Update with Photos - Adopting a cat for my cat?

[Jenny in Florida]

Update: So, shortly after I posted the query below (and thanks again to everyone who responded), I saw an article online about the fact that our county shelter is overwhelmed with cats and dogs, because people are surrendering many more pets than usual. Apparently, the combination of rising prices and the shortage of rental options (and especially options that allow pets) is driving people to give up and/or abandon animals. 

That seemed like a sign to us, so my husband and I went to the shelter last weekend and selected a cat to join the family. He wasn't ready to go home until last night, but we picked him up this morning.

For now, he's encamped in one of the bathrooms recovering from his surgery and settling in. He has an appointment on Monday with our regular vet for a check-up, after which we'll figure out the plan for letting him start to get acquainted with the other beasties. 

Pictures below.

Oh, and his name is Bartok. (We name all of our pets after animals that are not the same species as they are. So, he's named after the bat in the animated Anastasia movie.)

 

Original Post: Our current cat joined the family in a sort of impromptu way (in the form of an adorable and very small kitten stowing away in the engine compartment of my car). At the time, we had an older cat and our dog. The stowaway kitten is now five years old and the only feline in the house since our older cat passed away in December. 

The older cat was sort of territorial and possessive, so the younger one learned not to come into the bedroom or try to sleep on the bed with us (although he often naps there during the say when we're not around). Although the dog gets along okay with the cat most of the time, they aren't buddies. 

We had hoped that, after the older cat was gone, the younger one would adapt and understand that he no longer had to tiptoe around the cranky old guy. We've tried picking him up and bringing him into the bedroom with us and encouraging him to hang out with us more, but those habits seem pretty ingrained. However, he also seems lonely. He spends a lot of time every night just wandering around the house yowling insistently, for example.

I tentatively suggested to my husband this morning that we might consider adopting another cat to give the current guy some company. I'm not interested in a kitten, for a variety of reasons, so we'd likely be considering an adult, ideally one of a similar age to the current cat.

The big concern is that my dog is not a fan of other beasties. As I said, she gets along reasonably well with the current cat -- as long as she doesn't perceive a need to compete for food or human attention -- but she and the older cat never learned to peacefully coexist. 

So:

1. Would you, if you were in a similar situation, consider bringing another cat into the family?
2. If so, what steps would you take to maximize the odds that all three pets would get along?

Edited June 17, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[Jean in Newcastle]

1.  Yes

2.  I would ask the shelter for their recommendations for a good cat for this sort of situation.  It sounds like you want a cat that's not too shy but also not too dominant either. 

[desertstrawberry5]

Yes. I adopted a cat for my cat when I was a single girl working a million hours and he was just all alone after living with my parnets and thier cat. I felt like he needed the company. 

If you go through Petfinder, you can search for a cat who gets along with both other cats and dogs. Many rescue organizations use foster families who really get to know the pets well and will be able to advise you on the right pet for your situation. 

[Terabith]

Yes, this is an excellent idea.  The shelter likely will have good ideas of the right cat for your situation.  

[MercyA]

@desertstrawberry5, so glad to see you again! 🙂 

Edited June 8, 2022 by MercyA

[Scarlett]

16 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Our current cat joined the family in a sort of impromptu way (in the form of an adorable and very small kitten stowing away in the engine compartment of my car). At the time, we had an older cat and our dog. The stowaway kitten is now five years old and the only feline in the house since our older cat passed away in December. 

The older cat was sort of territorial and possessive, so the younger one learned not to come into the bedroom or try to sleep on the bed with us (although he often naps there during the say when we're not around). Although the dog gets along okay with the cat most of the time, they aren't buddies. 

We had hoped that, after the older cat was gone, the younger one would adapt and understand that he no longer had to tiptoe around the cranky old guy. We've tried picking him up and bringing him into the bedroom with us and encouraging him to hang out with us more, but those habits seem pretty ingrained. However, he also seems lonely. He spends a lot of time every night just wandering around the house yowling insistently, for example.

I tentatively suggested to my husband this morning that we might consider adopting another cat to give the current guy some company. I'm not interested in a kitten, for a variety of reasons, so we'd likely be considering an adult, ideally one of a similar age to the current cat.

The big concern is that my dog is not a fan of other beasties. As I said, she gets along reasonably well with the current cat -- as long as she doesn't perceive a need to compete for food or human attention -- but she and the older cat never learned to peacefully coexist. 

So:

1. Would you, if you were in a similar situation, consider bringing another cat into the family?
2. If so, what steps would you take to maximize the odds that all three pets would get along?

@TexasProud has one for you.  

[gingersmom]

My two cats were together for ten years. The one that died was madly in love with our other cat, she had a love/hate relationship with him. When he died she went into mourning. For a month she cried and cried. 
 

One day I went to petsmart to check out the cats the local shelter houses there that are up for adoption. Several hours later I came home with a one year old cat (more likely 10-11 months)

She immediately adored our 15 year old cat. The older cat while not in love, immediately stopped crying and was back at peace.

Our 95 pound dog who had been raised with cats and ignored them has a new best friend (whether she wants one or not) I joke that the new cat is the dogs emotional support animal. Wherever the dog is, the cat is close by or next to her.

[wintermom]

Sure, if YOU want another cat. I don't believe cats are like dogs, in that they thrive in a pack. You may discover that you'll have more pain than gain adding in another animal. The new cat may not enjoy living with your dog, for example. One of our former cats really hated the dog and peed all over the house and every piece of clothing, bag, etc. it could reach. It was horrible. we had to rip out all the carpeting and throw out a ton of items, in addition to living in a very stinky house. I'd never want to experience that again.

