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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think it's a bad idea to get kittens?

82 replies

0nTheEdge · 29/08/2017 11:07

A friend of mine needs to home kittens and they are so cute and have stolen our hearts a little. We've always wanted pets and are finally able to as we now own and the house even has a cat flap! We're going through a bit of a miserable time as well and I think the idea of kittens is lifting our spirits slightly.
However - we have three kids and the youngest is 10 months. Everything goes in his mouth. Also we are surviving on one salary as I had to give up my job when my second child was ill and then our third baby was a bit of a surprise. I am hoping to go back to work part time and am learning to drive to help enable this, but I would have to do evening shifts and the baby is still breastfed and doesn't sleep well. So that's a way off yet. Basically more money is going out than in and we're relying on savings to bridge the gap and they won't last long.
DH has his heart set on it though, but I look after the finances and do most of the housework as I'm at home.
Sorry for the long post, but I need some perspective on this and your views would be helpful. AIBU to say no to kittens?

OP posts:
FunkinEll · 29/08/2017 11:51

We got kittens at the beginning of the year. We all love them and we were prepared for some added expense but they really add a good chunk to the budget each month! I'd be wary of there's nothing spare in your family.

plantsitter · 29/08/2017 11:54

It would make them happy for about 6 weeks, and you miserable for a lot longer than that... make a list of all the stuff they would have to sacrifice for kittens (make sure it's stuff they really like Wink)

tinytemper66 · 29/08/2017 11:55

£200 for the kitten? Mine was free but will be paying vet for jabs, microchipping etc £60 tomorrow plus when she is old enough to be neutered. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

Ttbb · 29/08/2017 12:07

Getting kittens in your situation is a terrible situation. There is a good chance that there will be problems with the littlest one (such small children usually don't treat animals as gently S they dhould). It would also be very irresponsible to get pets when your financial situation is precarious at best. It's not right to get them if you are unable to pay for insurance/bills.

grandOlejukeofYork · 29/08/2017 12:15

I have a cat and I really don't understand why people are saying they are hard work or expensive. I've found neither to be true (although the poster who 200 pounds for a kitten, yes that's expensive but why the hell would you do that when you can get them for free?).

Supermarket kitten food is really cheap, as is the cat litter. They really don't need any equipment of any kind, and we got large discounts on neutering and vaccinations from the rescue that we got the kitten from. Insurance for one kitten is a tiny amount.

I agree you shouldn't get one if you can't afford it, of course, but I've no idea why people think they are hard work and very expensive.

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 12:17

Don't feel bad OP - kittens are a LOT of work and the novelty soon wears off with young kids. You'll be the one cleaning up accidents, changing the litter trays, taking them to the vets, giving them flea/worm treatments, doing any follow-up care after surgery ad worrying about vets bills, food etc etc.

I don't think they're a good idea with very small children either. Kittens are cute, but they're scratchy, wriggly and don't enjoy being held much in my experience. They do have accidents too - we got a farm kitten last year and had to house-train her, but even kittens that come "litter trained" will have accidents in new places. With a 10 month old, you don't want to be worrying about kitten pee/poo/vomit on the floor, as well as keeping them out of the food bowls and litter trays.

Sounds like your DH loves the idea of making your DC happy (which is sweet) but it just doesn't sound realistic or affordable right now. So many people get pets on a whim, and then realise they can't afford their care/treatment and end up giving them away or putting them in shelters. You sound very responsible so please do the right thing - don't take on a. pet unless you're willing to do all their care and can afford any medical treatment they might need (including insurance excesses and any treatment not covered by insurance - e.g.. spays/neutering, jabs and worm/flea treatment.)

Mittens1969 · 29/08/2017 12:20

We didn't pay for the kittens we've brought home (we have 4 cats now), but there are all the other expenses that one of the PPs has listed. And regular costs like cat food, cat litter, flee prevention treatment, vaccinations and boosters and then the cost of having it spayed/neutered.

And cat insurance for when there are big vet bills.

And cattery fees.

And guess who will be doing all the work looking after the said kitten??

As for a rescue cat, that's easier, but it needs to be a cat that is used to children otherwise it will never adjust. I've been there.

I love cats, but you need to be able to afford them and look after them.

Maybe when the child are older and can help, and when you're working again?

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 12:21

Supermarket kitten food is really cheap

And most supermarket brands are FULL of sugar, salt and grains and aren't that great for cats. And what if you get a cat with a food intolerance, or an allergy, or diabetes? One of ours is grain-intolerant and his food costs a fair bit of money - and as we have two cats, they both have to eat the same food, which is even more expensive.

