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

[KiplingAngelCake]

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!

Mine don’t care if they are dreamiest or thrive. They go by the rule If it sounds like treats then it must be treats so tear them open.

One got hold of a packet of dreamies the other day and I saw him run past me with it in his mouth pursued by the other 4. They were looking for a quiet spot to rip the packet open and enjoy the spoils somewhere I wouldn’t see.

At the moment bags of popcorn seem to be on their target but they are severely disappointed when they get into them

You learn how forgiving and how happy you are to be a total doormat. Most cat owners will delight in telling you about their cat/s and how utterly selfish and at times cruel they can be, how they will manipulate and punish you and how we pander to their every whim yet are still totally devoted to them - we are ridiculously happy locked in this often one sided relationship

I absolutely adore my cat I miss him when I go away after ds he is my favorite being he is getting on now and the thought of him not being around is heartbreaking

He is totally devoted to me

See, this cat slave thing is not my experience at all. Lots (most) of my friends are fellow cat owners and I don't think any of them panders to their cat's every whim. We might chat about them bringing a bird in, waking us up in the night etc but I've never heard anyone talk even jokingly about letting them rule the household. Maybe my friends are cat slaves but just don't admit it, I'm certainly not though.

Because I have 5 (4 brothers and their birth mum) I find they are like a little family living with us.

They charge down the stairs in the morning and the cat chorus begins whilst I put their breakfast out.

They eat together then they have their cleaning routine and then they sleep. In the afternoon they play together. Hide and seek or with their toys or have relay races running from the living room into the hall where we have a door that is in its cardboard packaging and going to be hung in another area of the house. They sprint up the door, jump from the top and then back into the living room where the next cat is waiting on top of a coffee table. Only when first cat is back does the next leave to do their run. They even queue up and take it in turns.

In the evening we have to stroke them. They demand it.

I agree with keeping them in a few months when you first get them, they definitely bond better with their people.

Saw someone say you can't train cats, not strictly true, you kind of can!
Ours is trained to come home in the evenings when we then feed her and shut her in so she doesn't go off fighting with the neighbours cats!
We shut her in the kitchen to sleep and she happily sleeps on a blanket on the windowsill, if you get one and value your sleep don't let them roam about the house all night, they will drive you mad!

Also, meant to say our cat is short haired so there really isn't a lot of fur in the house, I have a couple of mates with long haired cats though and seeing them constantly coated in hair has put me off long haired cats for life!

oh there is nothing nicer than a cat (or 3) in bed with you ! even if they do stand on you, pat your face or knead the duvet, it's just lovely in the wee small hours when everyone else is asleep.

I have 2 cats, a three year old girl and a one and a half year old boy.

Hmm what I wasn't prepared for are the "presents". In the middle of the night...... especially the live mice, frogs, birds. Broken sleep at least once a week maybe more. I don't actually mind the dead ones anymore and keep bags and kitchen roll in my bedside table to clean up without gong downstairs. But the live ones......So many times I've woken up with a freaking mouse running around my bedroom.... then there was one that escaped and lived in the sofa for a little while (we found a hold it made and droppings). There might be some under the fridge as well.

Also when people say to keep them in at night, then they won't hunt. I cannot do this! They would scratch and bang on the cat flap, both cats were desperate to go out from a very early age. I just COULD NOT keep them in, even though I originally only wanted house cats (for their own safety), please believe me that we have tried everything ......

Then my older girl cat actually half moved out, she only comes for food and I'm 100% sure she has another home, even though I'm the one paying for the insurance and flea and worm her....

My baby cat had some sort of sickness and cost me over 1k in vet bills, yes he was insured but the insurance didn't pay out....

Still I love them and will take care of them, they are strangely addictive.... we have a dog now as well, who is more obedient. And even the dog knows that cats are allowed everything and are basically gods in our house...

One or other of mine leaps onto my chest every morning at quarter past six to say it's breakfast time mum, get up . So close on my chest that their whiskers tickle my nose. No chance of turning over... And of course, I do get up. And I love them.

Isitweekenyet do you live in my house?

The hideous 5ft scratch post that resides in my nicely decorated lounge
The tins of tuna in spring water
The leaving the central heating on all day in case they get cold
The worry and anxiety- are they sleeping too much? Are they bored? Does she feel worthless as the latest comfy basket cost a fiver in Aldi? Cos she won’t use the cath kidston one....

However I drew the line with the Evian water after I caught her with her head in the loo

My name is wheretheresawill1 and i’m Owned by an opinionated, feisty, intelligent but oh so loving(strictly on her terms) Siamese

Mine loves drinking out of the tap. I believe it's not unusual but I've never had one before who did it. She jumps up and sniffs the tap to let you know. Once you turn it on, she doesn't usually drink straightaway, you have to pretend you're not watching and go about your business and then she'll drink. We sometimes have to wait before going out or starting a TV programme etc because DCat "is on the tap". She needs to learn to turn it off! And she can open doors if it's a press-down handle and isn't too stiff!

Some will treat you as servants...and you will obey!

Other's will be your soul mate. My first Maine Coone Morph was my soulmate in a way no human has been. Slept with his enormous paws round my neck at night, face snuggled into me. My kids sobbed through their first heartbreaks into his fur as he always knew when they needed him.

The day he died of bone cancer at 12 a little piece of me died with him...no one warned me I could love a 'pet' so much.

Current cats are 90% asshole and 10% pure joy. But old cats become smelly (cats are usually delightfully clean smelling) noisy and a total pain. My eldest is nearly 19 going senile, a bit deaf, and pees on the landing even tho she has litter trays upstairs and down. But we clean up and tolerate it because she has been a faithful little dictator for 19 years! She used to bring us a corpse a day but no longer hunts.

Cats teach us that we are not as important as we think we are...but we love them anyway!

Cat flaps are banned in my house - I don't want the presents. It's bad enough having them on the doorstep. Also, all the neighbours' cats would turn up.

Also if you ignore the pestering to go out long enough, they do give up, although it takes nerves of steel initially.

All mine know when it is and isn't worth asking

Also bear in mind how your neighbour's are with cats. If you get outdoor cats, at some point they will strain relationships with your neighbour's if they are not appreciative of cat poo in their gardens, or pawprints on their windows etc.

My advice would be to get a house cat always now, that's through my own experiences sadly :(

I wish that with my first rescue cat I'd got insurance!

First she had her cornea ripped open in a fight (sewn back together by a very clever eye vet surgeon) then she caught pneumonia!

I paid the rspca £25 for her & spent over £1000 in vets bills in 1 year... obviously I got insurance after that, it's normally less than £10 a month with Tesco but I had to pay a premium due to her prior health issues.

The photo should show poor Millie's bad eye on the right. She lost only some sight.

You can guarantee that if you bring someone home (or come home with DP from a date night) feeling frisky, the cat will have vommed somewhere. Probably on your bed, or wherever you intend to stash your DP while you "slip into something more comfortable."

Mind you, the lumpy old spaniel I had did a perfect Mr Whippy shaped poo in the middle of the hall when I brought a date home once.