Yes, is the positive answer to the question in the title but there’s a big caveat which is this: they’ve got to get along, which is obvious but crucial. But I’ve got a common-sense idea for the best way to ensure that a pair of cats get along.
You might know that when you introduce a new cat to your resident cat’s home it is problematic whether they will get along. You have to ‘suck and see’ as they say. But by then it’s going to be too late if they don’t get along.
The answer is to find a pair of cats with a history of getting along very nicely. And the beauty of this solution is that sometimes, in cat shelters, you find a pair of cats who have to be adopted together. That’s because they are emotionally bonded and it would be very unfair even cruel to separate them when adopted from the shelter.
These cats have a known history, as mentioned, of getting along really well. The keep each other company and they provide emotional support, one to the other. There’s your answer.
You ring around the cat shelters (and you may have to go far afield to find a pair a rescue cats) and locate that precious pair of cats and adopt them forthwith. It does not have to be a shelter. You may be lucky in finding a ‘bonded pair’ from another source.
Cats Protection – cat rescue charity UK
The well-known cat rescue charity, Cats Protection, helpfully provides me with optimism about my suggestion. They say that quite often they are contacted by people who wish the charity to rehome two cats because they are “a pair”. They add that: “We often have pairs of cats available for adoption – all beautiful, all of them different but all needing your help.”
It isn’t that rare, then, to find a pair of cats at a cat rescue organisation requiring adoption together. Be optimistic.
The added advantage of this method is that you have rescued a couple of cats and found them a beautiful home because I know that you will love them and care for them to a high standard.
Employing this method, takes out of the equation all the risk that is part and parcel of the process of bringing two domestic cats together. There are far too many instances of people thinking that they can add a cat to the family only to find out that there is animosity between them and what was meant to be an improved situation is a deteriorating one.
The domestic cat is able to live with another cat; often greatly to their advantage. But essentially, the domestic cat is a solitary wild creature despite 10,000 years of domestication which has made them quite sociable in many respects.
The well-known cat behaviourist, Jackson Galaxy, recommends adopting two cats from a shelter if you can. He believes that two is better than one partly because the burden of entertaining your cat – and there is this responsibility; particularly if they’re full-time indoor cats – is taken off your back at least to a certain extent because a pair of cats can entertain themselves often to a better standard than by a human.
