Since our children are all out of the house, we are concerned that our 11 year old cat is a bit lonely. H and I give him loads of attention - including daily walks on a lead and fresh fish for dinner most nights, but it’s not the same constant loving that was his former routine. When we travel, I have a helper who comes to the house twice a day, but I know that he gets very lonely. The kids think that we should get another cat, but I’m worried that it could backfire. Our guy is a super dominant and confident male - walks around like he’s the king of the jungle, and I have no idea how he’d react. Maybe a female kitten? I don’t want him to feel threatened, and a new cat should be a positive addition to his life. He’s in great health, so we expect him to be around for many more years. Advice?
I know you’ll get a ton of advice, but I’ll jump in with - yes! Do it! A kitten is usually suggested as the way to go, with a slow introduction process where the two are kept mostly separated for a couple of weeks with supervised ‘visits’ to get to know each other. We built a screen door to fit inside the door of our guest room (where we kept the kitten), and that way our two cats could see and sniff each other but not get into contact unless we were there to watch. It worked great. Good luck!
I concur with the above, including getting a younger female; 2 toms will likely have a more difficult integration Yes, your current cat will likely have his nose out of joint for a month or so, but he’ll adjust in time. And you will need to closely supervise their socialization in the beginning.
Do it! A female kitten would probably be best, but a male kitten would probably be ok, too. We’ve introduced cats into our house for many years, and there are adjustments, but it always works out. Some fur might fly occasionally.
Be very careful! Work with your vet from the beginning. We got a small docile cat to keep our older formerly very shy kitty comfortable. The older one turned into the most domineering nasty creature as soon as she saw the little pathetic one. It was heartbreaking and very difficult to deal with. Two years of trouble! Lots of stress.
If you have any trouble with aggression I strong suggest talking with your vet to get meds to reduce the aggression. It helped the littler one get a toe-hold in the household.
While the situation is still not ideal in that the two cats will not play with each other and will not cuddle and sleep together, and have staked out separate ends of the house, at least we’re at the place where the dominant one isn’t actively hunting down the smaller one and drawing blood from it. We hold out hope still that they become friends, but all bets are off.
Dear Kitten:
That is too cute. 
@TomSrOfBoston
I would do it as well. BUT, I would work with your vet and/or local animal shelter staff to help with integration. Your dominant male will have to be neutered, if not already. Some cats will never accept another one, but most do. Would you consider fostering cats/kittens? That way you help the local shelter and increase your odds of finding a playmate and companion for your cat.
I will be the voice of caution. I had a female cat about 11-years old, and decided to get her a little male kitten for a friend. She hated it. The kitten was way too active and was always jumping on her and wanting to play. She was no longer a playful cat. The kitten went off to live with my brother-in-law and had many happy years there. My cat had to remain content on her own. I know that kittens are adorable and all, but I would give some consideration to an adult rescue cat as well.
I think female cats are more difficult. I bet the OP’s male will adjust fine.
You will have a better luck with a female kitten, IMO. Two males is the worst combo possible.
Every time we added another cat, the best experiences we had with female kittens. The smaller the better. The only time an international war had erupted in our house was when one of the newcomers was a young male (the grey tiger in my avatar). He could not stand our resident cat, and her dislikes of him were mutual. After a rough couple of months, life got better. By the way, his sister (the pictured tortie) was perfectly fine adjusting to said female cat, and the resident female cat was fine with her, too.
(Our white cat is not pictured in my avatar, but looks like the cat in this video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bUxnR2vW370
Even though the cat does not speak English, it is clear what is going on 
)
Really hard to say how it will work out. We had a female for 3 years when we then got two male kittens. She is NOT their friend and there is some hissing and swatting but for the most part there is tolerance/avoidance. She is a fussy one though who would not make friends with any cat probably. (The boys are buds to each other though!)
On the other hand, I read a blog of a woman who fosters cats. She had a grumpy old tom who she kept separated from the kittens until they accidentally got to him…and he LOVED them so much.
I just think it could go either way with him - he’d love the new cat or hate it. He’s very outgoing and confident, but he’s not used to other animals. When he spies a stray cat in the yard - there is a tuxedo cat who lives somewhere nearby and it comes into our yard a couple times a year - all hell breaks loose and he puffs up and acts like a nut. This summer, a friend brought over her dog (samoyed) and we sat around the pool while the dog roamed around in the fenced - in pool area. The cat stood at the door growling and hissing endlessly - this is a fairly long distance away, and he was obsessed. After a few hours, I brought out the cat and he beelined it to the dog and took a couple of swings at her nose. The dog was afraid of him, lol. However, it seemed to me that the cat was really interested in getting to know her and just wanted to establish dominance.
I grew up with lots of cats and dogs - we usually had two dogs and between 4-6 cats, and I remember that some of the cats formed alliances with each other and some were solo types. One of the cats absolutely loved one of the dogs, which was very funny.
My S wanted two cats, since we have always had two (litter mates). He adopted a male cat first, and he brought in a female later. It did NOT work out. After much work to try to get the male to accept the female, he had to make a choice … one had to go. He decided to keep the 2nd cat, because she didn’t have an issue with the 1st cat - so he figures hell be able to bring in another cat with her in the house. He worked really hard to find a suitable new owner for the male, and the cat is very happy in his new single-cat household. My S was heartbroken, and it was a really tough thing for him to do. The moral of the story is, be careful when adding a cat to a household that already has one.
I changed my avatar - that’s the big guy. The point of adding a second cat is to make his life happier and more interesting, and I cannot imagine having to give up a newly adopted pet because it didn’t work out.
What a gorgeous kitty, @Gourmetmom.
We had a calico who was just like your cat - any four legged stranger in the yard meant war. But when we adopted a palm-sized white kitten, she was absolutely fine with it.
We couldn’t bear to give up either cat. It was very hard to deal with. Literally we lived with a tall barrier in the hallway to keep the dominant one from hurting the other one while we were out. The barrier was up for A FULL YEAR!! We slipped past it so many times that the wall grew shiny.
Seriously – if I were to do this again, I would get a puppy. The two different types of animals might be better. You never know how the other one will react. The dominant one, her personality changed in an instant and hasn’t gone back. It was like while once I was a shy cat, now that there’s something to dominate: I will! the little one cringes in fear all of the time (and when she’s really mad at her situation she pees on our beds!) We use white vinegar by the gallon. Takes the smell out.
The meds helped a lot but I wish I’d known this might happen. Full disclosure: I’ve had cats my entire life and didn’t expect this to happen.
Next time I’m getting a dog.
I’m a fan of cats in twos. But by age 11 that may be a tough adjustment. When we got a new girl cat the one year old brother was beside himself with excitement. He couldn’t wait to show her how to play. The older boy cat just doesn’t hang out with the other 2 at all.
OMG I laughed out loud at that Dear Kitten video. Particularly the ‘Va-Koom’ reference. We got a second kitten when our first cat was less than two years old. The “toddler” cat was a spayed female. Kitten was also a female we spayed. While they are not mortal enemies they are also not BFFs which I had hoped for. One challenge we had was keeping the toddler cat from eating the kitten’s higher calorie food so the older cat put on a bit of weight before we transitioned the kitten to the same adult food.
We had a cat (female) since kittenhood for 3 years when the cat next door had kittens. D begged for one, and I thought it might be good company for cat #1. So we got a male kitten. Sadly, they have never been pals and have switched a couple times as to who is the bully. They are now 16 and 13 and have fought or merely tolerated each other all this time. We try to give them equal attention and food. Both are sweet to people, luckily.