My male cat is almost 7 months old. Should I get him some female company? For breeding and companionship?

Question

And if so, what age should she be?

Answer 1

For breeding? NO. For companionship? Perhaps!

Please, please, please do not breed your cat. Unless he is a pedigree and you know what you are doing, don't breed. I won't rant on, but over 100 HEALTHY cats and kittens are euthenised EVERY DAY in the UK alone because shelters do not have enough room for them. This is because 2 cats can be responsible for thousands of cats in their lifetime. Your cat has kittens, they grow up to have kittens, and so on. Add this to the fact that there are already thousands of stray cats having kittens and you can see where the problem is.

You're probably thinking "Well, I'll just let my cats have one litter then neuter and spay them". This is rubbish and the main reason there are so many unwanted kittens in the world. Cats do NOT need to have kittens; they do not experience trauma from never having had kittens. On the contrary, a surprising number of kittens do not survive, are born with deformities or are eaten and killed by the mother because she can sense they are weak. This happens particularly with kittens born to young cats who cannot cope with parenthood.

You might also be thinking "well, everyone else can spay/neuter their cats; the situation is already bad - I won't be able to stop the cat overpopulation just by spaying my cat". If EVERYBODY spayed and neutered their cats, we wouldn't have this problem. Don't pass the buck. Do what you can do, and let the next person do what they can do.

I'm guessing you love kittens just as much as everybody else does? Kittens are adorable. They are playful, sweet, fragile little babies who deserve the very best in life. If you let your cat breed, you will be responsible for a kitten having it's short life ended on a cold vetinary table. I know this is a horrible thing for me to say to you, but I'm trying to drive the message home. Somewhere down the line, one of your cat's descendants is likely to be put down because there will be no room in shelters for them.

As your cat is 7 months old, he should be neutered now. He is at the perfect age. If you leave it any longer, he is likely to start spraying and have behavioural problems, including aggression. Neutering your cat decreases these problems and also decreases the risk of certain fatal illnesses, such as cancer.

Ideally, you should get a playmate that is both younger and smaller than him. Generally, a female kitten would be best, but it is hard to predict how they will get along. Cats tend to find kittens far less threatening and tend to adjust to them more easily.

You may want to read the following articles and definitely do lots of research before you go ahead and buy another cat:
http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/introduction.html
http://www.vetontheweb.co.uk/pet-clinic-detail.asp?id=471
http://www.saferpets.co.uk/IntroducingAKittenToOtherCats.html
http://www.articlealley.com/article_11294_54.html

Googling something like "introducing kitten to cat" will give you lots more information.

I would go to a shelter and adopt a kitten or young cat. There will be many cats who are known to get along with other cats, and this is the great benefit of adopting. When you buy a kitten from the newspaper, you have no clue whether they will get along with your cat or what their personality will be like.

As a final note, please do not think that if you breed your male cat with a new female, it will bond them. Please do not have an image in your head of a happy kitty family all snuggled up together. Cat mating is violent, disturbing and pretty horrendous for the female cat. The male cat quite simply rapes the female cat. It is a horrible way to put it, I am sorry, but this is the case. Trust me, the last thing she will want to do is curl up with him. The male cat will also not bother with the kittens - he will just want to breed again.

Good luck and don't breed!

xx Emmie

Answer 2

If you want them to be companions, then one or both should be spayed/neutered especially if they are non-pedigree! Believe me you really don't want a full tom as a pet. Once that testosterone kicks in, They spray everywhere, your home will smell of it, they 'sing' when they can smell a female in heat and that is one noise you and your neighbours will not ENJOY! If free to do so, They spend all their time wandering the neighbourhood looking for likely mates and fighting every other tom cat around. Some human males find it hard to be true to one female for a Tom Cat it's impossible. They don't mate for life! The bigger his harem the better as far as he's concerned. Without seperating them every time the female is due to come into heat it will be kittens three times a year! Do you know the number of kittens a female can produce in it's lifetime? Do you know how much a Vet will charge for an emergency call out if things go wrong? Do you know how much it costs to raise a litter? Could you raise them if the female rejected them? You'd never get anyone to buy them if they are not pedigree!
Seriously, breeding isn't an easy undertaking and trying to keep a Tom as a house cat especially with a Queen around is impossible.
Think seriously about this before you make perhaps the biggest mistake in your life!

Answer 3

If your cat is that old, I'd take him to the vet to have the snip. This will only cause short-term discomfort, and will mean that he won't roam or fight as much, and he won't breed. There are more unwanted cats than there are homes for them - don't be irresponsible by adding to this problem. Even if you bought a pure-bred with the sole intention of breeding, then I would still think long and hard about what you're doing. If you've got a moggie, I'd be taking him to the vets. Simple as that. You certainly shouldn't be getting a female cat purely for breeding in such circumstances.

