My young cat lost her littermate. Should I adopt one or two kittens?

Question

I had 2 littermate cats, age 2.75 years. One of them passed away a week ago, and now we have only the female left. We would like to adopt a kitten, and are trying to determine if we should get 1 kitten, or 2 littermates again. Our adult cat is still pretty young. Any advice? Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 2 years and 9 months old | 10 lbs

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

I'm very sorry you recently lost your cat! Adding in a new cat to a house is stressful to the existing cat, so I would think about adopting just one at this point in time. One will give Chloe a companion to have in the home, and you can consider adding on another one at a later time if you'd like. Keep in mind that when you bring a new cat into the home, you should introduce them slowly to each other to reduce stress to either cat. Take the kitten, and put her in her own room with her own food, water, and litter box. Keep the door closed, and for a few days, feed them both treats on other side of door so they associate each other's smell with a good experience. Then let the other cat in the kitten's room while the kitten is in a cat carrier. They can smell each other, but not be in contact. If either becomes upset or show signs of aggression, remove the second cat from the room, and try again later. Praise them when they interact appropriately. When they are interacting well with each other through the carrier, you can let the kitten out of her room, and see how she interacts with the other cat. Praise them when they interact appropriately, and separate them with any sign of aggression or upset. I would get a cat tree with lots of shelves to give the cats vertical space to get away from each other. I would keep the kitten in her room when you go out until they are comfortable with each other.

My young cat lost her littermate. Should I adopt one or two kittens?

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