I have a nearly 4 year old neutered female cat. I have been thinking about adopting another cat, but I fear they won't get along. Current cat is not really social, rarely likes being touched, instead requires attention: playtime, being near (but far enough), etc.
What are your experiences with second cats? Are there age / gender combinations which are the safest?
Edit: thanks for all the replies! Forgot to mention that she is an indoor cat.
We have three cats, all adopted separately.
We started with one, then when he was older, we adopted a kitten. The two never really got along, but the older cat passed away a few months later - had we known how sick he was, we probably would have waited on the kitten. (He seemed fine, but we later realized that cancer had already started.)
We adopted another cat pretty quickly after the older one passed, because we didn't want the kitten to get used to being alone. A few years later we adopted a third cat, hoping the second two would get along and play with each other.
The "kitten" passed away several years later and we adopted another kitten who is still with us.
Our cats have never been best friends, they don't cuddle together or anything like that. It's more of a tolerate situation. They do get irritated with each other from time to time, but it seems pretty even as to who is instigating it.
They've never drawn blood or even had a major fight. They just kind of wrestle or chase each other, and sometimes I wonder if they are just playing.
I do think that a cat that is used to being alone is usually going to have a tougher time with a new cat.
(We' re taking one of the older cats to the vet today. I recently realized he's lost almost 2 lbs since last summer, and he's being very active for an 11+ year old cat, so we're wondering about his thyroid. The other old cat needs an asthma inhaler and steroid every night for his conditions. Like the vet said, as they get older, they start collecting health issues.)