Pros and cons of owning a cat

spike7451

One vitally important thing to remember is seating...If you get out of your chair,you can guarentee that within 7 seconds,a cat will be curled up on the seat you just vacated...And sleep...you WILL BE woken up at silly o'clock in the morning by a cat looking noms...

Dark_Star

We have 3 cats. all rescues & acquired at different times. All different personalities.

No1 - will sit in anything & on anyone. Hitler/darth vader/myra hindley drops in for tea - the cat is there....

No2 will sit in anything but prefers to lean against you & will come home to check we are still there. The only male cat & swipes anyone when he's had enough of being poked/prodded/stroked or evicted from the laundry basket

No3 is very shy even after several years but will curl up with no1 & gang up on no2.

All 3 bring in live frogs, assorted dead rodents, various chewed up birds & so on.

All cats will probably claw something somewhere but get a cat scratching post as that will help (or sharpen the claws to use on your upholstery :rotfl:)

I'd look around for your local cat rescue place(s) & just go see them first. Most will want to come out & vet your home anyway to see if it is suitable i.e. you don't open your door on to the M25 (= instantly squished cat).

Check with the rescue place whether the cat will be neutered/healthy etc. (sis in law had one from somewhere (not rspca) & it was sick - cost a fortune in vet bills as the rescue place did not check them.

One of our local independent animal shelters pays to neuter the animal & ensures they are healthy, ailments treated/under control etc.

The fostering does sound like a good idea.

Wouldn't be without ours

Owain_Moneysaver

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.

That's an excellent reason in itself for getting a cat.

Fire_Fox

susieanne wrote: »

Fostering may be something to think about thanks .

Was thinking about a cat from RSPCA one thats not to young but not old either maybe about 2-5 years old .

Do cats of this age scratch furniture etc ? this is the reason i dont want a kitten

Also we would want a cat that we and the grandchildren could cuddle , dont see the point of having a pet that wont let you cuddle it . This is another reason we want a middle aged cat so we know from the offset what its personality is

Another maybe silly question but what does concern me - do cats occonally pee around the house ? Are cats clean animals in general ? would hate for the cat to be weeing around the house .

Most cats are very clean animals, they will use a litter tray or outdoors by choice and many bury what they do. They are more likely to go in the wrong place if they have to share with a cat they don't like, if the tray is not scooped regularly, if you use a scented litter, they are stressed or physically ill. But it's FAR less than any dog I have known.

All cats scratch, if they have outdoors access they are more likely to use fences and trees. Scratching is partly about spreading their pheromones not just sharpening claws, so you need to give them something to scratch in a strategic point of several areas of your home. This can be a scratching post - should be sturdy not at all wobbly and tall enough for them to stretch up full height - or a corrugated cardboard box or doormat. Occasionally the little monsters scratch to get attention, I have had cats only do it when being ignored and crane their necks to check if I am watching! :rotfl:

You can discourage scratching where you don't want it by using scents like citrus or double sided sticky tape. Don't shove the scratching post into the far corner of the room because they often want to scent mark somewhere prominent, for example my girl scratches the sofa right where she eats. You can also trim their claws regularly if they will let you, just the tips so they can still fight if needs be.

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 ?

Neither gender are necessarily friendlier, it really does depend on the cat's inborn personality plus the way they were socialised as kittens. Just go for the cat that ticks the boxes or that you fall for. Females are more likely to be hunters or successful hunters, boys can bring you bizarre presents or just try to pinch what the girl hunts after it is dead! :rotfl:

Dumbe

I have always found that the cat will chose you! That's always been the case for me apart from my flame point ragdoll who I chose from a breeder about 400 miles away! Then drove to fetch him when he reached 14 weeks ( they are pretty rare where I live now and he took me 6 months to find)

My first rescue came from a local vet who had a small rescue centre attached ..very different to the uk, we joined a queue people in front went in came out with kitten, our turn .. About 12 cages all kittens plus my boy ..he put his paw through the cage hole towards me, we opened the cage he snuggled up and that was it ... He had to stay there for 7 days in case he was claimed ashe had only been handed in about an hour prior to us meeting him but we put him on hold.

The others similar stories except in those cases we went in cat chose us and we signed paperwork and pid and left With our new family memepber!


A young adult would be easier .. I have always had older rescues before and I found managing a 14 week old kitten challenging at first !

I have found neutered boys ( ginger) in general to be more affectionate and cuddly but cats are their own people and all have their own personalities.

I have never allowed my cats outside at night ( my 3 now are all indoor ) too worried about dangers..

