Tell me the pros and cons to having a cat- or any tips.

[MunchBunchYoghurt]

I have never had a cat in all of my 35 years but we have been considering for some time now in getting one.

I will research thoroughly and as part of that research I thought, who better to ask than the people of Mumsnet.

Please tell me the best things about having a cat.
The worst.
Any tips or advice.

Thank you 😊

Some breeds are more affectionate than others (e.g. Ragdoll, Birman). I have two part Birmans who I got as adults. They follow me from room to room, purr just for the sheer joy that you looked at them, curl up on my desk or at my feet when I work and sleep near my head at night.
Downsides: the cat hair everywhere. Daily cat hair removal is needed, even though I have a Roomba that is used daily.
If you do get a cat , please read or look at the book by and /or YouTube presentations by Jackson Galaxy first. Really good insight into what cats need and how they think.

Keep it indoors so it’s not at risk from humans, traffic, predators, poison, getting stuck, shiteing all round itself and decimating native species.
Pros: purring
Cons:literally everything else. Puke, screaming, stinking faeces, doesn’t enjoy being a pet (in general, no one cares about anyone’s boring photos and anecdotes), £1000s in feeding and vet care.

I got my first cat at 45! Think we have been very lucky as she is quite friendly but that may be because I have always treated her like a dog, as that is what I was used to! She brings in up to 3 mice a day, she will happily chase them round the house for hours and she wakes us up in the middle of the night chasing them up and down the landing so we do have to do a lot of mouse catching and releasing back outside. If I had known what a mouser she was it would have put me off but we have adapted and she is adorable.

Cats are trainable, we've had 3 and trained all of them to go outside to toilet, they spend most of their day in doors and stay in all night, although we lock them in the utility room otherwise you'd wake up at 3 am with a cat sitting on your face purring.

The cleanest animals ever, no smell, see above about toileting, we quickly got rid of the litter tray once they were neutered.

The sheer joy of them sitting on your knee purring while you pet them, I can't think of anything bad except for their obsession with effing dreamies, do not introduce those, cat heroin!!!!!

I love my 2 cats but
The hair!!!! On everything!!
Our sofas and carpets are all scratched by the buggers.
And the dead mice 🙈
But I do love them. Lots. The cuddles are great!!

The worst is definitely claw marked sofas and carpets! However for some reason he is just so worth it! Loving, cute, all cuddly when he purrs and rubs his head on mine! and he makes me feel relaxed (when he’s not attacking my ankles from under the couch)

When you are even if a couple minutes late with breakfast you will get this look. But once they have eaten they are quite happy to go back to bed for snuggles.

Pros - cute, lovable, follows me around the house, tries to follow me when I go to the shops, sleeps on my pillow beside me.

Cons - plucks the furniture, wakes me up at 5am every bloody morning, brings mice into the house, once brought a live bird into the house through the cat flap, have to arrange for her to be looked after if I go away, annoys the neighbours by pooing in their garden, stops eating her food suddenly, keeps getting into fights which she loses, costs a fortune in vets fees.

I love her dearly, wouldn’t be without her. She has often been my only company during lockdown. She is purring loudly as I type this 😻

Pros: they are lovely animals and very funny. Cons: cost of boarding when on holiday, needing to book so hard to be spontaneous. But that applies to all pets.

Cons - being woken up in the middle of the night by my cat snuggling into me and purring loudly wanting to cuddle.

Pros - having a cute furry fluff ball who wants to sit on me and cuddle all the time!

Pros: Lovely fluffy purring cat sat on your lap when you're watching telly, cats sleeping next to you/on you at night, house never feels empty if you're alone. They're just so bloody cute. I have four!

Cons: Waking you up very early in the morning by meowing at you or sitting on you until you feed them + emptying their litter trays.

If you want guaranteed affection (and have the money to spare) get a Burmese

Our cats arrived as stray kittens 12 years ago, tiny and flea covered...they have been and are a much loved part of our family now. Each has their own unique personalities and habits. They are very affectionate. We trained ours with cat treats to use a cat scratcher attached to the wall, so have never damaged the furniture, they use a corner in the garden to do the toiletting, which needs regularly clearing( not a nice job), they stay indoors at night.
With good care, worming tablets and annual vaccinations they stay in good health, so that is an expense.
The biggest downside for me is birds avoid my garden!

Rescue an adult cat, then you know their personality

I'm so lucky with my kitten.

Pros - when they look at you with such love in their eyes and wanna cuddle up as close to you as possible. They give you a reason to get up everyday. unconditional love.

