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Cat Care Guide

Should You Get a Second Cat? How to Tell if Yours Would Welcome One

By the Nilosi Pets team · Updated · 9 min read

Short answer

It depends more on your cat than on your schedule. Many cats are content as the only cat with daily play and attention, so try more of both first; an unfamiliar cat can bring stress rather than company. A newcomer is likeliest to be accepted if yours is young, healthy, neutered and sociable, and has gotten along with cats before.

A cat who cries at the door when you get home, or trails you from room to room all evening, is easy to read as lonely. Before you bring home a companion, answer three questions in order: what that behavior is really about, whether your cat is the kind likely to accept another cat, and whether your home, budget and calendar have room for one more of everything. If the answers point to yes, our step-by-step guide to introducing a new cat to your cat takes it from there.

Lonely or bored? What the behavior may mean

Cats evolved as solitary hunters, but International Cat Care (iCatCare) describes the domestic cat as remarkably adaptable: given the choice, some cats seek out other cats and others prefer to live alone. The veterinary behaviorists behind VCA’s guide to getting a second cat add that cats are family-oriented and usually live with relatives, while adults tend to be less tolerant of unfamiliar adult cats. The companion a cat would choose is often a relative it grew up with, not a cat it has never met.

What looks like loneliness is often one of these:

  • Unspent hunting energy. Night zoomies, ambushed ankles, things swept off shelves and dawn wake-up calls often mean the day held too little to stalk and chase; our guide to stopping a cat from waking you at night covers the 4 a.m. version. A second cat won’t necessarily play with yours.
  • A cat who wants you. Greeting you at the door, meowing at you and following you around are aimed at people. A new cat can’t stand in for your attention, and yours may get less of it while you manage two.
  • A different body clock. Many cats sleep through much of the day and are most active around dawn and dusk, just when most people leave and come home. A burst of energy at 6 p.m. is timing, not proof of a lonely afternoon.
  • Stress or illness. iCatCare’s guide to stress in cats lists hiding, playing less, overgrooming, spraying indoors and changes in eating, grooming or litter habits among the signs of chronic stress. Many of the same changes can also point to a medical problem. iCatCare adds that a large share of a cat’s stress comes from other cats, so a newcomer can make a stressed cat worse.

If the first three sound familiar, try the ideas further down before you decide. If they work, you have your answer.

Safety note

See your veterinarian first if the change is sudden, or if your cat is hiding, eating less, overgrooming or going outside the litter box. The same goes for trouble that shows up only when you leave, such as loud crying, scratching at the door or urinating on your bed or clothes. These signs can have medical as well as emotional causes, and a second cat treats neither.

What makes a second cat more likely to be accepted

No checklist can promise two cats will get along, but iCatCare’s guide to whether your cat will accept a new cat sets out the factors that tilt the odds. Run through them with your own cat in mind.

Signs your cat may welcome company

  • Young. iCatCare says the younger your cat, the more likely it is to accept another cat.
  • Neutered. The newcomer should be too; iCatCare says neutered cats are generally much more likely to get along.
  • Healthy and settled, with no recent illness, injury, move or other upheaval.
  • A good start with cats, if you know its history. Kittens that meet friendly cats in the socialization period, roughly 2 to 7 weeks of age by International Cat Care’s and VCA’s count, are more likely to see cats positively for life. A cat raised with littermates or in a multi-cat foster home starts ahead.
  • Calm about cats outside. Watching a cat cross the yard and going back to sleep is a better sign than growling at the window.

Reasons to wait, or to stay a one-cat home

  • Your cat is unwell or stressed. iCatCare advises against adding a cat while yours is ill, injured or struggling with stress, when it is in a period of self-protection. Wait until your veterinarian is happy with its health.
  • Hostility toward other cats. VCA’s behaviorists advise against a second cat if yours hisses, growls or marks territory when cats come into the yard.
  • A bad experience with a cat. A cat can learn to fear other cats from a single negative encounter, iCatCare warns, and the memory lasts.
  • A recent loss. A cat who has just lost a companion was bonded to that cat, not to cats in general. VCA suggests waiting until your cat’s behavior is back to normal before you consider another.

Pairings that tend to work, and ones that don’t

Even with a promising resident cat, the newcomer you choose matters. These are tendencies, not rules, so ask the shelter or rescue how each cat you meet has behaved with others.

