This is for happy owners of multiple cats (not for complaining about not liking cats or having multiples ). If you are the successful owner of multiple cats, I'd like to know how you manage your multi-kitty household. I've always grown up with a cat in the house, but the most we've ever had was a cat and a dog at the same time. My parents' current cat will not tolerate other animals, so multiple cats was not an option with her. I am now going to be bringing two cats home from the shelter at the end of December, and would love to hear your success tips. There's one fortunate thing, though: these two cats are already best buddies at the shelter. These two laid-back, one-year-old mom cats cuddle with and even bathe each other regularly. So I at least think the chance of a nasty introduction when they get home is out.
I currently have two cats that hate each other. Problem is one (Callie) likes to stir up trouble but is a big wuss, and the other one (Annoying Customer) beats her up. I wouldn't mind it so much if one was submissive and the other dominant, or if they were equally into fisticuffs, but that's not the case. I love them both, but Callie stays upstairs and Annoying Customer stays downstairs so I can get sleep at night. I used to have three cats but one (Nermal) passed away and the downstairs cat (Annoying Customer) who she used to be buddies with has just gotten meaner and meaner to Callie.
You are taking a great first step in adopting 2 cats who are already friends. Hubby and I had to integrate my brother's cat to our single cat household and that took a lot of work. My best advice is to tell you to give them space when they arrive. Expect them to hide for a few days until they get used to their surroundings. They will probably like each other more than they like you as they sort things out. Then, when they are comfortable in their surroundings I bet you'll receive lots of attention from 2 grateful kitties! Have fun!
Another quick thought Nerys: Even friendly cats are territorial. Try to have 2 separate cat friendly areas available before they arrive (maybe a tall catpost in one area and another place to perch...maybe near a window). If they have some minor disagreements while they work out who "owns" what, let them. Try not to get involved too much unless it looks like they might really fight. After all, you won't be there to stop them when they are alone during the day!
Fortunately, they have been at a shelter where once a cat has been there for awhile, they are able to run around the main area and not be in cages. My hope is that will keep them from being completely shocked by being in a house. That said, I'm sure it'll still take them some adjustment. I've decided I won't open all rooms of my house to them right away. My place isn't that big, but I think that might be for the best while I get them trained and acclimated. It also means I've had the chance to watch how they behave with each other. I agree, "Annoying Customer" is a hilarious name, but that must be one heck of an annoying cat to have merited that name!
Get at least 3 litter boxes if you can afford them or spare the room. Some cats will pee in one tray and poop in another one. That way if one of them is territorial, they won't fight over the trays. And my personal taste is to stay the heck away from clay litter. It just turns into cement and the dust gets everywhere. I love Nature's Miracle or World's Best Cat Litter. Have fun and please post pics.
I was lucky with my two cats. They both came from the same litter as kittens and have grown up with each other. They still have little scuffles from to time but in general they are quite happy together. I guess that's all to say that I don't really have any advice I can give you because it's never been a problem for me. Good luck though!
Since the two cats you're adopting already know each other you have a much better chance of having a peaceful household. 16 years ago we adopted two cats who didn't know each other, but since they were adopted at the same time they got along most of the time (the fact that one of the cats was very sweet but dumb as a pile of bricks probably helped). A few years later we adopted a kitten who dominated both the resident cats but things were peaceful overall. A fourth cat we adopted, however, turned out to dislike living in a multi-cat household so much that he wouldn't leave our bedroom for months and then took to urinating all over the upstairs hallway to try to mark his territory. Nothing we tried to deter this behaviour worked so we had no choice but to take him back to the shelter. The carpet and underlay in the hallway were beyond hope and needed replacing, which shows how chronic the problem was. Currently we have one cat which, like your parent's cat, won't tolerate other cats in the house. In fact, she also dislikes the dog (who loves everybody and everything) and spends a worrying amount of time staring into the cages of my kids' pet rats and guinea pigs. We'd love another cat as we know multi-cat households are doable, but she likes being an only cat after her sister had to be put to sleep 2 years ago and we respect that. Also, agreed on Annoying Customer being an awesome name for a cat.
Feed them somewhat separately at first. If not in different rooms, then at least across the room from each other. Everything else has already been mentioned. Having two kitties is way more than twice the fun as having one.
macloudt: It sounds like your current cat is still grieving the loss of the other cat, and has decided no one can replace her sister.
To be honest Holly has never liked any other cat, and only tolerated her sister. You'd never find the two of them curled up together, for example. Holly's timid around people but she terrorises every other cat on the street. She's a big, curmudgeonly girl...kinda like me.