I was thinking about getting a second cat.?

A old neutered male,preferable declawed. Good Luck

I think you could introduce another cat - a kitten is a good choice because they are flexible and will adapt easily; an older kitten, like 1 year old, is a good choice because there are many that need adoptive homes.

I don't think gender is as important as how you introduce the new roommates. Keep the newbie in a carrier when you first get home for a few minutes, and let your animals calmly sniff her. Then take her into her 'safe' room, where she will acclimate to her new home. This should be somewhere like your bedroom, where she won't be alone and can bond with you. For the next few days, the others will have to stay on the other side of the door. Put a towel in a nice spot where she can lay and get comfy. Give her food, water, and put the litter far away from the food.

Once she has used the towel to lay on, take the towel out to your other animals. Let them sniff it. Do that a few times, bringing it back and forth for everybody to acclimate to the other scents. Once or twice a day, let the old pets into the 'safe' room, and take the new kitty out. Shut the door, and let everybody explore. Let them play 'footsie' under the door when they want to.

Eventually, do a slow, careful introduction of the new kitty to the old kitty. Keep the dog in another room...just introduce one at a time to keep from scaring the little one. Expect hissing, it's normal. After a few introductions, you might be able to let all 3 roam around in the same space, exploring. Just make sure you supervise all of their together-time until you know they can live peacefully together.

Now, about the declawing: I have a 12-year old cat who is declawed, because my landlord forced me to do it or get rid of the cat. Once I learned how horrible this is for a cat (it does change the behavior of some - this one got very bitey after the operation), I vowed never to do it again. I adopted two kittens 4 mos. ago - using the above introduction method - and have not declawed them. Roscoe, the older cat, is declawed, but he also weighs 20 lbs. So he can protect himself just with his size. The little ones have their claws, and yes, it's a pain with the furniture and whatnot, but look into softpaws and nail clippers - I cut their nails all the time, and I'm going to get softpaws (little nail caps you paint on that dulls the claw) too. It's worth it, because they're not going to suffer just to convenience me.

good luck!

I don't think getting another cat would be a problem, obviously you can afford the care for it. I would suggest getting another female, perhaps a kitten, something your older cat and dog will adjust too. And it would be a wonderful playmate for your other cat. As far as declawing a cat, I've never had it done, even though all my cats have been indoors only, but I really don't see why it's such a problem. Most landlords require cats to be declawed and spayed/neutered so you've done the right thing. And shouldn't have to apologize for taking care of your pets.

If you really want a new cat you should get a kitten, that way rejection won't go both ways. No cat should be declawed, but if you did it to the first one, do a little introspection and see if the reason why you did it still exists. If it does( like a baby in the house) do what you think you got to do. If it's just the curtains, no curtains are worth the suffering of declawing a cat- sorry.

I have 3 cats, all that came to me at different times. It took them a little while, may be like a month to fully adjust. But they all love each other now. My middle cat was a complete ***** until I brought my last kitten. I think it's a good idea, especially if you aren't at home a lot. As far as the sex, i don't think that it really matters. I have 2 females and 1 male. Mine are all declawed too, the former ***** is all 4.

I think you should do it as soon as possible. It would fill the void if you beloved collie passes, your cat will become depressed. I introduced an 8th month old female to my 1 1/2 year old female who was very alpha it took 6 months before she stopped hissing & fighting. The new kitty Abby was triing & triing to be friends but alpha Smokey was not accepting it. We put Abby thru everything just so Smokey would reamin alpha. Had her in a kennnel so they can smell each other, but only for a short time. Also had her on a leash. I look back now & it seems cruel but the results are astonishing, they share everything, a travel kennel, bathe one another, play chase & hide & go seek. They are such a joy. Even though I don't believe in declawing; I'd have the new one done too, to keep it fair. Good luck

Althought I don't agree with de-clawing a cat I do understand why people do it, and if you have furniture you want to save from "baby claws" I would probably declaw my new cat as well. A kitten is always easier for an adult to accept.

I used to breed show cats and whenever I introduced a new cat/kitten into my house I always left it in a room by itself and allowed the other cats to smell it under the door. If the new one was transported in a carrier I would leave the carrier in a room with the door open so the others could also get the scent of the newbee..as well as whenever I handled the newbee my older cats would jump on me and sniff the new scent.

regardless of what you do expect some spitting and hissing when they first see each other, after all the older cat needs to show this new one her place!

I got a kitten when my other cat was 11. They were both female. The kitten was very much like the way you described your cat. All she did was run and run and run...then play fetch like a dog...then run some more. The older cat did NOT get along with her at all. My kitten knew this and spent all day antagonizing her. We got a male cat when my kitten turned 5 and and they played better with eachother. They got along most of the time with little to no fighting.

I hope this helps but remember all cats are different.

P.S. When the older cat passed away a few years ago, the middle cat seemed to take her place. She is the head honcho and is very calm compared to her old friskie self.

I would say taht if you DID get a cat, it should definitely be a male cat. Although females are less hostile than males, it is still possible that two female cats might be a little aggressive toward each other in terms of who gets the most territory and who gets the most attention. Your current cat would probably see a male cat as less competition than a female.

Personally, I think that it's easier to get adult cats just because most people like to get kittens, and they'll find homes anyhow. But if you get an adult cat, they're most likely litter box-trained. However, you also might want to consider getting a kitten because you have a dog and that might not fly with a cat that's already set in its ways.

I hope it helps.

I just went thru something similar - I have a 4 yr old spayed female and just recently got a new female kitten. I was afraid because my cat was used to being here alone and was spoiled rotten but I also wanted to get her a playmate. At first the 2 didn't like each other - well the kitten wanted to play and the adult cat didn't want to have anything to do with her. Once she realized the kitten wasn't going anywhere she started to allow the kitten to get close to her and they became playmates. If you do get another cat, it will take awhile for the 2 to get used to each other but things will work out - this is the same if you get a new male or female cat or kitten.

I am having almost the exact same issue. I think my current female cat just turned a year old. I have had her since July tho and they said she was 2 months old. Anyway i been wanting another cat for awhile but never got down to the shelter and a few times I was offered a cat it fell thru. There are some kittens born at my friends job that will be ready to be homed in July and I said I would take one but I do wonder about my current kitty. She still likes to play so I am hoping she would enjoy a new friend. Since I have had her for a year tho I think my kitty might be feeling very territorial. good luck.