6 ms·

Tangential, but I wonder how does it affect the cats having nearby another cat that's different personality-wise. I've a guinea pig that's kind of insecure, and

by dmos62 6y ago

Tangential, but I wonder how does it affect the cats having nearby another cat that's different personality-wise. I've a guinea pig that's kind of insecure, and planning to get another that's probably more outgoing. Can security be learned by osmosis?

whalesalad 6y ago
Can't speak to cats but with dogs generally the answer is no. These are engrained personality traits.
dominotw 6y ago
> I wonder how does it affect the cats having nearby another cat that's different personality-wise I've had cats all my life. I would say it all depends on the cat. For some cats there is nothing worse that having another cat in their territory but some are more social. I've had older aloof cats come to life, perk up and become more social when there is new social cat in the house.
clairity 6y ago
in my experience, there's a limited amount of osmosis. i adopted my current (female) cat as a kitten when my prior (male) cat was declining toward death, in the hopes that she would provide some youthful companionship after his sister had passed away a few months before (they were littermates, got them as kittens). surprisingly, he became solemnly composed and accepting of her almost immediately, despite spending his whole life trying to dominate his sister (out of both competitiveness and territoriality, i imagine). i picked her from the kitten rescue specifically for her mild temper, knowing how dominating and insecure he could be. she was playful but respectful, and i'd like to think he was a little less lonely in those last few months with his sister already gone. fast forward a couple years, and i have an accidental (male) foster kitten who's a crazy ball of energy next to my mild-mannered, now-adult cat. otherwise pretty lazy, she's learning how to play more energetically and socialize with the little devil (as i socialize him as well--his first-time cat owner didn't seem to know if or how to do this). so yes, there's some osmosis going on, as cats learn from each other and the social structure shifts, but it's limited. no wholesale changes in my experience.
munificent 6y ago
I used to have a weird dog that wasn't food motivated (which made it really hard to train her), had a lot of separation anxiety, and pooped when we left the house. At least she was otherwise well potty-trained and didn't pee inside. We got another dog to teach our first one how to be a normal dog and keep her company. Dog #2 was a rescue that had grown up on the streets. He was good about eating food but never learned to not pee inside. We ended up with two weird-ass food-disinterested anxious dogs that pee and poop indoors.
- triceratops 6y ago
  > We ended up with two weird-ass food-disinterested anxious dogs that pee and poop indoors. Ouch.
noir_lord 6y ago
In the case of my pair they mostly ignore each other - brother and sister pair - they played together when they where young and they aren't aggressive, they just rotate opposite ends of whatever room they are in.
lenzm 6y ago
Guinea pigs are social animals, I'd get the second asap. The insecurity may be from being alone.

by dmos62 6y ago

whalesalad 6y ago

Can't speak to cats but with dogs generally the answer is no. These are engrained personality traits.

dominotw 6y ago

> I wonder how does it affect the cats having nearby another cat that's different personality-wise I've had cats all my life. I would say it all depends on the cat. For some cats there is nothing worse that having another cat in their territory but some are more social. I've had older aloof cats come to life, perk up and become more social when there is new social cat in the house.

clairity 6y ago

in my experience, there's a limited amount of osmosis. i adopted my current (female) cat as a kitten when my prior (male) cat was declining toward death, in the hopes that she would provide some youthful companionship after his sister had passed away a few months before (they were littermates, got them as kittens). surprisingly, he became solemnly composed and accepting of her almost immediately, despite spending his whole life trying to dominate his sister (out of both competitiveness and territoriality, i imagine). i picked her from the kitten rescue specifically for her mild temper, knowing how dominating and insecure he could be. she was playful but respectful, and i'd like to think he was a little less lonely in those last few months with his sister already gone. fast forward a couple years, and i have an accidental (male) foster kitten who's a crazy ball of energy next to my mild-mannered, now-adult cat. otherwise pretty lazy, she's learning how to play more energetically and socialize with the little devil (as i socialize him as well--his first-time cat owner didn't seem to know if or how to do this). so yes, there's some osmosis going on, as cats learn from each other and the social structure shifts, but it's limited. no wholesale changes in my experience.

munificent 6y ago

I used to have a weird dog that wasn't food motivated (which made it really hard to train her), had a lot of separation anxiety, and pooped when we left the house. At least she was otherwise well potty-trained and didn't pee inside. We got another dog to teach our first one how to be a normal dog and keep her company. Dog #2 was a rescue that had grown up on the streets. He was good about eating food but never learned to not pee inside. We ended up with two weird-ass food-disinterested anxious dogs that pee and poop indoors.

triceratops 6y ago
> We ended up with two weird-ass food-disinterested anxious dogs that pee and poop indoors. Ouch.

noir_lord 6y ago

In the case of my pair they mostly ignore each other - brother and sister pair - they played together when they where young and they aren't aggressive, they just rotate opposite ends of whatever room they are in.

lenzm 6y ago

Guinea pigs are social animals, I'd get the second asap. The insecurity may be from being alone.