Answer 4

NO! Breeding is not something you just do without educating yourself first. And if he is not a purebred cat, there's no reason to do it anyway. Nothing wrong with "moggies," but believe me the world is not going to run out of them anytime soon.
Responsible breeders of purebred cats know what they are doing. They breed because otherwise there would be no more purebreds after a while; cats just aren't that picky! But breeding is expensive and can be heart-wrenching. If things don't go well when a female cat goes into labor, a C-section can cost $1500! And what about the kittens? There are plenty at the shelter already. Why do we need more? Who's going to take care of them? Finding them homes is not as easy as you might think.
I foster Bengal cats. I have 4 fosters right now, 3 mixes and 1 possible purebred. I do have adoptions pending on two of them, but there is another one at the local shelter waiting for a spot here, and it is never ending. And the number of Bengals/other purebreds needing rescue is tiny compared to the number of random-bred cats. I have had all of these fosters for a month or more. And Bengals are popular. Imagine how hard it could be to find a home for a mixed breed that's not even obviously mixed with a popular breed like these. And you can't just adopt a cat out to just anyone. You have to screen people, call their vets if they have pets already, call their apartment managers if they live in apartments, to make sure pets are allowed, make sure they will keep the cats inside and not declaw them, etc. And in the meantime you have to spay or neuter the cats at your own expense, take care of any other medical needs, and provide them with food, litter, toys, and attention. And I'm lucky if the adoption fee covers the medical aspects. Forget the food and other misc!
PLEASE, if you want to breed cats, get a purebred from a breeder who is willing to be your mentor, and then educate yourself. You might well change your mind in the process. And if not, at least you will know what you are doing. But your cat will be fine without breeding, as long as you have him neutered. Yes, an unaltered male without access to a female would be very stressed (not to mention smelly). But there's no need. Just get him fixed.

And before anybody jumps on me, yes, I am aware there are "backyard breeders" out there who don't take proper care of their animals, cut corners, don't worry about the quality of their breeding animals, and breed for money. Those people are just as much of a problem as those who just don't bother to get their cats fixed. But there are responsible breeders out there also, who only breed the best quality purebred animals with the goal of improving/maintaining the breed standard. Those are the ones I'm talking about above.

Bottom line, since this is so long - PLEASE DON'T BREED YOUR CAT. GET HIM A FRIEND IF YOU WANT. BUT HAVE THEM SPAYED/NEUTERED. EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPIER.

Answer 5

For companionship - yes
For breeding - NO

Spend a weekend at the local humane society or shelter and watch how many cats and kittens sit there and DON'T get adopted. I volunteer every weekend and it's heartbreaking.

Go to a shelter and get a young kitty about the same age as your cat, maybe younger. They will have a blast and you will be helping save a cat's life. Just make sure they're spayed or neutered!

Answer 6

NO! Get him done. Companionship is fine get another boy or girl cat but get them both spayed and they will be friendly enough. Believe me you will be horrified at mating rituals of cats - the male cat will spray foul smelling body fluids all over the place trying to court the female cat, they scream and meow at each other all day/all night when in season and the act itself causes serious pain to the female cat - she wont be too friendly towards him afterwards that's for sure!

Answer 7

Is he a purebred? There's really no reason to breed a regular house cat. If he's an alley cat like mine, you should "fix" him when he reaches adult size but before he bulks up too much, starts spraying, and gets aggressive. Neutered males are real sweeties.

Unless you have homes lined up for the kittens in advance, don't breed him. You don't want to give them to the ASPCA because if they can't get rid of them, they euthanize them.

The female can get pregnant at about 6 months, but PLEASE wait until she reaches her full adult size before breeding her.

Even so, he might not like another cat in his territory, male or female. Think it over.

Answer 8

Why would you want to breed ? The world is full of unwanted kittens bred by irresponsible people like you. Get him neutered, go to the cats home and adopt a kitten if you are that desperate.

Answer 9

Unless you particularly want to breed then I would get him 'done' and buy him another kitten for companionship. If he remains a tom, he'll be off all the time - he certainly won't remain faithful to the girlfriend you supply him!

Answer 10

Hi, He may not accept another cat now. Even if you do get a she cat. I would have him neutered before he starts spraying all over your home.(it stinks). Also having him neutered will stop him roaming looking for other she cat's, as he wont just stay at home because you have a she cat.