I'm considering getting a cat - what are all the downsides?

[Bursarymum]

My daughters have been nagging me for a cat for about 18 months. I always had cats growing io and I would like one myself but I need to know all the disadvantages so please tell me them before I decide one way or the other.

Also, is it better to get a pedigree or a moggy? I can see that movies now seem to cost £100 at least! Which is very different from when I was a child and they were free to a good home.

[Bursarymum]

Moggies not movies!

[AndThisIsTrue]

You might get one that likes to meow all night and scratch the carpets.
Furballs....
You have to find someone to look after it if you want to go away on holiday or pay for a cattery.
I have one angelic cat and one who is a pain in the bum! Both were bought on gumtree for about £50 as kittens. Or you could try a rescue centre?

[AliaMairns]

Try a rescue centre and they should come vaccinated / neutered. Although I just read a thread on here that said otherwise!
Love my 4 but they have scratched walls and furniture to pieces. They bring in mice and kill birds and frogs. They moult a fair bit too

[GREYCROW]

When you accidentally take two... Big cat isn't very pleased with me.

[Sparklingbrook]

Cats Protection is a good start-have a look at the website of your local one.

Some cats may claw the furniture or scratch the carpet. Some may bring you gifts of dead wildlife. Some will do none of that.

You will need to have a litter tray in the house, definitely with kittens but for 3-4 weeks with an older cat, some people don't like that thought much.

[ambientolf]

You have a big fluff ball attached to you whenever they're in the house, but when you seen them outside down the street they just ignore you ... just me then

Also, some male cats (mine!!) love to come home bleeding have been in fights with other cats. In my area there are a lot of cats so I suspect that's why!

Anyway; I have 1 cat and 2 dogs & can honestly say I love my cat more (sorry dogs). He's so lovely & easygoing & no trouble at all. All they need is feeding & stroking.

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Definitely get a moggie. There are so many unwanted cats and kittens in rescue centres, it makes sense to give one of those a home, and the fee you pay helps rescue centres continue their work.

Downsides for us have been: litter trays (and LandingCat always seems to make use of his just as visitors arrive), getting someone in over holidays to feed him and change litter, scratched carpets, clearing up/standing in cat sick and, now he's older, vet bills. We also had another cat who got stressed when DD1 arrived and peed over everything that smelled of baby, which stressed us out, but if your DD is older that shouldn't be an issue!

All that said, to us it's well worth it.

[ambientolf]

grey that picture is adorable! I feel like a crazy cat lady but I love them!

[ditavonteesed]

biggest downside we came across was that the next door neighbour stole them and now we have no cats.

[mrsdavidbowie]

We got ours from Cats Protection 9 years ago.
Apart from sporadically pissing on bathroom mat if we leave the door open, you never notice her.
She is never in room with us, only eats dry food and spends a lot of time outdoors

[VolumniaDedlock]

wanton destruction of property - scratching at carpets, sofas, wicker storage baskets. our cat also really enjoys "killing" the children's artwork, which has caused tears.

they get in your bed, and sleep on your face. Or shout loudly if not allowed to do so. litter trays are mucky, although less mucky than cleaning cat wee off everything (previous cat used to spray).

oh, and the worry. every now and then they break with their routines and hide somewhere really clever for 36 hours or so while you grieve for their loss. and then they saunter back like nothing's happened.

[ooarmehearties]

I had cats growing up too, and my dd has been asking for a kitty.

Downsides are- i once had a cat that repeatedly gave me ringworm, it just did not clear up, so many vets bills, disinfecting everything, giving him his medicine. It would go for a bit, then i'd get it again and the cycle would begin.

Cleaning up the poo, definately. And when they get stressed, yes, they spray and you cannot get the smell out. I just replaced the carpet with wooden flooring in the end.

But the snuggles are so worth it. Ringwormy cat was always quite aloof, but when i was pregnant he lurrrvved me and would cuddle my bump.:) Once the baby was born though, apart from the ringworm, he got so stressed and unhappy we had to rehome him.

[Sparklingbrook]

Here's my one. The one that I only went to 'have a look at' and ended up borrowing a carrier to bring her back in.

[Allstoppedup]

Well, my cat is an absolute asshole.

We had to had safety locks on our kitchen cupboards and fridge well before we had a child as he could open them and help himself.

He likes to scratch any surface that is wall papered despite repeated telling offs and having a beautiful expensive scratching post.

He sleeps/sits anywhere I want to sleep/sit.

Meows to go out, then to come in, then to go out- every five minutes. We had a cat flap in our old place and he refused to use it.

Meows at our bedroom door in the morning- early.

He will take ANY opportunity to steal food- again, we have tried to train him not to and he is fed very well.

• he's just a cheeky sod. Our other cat is very well behaved and does none of the above.
  

