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 😊

@Youcouldbemysilversprings
Dreamies are called Cat Crack in this house .

Agree about looking at a rescue for a friendly cat. I'm a cat fosterer for a local charity.

If you want one cat, don't get a kitten. Responsible rescues won't let you have one kitten anyway, under about 4 months old, they need company to play with, snuggle up to and learn how to be a cat.

So go for an older cat - we always have lots of 'young mothers' as in cats who've been found as pregnant strays or with kittens, so we spay the mothers when the kittens are weaned and rehome them all.

The last mother I had was absolutely gorgeous and friendly. When she wasn't nursing she would let me carry her round like a baby for hours.

If you're not bothered about colour, maybe go for a black or black and white cat. Statistically they spend a lot more time in rescue because people want greys and tabbies.

Pros. They are cute, they don't need a lot of looking after, kitty cuddles are the best!
Cons. Having to clean out litter trays, they bring in little 'gifts ' (thankfully Missy is past that stage now)

Cons coming down to this

Pros just do cute

Pros:

Cats can be very affectionate, but not slavishly so. You earn a cat's love, you don't command it. The more you put into a cat the more you get in return.

They are very cuddly, have a beautifully soothing purr and soft fur that is so lovely to stroke.

They are marvellous company and very entertaining.

They are always pleased to see you, except when they are sulking because you had the cheek to go away and put them in a cattery.

They have bags of personality. All of my cats have been very distinct individuals with their own likes, dislikes, fads and foibles. Some have been very intelligent and some have been endearingly dim.

They are all beautiful, and mostly graceful, - the ones with ambitions to be spherical do tend to galumph a bit.

There is nothing like a living, purring, snuggly hot water bottle tucked up next to you when you are tired or ill.

They are wonderful companions when you are feeling sad.

They don't need to be taken for walks in nasty weather. Or good weather but that's not such a problem.

They don't smell, except of nice warm fur, which I find pleasant.

They wash themselves.

Mother cats litter-train their kittens which saves you a lot of work.

Cats potter round the garden with you when you are weeding/pruning/raking etc.

Cons:

Litter boxes, even the most scrupulously changed, are not nice.

Cats puke about as frequently as toddlers. But cat sick is nowhere near as nasty smelling.

You will need to use some sort of fur removing device for your clothes or to learn to tolerate a sprinkling of cat hair on all your outfits.

Kittens are destructive little sods. No fragile ornament is safe from them and they will scratch your nicest furniture and swing from the curtains with sharp, little claws. But they are so enchanting you won't care, well, not that much.

Vet bills can mount alarmingly quickly.

Outdoor cats will worry the life out of you by not coming home at night at least once.

But the worst of all is that they don't live long enough and when they die they break your heart.

So to sum up I wouldn't be without a cat, and preferably more than one.

Get two, OP.

We have two. Neither of them really hunt and we leave dry food out all the time for them so we don't get woken at the crack of dawn for food either. We adopted them as orphaned kittens from a rescue centre. We only went for one but the other one came right up to us and then fell asleep in my arms so she chose us really.

One is with us all day, sits under my desk when I'm working, sits on the arm of the sofa when we watch TV, sits right behind my feet when I'm washing up (a furry trip hazard). His downsides are that he shits on the floor next to the litter tray rather than in it and he scratches the furniture as his way of saying that he wants to play.

The other barely comes in between March and October apart from for food. If you want to spend time with her, you need to visit her in the garden. She adores my oldest and allows him to pick her up and carry her round like a baby. In autumn and winter, she likes to sleep under our bed and then pops out in the evening for fuss. She pats us with her paw to remind us to keep stroking her and she has incredibly soft fur. She is gorgeous and has no downsides.

We adopted two cats from an animal rescue back in February - one male and one female. Their previous owner had about 30 cats and wasn't looking after them properly . They have very different personalities. The male is very affectionate and a total lapcat - likes nothing better than snuggling up on your lap. The female cat was very anxious at first- she'd run a mile if you took a step towards her. She would hide away in her little cushion house and generally keep her distance. I was a little disappointed that she wasn't more affectionate but I'd offered her a home and giving her back never entered my head. At least in my house she'd be fed and watered and comfortable and have clean litter trays to use.

