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Original poster

Cats as pets - what do you wish you'd known?

167 replies

KiplingAngelCake · 30/10/2018 13:17

We're considering getting a pet cat or dog next year. DH and DCs are super keen, but I'm a bit lukewarm about the idea. I've never had or wanted a pet, so this is new territory for me.

We are erring towards a cat, as we don't have tons of space and I'd be worried about a dog getting enough exercise as DH and I work long hours and DCs are too little to take a dog out alone.

Anyway, just wondering what you wish you'd known before getting a pet cat? Thanks!

OP posts:
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Meet0nTheIedge · 30/10/2018 14:24

You never know what you are going to get - ours don't bring animals or birds in, they are useless hunters, which is great. OTOH I did expect to fall totally in love but I haven't, I'm fond of them but that's as far as it goes. I'm not and never will be a cat slave, they are well cared for but do not get to rule the house.

shelikesemwithamoustache · 30/10/2018 14:30

They all have such different personalities - some are lap cats, some are not. One of our current cats is like a dog - answers the door, always in the centre of everything, would sleep on your head if you let him. Loves all children - lets them manhandle him and dress him up. Other one thinks she's doing you a favour by living with you and only comes to see you when she wants food. They are siblings.

Our current cats bring in live and still flying / hopping / squeaking / squawking (but seriously maimed) prey. Blood, guts and dispatching of wildlife at 3am in the morning is such fun.

They are beautiful.

They will destroy your curtains, sofas and blinds.

quarterpast · 30/10/2018 14:38

Cats are emotionally unavailable bastards. Lovely, fluffy and cute looking, but manipulative arseholes who really couldn't care less where you've been all day as long as you materialise at food time.

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Cats
Lemoncurd · 30/10/2018 14:46

The mice the mice!

Paranoid about having mice in an old house - we got a cat!

Our cats go through phases of bringing in mice daily. Wake us up with the noise, leave entrails for us to step in the next morning or worse... get bored and wander off leaving a live one running around until we locate and catch it ourselves!

TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain · 30/10/2018 14:50

They smell really nice. I love my dogs to pieces but they honk to high heaven. Cats smell a bit like freshly-baked biscuits.

MrsVietor · 30/10/2018 14:51

Fleas. Fucking, fucking fleas.

laceygo · 30/10/2018 14:52

that i can never wear black ever again

Villanelle123 · 30/10/2018 14:54

As soon as you get a cat (GET TWO) you’ll become a cat person. I cannot believe how much I adore mine.

hodgeheg92 · 30/10/2018 14:56

If you go to a cat sanctuary to get a kitten but work full time they will insist that you get 2 kittens so that they will keep each other company and play with each other. This is a ploy to rehome more kittens as, past the age of about 1, they will show the same disdain for each other as they do to you for 80% of the time (the remaining 20% being made up of whenever you get ham/chicken/tuna out of the fridge and when you are trying to snuggle your OH on the sofa and they decide they need attention right now!

We managed to train ours to go into the kitchen when we clap on a night, so we can shut them in and not be disturbed. Best decision we made.

We also got them used to the cat box at a young age and they come to our holiday cottage with us (house cats), spending 4 hours in the car without fuss.

Parker231 · 30/10/2018 15:00

Cats are a brilliant pet but you need to understand they are No 1 in the house! There is nothing better than a cat creeping onto your bed in the night and curling up around your feet and keeping you awake with their purring.

When they are ill you worry and if you have to have them put to sleep, they will break your heart.

Worriedmummybekind · 30/10/2018 15:03

Whatever you do, get a cat flap and teach him/her to use it. Don’t start with litter trays. We don’t have one and it’s not necessary.

Also you can teach your cat not to claw people. They have got control of their claws and so if you repeatedly tell them off and remove when they scratch, they won’t do it as a grown up cat.

Get them spade.

They are really suspectible to fleas so make sure you get vet treatments (that work better).

I also would never get two together. All the cats I know that are one of two are very antisocial to humans which to me really defeats the point of a pet!

Flower777 · 30/10/2018 15:05

Honestly my cats adore me. They are very attached and will always come and hang out with me if I’m in. One always comes into bed for morning coffee.

It’s not true that they are all distinterested.

OlderThanAverageforMN · 30/10/2018 15:05

That when they lose a mouse in the kitchen, it might decide to take up residence in your oven and then die. We haven't been able to use our second oven for 5 years, the smell when we turned it on one Xmas was unbelievable. I much prefer to deal with the smears of the deceased.

On the up side, we have trained ours not to scratch the furniture, or go on the tops in the kitchen, he goes in and out as he pleases, and stays in the kitchen overnight. No smelly trays, or early morning wake ups. He adores us and we adore him. He jumps in the car when you come home and tells you how much he has missed you.

