Will getting another cat change my cat's behavior?

Question

I have a ~1.5 year old male tabby cat. I have had him since he was just 2 weeks old, when he was still basically blind and didn't yet know how to walk. I have raised him extremely lovingly and as a result he adores me. Outside of the times when he is in a very energetic mood (ie wanting to zoom around, bite things, chase lasers, etc...) he ALWAYS wants to me to pet him, hold him, snuggle with him, etc... At least once a day he will come over to me and lay on my chest and nuzzle his face into mine and want to be snuggled. I obviously love this and him. However, as I am at times not home (because of... well... life) I would like to get him a brother/sister so that he can always have someone to be around and not be lonely. I anticipate that I would like it to be a female kitten.

My question is... will him having a cat friend detract from his love of human affection? I would be very sad if he became so normalized to interacting with another cat that he will no longer want me to be holding/petting/snuggling him all the time. Is this likely to happen?

Answer 1

No-one can tell the future, but I honestly think your cat will be happier on his own.

Male cats aren't very social. If he isn't neutered, he'll probably always view the other cat as an intruder to his territory, no matter how hard you try to make them friends.

Even if he's neutered, there's no guarantee that he'll like the other cat. Cats have their own personality - just like humans - and some cats love each other and others cannot stand each other. There's not much you can do if he doesn't like the other one.

Since you were his substitute mom, he never learned natural cat behavior and body language. Certain things are surely instinctual, but he might unintentionally start a fight with another cat simply because he doesn't know about the intricate rules of natural cat behavior and body language.

---

If you don't get a second cat, he'll stay very affectionate towards you. If you're not around, he cannot be affectionate, but I doubt that'll be a problem, unless you leave him alone for several days.

If you get a second cat and he happens to like them, he'll probably stay very affectionate towards you, because that's what he learned and did since he was a baby. Whether or not the 2nd cat will ever develop a relationship more meaningful than "housemates" is pure chance. If yes, he can divert his affection towards the second cat while you're not around. If not, the situation (from his point of view) is exactly the same as if the second cat wasn't there.

If you get a second cat and he doesn't like them, your good intention actually causes a lot of stress for one or both cats.