Pros and cons of owning a cat

Miss_Havisham

I agree with everything everyone else has said !

The only thing to bear in mind is that they can be expensive to maintain ! They need booster jabs every year, micro-chipping, food can be pricey, cat litter, insurance.

I love cats and from what you've said I think you would be perfect pets for one. Let us have a photo once he/she/they arrive !

Miss H

lostinrates

I don't see if you have said how healthy you are and how old 'getting on a bit' is. Cats can live into late teens, so a 'young adult' could be a serious commitment of time.

As I type one of my cats has her head on my hand and is snuggling in to me. Mine usually sleep all night with me and one prefers to be in or near the house while the other spends nice days hunting.

My nuetered female cats only ever ( fro. Kitten hood) have had two 'accidents' however I get a fair few mouse bodies, or bits of mouse bodies on the floor.

'cat' is as huge a classification as 'dog'. As a dog person you will know that what a high energy terrier is like on average, is vastly different to a grey hound, or a Labrador. Then the individual personalities within those types.

I joke that my Siamese cats are doggy and my greyhound is catty.

A house witha happy cat in it is a home to me.

susieanne

Thankyou everyone its great reading all your posts its helping me thanks

Just another quick question MALE or Female ?

If we get one from RSPCA or rescue centre i would imagine the males would be neuted and also the females wouldnt be having any kittens

So i mean males or female in terms of in general are males or females the most friendliest ?

bethie

i think it depends on the cat to be honest!


Would consider getting two cats instead of one? often times shelters may already have a bonded pair, and they can often be harder to home than a single cat.


i was always a dog person until i got my first cat. i adopted my boy when he was 5, and my girl when she was 2 and they are both cuddle monsters in their own way.

neither of them like to sit on my lap (which I'm quite sad about ) but i can easily pick them up and carry them around the house while they purr up a storm. every night the boy MUST cuddle with me for 10 minutes while I'm trying to get to sleep, while every day when i come home the girl MUST announce to EVERYONE that she is starving (despite having food in her bowl!) when i have guests over the boy will sit plop himself in the middle, and sit and stare, while the girl will hide for a few hours, and decide they pose no threat and then do leg wraps!


both came fully litter trained, and purchasing a variety of scratching posts has convinced them that those are better to use than the carpet or the couch. They also came up to date with their shots, micro-chipped, and had both been neutered.


would you consider having (an) indoor only cat(s)?

moggymutt

Dont worry about bonding with an adult- as already mentioned most are desperate to get out of the rescues and into into loving homes. 2 is nicer if you go on holidays, and are also harder for the rescues to home. I wont split adult pairs, but it means they usually always wait far longer for homes.

spike7451

susieanne wrote: »

Thankyou everyone its great reading all your posts its helping me thanks

Just another quick question MALE or Female ?

If we get one from RSPCA or rescue centre i would imagine the males would be neuted and also the females wouldnt be having any kittens

So i mean males or female in terms of in general are males or females the most friendliest ?

I've had both,Orbit (rip) was a boy & Daisy is a girl & both have different personalities.Both are indoor cats (Daisy now because she's a cat flu carrier & a scrapper around other cats.Another thing to consider is the breed.Daisy is a British Short Hair & they have a very laid back placid attitude...I cannot ever recall her hissing,spitting or anything like that...She purrs,snores & occasionally [email]f@rts....but[/email] that's it.
If you go to a rescue center you'll find that in most cases they're neautered or spayed.One thing tho,don't overlook the older cats.ASSISI is packed with older cats,mostly black,white or b&w,for some reason they are overlooked & often spend years in rescue centers.
Good luck & welcome to cat slavery...

Melaniep101

I agree with everyone's comments above.

It's difficult to say whether a boy or a girl cat would be better, they are all so different. I have two cats, a 10 year old female, and a 5 year old boy and they are worlds apart personality wise. My girl cat is not much of a "people" cat, she'll come to you when it suits her and wouldnt ever sit on anyones lap! She may sit on the back of the sofa behind your head, but that's as affectionate as she gets. My boy cat on the other hand, will happily be picked up and cradled like a baby! He loves a tummy rub and is pretty loving.

I would suggest having a look around the rescure centres, and finding a lovely cat that steals your heart :-)

HeatherintheHills

1st thing to remember is that when you go to the rescue centre you don't choose the cat, the cat chooses you. Trust me, you will know which cat you are meant to have when you meet it. Do a few visits to give the shyer ones a chance to get to know you, they often turn out to be the most loving when they have settled in. One of them will climb into your arms or onto your lap and you suddenly realise you never want it to climb out again.

Male, female, long haired, short haired, none of it really matters, it is the personality of the individual cat that will mean the most.

Scratching is a way of telling you something. Learn what it means, deal with the situation and it will stop. Same with spraying, most cats are very, very clean in their habits and get upset themselves if they have an accident while ill. Be firm but kind in the early days and the cat will soon learn which boundaries cannot be crossed and teach you which of its boundaries you mustn't cross either.

One tip, if you have any textured wall paper in the house, wave it goodbye. There are some temptations few cats can resist and that is one of them.

blossomhill_2

HeatherintheHills wrote: »

One tip, if you have any textured wall paper in the house, wave it goodbye. There are some temptations few cats can resist and that is one of them.

LOL, we replaced all ours with cheap wainscotting, sick of cats peeling paper off with their tiny front teeth - wouldn't change the cats for the world so it was the paper that had to go!

[Deleted User]

There's lots of advice online:

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/how-to-care-for-a-cat.htm

http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/cats

Also I'm sure that if you were to enquire at any of the pet charities directly they would be happy to advise on the care that a cat would need.

We've got cats and have as long as I can remember, but never had a dog, so can't really give any indication on the differences/similarities.

Cats can be very friendly, loving, and loyal. We adopted 2 cats at the same time - one older and one younger, and both settled in well and we did not have any problems. If you are taking in a kitten though you will need to have a fair bit of energy to keep up - they get into EVERYTHING!

Also, you mentioned "buy" a cat - can I suggest that you try and adopt one from a charity (they generally only take donations) and you'd be giving a home to an otherwise homeless cat/kitten.