitten left in her and a playmate would give her something to do when here humans are not around. Or when your Mom actually needs to get some work done.

I would suggest finding a young kitten, younger than Gracie. This way Gracie will probably accept the new comer easily. The older cats are, the more set in their ways they are and they may not accept a newcomer easily.