If you know about cats…

[FS90]

Hi,

if you know a thing or two about cats..

what are your thoughts on introducing kittens to a house with a 6 and 2 year old?

is it better to adopt in pairs?

if so can they be from the same litter?

and does it make a difference whether they’re a pair of girls/ boys/ mixed sex?

what are your thoughts on indoor cats?

can indoor cats access the garden at all or is it a complete no no?

thanks so much

I did it the other way round - I already had 6 cats when ds was born. I've always been really strict with ds about his interactions with the cats. No chasing, no carrying around, no teasing etc. Not allowed to interfere with them when they're eating/sleeping. It all went really well. 9 years in, everyone is still living in harmony.

We live rurally so my cats are in and out as they please but I always get them in at night, so still have a couple of litter trays indoors. Get two. Get them neutered (ASAP, and certainly before you let them outside). Microchipping is now a legal requirement. Get insurance too. One of mine produced a vet bill of nearly £8k a couple of years ago. Thankfully, it only cost me £99 for the excess.

Boy cats are more fun.

I'd say definitely no in your situation, maybe unless your house is large and you can cat proof your garden so they have some outdoor access and can escape your DC.

Unless you watch your DC like a hawk, they're likely to to pester and annoy the kittens which leads to unhappy scratchy cats.

Plus many young cats are desperate to go outside. We used to foster rescue cats and getting in/out of the house without them escaping was a nightmare.

Unless the road you live on is quiet/slow the risk of being run over is high, especially with kittens.

It might be OK but there are too many red flags so the risk of any cats/kittens you adopt not being safe and happy is high, meaning you'd have to rehome.

We got our boy kittens when the dc were 18 months and 5 yo. Best thing we ever did. They were never teased, chased, squeezed etc. and loved being with the kids right from the start. Ours are indoor cats due to some disabilities which would have made them vulnerable outdoors, but they occasionally like a stroll around the garden in the summer.

We got 2 kittens just before DS was born. They adored each other straight away and I'm sure one of them thought my DS was her kitten (she used to groom him).

It was fun having 2 of them although they did used to zoom around the house sounding like a thundering pair of toddlers on the stairs! DS was fine and never grabbed or hit them - although they were there before he was so not sure if that makes a difference?

Ours were allowed outside but always locked in at night and we had a litter tray (still do) and that was no bother.

I think in many ways the best thing was how much DS loved them. They both died in 2023 when he was 17 and they'd been close all of that time. Definitely no regrets here op.

Ha, snap! I take this approach with my cat too - out the back, fine, but never ever out the front. Every time I open the front door, I hold my shopping bags infront of me to act as a barrier to stop her from flying out. Tbh, she rarely attempts it nowadays and has learnt that only the back is safe. Then again, she's not much of an outside cat really, she will have a toddle outside if the weather is good but much prefers the indoor life, preferably lying on a furry blanket. They all have such different personalities..

@EmoteOrNot 🤣 exactly the same with the shopping bags! Poor thing soon learnt that front door equalled getting a huge shopping bag in her face!

😂 how funny - hope we're not traumatizing our poor kitties with the shopping bag antics, but it works!!! Don't think I've completely given her a phobia though, she still buries her head in the carriers to sniff out the dreamies...❤

Can't don't need to go outside and those ages are fine!

We have an elderly bengal cat who was a bit wilder in his younger days but back then was mostly an indoor cat. As he's aged, he loves going out but rarely ventures far, preferring a sunny spot to sleep. Although the greenhouse fits the bill as often as the cosy sofa...

We had him before having our children so they have grown up with him no problems at all.

We also got 2 kittens at the end of the spring. They were litter mates, brother and sister, and they are delightful! It's usually recommended to get two kittens so that they entertain themselves and that was absolutely true for ours. They did/do like to mess about with the old cat but he tells them swiftly if they need to stop and he carries on with his napping!

Our children were 5 and 7 when we got the kittens and it really hasn't been a problem at all. I wouldn't worry too much about the age of your children, kittens tend to settle in really well with a family dynamic.

Our two love to go outside and explore and we live very rurally so they've already brought me pigeons, shrews and mice as gifts 🤢 they also love to cuddle in and would sleep all night in our bedrooms if I let them-I don't as I'm massively allergic to the bengal but not the kittens!

I'd say do it, but definitely get two kittens for your sanity!

I should add that I always get them in for 'supper' at about 6-7pm now that it's getting dark and keep them all in at night time. I hate the idea of them being out at night!