NewcomerTends to work whenThink twice if
KittenYour cat is young and playfulYour cat is elderly or stiff
Two kittensYour older cat needs a break from playYou can’t fit four litter boxes
Calm adultYour cat is calm or a little shyIt has a history of fighting cats
Lively adultYour cat is playful but easygoingYour cat is shy, or just as bold

Kittens and older cats. A kitten wants to chase and wrestle; an older cat may just want to sleep. For an elderly cat, iCatCare suggests two kittens who can play with each other may be a better option than a single kitten that turns all its energy on your cat. That makes three cats, though, and the space and costs below rise again.

Personality first. VCA’s behaviorists suggest avoiding a very timid cat with a very outgoing one, and two highly active or territorial cats together. iCatCare adds that two bold cats may clash over resources, while two timid ones may avoid each other or build each other’s confidence. An adult whose behavior with other cats is already known takes much of the guesswork out; see kitten or adult cat for how the two compare.

Space, budget and time: one more of everything

Cats outside the same social group don’t share resources comfortably, which is why the usual rule for a multi-cat home is one of each per cat, plus one extra, in different places. For two cats, that means:

  • Three litter boxes in separate spots, not lined up in one room.
  • A feeding station for each cat, out of the other’s sight, plus a spare spot, and water in three places.
  • Three scratchers, along the routes each cat uses.
  • More beds, hideaways and high perches than cats.
  • A spare room with a door for the first days or weeks of the introduction.
  • Two carriers. iCatCare’s advice on traveling with your cat is to give each cat its own, for better airflow, more room and less chance of overheating.

Walk through your home and mark where three litter boxes would go. If you can’t find three spots out of each other’s way, better to learn that now than after adoption day. Our multi-cat household setup guide covers how many of each and where they go.

Budget. Expect most running costs to roughly double: food, litter, preventive care and routine veterinary visits, plus the unplanned ones. Add a first check-up for the newcomer, vaccinations and neutering if the shelter hasn’t done them, and a second pet insurance policy if you carry one.

Time. VCA says integrating a new cat may take days, weeks or months, and the newcomer usually lives in its own room for part of that. Start when you’ll be home more than usual, not the week before a trip, a move or holiday guests. After that, each cat still needs its own play and one-on-one attention every day.

If your home has room, these four from our catalog cover part of the second set. Our picks are limited to what Nilosi stocks, and we don’t sell litter boxes, litter or cat bowls; more is in our cat essentials.

What to try before you add a cat

If the behavior that worried you looks more like boredom than loneliness, start here. VCA’s behaviorists note that a single cat’s need for social contact, exercise, mental stimulation, play and companionship can often be met by its human family. Give these two or three weeks:

  • Play before you leave and when you get home. Two or three short sessions a day, ideally before meals, supply the stalk, chase and catch an indoor day lacks. Our guide to how long to play with a cat has the routine.
  • Things to do while you’re out. A window seat, a scratcher by the bed, a covered hideaway and a little hidden kibble from the day’s ration; our indoor cat enrichment ideas cover each one.
  • Short training sessions. VCA suggests them for a social cat that loves treats. Teaching a sit or a high five takes a few minutes and gives your cat your full attention.
  • A midday visit on long days. A friend, neighbor or pet sitter who plays for 15 minutes breaks up a 10-hour stretch.

Then watch what changes. If the evening crying and nighttime racing ease, your cat needed more to do. If your cat has a good record with other cats and still seems restless or clingy, a companion is worth a closer look. Two picks from our catalog that fit the evening routine:

If you go ahead: choosing and introducing

Choose the cat for its record with other cats rather than its looks. Ask the shelter, rescue or foster caregiver how it has behaved around other cats, whether it has lived in a multi-cat home and how lively it is. Ask, too, what happens if the match doesn’t work out, so you have a plan before you need one.

Plan the introduction before arrival day, too. The newcomer needs a vet check before it meets your cat, a spare room with its own litter box, food, water, bed, hiding place and scratcher, and a slow run of scent swaps, sightings and short supervised meetings. Our guide to introducing a new cat to your cat walks through each stage, how long it takes and what to do if it goes wrong.

Questions about getting a second cat

Is it cruel to have only one cat?

No. A one-cat home with daily play, attention and things to do is a good life for many cats, and for a cat that prefers its own company it may be the better one. What matters is that its needs are met, by you or by a companion it actually likes.

Will two cats keep each other company?

Sometimes, if they become friends. iCatCare describes cats in the same social group grooming each other, sleeping close together and playing together. Cats that merely tolerate each other often spend the day apart, so a second cat is no sure playmate for the hours you’re at work. Plenty of pairs settle into polite coexistence, each with favorite spots of its own, and that is still a good outcome.

Does it matter if they’re the same sex?

Not much, as long as both are neutered. iCatCare says there is no evidence that sex affects how well neutered cats get along. Personality and energy level matter more.

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