Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So what's better? One cat or more than one? I often worry about Smore being bored, and with seeing so many cats up for adoption, it makes me wonder if Smore should get a friend.
what are your experiences with this?
Tina and Smore
(with the spirit of Pebbles watching from the Rainbow Bridge)
Smore is my tripawd kitty who adopted me one summer evening. She had an injury to her front left leg and had to have her leg removed July 17th. She was only 3 or 4 months old at the time. Now she moves faster than some four legged cats!
I've had them in pairs and just one at a time (we have 3 now) and as long as your kitty is social I think another one would be great. Just make sure you have a little adjustment period, proper introductions etc. I have one that got really territorial when I added the 3rd. She was not happy I allowed this "stray" to walk right into HER house and eat out of HER food bowls lol
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
I think most kitties LOVE having a friend. However it depends on the kitty. My sisters cat for example is a b*tch and would never stand for another cat in the house. I had Jack for a year before I got Jill. I actually got Jill as a friend for him - he was bored and anxious, so said the vet, and was pulling his fur out. Jack took to her immediately. And theyve been buddies ever since!
Some good advice I was given, get one of the opposite sex - they seem to get along better, which is why I got a little girl for my Jack 
Jill is a 9-year-old tuxedo kitty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in June 2012 on her toe in her right hind leg. Her leg was amputated on 12/12/12 and she completed four rounds of chemo (2 of Carbo, 2 of Doxy) in April 2013. "Like" Jill's facebook page: https://www.fac.....tty?ref=hl Proud member of the WINTER WARRIORS!!!! Her blog can be read at http://jillsjou.....ipawds.com. xoxo
Jack wasn't pulling his fur out because he was bored....he probably looked at it as another food source!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Not an easy question to answer as it all depends on the cats. My vet explained to me that cats tend to get along best with those from the same colony. Naturally cats are solitary hunters and are not ‘pack’ animals but they are able to adapt to form social groups. Not all cats need a buddy but many seem to enjoy playing and cuddling with another cat.
For me it's worked best to have male friends for male cats. I would ideally bring in a younger kitty for the older cat who will teach the younger cat the house rules.
Mona is the only female cat I've had and I think she would be happy to be the only cat, whereas Eli (male) would love to have a playmate. I like to believe they are good companions and they seem to be respectful of each other. Well, Eli is respectful and caring and allows Mona to have her way. Mona can be sweet to Eli by greeting him when he comes in but she's not very playful with him but she wants to play with me.
You can get a lot of advise from an animal shelter on how to introduce another cat. Perhaps you could start by fostering to test this out?
Kerren and Trikitty Mona
Way back when, I begged Jay for a second cat as a friend for Spyder because Spyder was so incredibly shy and had come from a home with something like 30 other cats. Saxon was that second cat and worked out perfectly as a friend. He brought Spyder out of his shell and they became attached at the hip! Saxon was added to the household about 6 months after Spyder.
Steve came along several years later, and, at first, did not get along with anyone. When she was in foster, she hated everyone except for the kittens she was fostering with. Over time, she just sorta got used to her housemates.
We try to let our foster cats out into gen pop before we send them back to go up for adoption so we can tell the humane society how they will be with other cats. Some fosters instantly love our cats, some instantly hate them and continue to hate them, and some instantly hate and eventually learn to love! Some of them will make friends with one cat and not another. Zissou, for example, has kind of come to an agreement with Steve and they can be around each other (though they don't really love or play with each other), but she still won't tolerate Spyder or Saxon.
Right rear leg amp due to injury from unknown cause (but don't tell her she's missing her spare...yes HER!)
Read our blog here: http://stevetheprettytripawdkitty.tripawds.com/
And find Steve's new Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/stevetheprettytripawdkitty
Depends on the cat, like others have said. You know Smore best. We have 3 and it's mostly really great. I adopted the first two together because I work a lot and didn't want a cat to be home alone all day. Then we got a dog and a 3rd cat because we like chaos I guess? Everyone gets along pretty well, plays together, sleeps together, grooms each other, etc. Sometimes they play a little too rough or fight, but other times you can see the strong bond between them.
The biggest thing, and a good shelter will go over this a lot with you, is proper introductions. You have to understand how a cat thinks - they are territorial, everything is based on smell, etc. You have to do it slow. So if you do decide Smore needs a friend, you'll want to read up on that (or ask us crazy cat people).
PROS: more exercise, lots of playtime, lots of cuddles, and more adorableness of course
CONS: little spats over food & territory, more litter boxes and litter
Let us know what you decide!
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