I was recently sounded out about taking in a very young cat (less than 3 months) as the owner was worrying about the young kitten being around her baby (should have thought of that before hey!!)

I said no, as I didn't really want another cat - but I would have been happy to foster on a temp basis. The kitten was rehoused by another friend so that is all sorted now!

However ever since I have come over all "cat broody"

Amber will be 2 tomorrow and having her has been so rewarding. She really does brighten up both mine and the OH's life (I can say that on the pet forum without getting shot down LOL)

But I wonder what the implications would be of having another cat?

We live in a flat - albeit a large flat so the new cat would be an indoor cat (as is Amber).

I have all the practical knowledge of having a kitten, I have the time and energy (and money!) to have a new family member.

My main reservation would be about Amber though - I am not sure how she would take to a new addition?? She is a jumpy little thing (nosey as Hell and as naughty as ever) but a real little scaredy cat and I'd hate for her to feel pushed out or worse still get bullied!!

Also is it normal to feel "cat broody"?

I can understand that you feel "cat broody" & are in a position to give another cat a home. Your only concern is whether Amber would appreciate a new addition to the family.

Unfortunately this is difficult to say as it all depends on Amber. If she was an outdoor cat at least you would have an idea as to whether she could be friendly to other cats or would be horrified to think she may have to share her home! Also you need to take into account the fact that any new cat also needs to be an indoor cat & this lifestyle may not suit all cats.

What about trying to foster another young cat ~ maybe the CPL or RSPCA would be able to help, or would be glad of your help? At least that way you would have maybe a few weeks or months to see how it pans out with Amber. And if it works, then just be a "failed fosterer" & keep the new cat

That is an idea - although we both work which is why we we unable to go through the rehoming route when we got Amber initially.

Amber is OK with other cats. Our neighbour has a cat and they bump into each other in the communial hallway - Amber is a bit of a snob though and just stares (not sure if she knows she is a cat). When we lived in our old place Amber once escaped and I found her in a bush outside tucked up with a massive ginger Tom.

I do freely admit I am being a bit selfish..... But I'd never do anything to upset the little fluff-ball...

Oh it really is kitten-broody season. I have been SO tempted this spring....but my wimpy bunch are a family unit and all a bit nervy, especially the oldest. I cannot pretend for one second that it would be anything other than selfish for me to take on a new cat. So for now, I am not going down that route. Well, unless the universe were to somehow place a small fluffy kitten ( or 2 ) in my back garden that I had NO CHOICE but to rescue. hee hee here's hoping

If you are introducing a kitten or young cat there should be little threat to Amber. If your cat was male and the new cat was a fully developed cat then you may well have a battle on your hands as the need for finding their own place in your house would be on the cards. We had two cats and brought in in a new cat "Oliver" and this caused problems at first but they soon worked out their place in the "cat order". It is a natural thing and as long as you keep your eye on them at first they will work things out for themselves. I think it is more in the mind of the human and the cats pick up on this and that can make them act a bit nuts so chill out and love them all and peace will yours.

I'm not going to do anything rash!! It was just a thought and your opinions are much appreciated.

The OH probably wouldn't be too pleased - he is already second best to Amber

Sadly the choice isn't down to you, it's down to your cat Amber

Once years ago, when i didn't know as much as I do now about owning a cat I thought i'd get a young cat to accompany my (then) 3 year old cat, who had lived with us from a young age. Boy! was I in for a shock, the older cat would constantly try and beat up the new arrival, hiss at it, and generally try and intimidate it. I was too naive and I thought they'd get along but the reality was Cleo (who is no longer with us as this happened so long ago, but is the 3yr old cat in the story) obviously felt established as the lone cat in our house and wasn't willing to share the limelight, and was threatened by the newcomer.

We tried to make it work, but after a few weeks it wasn't happening and was distressing the cats, so we gave the new cat away to a good home.

But i know people who have successfully 'introduced' new cats. My advice would be the younger Amber is the better, as the less territorial she will be. However if you really do dote on Amber she may be hostile to a newcomer, as the attention will go away from her.

I suspect, from all you have said about Amber, that she may not take kindly to having to share you with a new kitten. As wilhemina says, the fact she cannot go out means there are limited resources and opportunities to get away from another cat. But there is no way of knowing unless you try.

The best chance of success would be a very young male kitten, 8 or 9 weeks (and of course neutered when he got to 5 months). The younger the kitten, the less of a threat Amber will perceive him to be. But she would be possibly hugely jealous - it all depends on whether she decides the benefit of his company outweighs the disbenefit of sharing with him.

