What kind of cat (sex, age) is best to bring into a home that already has a cat?

Usually, but not always, the new one should be of the opposite sex and younger. I have out of necessity brought new cats and dogs of all ages and sexes into my pack and never had great problems. If you are worried though, keep the new one in a crate or big cage unless you are there to referee. They can get used to each other that way without the danger of fighting.

How do you feel about declawing? would I declaw one or both cats?

omg, this will create all sorts of outcry, most of it opposed to declawing. You will see photos of botched declawing that is appalling. But to me the realist, often it comes down to a question of getting rid of a destructive cat or getting it declawed, I vote for the declawing. I have had cats who were and suffered no ill consequences, I have never personally come across a cat who did have any negative effects from it.

If it is an outside cat then it is not advisable, they need the claws for defense and climbing. For an inside cat, I don’t think it is a big deal.

It may not be necessary, I would wait and see before I acted.

But now hang on, I always get lambasted when I say that.

Definitely an indoor cat… we never declawed our other cat because she used to be an outside cat. We moved to a new place and don’t let her outside for fear she will try and go back to the old house.

I want my older cat “mother” the little cat. Does that ever happen?

I’m only opposed to declawing because all the cats I’ve had have been inside/outdoor cats and none of them ever clawed anything. We got lucky maybe. Anyhow, I believe it should be of the opposite sex, I’ve always heard they get along better.

As for it “mothering” the babycat (isn’t that the cutest word???) I think it all depends on how affectionate your cat is now. Mine, for example, is grumpy and doesn’t like other animals, and I’m pretty sure it would not mother any kittens we brought home. But most cats, I think, are much more affectionate and friendly than mine so I think that would be a possibility…

NO DECLAWING! It is cruel and painful.

The suggestion is get the opposite sex of the cat you have now. I did this, and my adult female HATED him for like 3 years, but now she loves him.

Usually there will be fighting as they work out their boundaries. Don’y get involved in it unless it becomes violent and cats are screaming.

Again, do not declaw.

From “Cat Owner’s Manual”, Brunner, Dr. David and Stall, Sam, page 68:
“Optimal Feline Combinations: (Fig. A) Two Young, Neutered Males. (Fig. B) Older, Neutered Male with Kitten of Either Sex (Fig. C) Older, Spayed Female with Younger Female ”.

I love that book, and I’d recommend a female kitten.

Also, my two cents: declawing, like war, should be the absolute last option. Like, last last. Last last.

I have always been against declawing… I agree with all of you. They need their WEAPONS! haha

so, I need some votes. How many people for female kitten, how many for a male?

Huh. I always thought that two girl cats wouldn’t do well. But if the book says so…

My girl hated all kittens brought in the house. A lot depends on the temperament of the cat.

Are you set on getting a kitten? A cat of only a year is still kitten-like, and there are always tons of them at shelters.
Growing up, we had a female cat, and when she was a couple years old we brought in a 9 month old male cat. They got along okay. They weren’t super close, or too playful with each other…they just had different personalities. It worked out fine though.

The two cats we have now we got within weeks of each other, and they’re only two weeks apart in age…both males. They did get aggressive before we were able to neuter them, but that got better after they were neutered. One is definitely the “alpha” male though, he’s just the more aggressive cat.
One day we’ll probably introduce a female cat, definitely not a kitten though..I’d prefer an already spayed cat. But, we’ll wait until all the children we have can handle not scaring the crap out of the cat. The cats we have now are sadly used to it lol

Oh, and I wouldn’t declaw. It is really unnecessary.

Cats? Sex and age? (Are we talking about Cougars here?)

I agree with @tinyfaery- a lot of it depends on the temperament of the cat. Some cats will never do well with another cat (my first cat hated all other animals and would have been terrible if we’d ever brought home another cat). When I moved home from college, I brought my (then) 2 year old cat (Stella) back to my parent’s house to join the (then) 4 month old family kitten (Gus).

Stella is extremely shy. I personally had seen her interact with other cats (although she was exposed to them when she spent Christmas break at her father’s house during college), but she was petrified of the dog we lived with during college. As most young kittens are, Gus was very excited and anxious to play with Stella right from the start. She was nervous and scared for the first few weeks and wanted nothing to do with Gus (likely wanting to get acquainted with her new surroundings).However, they now frequently play together and seem to enjoy one another’s company.

I’d bring home a young cat, maybe not a tiny kitten (maybe 5–9 months), that seems to have a similar temperament to your first cat.

A smaller sized cat of similar age is what your current cat would most likely prefer if she were forced to choose.

I would say a younger cat (read: not adult) would be ideal to bring home. In my experience, sex isn’t a huge factor and if they are going to fight they are going to fight, but eventually they will like each other, or at least tolerate each other.

OMG @wickedbetty please don’t declaw your cats! If you use nail clippers you can keep them trim so they don’t ruin anything.
I had an 8 month old male cat and introduced a female 8-week kitten. We did it wrong and I really upset the male cat (Ned). We read some books and looked online and found out that whatever sex cat you get, the best thing is to keep the new kitten separate. Put them in a spare room or a secure cage with their food and litter inside and allow the existing cat to hear them and smell under the door. You should keep them separate for at least 2–4 weeks and then begin to introduce them slowly – but always supervised.
It took about 5 months for Ned to forgive me and to become loving again. Have just given this advice to a friend at work who’s introducing a male kitten to her two existing cats and she says it’s working a treat!
It’s all about territory…
Good luck!

Gadzooks, NO DECLAWING I would go with a spayed female kitten myself. If there are other cats in the neighboorhood male cats seem to get in more fights at least in my neck of the woods.