Adopting siblings a bad idea?

[Freedom]

I have Tommy and Tuppence, from the same litter.

Over the weekend, I attended the RI Pet Expo, and was chatting with someone from one of the larger cat rescues in our area. They NEVER permit litter mates to be adopted together, as they tend to fight as they age. Doesn't matter same or opposite sex, no exceptions, litter mates can NOT stay together.

I'd never heard or read this. Anyone else?

[pomtzu]

I NEVER heard anything like that before. My son adopted twin girls from Petsmart, and they never fight, and they're about 6 years old now. They have very different personalities, but they get along just fine.

[GILL]

That is the crazest thing I have ever heard.
Our Mits and Peak are litter mates. Sweety is the mother and Boots is from a 2nd litter.
These two never fight. A friend has 3 from the same litter. NO PROBLEMS at all.

[Coda'sMommy]

I've also NEVER heard of this! I'd say it's a load of HOOEY! I had 2 of Coda's Aunt's for about 4 yrs. They were from the same litter but looked SOOOOOOOO different you wouldn't think they were even related. Sugar was a calico and Babe was a Siamese mix, both females. They were even feral until they were about 5-6 weeks old. They loved each other! Though they stayed semi-feral. They did end up getting attached to my ex-boyfriend who they still live with. The other sibbling pair I had were Double and Trouble, male and female. The bond between them was so strong that when Double disappeared, Trouble only stayed about a week then ran away (they were inside/outside kitties out on the farm). Trouble missed her so bad he decided not to stay without her.

[Prairie Purrs]

Lily and Hagrid have some minor issues from time to time (he'll stare at her, she'll hiss and growl, he'll chase her upstairs), but nothing serious happens. And they're almost nine years old. I've never noticed their little spats being any more frequent or more serious than those that occur between any other pair of cats around here.

Most of the time, no worries. It's part of Lily's morning ritual to insist that Hagrid lick the top of her head.

[sasvermont]

Gee, I have never heard of siblings having problems. Graemer and Miley, in the photo were brother and sister, same litter, and were best of friends. Both are RB kitties now, sorry to say.

[catmandu]

I have read many Pet Talkers accounts of having Cats from the same litters and they are great pals , and theres no more fighting than there is between Cats that are not related.
This sounds like an old wives tale to me!!!

[lvpets2002]

What What that is Crazy.. We do Adoptions all the time with LitterMates.. I have never heard that before..

[orangemm]

We adopted Archy & Binky from Petsmart, too. They were advertised as "brothers", but I'm not sure about that. They are close as brothers and we've never had a problem with them. Sure they have their little skirmishes, but nothing major; just normal scuffling.

We had female littermates and they got along fine; both lived until they were 17.

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes, siblings fight. I know I did with mine.
But that's just silly to not adopt them out together. The shelter I work with adopts out kittens from the same litter together.

[happylabs]

Nope. Never heard that one before. Tinky and Mack are brother and sister and Mamma is their natural mom. They don't fight at all. Every now and then a swat over food bowls or a toy but that is it.

[kuhio98]

I'm so glad that the rescue we adopted Willy and Willow from don't feel that way. They are the best of friends. I don't know what Willy would do without Willow. He adores her and relies on her for comfort when he's feeling scared.

[DJFyrewolf36]

My parents had littermates when I was younger. Tiggus and Crybaby never got into nothing more than a minor cat spat and dad was convinced they plotted things together lol. They both lived to be over 18 yrs old too! I think if two cats are going to get along, they'll get along and if they won't then they wont. I do think cats are social creatures and if they are with another cat from the start I think the odds are better that theyll get along.

Maybe they figure not adopting out littermates together is a way to prevent hoarding too

[carole]

I think it just depends on their purssonalitys really, i have rescued a mother and daughter, and sadly the mother is always fighting with her sweet daughter, she will go and attack her while sleeping just for the heck of it, it is as if she wants her to leave,it is not constant, but annoying at times, i often have to rescue poor Nikki, mother has bitten her on the nose before and bottom, she does fight back, and is a bigger cat than her mother, but she just seems to let mother be the boss.

However my uncle has two siblings a girl and a boy cat and they are the best of mates, so it just depends on the individual kitty i guess.

[Freedom]

Thanks for the reality check, everyone. I thought I was losing my mind, I had never heard of this either.

I can't imagine why they do this, and as I say, they are one of the larger cat rescues in this area. Hmmm. I may pursue this with them, after I have a "fight" with my brother, and break up Tommy and Tuppence's snug fest.