Getting a new kitten

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Julee

Member Since 2018
Hi Everyone! I’m looking for opinions on getting a new kitten. I currently have 2 cat (brother and sister) that are 16 years old and Tooters is diabetic. My daughter really wants a new kitten but I am concerned about the stress on my current cats and if they would adapt. what are your experiences and thoughts?
 
Margie and Jackson said:
I would get two kittens because I don’t think the old guys will want much to do with a baby. I adopted a kitten with two bonded older cats and I think it was lonely for her.
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I agree. The kitten will have a lot of energy and your older cats may not appreciate it. Two kittens will keep each other entertained and out of mischief. Taking care of of two kittens is not any harder than one.
 
I would not get a new kitten and put my older ones through that. I will probably be the only one to say that because the general consensus here anytime there is a thread like this is 'the more the merrier', but that is how I feel about it. I have found that older cats like their little worlds to stay as they are. Sometimes, they become more clingy and needy of affection and want to be with their person more. (My Willow is 17 and wants to be with me most of the time and wants me to love on her much of the time she is with me.) They usually lose some hearing over time and maybe even sight, so keeping their environments stable can help keep them from getting scared or stressed. 'Every cat is different', so there are probably some old cats out there who just love having a crazy kitten around, but I would dare to say they are probably in the minority.

I think it is also worth considering that when you take on new babies, you never know what you are going to get. Would you be okay if you ended up with a kitten with serious health issues you had to manage? Or, if your current cats start having increasing health issues as they age, are you okay with devoting the care and cost that could be required while also managing a new kitten? Just some things to take into consideration.
 
Agree with the two kittens idea. I have a houseful of cats in various stages of their life. Typically the boys are more receptive than the girls (I have an older tomcat who adores all the kittens that come into our family) but as long as the kitten(s) aren't hounding the older ones' tails and pestering them they typically do fine. It was much easier when we got a pair of siblings because they kept each other company and didn't bother the adults as much. I also learned that giving older cats treats whenever the kitten(s) are around it gets them used to their presence faster and less grumpy. ^-^
 
one other thought: where would the kittens be coming from? whatever environment they've been in, they will be bringing some of it to you

with a diabetic cat, whose immune system is already stressed, you don't want to introduce anything noxious -- a kitten from the shelter, for example, would have been exposed to a number of things you have no control over -- and in any case, you will want to isolate the kitten(s) from the other cats for some time, for the safety of all, just another hassle to deal with

so much depends on the personality of your present cats, and how much time and effort you have available to deal with the kitten(s) as well as your own furbabies -- at least I hope you make sure the new ones have been vaccinated and altered (I'm very much in favor of "pediatric" altering)

yes, normally I'd say, the more the merrier .. but I wonder -- how old is the daughter who wants the kitten? is this a recent wish, or something she's been wanting for a long time? (I remember promising that I would care for the kitten I wanted, when I was about 7 or 8, but my mother wound up doing almost all the caretaking, broke my heart when we moved and had to leave the cat behind, NOT my choice)
 
I did adopted a kitten having 3 older cats (11, 13 and 14 at the time), at the time it seemed like a good idea especially since it was practically Babu's request, don't laugh, what happened at the time is that we were at a visit at the vet and when we finished instead of almost running to the door ( he goes to the vet with leash and not in a carrier) he literally dragged me inside to where the cages with the hospitalized cats are, that was strange so I humored him, he arrived at a cage where the vet had a litter that had been found abandoned and that he had for adoption and Babu went straight for one of the kittens and started liking her needless to say I left the vet with two cats instead of just one, even up untill now he adores her and even though he's older and was never very active he puts up with her, the other two accepted the new kitten just fine until she became an adult and started trying to boss everyone except for Babu of course.

Things got complicated once one of the olders started showing real problems related sickness because once the young one noticed the other was sick and vulnerable that's when the fighting began, even now I have to pretty much keep them separated

For what I've learned this not always the case but still I do recommend you get two of the same age and preferably of the same litter (siblings) so that the young one has someone to play with that can keep up the pace
 
IF you decide to get a kitten, definitely get two, and get siblings or two who are already bonded. A kitten will want to play, energetically and roughly, with other cats. Old cats are generally not up for having a kitten jumping on them and wrapping itself around their head for fun. Older cats generally do not appreciate being ninja-attacked every time they get up and walk across the room trying to get to the food or water bowl. A kitten needs another kitten-like cat to play with. Last winter we took in a 6 month old kitten, with two 13 year olds in the house already. One taught her to just stay away under threat of death, the other puts up with her jumping him until he can't take it anymore and retreats. Two months later we got another similar aged kitten (not really intended, but circumstances said save it from its current home). They both like the older cat, and he tolerates them, but 3 months later the two kittens still have only a tenuous relationship with each other. We thought they'd take to each other right away, but for whatever reason that's not what happened. Both kittens were living with siblings and another litter at the time we got them, but somehow they didn't like being put with a 'foreign" kitten even tho they both immediately liked the older cat.
 
I tried it last year and had to return kitten, stressed mine out to bad, Bella (diabetic) would either go after and try to kill it or would hide under bed, stress was to much for my 3 cats, they are older, I agree with @FurBabiesMama
 
One thought I have on getting two kittens so that they will play together is: there is actually no guarantee that they will play with each other!! you might end up with two terrors for your older cats... one kitten to terrorize each elderly cat :eek::eek:

Is there an option to foster kittens in your community? maybe you could try fostering a kitten to see how the older cats respond, if they don't mind it you could adopt the foster... if your older cats hate it then you can offload the kitten to another family :)
 
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