Possibly getting my kitty a friend?

Hello all.

I have a beautiful female cat who will be 1 year old this month. I’ve had her on her own since 10 weeks old. She was living with other adult cats when I got her(she was cuddling with another cat when I first saw her). At the time I thought one cat was enough.

I was living with my family for the first 6 months so there were always lots of people around to play with her. I’ve been in my own place for 2 months now and she has adjusted to the new place quite well. I live in a 450 sq foot studio apartment which gives her quite a bit of room to run around. She’s a pretty small cat aswell.

With me having to be gone at work during the day I can tell she gets quite lonely. I also don’t have as much time to play with her. If I leave she comes to the door and starts meowing. I’ve left for an hour before only to find her still sitting beside the front door.

My questions are: 1. Would getting another kitten or adult cat be a good idea to combat her loneliness?

1. Is 450 sq feet big enough for 2 cats? (It’s one large room so I can’t separate them for a slow introduction)

2. If I have a female is it best to get another female or go with a male?

3. She’s been queen of the castle for a year. I’m worried that she may not be socialized well. Is it worth risking it?

4. I am worried that bringing another cat into the picture might create permanent behavioural issues with my girl cat. Is this warranted?

5. The animal rescue here doesn’t offer a chance for the cats to meet pre adoption as they say it’s to stressful. I would have to adopt and bring the kitten home and just hope it works out between them. If it goes horribly wrong then I’ll have 2 cats in a bad spot and I don’t want that. Is there a good way to test if my kitty will be accepting of another cat before I have to make a lifetime commitment? In this scenario is it worth the risk of blindly bringing a companion home and hoping it works out?

Thanks for your time and any replies

submitted by /u/ItsameKai
[link] [comments]

from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/c57xzh/possibly_getting_my_kitty_a_friend/