With a kitten, I don't think the gender matters much. A kitten is much less
threatening.
Gail

gideonf@rogers.com wrote in news:1106321757.563226.255780
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

I think the chemistry between two cats is pretty unpredictable, although
others may disagree. I think getting a kitten is a good idea but I don't
know whether the gender matters (as it does mostly for dogs). But I got
Madeline (who was 4 months old) when Nickleby was 7 or 8, and they really
never got along despite living together for 10 years -- they came to
tolerate each other and kept each other company, and they stopped hissing
at each other after an initial period of hell. I think Madeline was good
for Nickleby but they never developed the close relationship I had hoped
for. I do have some deceptive pictures of them both lying on my desk,
which was the closest they would get to each other -- only *I* know that
Madeline was up there first, and Nickleby jumped up and made her move to
an inferior (less sunny) spot.

Anyway, what is my point? It is just that I don't think you can tell how
two cats are going to get along, and the best you can do is pick a kitten
whose temperament you like (color should probably be less important) and
hope that s/he then meshes with the other cat whose temperament you like.
Steel yourself for lots of supervising at first, and don't let them
torment each other, and I'm sure they will work everything out.

Right now I have a cat and a dog, and they seem to like and tolerate each
other much better than my former two cats ever did -- they don't compete
for territory, and I think they're good company for each other. So that's
something to consider if your primary motivation is getting company for
your first cat.

--Catherine
& Rosalie the calico

Google this group for past experiences (mine should be out there
somewhere) and theories.  It seems as if 2 females are the most likely to
have issues with each other from what I've read.  

We had an older male cat and brought a new female in a few years ago (I
think she might've been about a year old) and there were no real issues.  
But when he died and we brought a new female kitten in (the existing
female was about 5 and the kitten was about 4 months old - this was about
a year or so ago), it got real strange real quick.  But, as others have
said, a *large* part is the personalities of the cats themselves.  Good
luck.

brian

All I can say is that you might want to try with an older cat when your
1st cat is such a senior.  We got a kitten to keep one of our older
cats company (she was mourning the loss of her best pal) and it did not
work out at all!  While, in theory, a kitten is less threatening to an
established cat, they are still kittens after all.  Kittens have *way*
more life force than a 12 year old cat.  Your senior will probably want
to mostly sleep while the kitten will want to mostly play--not a happy
combination, I can assure you.

It's not fair to a kitten to have to constantly chase them away from
your poor older cat who wants to simply hang out and have some peace.
The kitten will need to play and romp and there will be no one else to
bug but your senior.  And I don't even want to go into how such stress
can effect a 12 year old kitty.....

So, my advice would be to pick a mellow older cat.  The odds of the two
of them getting along will be the same, and perhaps better than with a
kitten simply because an older cat won't be chasing your senior and
literally driving them nuts.  Good luck!

dragon

Finding an orange female is going to be tough. Because of that gene, 80%
of all orange tabbies are male.

How about a tortoiseshell (black and orange) or calico? They are always
female (well, unless you have a genetic "mistake,"), and those two can
have quite a bit of orange.

Rhonda

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 07:35:57 -0800, gideonf wrote:

A kitten may not be the best idea with a senior cat.  Basically, the
kitten will have way too much energy for the older cat, and how both of
them cope with the rambunctiousness will be a primary determinant of
their relationship.  An adult companion is probably a better idea.

No.  Personality matters much more than gender.  This is another reason to
prefer an adult companion, with known traits, when the constraints are
known (i.e. that there is already a senior cat in the house).  Personality
is often a crapshoot with kittens.

I introduced a loner kitten to a loner adult cat (not old enough to be a
senior, but saddled with a serious health issue).  It actually worked out
quite well, but I'd hesitate to draw lessons.

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1060751&uid=514878