Trying to find a friend for my lonely young cat

[Birdsong 82]

Looking for advice on best option to give this young boy some company. When we got him off the streets, he was very young and I had two other cats at the time. Sadly, they were older, and one of them got cancer, and passed away and the one he especially adored Passed away about six months ago.(19 yrs old) Well had get her put down her kidneys got so bad she couldn’t even walk her last few days. Couldn’t let her suffer and I could tell she was pretty miserable. Makes me cry just posting this because she was my buddy. She was always with me at all , and been with me through everything.
But besides that this young man, Milo simply adored her ever since both of them have been gone he seems kinda down quite often, especially when no one’s here for the day when I’m at work. I feel that he needs a friend because he’s very active and playful young man. But just wondering maybe what would be best suited for him. I of course would like to adopt because there’s way too many cats that are homeless, but since it’s been a while, I’m not sure if I should go for another cat about his age or younger or whether a male or female might suit this better and may be some tips of integrating the two. I think he’s just used to having other cats around and he just really does seem lonely .

 

[Birdsong 82]

Oh, and I don’t know if it would make a difference, but I do need to mention strictly indoor cat. The place I live now and a neighbor that I’ve had a cat that got outside didn’t make it more than 48 hours. Insane amount of predators around here.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

If he's a generally friendly cat and you find another cat who is generally friendly (ask the shelter workers - they usually know the cats there well), it should work out. But since you said he is active, maybe go for another active male. Make sure both are neutered so there are no competing hormones and they don't accidentally meet a lady friend and populate the area.

It always takes time to integrate cats, but just do it slowly. I like to put the new cat in a separate room behind a closed door for about a week. Set up all their stuff in there so they have a place they feel is their home. The new cat and your current cat can sniff each other and maybe even chat a bit from under the door, but they can't fight. Then when you release the cat out to the whole house, make sure he/she still has his/her home base in place, so there is always a place of comfort to return to. Eventually you can probably move the bed/litter/food to a different part of the house, but I'd probably wait a couple weeks before doing that.