tl;dr declawed (I did not declaw him) older kitty is very lonley after his buddy passed. Should I adopt another cat to keep him company while I'm at work? And if that's a terrible idea, how else can I help him?
My family adopted Rocky and Bullwinkle when they were both kittens and they have always been very close to each other and would often cuddle / play with each other. Last fall, Rocky developed cancer in his shoulder and passed shortly after. After Rocky passed, Bullwinkle changed a lot. He became a lot more vocal, and while Bull was always very attached to me (Rocky was more my brother's cat), he began constantly following me around the house and would be very upset when I wasn't home. Then, a few months ago, I moved into a new apartment and took a job where I am gone from about 7am to 4:30pm, and some nights later than that. Since I've been leaving him alone all day, the crying / circling my feet / anxiety when I leave the apartment has gotten worse, to the point where I can hear him crying down the hallway when I leave / come back.
I am fairly certain that this is due to loneliness since I've taken him into the vet a few times since Rocky's passing, and he's gotten full health marks both times. There's been no litterbox / grooming issues either, just incessant crying and circling my feet. I have been giving him lots of love / play time each day and make sure to leave him with lots of toys / catnip before I leave for work.
So my question is, is there more I can be doing? I had been considering adopting a new kitty so he would have a buddy to keep him company like Rocky used to do. My concerns are
(1) Bullwinkle is 10, going on 11, so I'm not sure how he would react to a new kitty in his space, especially now that we are living in an apartment and not a house, and
(2) Bullwinkle's front paws are declawed (I was a kid when he was adopted, and did not have a say in this. I know how horrible it is and tried to fight it but I was 12 at the time), and so if I were to adopt another cat, declawing him would NOT be an option. Therefore, I am worried about them playfighting and Bull getting hurt because he won't be able to defend himself as well.
I do have a week off mid-october where I would be around to work on socializing a potential new cat, and would of course take the time to introduce them properly and make sure they have their own space / litter box.
I was hoping someone who has introduced an older cat to a younger cat, or/and a declawed kitty before could tell me if this will help him or is a horrible idea, and if it is how else I can help him. I really want to give Bullwinkle the happiest life I can and I hate seeing him this lonely. Any advice would be appreciated.
Obligatory picture (Bullwinkle is the grey, Rocky is the orange)
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/d4p84d/my_10yo_kitty_is_still_seems_lonley_a_year_after/
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