But I have found when I have had only one that he was more affectionate to me and spent more time with me then when he had a feline friend ... As they will then spend time doing things with each other rather then just you..

topsales

I have 2 neutered Bengal crosses - both are very soppy, cuddly boys. They are also keen hunters and bring home assorted presents, rabbits, birds, mice and uugh, the occasional baby rat ( we do live out in the sticks!). I have 2 dogs as well but the cats are fantastic!!

meritaten

all cats are different - my son has Ragdolls and they ALL have different personalities - I will ask him to pop onto the thread to describe them to you!
I agree with the others who said to offer your services as a foster mum for a while. you will then get to meet cats with different personalities and learn about how to treat them.
I would never let a cat out at night - and my last cat was FIV (had feline Aids) so wasnt allowed out anyway.
I love both dogs and cats - but they are very different!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

there are many type of breeds of cats, (think of them as people with different cultural backgrounds), there are specific bred cats like ragdolls, ragamuffins, norwiegen forest cats, maincoon,siemese, british domestic short hair and long hair.

ragdolls are laid back cats but have indevidual personalities, my boy ragdoll is more of a loner who will play by himself or with others, but enjoys my girls company rather than adult company (his pick is in my avatar) doesnt scram but very vocal.

my girl ragdoll likes male contact, she follows me about the house, sits on my lap or curls up nect to me on the setee, when im home she doesnt let me out her sight, very loving cat, she doesnt mind female company or my girls company but i'm her slave.

my boy felix (R.I.P) was a turkish van, i tought him to come to my whistle, lie down, kiss my nose, but he was a tom he was an outdoor cat, didnt mind other cats but hated dogs, would chase the neighbours dog up the street while it yelped for help (the owner found it funny and kept saying my cat needed an ASBO) he was territorial and protected it, he also protected our female cat tinkerbell, eventhough they didnt see eye to eye (tollerated eachother would be best to described that situation).

i suppose if you want a calm cat, a mature cat would suit you.
if you wanted a certain temperment, a certain breed of cat could suit you.

fostering under the aid of cats protection would give you the insight into cats in genral but most of these cats are mistreated by their past owners most have human trust issues, and some maybe ferral or semi ferral, you do get cats that are brought in that are well loved but have lost their owners through tragedy or natural death aswell, and they grieve, cats do greive like humans in a way.

my other two cats both tabby short hair's are outdoor cats, but i try not to leave them out past 10pm, they come in during wet weather, snow, cold snaps as they just dont like to be out in those conditions, to leave a cat out all night in -10 to -15 wich we had last year would see them very ill indeed or even death, even though cats have coats some are not very thick coats and the cold takes over them as easily as it does us.

if you seek a CPL rescue cat, firstly go through the process of a home visit and approval stages as soon as possible even without choosing a cat, make a small donation (this porcess i usually free but i have gone through the process and donated £40 and i dont have a CPL cat but may have one in the future) once your accepted your held on file as accepted then you can take you time to choose ask about cats with the fosterers about the cats tempermant, does the cat like young children, does it sit on laps, does it roam farr from the garden, does it like to go out where does it like to sleep in a basket or on the bed or by the fire?

if you choose a breeder, then you need to choose the breed, research over the internet of what types of breed may suit your needs, then the next step is looking at local breeders, getting into contact and getting to know them most breeders if they havent any kittens to offer will allow you to visit the mum and dad cats, so you can see the breed in person, and how they react to you and starngers, at this stage you looking for signs that the breeder is respectfull, passionate about the breeding the breed she breeding, and all the cats look healthly and kept in conditions that you would keep your cat in, with the exception that breeder usually have holding pens out the garden or in the garage, wich are heated, clean and food and water is provided, most small breeders keep their cats in the house and play and interact with the as if their theyre own cats and not try and keep an emotional detachment from them.

cats do have slaves but friends with you, some know when your unwell and will cuddle down on you to try and soothe you.
some are vocal.
some are quiet not even purr.
some are messy and genrally not picky about anything
some are picky about food litter water how they eat when they eat how they drink.
some are effectionate, some dont care for their owners just food and drink and a warm cosy blanket.

some like to be picked up
some dont like to be picked up
some like to have their belly rubbed some dont.
some cats versions of play is different to others so you may get one cat will love to play with soft toy mice flicked abouton the floor, some prefure to play the light switch chord in the bathroom.

all are different.

all needs to be researched in depth.

robpw2

my lovely cat, loves to burrow under things and hide in places , she will often come and snuggle up on the bed but it on her terms and then it will be the most incovenient place she can find just to wind us up ..she caught a mouse once ...(she doesnt go outside as we live in a flat and she shows no intrest in outside) . she is dead fussy with her food will only eat food that contains real meat and no cheap poundland stuff .... the other weird thing is she doesnt like change so if someone new comes over she will not eat in front of them - she tends to eat at night and doesnt eat her breakfast till late evening even though it out for her to eat (strange cat)

Roz_V

We got our Scampi from the local RSPCA. My OH was away in Amsterdam for the weekend with the boys and I popped down to the shelter "just to have a look" and reserved her there & then. She definitely chose me - the volunteer said she usually stayed curled up in her basket but as soon as I walked in she was up at the door meowing... and hasn't shut up since :rotfl:

She never uses her litter tray, she has free access to outside through a cat flap as we're out at work all day, but when she comes in for her supper between 8 & 10pm I lock it as I don't like the idea of her being out overnight. She will then sit on our laps in the living room until 11pm, at which point she moves to the bottom of the stairs and starts meowing - telling us it's bedtime!

The shelter emphasised to me that she was very independant, wasn't overly keen on males and would probably never be a lap cat... well just be aware that cats behave very differently in the shelter to how they do in a home, and she was sitting on my knee purring from night 1, and doesn't hesitate to shove me out of my own bed at night so she can snuggle closer to OH :rotfl:

Good luck with your quest