Trying to decide if my cat will tolerate a kitten; we have been offered one

ETA: Nevermind, my friend now thinks her sister gave the cat to someone else, even though she told my friend she would hold it until we made the decision. I completely understand wanting to find it a home, and am relieved we did not take it only to have her not want to take it back. If anyone reads this and has advice on getting another cat in general, that would be great. If not, thanks for reading!

I have an 11 year old orange cat; he is an absolute love with us, so affectionate. He loves his family. He is either scared or uninterested in other people. He is an indoor cat, and seems happy that way. However, we have sliding doors and other cats sometimes approach come up to them. He is quick to hiss and look ready to attack.

He is absolutely spoiled and used to affection on demand from the 3 of us. I had another cat, who died about 3 years ago. They never got along, but I had her first. I have thought about getting another cat, just because I think the kids would benefit in multiple ways. I did not feel like I could, as I feel my current cat might be too aggressive (he's pretty big too). However, a mom I know told me her sister's cat had kittens (not sure that that story is). She said we can "try"one and they will take it back if it does not work out. The sister lives almost an hour a way though. The kids don't know about this situation yet. I would say I have nothing to lose by trying, but of course kids will get attached, who knows if they will really willingly take the kitten back, etc.

Any thoughts or advice?

Just want to say that we had an older cat, loved us, hadn't been around other pets, never was aggressive (though did attack our arms occassionally if we pet him too much, even though he loved being pet and around us). We got a kitten, thinking they the older cat (maybe 13 or 14 at the time?) would like a companion. But they never really got along. Older cat hissed at the younger cat a lot, swiped at her. Younger cat didn't care, but it made us feel bad for our beloved older cat, that we had messed up her life! She lived another 3-4 years. When she died, the younger cat really came out of her shell! She now follows me everywhere (didn't before) and is more involved with us (though has never been a lap sitter).
So, I think your instinct is right that another cat might not be a good idea. I'm so glad we have our younger cat now, but it wasn't great for the older one during those years.
Some day I'll get 2 kittens together, but for now we're good with a dog and a cat!

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Originally Posted by almostmom

Just want to say that we had an older cat, loved us, hadn't been around other pets, never was aggressive (though did attack our arms occassionally if we pet him too much, even though he loved being pet and around us). We got a kitten, thinking they the older cat (maybe 13 or 14 at the time?) would like a companion. But they never really got along. Older cat hissed at the younger cat a lot, swiped at her. Younger cat didn't care, but it made us feel bad for our beloved older cat, that we had messed up her life! She lived another 3-4 years. When she died, the younger cat really came out of her shell! She now follows me everywhere (didn't before) and is more involved with us (though has never been a lap sitter).
So, I think your instinct is right that another cat might not be a good idea. I'm so glad we have our younger cat now, but it wasn't great for the older one during those years.
Some day I'll get 2 kittens together, but for now we're good with a dog and a cat!

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Thanks! I imagine my cat is a lot like your cat who died (although mine would be aggressive with other cats).

That said, if anyone has helped a cat like this accept another cat, I would love to hear from you. We really would like another one, and I cannot imagine how my kid and I would manage losing our current cat when that time comes if we do not already have another cat.

We just adopted two kittens after losing one of our two cats. Our older cat has not adjusted well at all. She was always skittish but it has been worse than we thought. She was fine when the kittens were locked in a room, but she will not leave her basement or interact with the kittens. The kittens are wonderful and bring a lot to our family. Next time, I would wait and just immediately adopt kittens after. We did it because we had just lost one of our older cats and we thought it would help all of us.

Do you have any local cat rescues that need foster families? You might try that as a rent to own type option. I'd also talk with the rescue about the introduction and be prepared to keep the cats in separate spaces unless supervised for a bit, two litter boxes, etc.

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Originally Posted by mikala

Do you have any local cat rescues that need foster families? You might try that as a rent to own type option. I'd also talk with the rescue about the introduction and be prepared to keep the cats in separate spaces unless supervised for a bit, two litter boxes, etc.

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This is an excellent idea; thank you. I know we do have at least one local agency that does this.

I also found a local cat behaviorist on-line; she has 3 positive reviews that talk about her successfully help a cat accept a new cat into the house, so I may consider that option.