When you decide as a family to adopt a cat or kitten as a family pet, the first place to look for one is at the local animal shelter. This is a great idea because it can give an injured or neglected animal a warm and loving home. Many animal shelters will vet the new owners before they agree to the adoption and will also insist that the animal is neutered or spayed before it goes to its new home. This guarantees that there will be no more unwanted offspring that may eventually find their way back to the overcrowded animal shelter.
Many people may think that having just one kitten will allow them to give it all the love and attention it needs, but before you go ahead with the adoptions lets look at the advantages for humans and kittens of adopting a pair instead of a single kitten.
If you have ever watched a kitten you will find it easy to understand that kittens adopted in pairs from the same litter, get lots more exercise from playing with each other. They will carry on playing with each other far longer than a human would spend playing with a kitten and so have a greater degree of exercise, stimulation and fun. Playing with a peer also helps them develop better social skills.
Apart from this benefit to the kittens, two kittens will also keep each other company while you are at work or away on business or holiday. Having company will mean that they are less likely to become stressed and cause damage to your home.
Cats and kittens may cause some damage to your home like eating plants, climbing curtains, scattering papers, chewing wires and clawing your furniture. This is often the behavior of a single, bored or stressed kitten. If it has a companion to romp around and play with they are much less likely to amuse themselves in these dangerous and destructive ways.
Forget the television; two kittens will give you endless hour of entertainment as they wrestle and romp in play. When they are done they will curl up with each other to groom and sleep. It's a sight that is bound to tug at the heart string of us humans - especially those who adore cats.
Although kittens will sleep during the night they are at their most active at dusk and dawn. As a consequence you may very well have your sleep disturbed by a kitty who wants to play and getting them out of the habit of waking you just when you feel you deserve a lie in is extremely difficult. However, with another wakeful friend to play with they are very likely to leave you alone to get your beauty sleep.
Please don't be persuaded to get a new kitten as a companion for an older cat who you think might be lonely. Cats do not necessarily get along and introducing a new, younger animal will very likely cause your older cat to feel stressed - and that can cause many new problems. The only cats that are guaranteed to get along together are ones from the same litter who continue to live together.
So the answer is clear - if you are seriously thinking of adoption, two kittens are often better that one.
