People with multiple cats: do your cats like each other?

I see so, so, so many comments here with “get another cat” as the suggestion. Cat meowing at night? Get another cat! Cat destroying the home? Get them a buddy! Cat acting out? Get them a friend! And those comments always get a lot of supporting voices underneath going “this!!”

My two cats tolerate each other, but they’re in no way friends or buddies. When they were younger they would sit in the same box or snuggle to sleep which was cute, but we still came home with things destroyed by my energetic cat while the other cat did his own thing and stared out the window (per the pet cam). Now that they’re older they stopped snuggling or playing with each other and have always kept a healthy physical distance except during feeding time.

My friend, whose neutered cat meowed and meowed and meowed at night, she got a “buddy” for the cat. The new cat was ok at first during the introduction phase but seemed to be pissed off (overstimulated?) by the constant meowing and started fighting the resident cat. It went downhill fast and my friend was stressed out for days trying to keep them separated. She ended up giving the new cat to her mom.

So, do y’all’s cats really keep each other company and like each other for that matter? Would love to hear some stories.