How soon should you get a new cat for your other cat whose playmate dies

Who said you should wait?

Well I read that if the cat is grieving and missing the one that died, she might not welcome the new kitty. Or add to her stress and confusion. Because her social patterns are all messed up now. I hear it can take anywhere from a month to 6 months.

a fortnight should be sufficient

If it's an adult cat you plan to adopt, then 1-6 months is how long it would take for that one to acclimate to a new environment. If your living space allows for it, regardless of the reasons for bringing in a new pet, it's best to have the cats in separate living spaces to start off with. If you know the cat you have now well, it should be easy to tell if the scent and proximity of another cat is causing stress, anxiety, or curious interest.

I'm not arguing you should go out right now and get one, I just have learned that cats are a lot like people. What is true for one is not necessarily true for the other.

Siamese can be very protective and jealous when it comes to the affections of the one they consider their person, too.

I would say that observation of her demeanor should be your guidepost to know when the time's right, when for the most part her daily routine apart from time with a playmate seems to be back to normal.

Thank you! She is just 3 years and lost her playmate 3 days ago. She’s really depressed, looking around for her. If I get a a cat too soon (I want to get a kitten, not grown cat) she may resent the kitty since she’s still mourning her deceased playmate.

Cats are a lot like people, like you said.

Last Edited by RumoursOfDoom on 05/23/2020 03:22 PM

I got lost in a British cat series of videos once and they ran across this situation.

They isolated the new cat into a bedroom/room for a few days and allowed the other to sniff around. Then put the older cat into a familiar spot and brought the new one in for a little while. They were able to gauge the relationship by the body language alone. It took about a week of increased visitation where the new cat was brought into the dominant cats territory until they got use to each other enough not to draw blood.

I wish I could find that series ... I think it was on the evil utube but I can't find it.

it was something along the lines of this

I call bs.
If you have 2 siamese cats and one dies the other will automatically die also.
Errybody knows thats.
What are you saying u had them separated at death or some shit?
I dont think any vet even does that.

Thank you so much. I didn’t think to gradually introduce them. The new cat I’m getting will be a kitten, so hopefully my older cat will see that and not feel threatened by her.

Your other cat might not like the new cat you bring in.

They may even get into a serious fight.

I'd wait QUITE a while, and consider not doing it at all.

What are you talking about? Why would the other one automatically die? They were from the same litter, and were only 3 years old.

Personally If I wanted to get another one I would do it today

Oh wow really? Why? You think my surviving cat will never forget her playmate?

Still don’t get what your point was. My other cat died at the vet.

I think they were trying to be funny...you know twins and their connections or something like that

what kind of cat are you getting? anything or looking for a specific breed?

Animals grieve the loss, but they don't know their friend is never coming back. Allow at least a year.

How long would you wait to adopt if your own child suddenly disappeared? Not much difference.

I am/was in a similar situation. My tuxedo cats were older, 9 & 10. The 10 year old died. I really wanted to get a kitten, as my 9 year old still plays a lot and acted like a kitten. Perhaps it would encourage that playful soul of hers.

It took both of us a good long while to get used to being without our "sister." Even after 2 years, my cat still looks for her at times. BUT she is used to being an "only" cat now and will be 11 years old. I don't believe it would be fair to her or the kitten to bring another in at this point. My baby wouldn't be the baby anymore, and I truly feel she would resent the kitten and may stop eating and become ill.

Your situation involves a younger cat and only you know your cat well enough to know if she/he would tolerate a strange kitten.

And yes, they would need to be separated and introduced slowly. Keeping cats separated is something that would be hard to do in my small home.

Good Luck! And I'm sorry that you and your kitty are going through the sadness of loss.

Are you seriously that moranic? It’s a breed and has nothing to do with being conjoined...

If it misses the cat then start bringing in kittens or an adult cat that might get along. I wouldn't wait a day for "grieving". It can do that on its own time with a new buddy.

why waste time asking?

why not just get one if you like the notion?

One thing to consider is that while your cat might miss a sibling, it doesn't necessarily want a strange cat.

Another Siamese like her

Thank you. This sounds like good advice. The loss has been devastating for her and me.

Get two more. Never only have two. Cats are a conundrum at best and are in need of their own kind. But what do I and my eight cats know?

Thank you for sharing your story.

Why not just 2?

I have outdoor cats that just show up. The latest one is a hardcore feral. I don't think I can ever tame it.