Cons- the fear of letting them outside combined with guilt when she's staring out the window (which is why my kitten is an indoor cat...for now.. maybe) andsharp claws. My cat will not let me near them and despite her using her scratching pads all the time, they stick in you and make you bleed. I'm covered head to toe in scratches from her jumping up my leg etc.

I have 4 cats. I got them all from kittens and all are friendly and loving. Not all cats are my friend has a cat she inherited when her auntie died and it hates her. Cat won't sit on her lap or snuggle up to her. One day it went up to her when she was sitting on the sofa

leaned over to her and scratched her.

Bad thing they won't let you make a hot drink in morning until you have fed them. They team up and go around and around my legs until I can't move.

The best thing is when they fall asleep snuggled up with you on sofa. They are do soft and furry. I have 2 with very long fur and 2 short haired.

Mine's an indoor cat, so no half dead birds left in the laundry basket! She's also as good as gold with the litter tray.
It's a delight to watch her joy when she gets a tin foil ball. When she wants to play, she comes up and bashes me with her paw.
I wouldn't say she's massively affectionate. She's not cuddly, but she likes to be where we are.
Downside is worrying about her. She got stuck on the roof once, having climbed out the window and the memory of it still gives me heart palpitations!

Cats are fab. Very independent and loving. Well most of the time

You are never alone when you have a cat. They will love you despite anything and everything. They are intuitive, they seem to sense when you are down. I was born with a cat on the bed, I hope to die with one on my bed!

The worst is that one day they will die. And you lose a piece of your soul.

Much less worse but pretty bad are the ticks caught from prowling and lurking in grass and bushes. We used spot-on for years regularly but whilst it killed a few daft ticks, the cleverer ones just crawled around on the cat for hours, and were brushed onto floors and sofas. It was actually safer when they bit, and could be extracted.
The rubbish thing about these medicines (apart from not working) is that it is a water soluble insecticide, which washes off in the garden eventually harming bees, bumblebees, worms and all the million insects about. Which is definitely not good.

Cons - they bring stuff back that can be heartbreaking.. (partner tried resuscitating a bird once, one legged frog, squeaky mouse hiding under the sofa..) Vet bills are expensive. They're aloof. You never know what personality they might have, they could be mean..
Pros - nice to not be lonely when you're alone..

I've had cats my whole life. They all have unique personalities but in my experience, the more love you give them, the more they give you!
All of my cats have been affectionate, purry, playful and a great comfort in times of need. I like resuce cats but currently have 2 bengals which is a very different experience but absolutely amazing! They are incredibly intelligent, full of energy, need entertaining and need a lot of time, attention and love. They have a more sophisticated language with us than any other cats I have known which makes for great company.

I would never have a cat and not let it go outdoors but this does mean you will have all manner of creatures brought home.
Cat poo is a pain whether it's in your garden or a litter tray.
Your furniture and carpets will get scratched, despite scratching posts and feliway.
The vet costs more than you think, every time and even with insurance. And you'll no doubt waste £8 on a worming pill they have assured you the cat took...only for you to find it spat out somewhere at home later that day.

Above all, you have to want to fully welcome a cat as part of your life and respect their needs as animals you have brought into your home - try and learn about cat behaviour and adjust accordingly.

I couldnt live without cats! (Can you tell?!)

@whenwillthemadnessend

My two tabby's are very friendly to us. Scared of strangers but they are friendly to those that visit a lot.

Get a kitten or older car that's been very well socialised and it should be fine. Kittens need to be socialised by age 7 weeks or it's too late. My two grew in a home with dogs children horses. You name it.

And they are so 😍 pretty.

How did the horses get into your house?

Today's cons: they wake you up at 5.30 in the sodding morning by vomiting next to your head, and when you stagger to the loo after clearing it up, you discover one of the little bastards has done something criminally noxious in the litter tray.

The scalped mouse on the living room floor a few weeks ago was also a low point (albeit an educational one).

Pros are cuteness, toe beans, always someone to talk to, they keep your lap warm, never have to walk them, they don't react to the postman, and you never have to come home to an empty house. Also catnip is hilarious.

I never get woken by hungry cats; they've trained DD to get up and feed them at the crack of dawn.

@MunchBunchYoghurt

Is there any way to guarantee getting a friendlier cat. I know a friend of mine has a very scary vicious cat 😬

Go to a rescue that lets you spend a bit of time with each cat, and tell them you want a friendly cat. Choose on "personality" rather than looks. All mine have been very friendly.

Worst thing by far is that they will die.