Should 5-month old Truffles get a buddy???

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Truffles

1287040

Purred: Sat Feb 23, '13 11:25am PST


	Truffles is a 5-month old kitten, we got her about 6 weeks ago. She's an indoor cat and now we're contemplating getting her a cat buddy. She's not neutered yet (where we live 6 months is the recommended age), is very loving but also easily scared - for the first 3 weeks she stayed in the bedroom and office and will still be easily frightened by sudden noises and movements, but is trusting of both me and my boyfriend and really cuddly and loving! What would the best match be for her? A young male kitten? Is it a sooner-the-better kinda thing or should we wait until she's more settled in our home? Or should we completely drop the idea as she's a little insecure in general? We have no experience in bringing together two cats so any advice would be appreciated!!!

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Beep

Butt-kicker of- all other cats

Purred: Mon Feb 25, '13 4:00am PST


	Awwww, first I'd like to say I love her name, Truffles is adorable. And I personally think it would be a great thing for you to get a buddy for Truffles. I had a cat for 6 years before adding another cat to the house and the older one, Beep, has never accepted Taffy, and so they have remained separated at all times. We recently took in Stephano, a stray boy, and Taffy is a new cat, he loves his little brother. There was some hissing at first from Taffy, but it only took him a matter of days to accept him, now they are best buds. Taffy tries to dominate him sometimes, but Stephano is doing a good job of giving it right back to him, and they seem to get along just fine. I think the best thing is to get another one while they are young, MUCH easier to socialize them with each other when they are young. Since your Truffles is a little shy and scared, what I would do is find another kitty that has a sweet, docile personality. Don't go for the one kitten that is a little ball of fire....you always see that one in a litter. There are SOOO many kittens in need of good home, so I always think it is a great thing to have more than one cat if you are able to take care of them. There is a very good cat rescue at my local Petsmart that brings cats in on the weekend and you can look at them in the crate while they are all playing and lively and find one that does not seem aggressive. You could also opt for an adult cat, maybe one that has always been around other cats and is not aggressive with other cats? I think it would be a great thing to save one of those from rescue, those ones are particularly heartbreaking to see in rescue, they don't know why they are there and just want to be sunning themselves on your living room rug in front of a window, and they are already past the pain in the but kitten stage. If you go to a good rescue you can find one that has already been spayed/neutered, tested for diseases, de wormed, shots. Best of luck to you. When you do get another one, expect some hissing at first, maybe some smacking, but it will be ok. The younger they are, the easier. I LOVE knowing that my "boys" have each other when I'm not at home, I love seeing them snuggled up in the cat tree together. Oh, and I think I would wait another month until you get Truffles spayed before making this addition. Bless you for being a wonderful cat momma

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KuJu Ku

Bobtails Rule!

Purred: Tue Feb 26, '13 8:30am PST


	Definately YES, two cats are even more enjoyable than one. Im so glad I got two at the same time and dont regret it one bit, I know I made the right decision, they play, eat, cuddle, and get into mischief together and its double the fun. Two great cats !! Try to get the opposite sex than Truffles - sometimes the same sex pair often try to over dominate to see whos the Chief Cat Commander in charge. I would get it right away, dont waste a minute, sooner the better. Edited by author Tue Feb 26, '13 8:40am PST

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Beep

Butt-kicker of- all other cats

Purred: Wed Feb 27, '13 4:32am PST


	I agree with what KuJuKu said, opposite sex maybe being a better idea. All three of my cats where strays, they found me, so I couldn't pick their sex. But Taffy and Stephano are both boys, we have had Stephano since December, and Taffy does try to dominate him at times. He will stand on him and grab his scruff, but Stephano will sometimes take it and sometimes he will hand Taffy his rear end back to him....LOL! So far, knock on wood, no one is overly aggressive and it is very minor and my vet said to let them work it out, so I don't really interfere because I know Stephano will say when enough is enough. But I do think that maybe if they were not both males, maybe it would be different? I don't know though. Stephano was only neutered last month, and I figured maybe some of the aggression was because he was still an intact male and maybe it will get better now that he is fixed. Beep, my 10 year old female, cannot be out at the same time as "the boys", because she is extremely aggresive to other cats, which is another reason where I agree with KuJuKu again....the sooner the better if you are going to add another cat to your family. I had Beep for 6 years before Taffy came into my yard and my life and she never did accept him and will try to kill him every chance she has, which is why we have to keep them apart. I love how Taffy and Stephano are always cuddled up together on the cat tree, and how they groom each other. Taffy seems so much happier now that he has someone to play with and keep him company. I hope you find a great companion for Truffles soon....and I bet it would not be too hard to find one at a rescue that has already been fixed and had shots and is already known to be good with other cats. Good luck, and keep us updated!

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♠- Meiko- ♠

I'M NOT SPOILED- I JUST ALWAYS- GET MY WAY

Purred: Mon Mar 4, '13 1:18pm PST


	Thanks for the great info. I am also thinking about bringing in a playmate for my Meiko. He has only been with me a little over a month and is adjusting well. I was thinking before he gets too comfy I shouldbring in a little girl kitty. One thing, do you think Older or younger is better? Meiko is 3 years old.

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Beep

Butt-kicker of- all other cats

Purred: Tue Mar 5, '13 4:08am PST


	Meiko, hmmm, that is a good question. I don't actually have much experience with adding cats to the family, since Beep has to excluded from my other two indoor cats. I would guess a kitten though, and hopefully someone else will chime in and let me know if that is a good guess or not. We took in Stephano in early December, and Taffy, who is almost 5, accepted him pretty easily. But Taffy is very sweet, non violent cat, but Taffy lives in the same house with Beep, the cat who has to be kept away from him because Beep beats the poo (literally) out of him if they ever get out together (which happens once in a blue moon if someone lets Beep out during Taffy's time out), so I was kind of worried that Taffy would react violently to Stephano, since his awful experience with Beep. Taffy did hiss a few times, but no attacking whatsoever. Once he saw that Stephano was not going to hurt him, he completely accepted him. Stephano is estimated to be between 6-12 months old, he is a tiny little kitty, looks much younger than he is, he is just very small and kitten looking and acting. I do think that if you found an adult cat that was in a rescue that was known to be good with other cats, that would probably be good too. And maybe a rescue would let you take a cat home and try it out, and if it didn't work, you could bring the cat back? Just thinking of possibilities. Yeah for you for wanting to take in another cat, always a great thing to do! I think all kitties need someone to play with.

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KuJu Ku

Bobtails Rule!

Purred: Wed Mar 6, '13 10:59am PST


	Hi Meiko, I would say find a cat the same age or under 5 years. Your only 3 and can keep up with a kitten, but an older cat may not want to deal with a three year old such as yourself, older cats like to chill and dont enjoy the kitten antics, therefore may get annoyed easily. Edited by author Wed Mar 6, '13 11:02am PST

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♠- Meiko- ♠

I'M NOT SPOILED- I JUST ALWAYS- GET MY WAY

Purred: Thu Mar 14, '13 11:08am PST


	Thank you both. Very helpful info.

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Member Since
11/15/2012

Purred: Sat Apr 6, '13 3:15pm PST


	I was in the same situation, and I got a Male 8 week old kitten(Buddy) when Pennie was about a year old.She hid under the bed for 10 days and has always allowed him to "rule the roost". This is sometimes cute but sometimes he will kick her out of the room if he decides not to share me or any other item with her. I would suggest that if Truffles is shy you might be better off with another female as they aren't so inclined to dominate and might be easier to adapt to.

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