Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I have a 15-year-old cat who is in declining health. She has inflammatory bowel disease and is under the managed care of a vet. She is doing OK, considering, but is very low energy. Last month I adopted a kitten, and despite leaving them in separate rooms for the first week and doing a gradual introduction as the vet directed, my older cat seems terrorized by the kitten. The kitten is just playing and being herself but she runs and pounces on the older cat and then the older cat hisses.
Now my dilemma is the kitten’s sister (now almost 5 months old) is available as well. I really want to get her, but my space is small (900 square feet). I don’t want the older cat to feel ganged up on or that she is outnumbered, but I hate to not get the other kitten as I’d love to give her a good home and keep the sisters together, but then I feel my first obligation is to my older cat. I feel really, terribly, torn and would appreciate your objective thoughts. Thanks very much.
~ Lisa
Thomas: Well, Lisa, this is a really hard choice. We know from personal experience about having an old cat and a much younger cat in the same household. After all, Bella is only 3, and she was just under a year old when Mama brought her home. Siouxsie was almost 16 at the time, and she too had less energy than that little spitfire. Bella often chased Siouxsie around the house at first, too.
Bella: Hey, I just wanted to play with her!
Thomas: But you didn’t know at the time that Siouxsie was a lot older than you and she just wasn’t ready to play tag with you. Mama tried to keep your shenanigans to a minimum, and so did I, but sometimes Siouxsie just got the kit end of the stick.
Bella: That’s not nice. I loved Siouxsie just as much as you did. *sniffle*
Thomas: I know you did, Bella; you just couldn’t help yourself because you were practically a kitten yourself.
Bella: So that leaves us with — what do you do for your elder kitty and your kitten, Lisa?
Thomas: We’ve got a couple of ideas for you. First of all, make sure you’ve got plenty of ways your kitten can play and get her energy out. A nice, tall cat tree or some shelves that she can climb, for example, will give her a way to get her little kitty ya-yas out.
Bella: You can also do interactive play with the kitten every day. Tire her out by playing with a mouse or feather on a string until she’s panting. This may take 20 minutes or so, but it’ll be just as much fun for you as it is for her.
Thomas: Also, your elder kitty may be suffering from arthritis. A lot of older cats do, and sometimes medicine to control the pain and a nice, cushy heated bed can help a creaky senior cat feel more comfortable.
Bella: You could try getting the second kitten to see if the two of them play together and leave your old cat alone because they’re entertaining each other.
Thomas: But you may have to reintroduce them since they’ve been apart and will smell different than they did when they were spending time together.
Bella: But you’re right: your first obligation is to your elder kitty, so if you find that the two of them are ganging up on her, you may need to return one of the kittens.
Thomas: It’s really sad when that happens: Mama had to rehome a cat she rescued because she was making Siouxsie and Sinéad really sad by hogging all the lap time and fighting with them. She worked with her vet to find a new, wonderful home for that cat, but she says she still felt as though she’d failed in some way.
Bella: But in the long run, it was best for all of the cats that Mama’s newest rescue cat found a home where she could be the only cat.
Thomas: And I sure was relieved that harmony was restored, too. It was a hard job breaking up all those kitty fights while Mama was away at work!
Bella: You’re such a kind and wonderful cat, Thomas. It’s no wonder I love you so much. You’re my best, most awesome snuggle buddy ever!
Thomas: Awwww. I love you too, Bella, and snuggle time is my favorite time. Thank you for grooming my head this morning, by the way.
Bella: *purrrrrrr*
Thomas: So, as we were saying, you can try getting the second kitten, but you’re not going to know how that turns out until you have that other kitten in your home.
Bella: You may have to end up “playing out” both kittens in order to keep them from bugging your older cat.
Thomas: And you’ll need to let the rescue know that you’re going to do your best, but if the two kittens do end up ganging up on your older cat, you’re going to have to return the second kitten for your elder kitty’s sake.
Bella: They should understand, and most rescue groups are willing to take back a cat they adopted out if that cat turns out not to be a good fit for the household.