March brought Covid and lockdown and DD and I spent a lot of time at home with the cats. The female cat gradually grew less timid. The signs were so subtle that I almost missed them. I started to notice that she was following me around the house. So, I'd go upstairs to hang clothes on an airer and I'd hear the pitter patter of tiny feet as she followed me into the room - not a room she would usually frequent. DD and I usually sit on the sofa to watch TV and the female cat usually kept her distance - she'd perch on the back of one of the armchairs. But one night DD had gone to bed and I was sitting on my usual spot on the sofa and, to my amazement, she jumped up on the other end of the sofa. We've now got to the stage where if we hold out a hand and allow her to sniff it, she will then allow us to stroke her back and tail. For some reason, she doesn't like it if we stroke her head or rub her ears. She still doesn't sit on our laps but she's a lot more relaxed now and that makes me so happy. Funnily enough, she's more playful than the male cat and loves dribbling her toy ball along the hall and into the kitchen - I'm always joking that we should sign her up for the Irish football team.

Pros

• They're beautiful animals and very affectionate
• They don't need walking so easier pets than dogs
• It's fun watching their antics - playing with their toys etc.

Cons

-Having to empty and clean litter trays
-Having to dispose of dead baby birds, mice etc. No live ones fortunately.
-They tie you down - it's harder to get away for a holiday or weekend break because you've to arrange for someone to feed them or pay for a cattery. But that's probably less of an issue this year.
-They haven't so much as looked in the direction of the scratching posts I bought them - they prefer to dig their claws into my carpets and furniture. I'm already planning to replace my hall carpet with a laminate floor.
-Expensive vet bills - I've only had the cats a few months and I've already had to pay approx. €50 for a vaccination and approx. €500 for a dental extraction (cost of x-ray, procedure, painkillers etc.). They didn't get all of the bad teeth out in one go, so he's currently undergoing a second extraction - I'll report back on the cost of the second procedure after I collect him this evening. I might add that each procedure involved dropping off the cat in the morning, collecting him in the evening, and then two follow up visits for check ups. Not easy to arrange when I work full time.

I've attached a photo of the female cat. She looks a little grumpy but that's because she had just woken up from a snooze.

Mine is currently curled up asleep under the radiator, on an old jumper. He looks so content

Pros - he’s good company and when he chooses to spend time with me it makes me happy. He has the ability to teleport to the kitchen from wherever he was when certain foods are being prepared . He’s a sweet natured wee thing and very easy to live with/look after. He doesn’t hunt (or not very well) but his presence seems to deter mice. His purring is the loveliest ever.

Cons: he’s pissed in a few places he shouldn’t, in one case ruining a floorboard (we were away, cat sitter didn’t notice) and causing a smell that lasts bloody ages. Hair balls are vile. Whenever he gets sick (not often tbf) it’s always at the weekend or in the evening so we have to rush him to the out of hours vet in a taxi. At least he’s insured.

Having to sleep scrunched up in a bone aching position because, if you move, you will move your cat out if it’s comfy spot.

I have a bad back for this very reason. Totally worth it.

If you are considering a kitten I would always advocate getting two -they play together and it helps them settle too. The best things about cats are that once they are grown up they are pretty independent. Even as kittens once settled they can be left easier than dogs.When I come home they come running to see who it is and spend a lot of their time cuddling up with us.

However, the worst things are dealing with the litter tray and the constant supervision whilst they are young. They get into everything all the time and climb up to places they can't get down from. Sometimes they fight and have to be separated too. When we are cooking one of our kittens will not stop getting on the side but then she cries if we shut her out.

They are amazing and have made us very happy, but don't under estimate how much they will change your lives as you become their slaves!

Best are the cuddles and warm lap.

I had an indoor cat so downside was cleaning out the litter tray and sadly she got sick when she was still young which was pretty heartbreaking.

The second dental op cost €425. So that's c. €1,000 I've spent on one cat since Feburary.