Edited June 8, 2022 by wintermom

[Jenny in Florida]

39 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Sure, if YOU want another cat. I don't believe cats are like dogs, in that they thrive in a pack. You may discover that you'll have more pain than gain adding in another animal. The new cat may not enjoy living with your dog, for example. One of our former cats really hated the dog and peed all over the house and every piece of clothing, bag, etc. it could reach. It was horrible. we had to rip out all the carpeting and throw out a ton of items, in addition to living in a very stinky house. I'd never want to experience that again.

We have pretty much always had two cats when we have had cats and have never found it significantly more trouble than having one.

Our older cat (the one whom we lost in December) never did adapt to the dog. They could not be in the same room, which wasn't ideal. However, they reached detente and mostly avoided each other. That is one of the reasons I want to adopt from a shelter or foster/rescue where we can get more information about a potential adoptee before we take the leap.

[Terabith]

I think cats usually are happier if they have a feline companion, even if they aren’t friends.  Obama and Scout are in no way buddies, but there is a certain amount of interaction and enrichment from antagonizing each other.  There are definitely Ecco, especially if a cat is elderly.  But I do think cats are happier not being the only member of their species.  

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, Jenny in Florida said:

We have pretty much always had two cats when we have had cats and have never found it significantly more trouble than having one.

Our older cat (the one whom we lost in December) never did adapt to the dog. They could not be in the same room, which wasn't ideal. However, they reached detente and mostly avoided each other. That is one of the reasons I want to adopt from a shelter or foster/rescue where we can get more information about a potential adoptee before we take the leap.

All the best! Just providing some info from my experience, since you asked. The two cats we had were brothers from the same litter. They did fine with each other, they just couldn't tolerate the dogs when they got older. They were prefectly fine with them when they were young. I wasn't expecting this, and certainly not the peeing chaos that resulted. One cat peed all over the house, while the other one ran away from the dog in fright and peed all over himself. They were not happy cats. 😪

Edited June 8, 2022 by wintermom

[annandatje]

I would not get another cat given fact that dog did not care for previous cat.  It *could* go smoothly in certain circumstances, but I personally would not want to risk another territorial marking war and having to monitor relationship between dog and cats to make sure no critter is injured or traumatized.  About a decade ago when our last dog passed, I decided to discontinue having dogs and cats live together in spite of having a dog and cat who were best buddies when I was in my 20s and early 30s.  We chose cats as preferred companions.  My dogs never injured the cats, but they would frighten, chase and bark at them.  When one cat got out, he ran away.  I have always blamed myself because it was the day after I hosted a big dog rescue picnic in our backyard.

[ktgrok]

I got a dog for my dog for similar reasons. It was a great decision, and I'm so glad I did. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Our local shelter always tests dogs to see if they are cat friendly.  I am not sure if they do the same for cats though I have seen notations like "raised in a home with a dog".  There are ways to introduce animals.  We introduced rabbits to our older dog who was already good with a cat.  Then later we got a puppy and introduced him slowly to both the cat and rabbits to make sure that there were no issues.   Good training can go a long way. 

[wintermom]

20 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Our local shelter always tests dogs to see if they are cat friendly.  I am not sure if they do the same for cats though I have seen notations like "raised in a home with a dog".  There are ways to introduce animals.  We introduced rabbits to our older dog who was already good with a cat.  Then later we got a puppy and introduced him slowly to both the cat and rabbits to make sure that there were no issues.   Good training can go a long way. 

How can anyone guarantee that a dog won't chase a cat that runs away from it? It's a combination of behaviours with cats and dogs that humans can't guaratee or predict. Even full-trained guide dogs for the blind are still dogs and can behave in unpredictable ways. Most people don't know how or don't have to time to do this kind of training. The responsibility will always fall back onto the owners of each animal and what they do to predict, prevent and react to animal interactions. 

[Brittany1116]

I don't know about the dog component, but after having 3 male cats and 2 females come to us at different times and live together, my experience is that males do best with males. Females together is the worst but not your situation, and M/F varies, dependent largely on the F. 

[Selkie]

Since he is lonely, I would definitely get him a buddy. It is nice that you are thinking of adopting an adult cat, since they have a tougher time getting adopted. We've adopted several adult cats, and although there is always an adjustment period, they have all settled in nicely with our other animals. Our newest addition is a 14 year old cat whose person passed away a few months ago. She is the sweetest, most loving kitty and I am thankful every day that she came to live with us.

[Jenny in Florida]

4 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Since he is lonely, I would definitely get him a buddy. It is nice that you are thinking of adopting an adult cat, since they have a tougher time getting adopted. We've adopted several adult cats, and although there is always an adjustment period, they have all settled in nicely with our other animals. Our newest addition is a 14 year old cat whose person passed away a few months ago. She is the sweetest, most loving kitty and I am thankful every day that she came to live with us.

That's lovely to hear. Thank you for being the person who took her in.

My "plan" is that, when my beloved-although-badly-behaved best friend of a dog passes (which I sincerely hope won't be for a good long while yet), I will adopt a senior dog who needs me. I don't ever want to be without a dog again, but I also don't think it would be responsible to start over with a puppy for a bunch of reasons. Giving a home to a senior dog who really needs one seems like a win-win.

In terms of cats, I'm thinking I'd like to try and find one who is roughly the same age as our current feline resident. Obviously, many things about this situation are out of my control, but I'd like our dude not to have to lose another companion any sooner than necessary.