I have experience taking care of one dog. I don’t have experience with taking care of multiple pets concurrently and don’t really feel comfortable doing so. I’ve never taken care of a single cat, so immediately jumping into two sounds incredibly daunting and I am quite frankly just not interested in doing so considering I have zero experience in that. It will already have the potential to be complicated enough when my mom visits with her elderly dog.
I don’t have experience with taking care of multiple pets concurrently and don’t really feel comfortable doing so. I’ve never taken care of a single cat, so immediately jumping into two sounds incredibly daunting and I am quite frankly just not interested in doing so considering I have zero experience in that.
I get what you’re saying, for a responsible pet owner, it’s always nerve wracking going into pet ownership and taking on a dependent.
But my point is that jumping into cat ownership is jumping into cat ownership. You’re going to have to keep their water full, pour some food in their bowls a couple times a day, clean their litter, and then play and cuddle with them every day. Once a year you have to put them in a carrier and bring them to the vet.
Adding a second cat to that situation means that you pour a second bowl of food, fill up a second bowl of water, clean a second litter box when you clean the first, and once a year put two cats in carriers rather than just one. At the same time the amount you need to play with them and cuddle them every day decreases substantially.
With one cat, going away on vacation means that you basically need to find a cat sitter, or you leave them just sitting at the door waiting for you all day getting depressed. With two cats, they get sad but then play and cuddle and bond with each other.
You keep saying stuff like ‘im just not interested’ which isn’t an explanation, it’s a thought terminating phrase. Take it from us experienced cat owners when we say that in your situation, it’s would be great to adopt two cats, and cruel to adopt just one.
Edit: it is different if you adopt an elderly isolated cat that would otherwise be put down. In that situation, you’ll still be providing them with a life, but if you do get through to them, they will bond to you, and it will still make leaving for trips difficult, even if they’re used to your daily absence. A support network is inherently more flexible and robust then a support pair.
It is not cruel to have one cat. You’re saying all cats are social, that’s bs, tell that to my grandads old cat Tuggs who would attack anything that wasn’t him. Or my parents old cat that lived to 18 in a loving household, on her own. . Your attitude stinks - “take it from us experienced cat owners”, you can’t talk for all cat owners.
You’re right though, it’s just a sore spot because there are a lot of people who think that cats are independent animals by nature and can be left alone without consequence. If you have an older cat who’s been alone their whole life that can be true, but virtually every cat would be happier if they were raised from a young age with a friend.
Jeez, alright, man. I get it. My lifestyle would harm a single pet. That’s why I never considered having a companion until meeting my coworker’s cat. I’ll drop the idea.
Don’t listen to one person, lots of cats love being the only cat, I had two at one point, ended up having to separate them because one wanted to play all the time and the other hated it and wanted to be left alone! Just like people, you can’t put everyone under the same umbrella. Some cats want company, some don’t. You need to find one that suits your needs.
I edited my comment after with this because I thought I was coming off too harsh against the idea, and even this I would soften further:
Edit: it is different if you adopt an elderly isolated cat that would otherwise be put down. In that situation, you’ll still be providing them with a life, but if you do get through to them, they will bond to you, and it will still make leaving for trips difficult, even if they’re used to your daily absence. A support network is inherently more flexible and robust then a support pair.
The fact that you’re putting this much thought and consideration into it, signals that you would probably be a very good cat owner, and I don’t think you should write the idea off.
Just, try and find a cat that seems independent, and 6 months or a year in, look back and reconsider if it would actually be that much harder to add a friend to the mix.
But the question is why?
What about owning two pets seems more difficult than one?
I’ve owned multiple cats bonded to me and each other, and I’ve owned a single cat bonded to just me, the former is much much easier.
I have experience taking care of one dog. I don’t have experience with taking care of multiple pets concurrently and don’t really feel comfortable doing so. I’ve never taken care of a single cat, so immediately jumping into two sounds incredibly daunting and I am quite frankly just not interested in doing so considering I have zero experience in that. It will already have the potential to be complicated enough when my mom visits with her elderly dog.
I get what you’re saying, for a responsible pet owner, it’s always nerve wracking going into pet ownership and taking on a dependent.
But my point is that jumping into cat ownership is jumping into cat ownership. You’re going to have to keep their water full, pour some food in their bowls a couple times a day, clean their litter, and then play and cuddle with them every day. Once a year you have to put them in a carrier and bring them to the vet.
Adding a second cat to that situation means that you pour a second bowl of food, fill up a second bowl of water, clean a second litter box when you clean the first, and once a year put two cats in carriers rather than just one. At the same time the amount you need to play with them and cuddle them every day decreases substantially.
With one cat, going away on vacation means that you basically need to find a cat sitter, or you leave them just sitting at the door waiting for you all day getting depressed. With two cats, they get sad but then play and cuddle and bond with each other.
You keep saying stuff like ‘im just not interested’ which isn’t an explanation, it’s a thought terminating phrase. Take it from us experienced cat owners when we say that in your situation, it’s would be great to adopt two cats, and cruel to adopt just one.
Edit: it is different if you adopt an elderly isolated cat that would otherwise be put down. In that situation, you’ll still be providing them with a life, but if you do get through to them, they will bond to you, and it will still make leaving for trips difficult, even if they’re used to your daily absence. A support network is inherently more flexible and robust then a support pair.
It is not cruel to have one cat. You’re saying all cats are social, that’s bs, tell that to my grandads old cat Tuggs who would attack anything that wasn’t him. Or my parents old cat that lived to 18 in a loving household, on her own. . Your attitude stinks - “take it from us experienced cat owners”, you can’t talk for all cat owners.
I did edit it and follow up softening my stance.
You’re right though, it’s just a sore spot because there are a lot of people who think that cats are independent animals by nature and can be left alone without consequence. If you have an older cat who’s been alone their whole life that can be true, but virtually every cat would be happier if they were raised from a young age with a friend.
Jeez, alright, man. I get it. My lifestyle would harm a single pet. That’s why I never considered having a companion until meeting my coworker’s cat. I’ll drop the idea.
Don’t listen to one person, lots of cats love being the only cat, I had two at one point, ended up having to separate them because one wanted to play all the time and the other hated it and wanted to be left alone! Just like people, you can’t put everyone under the same umbrella. Some cats want company, some don’t. You need to find one that suits your needs.
Don’t listen to that fool. You are perfectly qualified to care for a cat. I’m probably less qualified than you, and my cats are happy and love me.
I edited my comment after with this because I thought I was coming off too harsh against the idea, and even this I would soften further:
The fact that you’re putting this much thought and consideration into it, signals that you would probably be a very good cat owner, and I don’t think you should write the idea off.
Just, try and find a cat that seems independent, and 6 months or a year in, look back and reconsider if it would actually be that much harder to add a friend to the mix.