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Question for Cat Lovers

13 comments


I am just getting back onto GOY after a winter break. The weather here is definitely feeling more like spring. I have been doing spring cleaning at the house, and organizing getting ready for company. I have sadly been neglecting my garden and yard as the weather was good and bad for a while. So I don’t have many new pics of the plants yet. But will in a couple weeks.

I know that this is not a garden-related question, but I know that there are also lots of pet lovers on this site. So I thought it would be a good place to ask. When you have multiple indoor-only cats, is it better to have an odd number or an even number? Are two cats better than having three? Has anyone found this to be true? I know that dogs are usually ok with multiples, but how are cats typically? I have had both good and bad experiences with having two cats in the past. So I wanted to find out how it has worked out for others.

Thanks for any suggestions!

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Comments

 

If your cats grow up together from being kittens then they will usually be fine together. However, if the cats are older when you get them and they don't know each other, it has been my experience that its a hit and miss if they will get along. Usually, from my experience, the cats will tend to pair off so having two is probably better than having three. Having multiple cats also tends to increase the possibility of the cats marking their territory inside by spraying urine. Female cats will spray too, not just males.
This is just my experience but I hope it helps.

1 Apr, 2009

 

I've never tried to introduce adult cats to each other, we always get two kittens from same litter - except last time we got mum and daughter... but we also let our siamese girls wander where they will indoors our out. Right now they are curled up beside me on the sofa - anytime soon they will be off outdoors to see what David is up to.

1 Apr, 2009

 

Much of my married life we have had two cats and although I cannot recall any fighting, I seem to recall them both going their separate ways. I think if it is two unrelated cats it may depend on what sex they are and whether they are neutured. Most of our cats were strays which the children bought home and once they had been neutured they were fine. However I have never had indoor only cats so I dont know how much difference it would make.

1 Apr, 2009

 

How fun truly it depends on the cats they have such different personalities I have friend who had three cats and they all have their own rooms truly they do not come out she keep them in different rooms. So it just depends on them. I have only had one cat at a time with a dog and it takes some getting use to each other but they become friends. I also think it depends on the owner how is your attitucde towards them I think for me everyone gets alonge who lives in my house so they do. You know what I mean. Truly what we put out thier with how we are is how it is. That is what I think about everything we do!

1 Apr, 2009

 

I spent many years with 2 indoor cats. We got the second one when the first was half grown. They usually got along fine, with only the occasional spat. Sometimes they would spend their time curled up together perfectly happy, and other times we would have to chase them out from under the bed because of the hissing and spitting at each other! I guess a lot depends on the cats.

1 Apr, 2009

 

Thank you all for your comments! I had two indoor cats a couple years ago, but they did not get along at all. Long story short, they were from the same stray momma cat, but were a year apart. As the younger one grew up, he got really wild, and would attack the older female cat. So I gave them to separate people when I moved, and he eventually became an outdoor only kitty.

It was not a good experience, so I was hesitant to get a second cat this time. I decided to get a second one because my kitty was lonesome. He was used to being around another cat and a dog before he came to live with me, and I think he missed having them around.

1 Apr, 2009

 

We had two Burmese female kittens from different litters,they were round about the same age, they got on quite well utill we introduced an Abyssinian male who was frightened of the one and hated the other, he only liked the dog........each case is different, I would try and have cats from the same litter, good luck anyway.

1 Apr, 2009

 

Lujean, I think you are right it depends on personality a lot. Even the same breed can vary widely in personalities. I'm sticking with Persians or Himalayans mixes for my cats. They seem to be pretty mellow and get along generally.

I guess it would be similar with people. Any time you introduce a new person to a living space, it changes the dynamics of the existing relationships. I will probably venture to add a third cat, but we will see.

2 Apr, 2009

 

I don't think you should have indoor cats. It's wrong to confine a cat inside a human house for the whole of it's life.

If you don't live in a place where the cat can go out you shouldn't have a cat. It's selfish and cruel. There are no excuses.
And don't call yourself a catlover if you keep a cat inside the house all it's life - you're only thinking of yourself and your desire to own a cat whatever the distress you cause to it. And don't say it's happy in the house - it isn't.

2 Apr, 2009

 

Hi Hywel. I understand your perspective. We had outdoor cats when I was growing up. But in the US, it is actually considered cruel to have cats outdoors. I live in the city but have a small fenced yard out back. I was letting my kitty out into the fenced backyard supervised, but when I told the vet about it, they told me to always keep him inside because he was getting a bad case of fleas, even though he is on flea treatment.

The life expectancy for an outdoor cat is about 2 years here. They get hit by cars or get into fights with stray cats and dogs. It is also very hot here most of the year. It is already reaching 80 degrees F and will get up in the nineties in the summer. Because of the heat, we have lots of ticks and fleas and parasites that the kitties can pick up year round.

Also if you have cat outdoors, and it is found in wandering in someone's yard (as kitties tend to do,) the people can have the sheriff's office pick it up and put it in the pound. You get fined by the county when you go to pick up your kitty if it gets sent there. If you don't get there in time, they euthanize your pet.

I have a nice big window and a place for the kitties to look out and see the bird feeder and the yard, and stuff for them to climb on. But is very common here to have indoor-only kitties in the US.

2 Apr, 2009

 

You obviously live in an inappropriate place for a cat so you shouldn't have one then !

2 Apr, 2009

 

Hywel, thank you for your comments and for sharing your opinion. Have a nice day.

2 Apr, 2009

 

Hywel I think you are being a little judgmental here... whilst I personally would not confine a cat to the house I know many people who have done so successfully and both cats and owners were very happy.

We actually did the reverse with our latest two cats. Mum is a champion of champions Siamese and had never in her four years of life ever been outdoors. She was bred from but only had two kittens - now, apparently, if a cat does not have a whole tummy full of kits. waiting to be born it does not go into labour properly - so Cally Girl had to have a c. section and was neutered at the same time. This particular breeder will not show a neutered cat so we got Cally plus daughter (Pip). Breeder told us if we let Cally outside she would end up dead... well Cally begged for a whole week before we let her out and the rest, as they say is history.

Yes we live in a small village but there are a considerable number of agricultural vehicles go through it and our neighbour has lost two cats to tractors/speeding cars. We do worry but they love their life as it is.

2 Apr, 2009

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