Is it any different to care for 2 cats instead of 1?

circa Mon, 21 Jun 2004 08:49:20 GMT, in alt.cats, Lord Stiffmenot
(stiffmenotspammenot@pizzadriversspammenot.com) said,

It is. Get two.

Laura

We got two at once, and were very glad! They would chase each other
through the house and have a ball. They always had someone to play with.

Rhonda

Apart from the fact that I wish every kitten a good home - yes, for the cats
it's better to have company.
And for you it's double fun.
Get two that get along well and that are buddies and that play which each
other already, then you can't do much wrong.
Good luck

Carola

As others have mentioned, two cats are better than one, as the two cats can
keep each other company. If you adopt just one cat, that cat would want to play
with you and have your attention all the time, as you will be his only
playmate.

You are in a fortunate position that you can adopt two cats who are siblings
and have grown up together. This saves you the trouble of later introducing a
new cat to a present cat, which could be trying for the cats involved.

Dik

WE got a kitten about 10 weeks ago (a stray) and then another 4 weeks
later to keep him company, and it was definitely the right thing to do.
They love each other's company, but are still affectionate to the human
members of the household.

It's very little more work having 2 than 1, and Elijah, the one we had
first, is much happier as a result of getting the second.

I took Yossie to the vet on Saturday for his second jabs. Elijah's already
had all of his.

Adam distracted Elijah, while I grabbed Yossie to put him in the box.
Yossie, once inside, began the tradition cat wails of real indignation,
frustration, and I'm-a-kitten-get-me-out-of-here.

Elijah legged it over to the box, ran around it with his back arched,
looking for the trouble Yossie was wailing about, and when Yossie started
to scratch at the inside of the box, Elijah tried to free him by biting
from the outside.

They've not been apart for the last 6 weeks, since we got Yossie, and they
both hated it.

Yossie had his second jabs - I was worried that he seemed a lot smaller
than Elijah had been at the same age. Elijah weighed 1.6kg at the age of
14 weeks or so, and Yossie was only 1.2kg today. The vet reckoned it was a
normal variation, and that Yossie will just be a smaller cat.

Bizarrely, though, Yossie has fleas! How do two cats who've not been
outside and who certainly didn't have them the last time they went outside
the flat (to the vet) catch fleas?? He had some stuff put on him to kill
them all immediately and keep killing them for a month - "Agent Orange" as
my boyfriend said it must be.

I took Yossie to my mother's (near the vet) for lunch, and he got picked
up and cuddled a lot by my mother and brother, and explored.

When we got back to the flat, perhaps 5 hours after we left, my b-friend
said Elijah spent the whole pacing around looking under things and
calling. When I put the box down, Elijah jumped on it, and there was a
great exchange of mews. Despite Elijah's best efforts, I let Yossie out
and the two of them shot behind the sofa together for an hour, before
coming out for kitten grub (-:

I reckon the moral of the story is - getting the second kitten was a
gamble which did pay off!

Amanda

I am going to add my vote to everyone elses.  Besides the
cat having a companion it is actually healthier for the cats
when you have two.  They keep eachothers ears clean and
tend to be more active.  For two you need an additional
liter box and of course the costs of shots and altering is a bit
more but I think in the long run it pays off.
Find two that seem to be buddies and bring them both home
(don't forget to spay and neuter).  And congrats!!!

AG