I adopted 2 kittens 18 months ago from the cat shelter, brother and sister. They have been a real joy bringing lots of love and fun to our house. Altho close they were quite independent of each other. Very sadly our boy was run over and killed yesterday. Whilst we are all devastated we are most concerned about what to do for our little girl now all by herself. She does seem to be searching for her brother and seems a bit sad tho I acept its hard to tell. Should we get a new cat quickly or wait rather than rush in? If we get another do we get 1 the same age as her (about 16 months) so she isn't pestered by a kitten? Don't know what to do for the best.

In my personal opinion, wait until your feelings have settled a little bit. Then, if its right for you - get another cat. It'll help your little girl come round - a new playmate. I praise the fact you said 'One around the same age' because so many 'older' cats are left behind at shelters - the kittens are cute, they get a home. If she isnt a bouncy type that runs riot and climbs up curtains (Like my Mickie whos approx 12-18months) then maybe an even older one, around 2-3 years?

Its completly up to you. But I do praise that you are thinking of an older cat! :thumbsup:

I adopted 2 kittens 18 months ago from the cat shelter, brother and sister. They have been a real joy bringing lots of love and fun to our house. Altho close they were quite independent of each other. Very sadly our boy was run over and killed yesterday. Whilst we are all devastated we are most concerned about what to do for our little girl now all by herself. She does seem to be searching for her brother and seems a bit sad tho I acept its hard to tell. Should we get a new cat quickly or wait rather than rush in? If we get another do we get 1 the same age as her (about 16 months) so she isn't pestered by a kitten? Don't know what to do for the best.

Exactly the same thing happened to us, about 7 years ago now. Our cats were the same age as yours too. It's incredibly sad, I'm so sorry for your loss.

My little girl was crying and wandering around and looking for her brother. I also think she didn't really know what was going on, I was in a right state, crying all the time, almost inconsolable the night it happened.

What we ended up doing was letting Spangle see Peanut. He was laid on a towel in the kitchen the night he was killed, we let her in and she had a good sniff round him and then walked off and settled down. It was as if all her questions had been answered.

From that day on I kept Spangle as a house cat. I couldn't bear the though of anything happening to her too. And I didn't get another cat. I felt too upset for a long time to contemplate it and then after a while she seemed so content I didn't want to upset her. She was quite timid when Peanut was around (he had a really strong personality) but she really came out of her shell when he had gone.

Looking back, if I had have got another cat I would have got one reasonable close to the time of losing Pea. Spangle is 8 now and I don't think she'd be at all happy with me for bringing anther cat into the house now. Although we did get a dog 18 months ago and she's happy to share her home with her.

Go with your own feelings, your head and heart will tell you when it's right if you do decide to get another cat.

we had the same thing happen in 2007. Oscars brother Yoda was run over and died on the way to the vets. We let Oscar see and sniff Yodas body before burying it. Oscar understood fully that his brother had died.

We waited a couple of months before looking for another friend for him as he, and we, were not ready. He let us know when he was. Unfortunately that cat didn't work out and had to be returned. Oscar was too playful for it and a bit too full on with it.

So we waited another few months and just as I was starting to think about looking again, the perfect cat came along in the form of a kitten called Charley. I was window shopping when she was living in the shop. When I fussed her the shopkeeper told me I could have her as she was killing (with love and cuddles) the customers and took her with me there and then.

Never looked back! :)

We did let her have a look at her brother yesterday when we found him. She licked him, sniffed him and then bit him , I guess to wake him up. Think she sort of knows he's not around now but I just feel so sad for her, it must be horrible to spend your time alone for the first time ever. Thanks for the advice, I think we may go and look at the shelter to see if there are any lonely, shy cats that would like to be her new friend. Feel so sad.