You’re thinking about adopting a pet. You’ve decided on a feline. You’re sure you want a kitten, not a grown cat. Your friends have adopted littermate kittens and you’ve seen how much fun two kittens can be together. You realize it will cost more, all at one time, for fees and vaccinations, neutering, insurance, and you know it will be twice the work, probably. But you’re very certain you will want more than one cat in the long run, so you’re wondering—adopt littermate kittens . . . or not?
Google “adopting littermate kittens” and at the top of the page is this paragraph:
Kittens want and need interaction with other kittens for healthy social development. A kitten learns from its mother and littermates. Separating a kitten from its mother is often necessary for adoption. But taking a kitten away from its littermates can delay his development emotionally, socially, and physically. Kittens who remain with a littermate or a similarly-aged companion are healthier, happier, and better socialized.
http://hydeparkcats.org/two-kittens-the-benefits-of-adopting-in-pairs/
Marty Becker, DVM, on VetStreet.com, was asked about adopting littermate kittens:
It’s common for cats to be raised in pairs. And since some cats don’t like the addition of another cat later, raising two together may be the best way to go if you want two cats. (Unless you’re willing to adopt a bonded shelter pair, which would be even better in my book!) . . . The only real problem I see is the ‘start-up’ costs of raising a pair of kittens is going to be understandably more—twice the veterinarian examinations, twice the vaccinations, twice altering and so on.
Photo by Boris Christophersen
Pam Johnson-Bennett, cat behavior professional, counsels cat owners. She says:
I’ve done countless consultations over the years with people who had adopted a kitten and then a couple of years later realized they wanted a second cat. Since adult cats are territorial, the introduction process often requires some finesse and lots of patience. In many cases, the pet parents had originally thought about adopting two kittens at once but were concerned about the added work. In reality, a second kitten wouldn’t have added much extra work at all and the benefits of companionship would’ve greatly enriched both cats’ lives. Starting off now with two feline youngsters is much easier than adding a second adult cat down the road.
https://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/adopting-a-kitten-make-it-a-double/
Laurie Perry volunteers for The Rescue Train, a 501(c)(3) charity based in Los Angeles that rescues dogs and cats and runs intervention programs for two Los Angeles City shelters (East Valley and West Valley) designed to keep pets from being surrendered to the shelter. Last year, The Rescue Train kept more than 1,200 pets from entering the shelter system.
I wondered if Laurie had personal experience with adopting kitten littermates. She told me:
I’ve never adopted littermates myself, but that’s because I primarily adopt cats that are mostly unadoptable for one reason or another—generally because they are extremely shy with strangers. I am currently fostering a pair of bonded sisters; they are two and a half years old, beautiful, funny, social—and black (tuxedos), so adopters are far and few between.
I asked Laurie if The Rescue Train has a policy about adopting littermate kittens. Does the organization encourage, discourage, or not allow littermate adoptions?
We don’t have a policy as such, but we will not place young kittens as only pets in a household. We think kittens require feline company. We encourage people who want to adopt to consider adopting siblings, but if they like kitten A from one litter and kitten B from another litter, we are fine with that. We just think kittens need buddies with similar energy levels. They get into less trouble if they have someone to play hard with. (By the same token, we do not recommend that adopters bring a kitten into a household with a 15-year-old cat—it’s too hard on the senior kitty to put up with that kitten energy.)
The good thing about adopting littermates is that they have been together their whole lives, so there is no problem integrating them. I don’t see any downside to adopting littermates (unless they are not actually buddies—sometimes in a litter of three, two will be really tight and the third, not so much). Sometimes littermates are so attached to one another, we won’t split them up. We always offer a reduced adoption fee to adopters who take a bonded pair.
The Rescue Train—http://www.therescuetrain.org
Frania Shelley-Grielen, MA, who lives in New York City, is an animal behaviorist and licensed pet care technician instructor:
We often overlook how social cats are because they present this in a lot of ways that are different than dogs, but they are quite social and benefit from each other’s company. Related females share maternal care of young and the bond between sister siblings can be especially strong. There is no question that separating bonded pairs or littermates is stressful for them. I have worked and lived with sibling littermates who do seem to do more allogrooming [social grooming between members of the same species] and sleeping together than unrelated pairs.
https://animalbehaviorist.us/cats.html
Tom Quinn is a artist who lives in Spokane, Washington. In the past, he’s seen how difficult it can be for adult cats to adjust to a newly adopted cat or kitten. Recently, Tom took a different tack, adopting two kittens of the same age together. I asked him how that choice was working out for him and for his adult cats.
A few months ago, I adopted two black kittens that were almost impossible to tell apart. The only difference is the size of the white patch on their upper chest, and even there I have to look closely.
Dido and Cleo joined Guinevere, who was still less than two years old, and Eponine, who is at least eight. When I brought Guinevere home as a kitten, she kept trying to play with Eppie, but Eppie just rebuffed her, as if to say, “Go away, kid, you bother me!” She had no one to play with but me.
By the time I introduced Dido and Cleo to the family, Guinevere had grown up to be much bigger than Eppie, but she was still a kitten at heart. At first “the twins,” as I call them, feared the older cats, and both older cats were suspicious of the newcomers. But before long, Guinevere came to appreciate a pair of fellow felines who want to play. The three of them have bonded. Eppie just wants to be left alone, so that’s fine with her.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a controversy—cat professionals and cat owners agree: adopting littermate kittens, if it’s possible in your situation, is not only okay . . . it is often highly recommended!
Next week: Adopting Littermates—Puppies
Is adopting two puppies from the same litter a good idea or a bad idea? Dog professionals and dog owners explain the reasons behind their advice.
