4 Signs Your Cat Would Like Another Cat in the House

Is there a cat parent alive who hasn’t wondered, at one point or another, whether their best friend might appreciate a best friend of their own? Another cat to play with, to cuddle with, to do all those secret cat things we imagine must happen when we aren’t around to witness them. Maybe they want a fellow feline to add a little spice and intimacy to an otherwise perfectly fine — if somewhat monotonous — life.

Some cats are desperate for a companion. My friend Amanda’s cat, Sparrow, for instance, used to wander around her apartment howling at the walls at all hours of the day and night. She tried playing with him, cuddling him, and giving him treats. She groomed him, kept his litter box pristine, and made sure he always had fresh food and water. Nothing helped. Eventually, her vet told her she had two options: kitty Prozac or another cat. She chose the latter, adopting Reaper from a nearby shelter and, as Amanda now likes to say with a laugh, “the greatest love story of our generation was born.”

Then there’s my cat Pumpkin, one half of a bonded pair I adopted at the start of the pandemic when they were both 14 years old. Pumpkin and Bear were littermates and best friends. They wrestled and cuddled and were rarely more than a few feet apart. Bear was the more independent of the two, and Pumpkin followed him from room to room, even standing sentry while Bear used the litter box.

When Bear died, I assumed Pumpkin would welcome another companion, so I started fostering. But Pumpkin hated every cat who entered the house. He hissed, growled, and screeched — sounds I’d never heard him make before — and remained tense and withdrawn until the other cat was gone. After two attempts, I stopped trying. The last thing I wanted was to cause him more stress.

I’m not sure whether my current cat, Akela, is also a loner or not. She’s nearly 18 years old, so now may not be the ideal time to experiment. And yet, if another cat could bring some added joy or affection to her final days, I’d hate to deny her that chance. 

How do you know if your cat wants a companion?

“It’s so hard to know [for sure],” says Marci Koski, a certified feline behavior and training consultant at Feline Behavior Solutions. Some cats can exhibit all of the below behaviors and still end up preferring to be the only cat in the house, so don’t stress out if you walk away from all of this without a definitive answer. Cats are weird like that. It’s part of why we love them. 

They’ve lived with other cats in the past. 

“If your cat is used to living with other cats, has gotten along with them in the past, and is now suddenly single, that might be a good indication they’d welcome another cat, but it really depends,” Koski says.

That said, this certainly wasn’t the case with my cat Pumpkin. Despite having spent his whole life with Bear, after his brother died, he wanted nothing to do with any other cats — and your cat might feel the same. 

They are acting out.

“If your cat is showing signs of boredom — doing ‘naughty’ things around the house [like knocking things over or going to the bathroom outside the litter box] — that could indicate they’d like another cat around,” says cat behaviorist Cristin Tamburo of The Cat Counselor. “But it could also mean they need more human interaction and enrichment.” That might look like more playtime and affection, or a more structured daily routine.

They express interest in that outdoor cat on the other side of the window.

If your cat watches another cat walk by outside and seems curious — rather than distressed or edgy — that could be a promising sign. But don’t assume too much. How a cat behaves when separated by walls and windows can be very different from how they behave when there’s nothing between them but air.

They are naturally outgoing.

“If your cat is confident and enjoys new people or environments, that can be a good sign,” Tamburo says. Still, a cat’s friendliness toward humans doesn’t necessarily translate to friendliness toward other cats. Contrary to popular belief, cats do not think of us as larger, less-furry cats, so how they interact with people is not a reliable predictor of how they’ll behave around their own kind.

If you’re adopting from a shelter, ask about the cat’s history and whether they’ve lived peacefully with other cats in the past. Even if you’re not planning to adopt a second cat right away, it’s useful information to have. Always ask whether the cat arrived with a companion or bonded with another cat in the shelter or in foster care. It’s cruel to break up a bonded pair, so if the cat you’re interested in already has a chosen friend, the kindest option is to take both or neither.