If you want to try, go to a reputable rescue centre and explain the issue, and ensure that they will take the kitten back if it doesn't work out - all good centres will do this.

I'm always 'cat broody'.

If I see a cat in the street & its nice enough to let me stroke it, then I'm sorely temped to take it home.

I wouldn't deprive the real owner though!

It's a difficult one. As an indoor cat, Amber may like the comapny but they will take time to adjust.

With us, if it was Ella, I know she would take to another cat straight away and love it. Effie, meanwhile would go on the turn. Effie has recently shown signs of wanting to be the only cat in the house and seems to now dislike Ella - despite the fact they have been together since they were six weeks!

I (and my ex) got our kitten Orton when our first cat Edge was 2. Orton was about 8 weeks. We introduced them straight away and not the way some people suggest by keeping them in seperate rooms etc Anyway Edge took to Orton first and after only 2 days was cleaning him, carrying him around (not in a bad way), playing with him etc. Orton caved in after about 4 days and stopped trying to away from Edge.

That was about a year ago and now they are the best of friends they love each other to bits. They go everywhere together, do everything together, knock 7 bells of shite out of each other and so on. I might've been lucky they just clicked and got on pretty much straight away.

Only you know your cat it could go the same way or they might just accept and tolerate each other. Either way best of luck with it.

I know the feeling. As much as I LOVE my two girls, I really want a little boy cat too

I worry they wouldn't like it though and as they are very close (same age/half sisters), that the boy would be the "odd one out" or they would get jealous.

I guess the question is, if Amber really hated the new cat or changed her behaviour dramatically and wasn't Amber anymore, what would you do? If you got a rescue kitten and had the option to perhaps be able to give it back, that might work. The thing is Amber should always come first, no matter how broody you are. I am sure you know that though, I know you love her by how you talk about her on here

I discussed it with the OH last night and although he was up for it in theory we both know that Amber comes first....

She is a bit of a madam, and totally spoilt. I'd hate to do anything to upset her or make her uncomforatable in her home so we've decided no new additions....

Thanks guys - you're advice is fab as always!

Me and Mum were looking on the catsprotection website at little kittens needing homes. Surprises me slighty that their picture is still on the site when it clearly says that they have been reserved. I guess this is just in case it doesn't work out. I'd love another kitten, mum was also tempted but we know Winnie wouldn't take well to it. she'd hate to have another kitten in the house. she hates next door's cats as it is, despite spending a lot of time in their garden, they're not allowed in 'her' garden..to be honest, we're not allowed in her garden..she does a runner and puts her lil back up.

This was the situation I had last year. Gizmo was nearly 2 and abit of an independant princess but I thought she was abit bored. (plus I was cat broody)
so I went to the cpl fosterer I got her from and asked them to suggest a cat that they thought she might get on with.
They suggested Billy who was they said 5 months old.

Gizzy was pretty put out when they were 1st introduced but this was only hissing, sulking and the occasional swipe.

I think one of the problems were that we worked out from his vaccination records that Billy was actually 7 months and therefore letting out proper man-cat hormones. so we got him neutered asap.

now the 2 go through phases, some days she seems to like playing with him and gives him the odd lick. other days she is back to hissing and whacking him.
I think they still havent quite got the pecking order sorted out. Gizzy is older but Billy is bigger so they both think they should be boss.

I do wish that they got on better and were friends but at least they tolerate each other.

As I say I decided against getting another kitty - I adore my little Amber and know that she would be put out (she'd deal with it of course but still it's not fair and I'd hate to change the way she is)

When we were kids we had a cat and a few years later we got another one (they were both females and a few years apart in age) they went through fits and starts - soemtimes grooming each other / sleeping together and other times had to be in separate rooms. I was only young but vaguely recall this. (I am sure if I'd mentioned getting another cat to my Mum she would have given me to story chapter and verse)

Sadly the younger cat left home after a year or so - never to be seen again - but our Snoopy thrived!! She lived until she was 18 in the end and seemed much more happy being the only kitty of the house! This didn't even occur to me until after I started my thread - but yep I think Amber will remain an only "child"

We had our first cat, Phoebe, for 6 years before we decided to get another. I had always wanted a Ginger Tom, so when a friends cat had a litter which happened to have a ginger in then we couldn't resist.
The 1st night we brought the new ball of fluff home, Scholes, big cat Phoebe ran and hid under the bed in the spare room. I was so upset but hoped that after a little while she would adjust. We put Scholes in a different room and every now and then tried to introduce them to each other. All Scholes wanted to do was play with Phoebe, all Phoebe wanted to do was run and hide. She eventually started to come out from her hiding spot but kept a constant 'eye out' for Scholes. If he came near her she would run off again, i even had to put her food bowl up on a surface that Scholes could not reach so she could have her food without worrying the new ninja kitten was going to appear from nowhere, it really was so upsetting to see her like this, my mum offered to take Scholes.
Then after about 2 weeks, Phoebe just came out from her hiding place and was back to her good old self.

