awww this makes me wanna give my cat a friend:( specially since we'll be living at a new, bigger appartment and i'll start uni so i wont be at home as much anymore. sadly that would also mean not enough time to take proper care of both, probably

[–] cooperpair@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Honestly, the fact that you won’t have enough time for your single cat is the best reason to get them a friend. Of course if you have the funds to take care of the second one as well. This is how I ended up with my second one.

I work 8 hour days and once I took 1 week holiday abroad when I had only one cat. I hired a sitter to come check on him twice a day and play. I also have pet cams around my apartment and he seemed sooo lonely and sad the whole time i was gone. Seeing him like that, i was crying during our trip. My boyfriend took me to the shelter as soon as we came back.

[–] bulletproof_kell@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

oh i wouldnt have thought of it that way, i guess it makes a lot of sense, i would only be scared that she gets jealous or distances from me, when my gf's on the house for example mochi (cat) is always away from me and comes back desperate for cuddles and attention once she's finally gone, so i would be very sad if she did the same with another cat in the whouse, cause ofc i wouldnt ever give them away after a rescue and i wouldn't know how to fix it

but i guess basing on hypotheticals isn't all that good haha, i should prolly check how stable mochi's health remain and how much i can save for a vet emergency in case of anything, plus hw finances go living at a new state, and if everything's okay i'd opt for getting her a friend, if there's any issues i can always talk to a vet about it i suppose

do you have any recommendations on bringing a new feline buddy home? they seem to get along so well, did that just come naturally or did it take much time and effort for it to be that way?

[–] cooperpair@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 days ago

It is definitely a valid concern that your cat may not take it well to have another cat in the house. You know your cat the best. You can only judge what is the best for your and her situation. Also, love the name Mochi. Haha.

As for tips and tricks; i got a lot of good advice on how to choose which cat to adopt and also tips and tricks to how to get them acquainted from our shelter. We were very lucky in that sense. We were also lucky that both cats were younger, resident cat was 10 months old and new cat was 5 months old. But here are the tips we got from the shelter:

We were told that the most important thing to ensure they get along well is to match their personality, age and energy levels. We saw many many kittens and spent time with them (played, fed) until we decided on who to take home. We thought Eddy looked very similar to our Luci by means of how he plays and reacts to us and food, etc.
We were told that it helps if the newcomer is slightly younger than the resident cat, but not too young that the energy levels are completely off. This is why we didn’t go with a too young kitten or a much older one.
We were given Feliway to use 1 week before Eddy arrived. We used Feliway in every room and continued using it for almost 2 months after the arrival.
Shelter allowed us to do scent exchange a few days before the newcomer so that both are aware of the new scent.
we were given a slow introduction routine over one week to start with them in separate rooms and feed them behind the door, etc. You can check Jason Galaxy method for introducing cats… although this did not pan out for us…

I have to say that we were lucky. We brought Eddy home and put him in a separate room with food, bed, toys, litterbox, water… but Luci heard us move and he started meowing to come next to us, which made Eddy aware. I went out to calm Luci down but Eddy started meowing, which made Luci even more curious. Long story to short… they met within two hours of Eddy’s arrival and have been best buds since the first hour of meet & greet.

I have to confess that my relationship with Luci changed. Before Eddy arrived I was his best friend, his playmate, his cuddlemate… now I am his second best because he got to have someone much more like him, that can climb and run with him. That understand cat mannerisms more than I ever can. Haha. He still loves me a lot, both of them love me. But i am just a mommy now and they have each other. I am sad for myself but very happy for both of them that they have such amazing relationship.

Best of luck to you with the move, with college and all. :) i wish you and Mochi the best. Haha. You can always contact me in case a question pops up about the adoption, if you decide to go for it.