But I wouldn't have him any other way.

On the plus side, he makes me laugh every day, he is full of character, has endless patience with our quick and grabby 17mo, is soft, cuddly and makes an excellent foot/lap warmer in winter. He's a gorgeous boy.

[Daffodilliesanddaisies]

Downsides of mine are

waking me up in the middle of the night by pushing a wet nose into my face to let me know he wants feeding or wants letting under the covers,
bringing home wildlife,
training me to give him dreamies every time he comes in or he will follow me around batting me, having to keep all upstairs windows shut at all times even if you've shut him downstairs because as soon as one opens he's there like a shot and he tries to throw himself out, I've pulled him back by his tail a couple of times now because that's all I could grab,
he will come over for a kiss, rub his head in my face and be all loving then all of a sudden he will lash out and scratch me,
Weeing in the bathroom sink,
Sleeping on clean washing

I love him really and wouldn't be without him, he's great fun and loving sometimes.

[GREYCROW]

Lol he's gorgeous Sparkling... Big cat was found in a box so I just ended up with him, he deigns to occasionally swipe at the babies.

[Daffodilliesanddaisies]

I forgot he will also try and steal my dinner, particularly if I'm eating poppadoms and will drink any glass of water left around. I caught him going to drink out of my glass yesterday, I told him no as he put his head down, he stuck his tongue out into the water and then walked off without drinking it.

[Stinkersmum]

Please don't buy kittens of gumtree etc. All you'll be doing is validating some irresponsible idiot who can't be arsed to get their cat neutered. Look at local rescue/shelters. They will usually have their cats already vaccinated/neutered etc. You may be asked to donate something. This will help fund the shelter and will inevitably be cheaper than vaccinating/neutering yourself.
Downsides - hair everywhere, poopy litter trays, ravaged furniture, attitude for no reason, pickiest appetites ever, and if they're anything like mine, you have yo choose between plants/ornaments or cats. One of my cats has made it quite clear I cannot have both.

However, the purrs, love, cuddles, amusement and entertainment you get is incredible. Go for it.

[thecatneuterer]

All you'll be doing is validating some irresponsible idiot who can't be arsed to get their cat neutered.

Stinkersmum I fully intend to shamelessly use this phrase as my own from now on. It encapsulates the situation so much more elegantly than I have ever managed

[Stinkersmum]

thecatneuterer please be my guest!

One of my fur babies

[teejayem]

I've got three, all rescues. One is a Bengal, which is basically like having three cats in itself. The downsides:
Hair. Everything We wear has to be lint rollered before leaving the house, irrespective of how much we furminate them, it just gets on everything.
Stinky pooh boxes (esp with Bengal as if she eats any food with grains in it, it gives her violently smelly poo)
Cost of non grain food & the flies around food in summertime is a bit bleugh.
The despair when one of them pees on a bed and ruins duvet/mattress etc. to be fair this has only happened on a couple of occasions, once when we moved house and once when we went away for a weekend and left a neighbour to feed them. So dirty protests basically. We've been quite fortunate with pee incidences (thank you laminate flooring!!) but it's pretty shit when it happens.
Mutilated animals as 'presents' (frogs, mice, baby birds) and then having to chase the half alive ones around the house to catch them and then despatch where cats can't find them....

I love them all to death though, they are hilarious and very loving. Most of the time.

[Momagain1]

Ourirst was found in a parking lot, the second inherited from a friend. They are entirely indoor pets, indoor only cats lead long, vermin free lives. Ours are nearly 18 and 12 and we expect them to live into their 20s.

Pets are a very long term committment. We havent had major health issues to pay for. But we have had moving expenses. Ours have cost us thousands being moved back and forth across the Atlantic, a life change we couldnt have anticipated when we got the first. If they were in and out cats, they wouldnt have lived long enough to cost us this way! But we could find no home we felt comfortable with, so the money had to be spent.

[ragged]

Get 2 shelter kittens rather than one pedigree. Boys are cheaper to neuter. Kitten siblings are fantastic to have.

They puke or turd many places, spill food, leave animal innards on the lawn, paw prints on my sheets, scratch & groom on my bed at 4am, meowing & scratching at doors, arrrggghhhh...

And don't talk about money. Just don't. Friend just spent £400 on medical bills for a kitten she's had less than 2 months.

They're like love sponges or seeds, kids adore all 3 of mine, cats love us too & come out to play with us in the garden. We couldn't imagine life without having had them.

[Stinkersmum]

I disagree about indoor cats living longer - my mothers two cats were very much outdoorsy rural cats and lived til 20 & 22.

[ragged]

And thick, Jaysus, I've never met animals so completely and spectacularly turnip-brained.

They teach me many lessons about patience, though and bloody persistence.