# Adopting a kitten and already have 2 older kitties...



## chelsea16 (Jul 1, 2010)

Hello everyone, 

We have 2 cats - sisters, 9 years old. They are indoor cats and we love them!  We had three but unfortunately he became lost some time ago. The three are all related.

I have recently considered adopting a third cat (kitten) from a local shelter. However, I'm worried that introducing a third cat will upset them. I would hate to cause any stress or unhappiness with our 2 cats.

Has anyone here done this? Would it be better to adopt a same sex kitten or opposite? Our females are both spayed. They get along well, play, happily share meals together, etc. I would like to think adding a new kitten would be a fun and happy experience for them, and that they may be in but would hate to feel jealous or upset. We have very close bonds with our cats, and they love to sit close to us on the couch and sometimes snuggle. However, they enjoy "alone" time and their space as well.

I read this post: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69117&p=680385&hilit=adopting#p680385 and found some helpful information, but am still wondering about what sex to adopt...

Any advice is welcome and appreciated, thank you! 

-Chelsea


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## Mary Beth (May 16, 2010)

Somewhere, I've read that adding a new kitten of the opposite sex is better. I've also read that it's better to have an even number of cats so that 2 can't gang up on the 3rd. That being said, I did have 3 cats at one time and there was no ganging up as one of the cats was very aloof. In your situation it looks like your 2 cats are very content, so it may be better to leave "well enough alone". Of course, you could adopt 2 kittens then they could play with eachother and leave the older cats in alone. Good luck whatever your decision


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Well, in my experience, bringing in a kitten when there are already 2 old timers did not go very well. I had 2 females cats, 14 and 16 and brought in a 9 month female old kitten that was very rambunctious. The older ones didn't share her enthusiasm and just wanted to be left alone to sleep and eat. One of the older cat's had CRF and was being medicated so I tried to keep the younger kitty separated but that wasn't always easy to accomplish. The youngster kept bullying both of them , running after them, trying to bite their necks, sometimes hair would go flying. It got to the point where my older cats were afraid to cross paths with the young one. Eventually, the two older cats passed away, due to medical issues and I am sure stress added by the younger kitty. So perhaps getting the opposite sex would be better in your case. Or maybe adopting a cat that is older, closer to the age of the cats you already have.


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## Pierce (Jun 17, 2010)

I went through this exact same experience when I rescued my cat Leo from outside. I had two older cats at the time, Mac (who was about 13) and Graylord (who was 3). Leo was around 6 months old when he joined our family, and at first I kept all three totally separate from each other. Now I don't know if its best to have the same sex or not, but for my cats I think it worked out better with having three males, then two males and a female. What I did was, on the first day the kitten comes home, bring one of your cats in to spend time with it. Now the first time should only be a minute so they just know there is another cat in the house, and can recognize their scent later on. The next time make it a few minutes, and supervise the encounter to make sure there are no attacks. 

Once the two cats get on a friendly basis, bring the third one in and do the exact same thing you did with the first. Slowly they will start to become familiar with the kitten, and slowly but surely become friendly, or at least tolerant of them. I'm not saying this is going to be the case 99% of the time, but it worked for me. :/


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## aprilmay (Dec 29, 2009)

When I brought Bella in she was four weeks old, Mr. Kitty was ten. He accepted her and did well with her.

But as she got older she would try to play with him when he didn't want to play (although he did play with her some). And she would jump on his back all the time, I could tell it really annoyed him. But all in all they did good.

When I brought Lucy in she too got along good with Mr Kitty (he was a chill cat). But Bella was two and they never got along.

I brought in Juno in almost 3 years ago. She was just about 6 months old. She too got along with Mr Kitty. Bella had passed by then. Juno and Lucy tolerate each other. Every now and then a fight will break out.

My current little boy, Mika gets along real good with Juno. Sometimes he can play a little too rough and Juno has to put him in his place. Lucy, my little diva, doesn't like him of course.

In my opinion you'd do better getting a boy. From watching my cats through the years (and friend's cats) bringing in another girl when you have a girl doesn't go too well.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Yep, I was looking for a boy since my remaining kitty is a girl but the kitty I happened to find needed a home and she is just 9 months old so I have to figure out a way to make this work, she is gonna be around hopefully for a long time.


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