In my experience, the dynamics of a group – whether made up of feathers or paws – play a crucial role. If half the group has high energy and negative behavior, it affects the entire pack. But if about half have a calm, positive, and desirable temperament, it has a good influence on the rest.
Right now, the group mainly consists of cats with pleasant behavior, but two of them – meaning more than half – have high energy. Kasper is always on alert, needs to have control, and investigates everything. He often withdraws when strangers arrive or new situations arise. Odin, on the other hand, has endless energy and a lot of excess enthusiasm. Jesper takes everything in stride and doesn’t stress.
That’s why the next cat needs to be a calm one. Taking in another cat with Kasper’s temperament is not an option. The new cat should be born in a home environment, well-socialized, and accustomed to humans from day one. With two adult cats, a naturally calm kitten will be the best fit. So this time, there will be no untamed cat—just one that we expect to be well-adjusted and relaxed once it outgrows its kitten and teenage phase.
In principle, gender doesn’t matter, but neutering male cats is cheaper.
An old experience from breeding, combined with the challenge of finding good homes for animals, led to a principle established in the "Stone Age" (meaning the last millennium): there should never be female animals on the farm—except for cows for milk, sheep for mutton stew, and hens for eggs. The rest should have testicles. And that’s how it has been, with the exception of a rescue pony that needed an urgent home. Other than that, every animal on the farm has either had or still has testicles, depending on the species and age.
We always get kittens at the beginning of the year, and that is a deliberate choice. They spend the first few months indoors for taming and training. When winter is over and spring approaches, they can start exploring the outdoors—right at the peak of their energetic phase, when they are full of energy and climbing everything. That way, we can keep them active on the farm or take them on forest walks in comfortable summer temperatures.
If we were to get a kitten in the summer, it would reach its most active stage in autumn and winter—seasons when being outside is less appealing. Of course, it would still be possible, but it would require more adjustments in daily life and indoor activities.