Thomas: Just remember to have plenty of litter boxes (three at least) so the older cat can go to the bathroom in peace, and like we said, have lots of vertical surfaces so the kittens can climb and so that there’s more territory in your home.
Bella: Also be sure to consider other things. Can you afford to have three cats and give all three of them appropriate veterinary care and good food? Cats’ vet care gets more expensive as they age, but we’re sure you’ve racked up some pretty good bills treating your elder kitty for IBD so you know what that’s about.
Thomas: Have you other readers dealt with old cats and kittens together in the same house? Do you have any other tips you’d like to share?
Bella: Please add your advice in the comments!
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
If you hadn’t already adopted a kitten, I would say ‘don’t get a kitten, get a cat near the same age as the one you have now.’ It’s kind of like making a 70 year old woman live together with a 16 year old.
But, now that you do have the one kitten, It may certainly help to have another kitten to focus their energy on. It is however possible they will gang up on the older one, especially if they get bored. But yes, in general, adding a second kitten is preferred, provided that you have enough territory. Territory is vital to a cat and nothing stresses them faster than having their territory invaded and not having their personal space. Male cats need about 4-5 rooms to themselves and female cats 1-2, generally speaking.
Multicat households also get harder to run, the more individuals you add. Granted, it is the individuals personality that will determine how well it will go, but in general, that becomes harder to harmonize the more individuals you add. And cats do *not* have the best social skills as it is.
You can add territory to your apartment by looking at it in 3 D. Think of cat trees, scratching posts, cat ‘shelves’ and anything else that can add additional vertical space in your house and provide high hides. It will also give the older one a chance to find some shelter away from the boisterous kittens.
If they are all indoor cats, make sure you wear the kittens out each day so they don’t start bugging the senior. Adding a kitten should already allow them to take their energy out on each other, but playtime will be a must. If they’re about 6 months, they’re about to enter ‘teenager’ stage as well where they may experiment with limits and aggression to see what it gets them in life. Environmental enrichment to prevent boredom and under stimulation will be a must.
Also, make a map as to who lives where in the apartment. They will negotiate that among themselves – a process called ‘timesharing’. Within multicat society, though all cats will go everywhere in the territory, there will be individual pieces of territory. My tom cat likes to sleep in my bedroom during the day – it is his. Meanwhile, the cat he doesn’t get along with, likes to stay in my boyfriend’s media room and prefers to have food and a litterbox there, so she doesn’t have to cross paths and risk running into him. My other cat has taken over the couch and uses the litterbox and food bowl in the living room.
Make sure all resources are available easily and conveniently to all cats, remove all covers from all litter boxes so they can see another cat approaching and make sure that there can be no ‘guarding’ of the resources by blocking pathways or doorways by one cat.
Becoming a multicat household can be very rewarding but it also asks more of you as a cat owner, and requires you to understand and coordinate their needs better. Also consider the financial burden – three cats means at least 2 more neuterings, more food, more vaccinations each year and from the age of 7 years, dental cleanings every year or every other year – all of which can add up quickly.
The decision is ultimately yours though :)
I live in 764 square feet and have 5 cats. Two go in and out so at the most I sometimes have three. They have no problem with the space. One loves to sleep under my bed while another choses the kitchen window sill. I would get the second kitten to buddy with the first kitten and you might want to basically keep them in a separate room or two from your older cat. Probably your older kitty has her own spaces and wouldn’t want to change. Probably it would have been best to get a more or less middle age cat but now that you have the baby, unless you can find a good home for it, you can’t change it. You will want to spend more time and cherish your old kitty for the time she has left. When the care gets too expensive and she seems more listless you may have to make a decision. It won’t be any of the kittens fault, it will just be her time. Just give her all the love and attention you can till then.
about 3 years ago, i got 2 kittens so they would play with each other instead of harassing my elderkitty Puss, as he wasnt in the best of health :( it was hard work (im disabled and find … well… everything hard work…) but it worked… i got cuddle time with Puss while the twins had their ‘mad hours’ lol