Splitting up cats

[Purple*Lotus]

My STBX wants to take all three of our cats with him. I want to keep one, the one I have bonded with the most. Is it bad to split the cats up when the other cat is her litter mate? I don't want to split them up but I can't afford to keep all 3. Any thoughts?

[Chamomile Girl]

It depends on the cats and their personalities. I know when my cat's litter mate died she was inconsolible for a long time. But other cats would be just as happy being alone.

Tough call .

[SunShineSally]

I agree it depends highly on their personality my one cat would do horrible as an only cat he would not know what to do with himself! while my other one most likely wants to be an only cat

I would really look and see if the kitty would be okay with out the others with him/her. When my one kitty passed one of my other cats still has not been the same and it has been almost a year while one of my other cats really came more out of her shell and is now showing who she really is.

[Nicole915]

Is there any reason you can't give it a go as a trial? You may want to invest in some extra toys, catnip and a feliway diffuser to ease her into being an only cat.

As the previous posters mentioned, it is very cat specific and difficult to determine how well a cat will do solo. Interestingly, cats are the only domesticated animal that when returned to the wild will live a solitary life. All other domesticated animals will live in groups/packs/herds for at least part of the year/life cycle.

[phatchristy]

In my experience it's been fine...however I've been someone who has had breeding cats, other people's cats at my home in the past, and the cats I've had were always used to cats coming and going (in a breeding situation breeders swap cats, retire cats, etc. so you don't usually have a couple with eachother their whole lives).

I think I would look at their personality first. I think ANY of the the cats I have now would be fine alone, however when cats are alone expect them to be a little bit more uppity and more into you than solitary. Especially if they already seem prone towards an outgoing-in your face sort of personality. Because that's what two of my current cats are like and when they're alone they are my constant companions! Which since I'm most bonded to both of them I LOVE it! When they are together the boy is more outgoing than the girl, the girl seems to wait until the evening mainly when I'm on the couch or on the bed. Both of them cosleep right next to me and DS.

Cats DO adjust. But, if you decide to do this you must ensure that somehow kitty isnt lonely and gets enough attention. That was the one tough thing when our last cat who died left...and we only had my outgoing girl in the house. I just felt so horrible when we were out for a day because she was SO overly excited when we got back. Of course, maybe that's just me projecting human emotions onto a cat.

[Sailor]

My dp and his ex wife did this when they divorced. They had two cats, together from birth, and ex wife took one and left the other with my dp. My dp says his cat did fine alone. I thought it was cruel, though. However, that could be me putting my own emotions onto a cat.