We have a cat that is six months old. He’s an indoor cat because we live in the inner city. We spend a lot of time with him and leave him alone as little as possible.
He can often seem unstimulated and anxious so we are thinking of getting another cat that he can become friends with.
Could it make him calmer and more satisfied? Shall we get a female or a male?
Can you be sure that they become friends and that they entertain each other on the days when we work?
He is often bitten (grabs the arm with his front paws and kicks with his hind paws while he bites hard).
He does not understand when you say no.
Why does he do that?
Otherwise he is an incredibly cozy cat and it feels very hard when it seems that he is not really happy with life.
Hello!
Yes, another cat is a good solution when you are away for a while yourself, for example at work.
He is only six months old, so there should be no problems with a new family member.
Try to choose a breed that the cat you have, or a breed with a similar temperament.
You should get a female, as this is a male. If you do not use them in breeding, they should both be neutered.
Cats play that way by grabbing the front paws and kicking with the back paws, and bite themselves.
Especially if you scratch them on the stomach, they can start with this.
This is a game for the cat to learn for the future.
Adult cats that fight do so.
You should probably snarl (sound like a cat) at him when he does so, so he understands that it is not popular.
Just saying short, sharp words like “no” that is not certain the cat understands, but they are guaranteed to understand if you grind at them.
Personally, I find that method very effective.
It is also effective if the cats do other things they should not, but it is important to “grind” at them just when they do what they should not.
The connection “action” and “counter-action” must be compound, otherwise the cat does not understand what it is about.