And honestly, if you can manage it, I’d encourage you to take both. In my experience, going from zero cats to two cats feels the same as going from zero to one — and at least this way they have each other when you are out of the house.

How do you find the right match for your kitty?

If you do decide to get a second cat, it’s very important to find the right one for your current cat.

“Kittens can usually figure out how to get along with other kittens,” says Marilyn Krieger, a certified cat behavior consultant at The Cat Coach, who always recommends adopting kittens in pairs so they can grow up together and keep each other company.

“Kittens are able to interact with each other as cats and teach one another things they could never learn from you, their person,” Tamburo says. “If a kitten bites another kitten, that kitten will bite back, teaching them that biting hurts. If a kitten bites you, well — you’re not going to bite them in return.” Nor should you; you could really hurt them.

“Kittens also tend to be less intimidating to older cats,” Tamburo adds, though she’s quick to point out that kittens are not always the answer. All three experts I spoke with agree that pairing a kitten with a senior cat — even a cat who is just six or seven years old but has always lived solo — is usually a bad idea. “The older a cat gets, the more set in their ways they become, and the harder it is to introduce a new cat.”

So if you’re hoping a kitten will breathe new life into your senior cat, think again. In the vast majority of cases, that’s simply not how it plays out. Kittens are chaos agents — full of energy and curiosity — and to an older cat who wants nothing more than to nap in a sunbeam, that mismatch is far more likely to be distressing than invigorating.

It’s also important to remember that kittens change. “Around six or seven months old, kittens enter the human equivalent of their teenage years,” Krieger says. “Even if they were docile and passive before, they may start challenging the older cat for territory and dominance. Suddenly, the older cat is stressed and uncomfortable in their own home and that’s not fair.”

She adds: “You have to make sure the energies and personalities are a match, and that’s harder to achieve between a kitten and an adult cat.”

For that reason, Koski generally recommends pairing cats of similar age and temperament.

“It’s hardly scientific, but I’ve also found that opposite-gender pairings often work out better,” Tamburo says. “That said, temperament matters far more than gender, breed, or anything else.”

How do you maximize your chances of success?

If you decide to bring another cat into the mix, remember that how you introduce them is almost as important as finding the right match. “About 75 percent of my clients reach out because their cats aren’t getting along or because introductions went poorly,” Koski says

Krieger adds that it’s equally important to  “introduce cats gradually.” Introductions can take weeks or even months, so patience is critical. Pushing two cats together too quickly can backfire, even if one or both seem eager to move things along.

For example, when Amanda first brought Reaper home, Sparrow stopped howling, but he wasn’t exactly welcoming. For months, he either kept his distance or attacked when the much younger Reaper got too close. Eventually, they figured things out and became friends, but that outcome is never guaranteed.

If you’re considering adding a second cat, think about consulting a cat behavior specialist first, and follow a structured introduction process like the one we’ve outlined here.

You might also consider fostering. It’s a great way to test the waters both generally — does your cat like other cats at all? — and specifically — does your cat like this particular cat? — before making a permanent commitment. You’ll also be filling a vital role in the cat-adoption ecosystem.

Your cat probably already has their closest companion.

Whether you remain a one-cat household or not, remember that your cat is never truly alone. Not as long as they have you. “A cat doesn’t necessarily need another cat to be their friend because you are their friend,” Krieger says. “They are bonded to you.”

Even if your cat was happily bonded with another cat in the past, as Pumpkin was with Bear, they may not be looking to replicate that relationship now. “If they’re alone because of the death of a companion and suddenly acting more affectionate, it’s very possible they’re simply enjoying having you all to themselves,” Koski says. “Humans are a resource to cats, and getting that entire resource — your love, attention, and playtime — is not a bad thing.”

There is no universal right answer here or formula that guarantees a feline friendship. Some cats flourish with a companion; others wilt. Many are perfectly content exactly as they are. The best thing you can do is watch, listen, and trust what your cat is communicating to you.

Ask yourself: Is it my cat who wants another cat, or am I doing this for myself? Because more often than not, the companion your cat wants most is sitting right beside them.