Unfortunately, Scott, there is no way to guarantee that Bella will bond with another feline, regardless of gender or personality of the kitten. Some cats just don't enjoy the companionship of others of their own kind, but many do. Some females get along better with other females, while others prefer male companionship.

My family includes 14 felines - 5 females and 9 males, all spayed/neutered, all but 4 of whom arrived here as adults (the other 4 were raised as littermates - 3 of them actually are littermates, and the 4th is their cousin). The only ones who are really closely bonded are the ones who are related by blood and were raised together. The others have a variety of relationships with each other, ranging from friendly playmates to occasional snuggle buddies to hateful enemies.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that male kittens tend to be extremely rowdy and relentless in their pursuit of play, to the point of driving adult cats over the edge of their tolerance levels. If you intend to adopt a kitten rather than an adult cat, you might find Bella more tolerant of a moderately spunky female than an over-the-top male.

Whoever you end up adopting, be very careful how you introduce and integrate the newcomer into your household. That can make all the difference in terms of the success or failure of her/his relationship with Bella.

Good luck with your decision.

Laurie

Neutered males tend to get along with each otherÂmore or less. Adult females not so well. But eventually most spayed/neutered house cats work out an arrangement between themselves. Your female will probably never bond with a new kitten, but after much spitting, growling, and sulking they will learn to accept one another. I agree with LaurieÂs observations. Neutered males are more rowdy and aggressive and harder for older females to tolerate. In the end, choose a kitten to please yourself and Bella will adjust.

It is possible for females to bond closely, however. Decades ago, I had a female named Tempest who I raised from kittenhood. Although Tempest eventually (and much to her initial displeasure) had to learn to live with other cats, she never bonded with any until I took her into my marriage with me as an "only cat". We rescued an unrelated female kitten shortly thereafter. I don't know what it was about Pea that appealed to Tempest (Pea was always an extremely disagreeable feline), but she took Pea under her wing. Tempest and Pea were closely bonded for the remainder of Tempest's life ... many years into Pea's adulthood. Once Tempest passed, Pea never made even the slightest attempt to bond with another cat for the rest of her nearly 23 yrs. In fact, she made her intolerance of the other cats that came into our family very, very clear up until the day she died. Come to think of it, I did adopt a typically rowdy male kitten sometime during Tempest and Pea's adulthood. He was accidentally killed by one of our dogs within a couple of weeks, but while he was with us, T & P both hated him with a passion.

My current three littermates (females) and their male cousin don't have similar relationships, either, despite the fact that they are all blood-related and were raised together as one litter. Two of the sisters and the male are all closely bonded, but the third sister only enjoys the company of one of her other sisters.

You just never know how any two individual cats are going to relate to each other.

Laurie

There's always some hissing, spitting, ugly-cat-face-making, etc, at first, so have a glass of wine & shut your bedroom door.

I did that once:
I found a spunky little calico kitten, & my older, stuffy diva cat, famous for terrifying or at least intimidating cats, dogs, & some children, really kicked up a fuss.

& the next day I found them curled up together, diva kitty washing spunky kitten's ears.

They were both females, & they were close for the rest of diva kitty's life.

I had three cats,two females and one male who were littermates and all got along. All neutered. A friend was moving to a no-pets-allowed apartment and asked us to take her very laid back female, Jessica. Well, when Jessica entered our home,she ran under a sofa and stayed there, hissing and spitting at anyone who came near,human or feline. After one week, we removed her and gave her back to her original owner. I don't know what happened to her after that. When I moved the sofa, I found a week's supply of dried cat poops.

Thanks for the info. I have grown up with cats all through my life. Never really experience too many problems. Yes there is always the usualy hissing and meowing, and wandering if they will get along, but in my case, they always seem to. As well I have found the males to be more laid back and lovey, but thats not always the case. Siberian males tend to get rather large as well. Decisions, decisions

Your girl is only one year old.You seem to be leaning toward a male kitten. I say go for it! I prefer males myself for the reasons you stated. Cats are social animals and it's nice you want to bring in a kitten. Introducing a new cat can be difficult if not done properly, but I've done it many times with no problem. Your breeder should have some good advice, but the most important thing is to introduce them gradually. The kitten should not be brought in and turned loose. Keep him in a seperate room where Bella can smell him under the door, but can't see him. Keep an eye on how she reacts. After a few days or even sooner when she seems calm but interested in whats in that room, introduce them with HIM (not Bella) in a cat carrier. It's Bella's home first so she should not be the one crated. Let them sniff . See if there is any hissing.If there is, then they still aren't ready to be together. If no hissing or spitting they may be ready to become buddies. Go ahead and open the crate if all seem well.
Also he should have his own litter box and food bowls so as not to intrude in her territory until they are friends. Good Luck!

We did exactly what you are considering, and never having had two cats before I did lots of investigating about how to introduce them. What worked for our two was putting Gus (the new kitten) in a room with his own litter, toys, towels,etc., and a rope under the door--knotted a both ends. Emma, resident 1-year old Maine Coon, was very curious. I rubbed a towel with his smell, left it in her area. One day we switched locations--Emma got to explore the room Gus had been in, and we gave Gus the run of the first floor--so he could find the litter box, etc. They also spotted each other through some interior glass doors--no hissing.

Finally we left the glass door pushed shut, not locked, and went about our business. Gus pushed it open, went up to Emma and started chasing her around the house (she loves to be chased--my husband and I were spending time every evening chasing her around the house). Then she chased him...and they have been buddies ever since. Occasionally get snarky with each other. But one interesting change is that Emma, usually fairly aloof and stand-offish, has become much more demonstrative, and I am convinced it is because she sees all the attention Gus gets--he loves to be held, groomed, etc.

Do, take it slow, then don't make a big deal of when they do get together. And any new cat should be isolated anyway, if it hasn't been to the vet for a check-up and shots.
Good luck!

Well soon out the door for a long drive to tennesse to pick up a kitten. I think were going to go with a male (I'm the only male in the house, i need another guy, lol) Thanks for all the info.

WOW! Saraband, what a great idea about the knotted rope under the door.I'd never heard of that. Thanks.