Scholes is a very cuddly boy and as soon as he sees you giving Phoebe attention he gets jealous and decides to chase her. He is also a wimp, the slightest strange noise and he runs and hides under our bed covers....awwww . When he knows the 'scary something' has gone he goes and beats Phoebe up to 'assert' his manliness

They act like they hate each other but when they think me or my OH aren't looking, they are very sweet to each other. Love them both to bits.

The extra cost might be worth thinking about. Vets,fleas,worms and stuff. Food.

A friend of mine had 3 cats all at different stages of age and they all grew up together fine. Now she only has one cat but her dog count has increased to 3.

I'm feeling cat broody as well. I keep hearing about people who have just got kittens and there is a really cute young cat down my road who is only about 4/5 months old and I have wicked thoughts of luring him back. However I already have 2 boys who are 2 in July and their food bill and other costs are enough to make me not get another one. Plus they seem to hate every cat they see so any newcomer would not have a happy life

Is it harder if the older cat is a boy, do you think?

Our felix is about 4,neutered, has always had the place to himself. We got him at 12 weeks, so the kids never had a really tiny kitten.

Kids are driving me mad wanting a kitten(a friend's is expecting) but I don't want to upset Felix -he was knocked down a couple of years ago and has been a bit "special" ever since. He seems to play nicely with some of the younger neighbourhood cats, but fights with the older she next door.

He's an outdoor cat, who clearly thinks our sole purpose is to feed and let him in/out at his pleasure.

Never had a problem bringing a kitten into a neutered male kitty household. It's my females which were a lot more stroppy (even though they were neutered too). Kittens are definitely easier to introduce than adult cats. The older established cats find them less of a threat. Nice slow introductions and given a little time all should be ok.

AND FYI I don't think its selfish as long as you have the room and resources for another cat especially if you have one indoor cat. After the intros are done they are good company for one another.

Recently added a kitten to my household after losing an older cat to a tumor early this year. I was left with an older moggy with a heart murmur and a 6 year old insane bengal girl. She was definitely missing the one we lost and I was in fear that my other moggy would go and leave her on her lonesome (I hasten to add my old moggy is fine it was my paranoia kicking in after losing the other one very unexpectedly). After much research we opted to get a burmese boy (we needed something lively to keep up with my bengal girl). It was lovely to have a kitten again but very bitter sweet so soon after losing Fluff. However it turned out to be the right one because he did the trick and is a great companion to my girl, they play endlessly. The best surprise was that he an Inq my older moggy boy have built up a lovely relationship and can often be found cuddling up together.

Now here's the selfish bit. I've gone back to the breeder of my burmese kitten and reserved another boy from her. This time when I get the kitten I can enjoy bringing him home and getting to know him without the grief and the upset of having lost another one. There is a point to this, when the inevitable happens to my older boy I won't have the worry and the upset of bringing another one into the household. For me three is the magic number and a nice balance. Having four will be novel but I'm sure we'll cope

It entirely depends on the cat, there is not really any way of predicting it for sure. The fact he seems to like other neighbourhood cats is encouraging, but that doesn't mean he would like sharing his home & owners with another cat.

I have introduced many kittens to my older cats over the years, we usually had four cats at a time (down to three now) and although they have always tolerated each other, my 'top cat', the oldest male, objected big time to my last introduction, a male 13 week old kitten. My cat didn't attack or bother him, just went passive aggressive and sprayed urine everywhere throughout the house. He was never super-thrilled about that kitten who he saw as a threat to his status. He was fine with all the females I introduced, and very friendly with the two male cats next door - went into their house, slept on the sofa with them - but he could get away when he wanted.

You may find your cat can hold a grudge for a long time - or alternatively, may become good friends with a new kitten, you have to be prepared for either eventuality. (All my cats were neutered at 5 months btw.)