This is Kim St. Pierre’s first contribution to CatCentric. It was originally published as a blog post on March 12, 2014. Enjoy!
Thinking of getting a kitten? Adopting is always an exciting time, but remember kittens can be a handful, with tonnes of energy and curiosity. They will get into mischief, jump all over the furniture, chase, tackle, attack. One thing you may not have considered is bringing home two instead of one. Here are several reasons two kittens is simply better than one.
If you work all day and the kids are at school, a kitten can become bored and lonely. They need lots of stimulation and activities to keep them occupied. Like all young, they need this stimulation to help them develop properly. If you can adopt siblings, that is even better. They have known each other since birth and will often form close bonds.
If you have an older cat, a young, extremely active kitten may drive an older, established cat crazy with its antics; seeking out the older cat to play with, tease, pester, pounce, swat-run. This will quite often stress a senior. On the other hand, an older cat will often accept two kittens more easily than one. The two younger ones will focus on each other, spending their energy playing while leaving the older “uncle”/”aunt” to rest and relax.
Even the most patient human can quickly get exhausted trying to keep up with the new bundle of energy. Two kittens will wear each other out, not keep you up all night, pestering you for attention; they don’t understand the “human need for sleep” once a day. At 2 in the morning, they will play with each other, not your toes or hair.
As with most young animals, kittens learn by copying. One kitten may learn certain rules and/or litter box etiquette more quickly, and the other will follow and learn from that kitten. They will also help groom each other and “washing after meals” will soon become a ritual. If one kitten is picky about food, its curiosity is often overcome when it observes its sibling eating happily. What one has the other must have too!
There are fewer behavior problems with two kittens in the house as well. What you may see as mischief, is simply the outcome of a bored kitten. Sometimes they misbehave because “negative attention is better than none”, just like with human children. How can two kittens be bored when they have each other to pick on and play with?
Kittens can play so hard that they simply collapse where they are, usually on top or beside each other. This will give you a never-ending supply of photo opportunities and awwwww moments. How can anyone, no matter how bad your day was, stay grumpy when you have an adorable purr pile passed out in the chair? Watching two kittens play provides hours of fun and laughter. It is better than television, never repeats and there are no commercials. Just endless smiles, laughs, and love.
Kittens will bond and grow up together, forming lifelong friendships. Sometimes they will disagree, but who doesn’t? More often than not you will find them grooming, playing, and sleeping with their best pal. They will stay forever youthful in their later years with their lifetime companion nearby.
Lastly, but certainly one of the most important…… in adopting two kittens, you will save two lives instead of one!
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Created 09/16/15
