when can I bring a second cat into my home - I already have one kitty who is only about 10 months old?

Answer 1

As soon as possible, as long as your current kitty has been fixed.

Cats don't have the same response to babies of their species as dogs do, so I wouldn't necessarily suggest getting a kitten. Go for a cat thats about 6 months old and of the opposite sex to yours. There is usually less territoriality this way - although I have friends who got the same sex cat and that went fine. A younger cat also means that they will be smaller than your current kitty, and so will appear as less of a threat. What's nice is that your cat is still young, and so should still be playful, which will fit in with a slightly younger cat. If you do want to get another cat, go to your local shelter and pick one. I recently got another cat from the SPCA, and there were two cats I couldn't decide between, so I did the "kitty" test. I took each of them out of their cage, and put them next to the fence of the cat next door to gauge their response to another cat. The one cat fluffed up, and turned into a spitting ball of fury upon seeing another cat. The second cat approached the fence curiously, and was ready to sniff the other cat, when the OTHER cat hissed at her. Needless to say, she came home with us!

A good way of judging whether your kitty would like a friend, is to go to someones house who owns cats, and pet them like crazy. Let your cat sniff you when you get home, if it seems interested and curious, introducing a new kitty should work out fine. If your kitty puffs up, hisses madly and runs away, maybe you should reconsider.

Remember to get the new kitty checked out by the vet before you bring them home. I've also heard that you should put a drop of vanilla essence on each of their noses, so when they meet, they smell like each other - then your kitty won't look at the new baby as an imposter!

Good luck - and I guarantee that you are going to have SUCH fun watching them once they have adjusted. My two are now running frantically around the house play-fighting!

Answer 2

If you are wanting to bring another kitten into the house bring it in as early as you can. Older cats tend to think their territory has been invaded and sometimes will show signs of disapproval by not using the litter box or destroying things. (Personal experience). But not all older cats do this. Allow the older kitty to smell you after you have petted the the new kitten. And keep the new kitten in a bedroom or bathroom and allow them to smell each other under the door. After a few hours allow the older kitty to enter that room and let them see each other, smell each other etc. Make sure both have been spayed or neutered. Having the same of sex doesn't matter. Females tend to be more territorial than males. At least they have been in my experience. Check out the site below to help you out with more information about introducing a new cat.

Answer 3

any time you want just dont leave a tiny kitten alone with an older one untill you can be sure that the older one wont hurt the little one...in my experience the sex doesnt matter, so long as you plan on getting them"fixed" especially since the older on is still really young itself they will most likely just play together after the inital "hiss off" to see who the head kitty is (and you may be surprised that the younger one might take the lead) but you will want to get a second littler box-they can be funny about that and I was always told to either have one box on each floor of your house or one for each cat whichever works out better (we have 3 cats 3 floors and 3 boxes now)

Answer 4

I agree with everything Delta Zeta has to say. The younger, the better, so do it now. Do however make sure your new kitty is healthy before exposing your present cat to it. Get a vet checkup first.

Answer 5

Now, while your present kitty is still young and not set in its ways.

Don't worry about gender. If they get along, gender won't matter. I've read that same gender are more likely to get along than opposites, but I doubt that it matters at all, especially when they're young. I had two males and they got along fine, and their best buddy was a neighbor kitty who was also a male.

Answer 6

I would bring the other cat in&stay with them both see how it goes
or you can bring the other cat in for an 1/2 hour or longer

Answer 7

Do it as fast as you can. The older the first cat gets, the harder it will be to accept the new one. Monitor them for the first month, because the new one will be in danger.

Answer 8

Both kittens thumbs up both adults sorry thumbs down. If the new cats an adult sure,its fine. But I think it's going to be fine.Hope that helps you!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Answer 9

It should be OK now, just introduce them slowly and monitor them the first few days. They might hiss and growl for a while, but eventually should make up.

Answer 10

that's great that your cat is young and get another kitten if you do. They will be able to grow an each other througout the years