Original poster
KiplingAngelCake · 30/10/2018 15:09

Wow, thanks all. I will read through all your replies carefully! So many things that hadn't occurred to me. Grateful for all your replies Smile

OP posts:
BaldricksCoffee · 30/10/2018 15:09

It all depends on why a pet is wanted, and what for. How old are the dc's? What do they and your dh want from a pet?

If it is all constant cuddles, playing, games and companionship, then you might find that a cat is going to look on all that with complete disdain from a high vantage point Grin

SilverHairedCat · 30/10/2018 15:15

My cat is an angel compared to your lot! She has genuinely never scratched my furniture, carpet, curtains or blinds. She doesn't bring bits of animals in. She doesn't bite or scratch people or attack your feet.

She's an indoor cat mostly, but only because she came to me that way. She's always had access to a massive roof terrace and now an enclosed garden so she does get outdoors. She comes camping with us in our caravan and goes walking on a lead.

She learned to live with a very large bouncy dog aged 12, but would like to beat up all the local cats and throws herself at the window if an interloper comes into the garden.

Apart from the fucking fur EVERYWHERE, I got really lucky.

whyevencare · 30/10/2018 15:19

I wish i'd known what hard work elderly cats can be. My twins are almost 18 yrs old and having been the most adorable little cats for most of their lives but have become a nightmare in old age! Constantly wailing day and night - one possibly has dementia and she also seems to be quite deaf and blind? I'm surprised the neighbours haven't phoned RSPCA!

They also wreck your house - scratch furniture, curtains and walls and the cat hair is just everywhere! We keep them out of the bedrooms now so they sleep on my (fabric) sofa - it needs hoovered daily.

I love them dearly but as they get older and more demanding, unfortunately it's taken the shine off being a devoted cat lover.

Deathraystare · 30/10/2018 15:21

I forgot to say how easy cats are to look after. You can go out to work all day or evening and they look after themselves. You can have a day out and not worry about rushing back like you have to with a dog

But come back from holiday and the cats ignore you for at least a couple of days. You left them you swine!

blueangel1 · 30/10/2018 15:27

I've had cats all my life too, and they're wonderful companions. When my marriage went down the pan, my three were absolutely glued to me.

Definitely seconding getting one from a rescue centre. The black cats are often last to be homed, so give them more than a second look.

GhostsToMonsoon · 30/10/2018 15:33

We recently got two brother kittens from Cats Protection. What I hadn't anticipated was how much the children would fight over them. Both kittens are very friendly and I've never heard such loud purring. However one of them has, for some bizarre reason, taken a real shine to my daughter (5), and lets her pick him up all the time. He sleeps next to her with his head on the pillow and his body under the duvet. This makes my son very jealous as the other kitten isn't quite so tolerant.

Our previous cat had a habit of bringing mice into our bedroom at 2am, chasing them around, eating them and leaving a tiny bit of mouse intestine on the floor. When we went on holiday she would sleep on the exact same bit of bed the whole time, and it was extremely hairy when we got back.

GhostsToMonsoon · 30/10/2018 15:34

Forgot to add, if our previous cat saw another cat in the garden through the window, she would do a horrendous caterwaul that sounded like she was being torn limb from limb.

She was always happy to see us when we got back from holiday and would miaow constantly to say hello.

Annandale · 30/10/2018 15:35

You don't have to be a slave. Ours are shut downstairs at night because my son is no longer a baby, i am ASLEEP and will not have the 5am paw in the face nonsense. I don't care about the scratched sofa. So far no 'presents'.

It's all pretty expensive and one of ours farts like a trooper and is also v affectionate with arse in face scenario. But they were a good idea for a bereaved family.

GlassHeart1 · 30/10/2018 15:46

Ours never damaged anything but the heartbreak when she died was such that we can't face having another one ever.

Blessthekids · 30/10/2018 15:48

All of the above. Cats do have wonderful personalities and I love the look my cat gives me when I fail to live up to his expectations. I do think they love you back in their own way too and its lovely when they sit on your lap or next to you. My one sometimes stretches out his legs so he can touch me with his paws as if to say I'm here and I see you! Dogs are also lovely pets but much harder work although they really are loyal and their love is far more affectionate. It does boil down to how much work you are willing to commit to. Also if you go on holiday and can't take the dog, kennels are quite expensive compared to getting a cat sitter. And finally when their time is up, it really really is heart breaking.

NotUmbongoUnchained · 30/10/2018 15:53

My two children had a kitten each for their first birthdays and their cats are their absolute shadows. The cats sleep in bed with them, follow them around, bring them things and when the youngest cries in the night his cat just lays on his chest and purrs to soothe him. They’ve been amazing babysitters!
My cats a miserable bitch and she hates me.