Brands like GoCat might be cheap, but they're cheap for a reason. They can cause huge problems (especially in male cats) and result in things like urinary blockages which are a) expensive, b) painful for the cat) and c) potentially lethal.

I agree cats aren't especially hard work once you get past the initial kitten stage, but they're not cheap pets either.

Orangebird69 · 29/08/2017 12:23

Because Grandole, they're not getting them from a rescue. Yes, rescues will subsidise things like neutering etc. If you want to buy cheap shit food and litter from the supermarket then you do that. If you take the chance to not insure your cats too that's your look out. Good effective flea and worming treatment is not cheap. Again, supermarket stuff is rubbish. Etc etc.

Mittens1969 · 29/08/2017 12:24

My cats have all hated GoCat lol. Grin

Another thing you need to bear in mind is that the cute kitten you choose won't stay a kitten for long. They become grown cats and cats can live a very long time. So it's a very long-term commitment.

grandOlejukeofYork · 29/08/2017 12:24

And most supermarket brands are FULL of sugar, salt and grains and aren't that great for cats

The majority of the cats in the country eat it perfectly happily.

Orangebird69 · 29/08/2017 12:26

The majority of the cats in the country eat it perfectly happily.

One of my cats ate my straw sunhat perfectly happily. Doesn't mean it's going to be part of his regular diet.... crap food can lead to dental and urinary issues in later life for cats.

Glumglowworm · 29/08/2017 12:26

You just can't afford one at the moment
And a ten month old with a cat isn't a good idea, they're too little to be gentle with the cat and cats are likely to scratch and bite if they get grabbed or roughed about. Plus a crawling baby who puts everything in their mouth is a terrible risk around cat food and cat litter, plus a kitten will probably have accidents at first

Leave it til your youngest is about 3 or 4 at least and you're more comfortable financially

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 12:27

The majority of the cats in the country eat it perfectly happily.

Maybe, but having (naively) fed my old cats on Whiskas/GoCat and being landed with a vet bill of over £1,000 when the male ended up with a urinary blockage as a result of that food, I wouldn't ever feed it to a cat again. We were insured and insurance paid out, but the vet said it was extremely common for male cats to get blockages as a result of cheap supermarket brands.

Mine now eat Applaws which is natural and grain free. It costs me the best part of £100 a month to feed two cats - they get through four pouches a day between them, plus biscuits. I buy in bulk on ZooPlus but it's still not cheap.

plantsitter · 29/08/2017 12:28

The cost for us is flea treatment and worming stuff that actually works. And cat-sitting for holidays. We had to get 2 because the shelter we went to insisted on that and because my youngest was tiny at the time they were 6 months old. They were cute but I think institutionalised and extreeeeemely neeeedy hence the hard work.

Greyhorses · 29/08/2017 12:31

I don't find my cat hard work at all. He entertains himself and requires no effort apart from feeding him twice a day Confused

He does cost about £40/month though after feeding, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment and insurance. Insurance is an absoloute must if you don't have any spare money.

JennyOnAPlate · 29/08/2017 12:32

The cost of cats can really add up, as other posters have said. Vaccinations, neutering and microchips to begin with and then the ongoing costs of insurance (vital if you are on a tight budget), food and litter. Kittens also need toys and a lot of input.

I also don't know where kittens are available for free? All rescues will have a rehoming fee (we paid £55 each for our rescue cats five years ago).

grandOlejukeofYork · 29/08/2017 12:34

I could get 20 kittens for free today, if I wanted. They are everywhere!

Original poster
0nTheEdge · 29/08/2017 12:34

I thought I'd thought of everything but hadn't considered food intolerances! Yikes.
Have spoken to eldest child and mentioned a scenario where his favourite plush toy gets it's ear chewed by a cute, lovable little kitten. He cried. Then spoke to DH on his lunch and on top of all the things I'd already raised I asked him to imagine the baby dropping his dummy and then putting it back in his mouth covered in hair. He agrees with me totally and sees we both got caught up in the moment so the idea is on hold.
Now, if only i can talk my mum into getting a couple of kittens 😉 ...

OP posts:
Orangebird69 · 29/08/2017 12:38

Ha ha edge, I like your style! 😂

RonSwansonsMoustache · 29/08/2017 12:39

I thought I'd thought of everything but hadn't considered food intolerances!

Cats have notoriously sensitive stomachs. Often they'll just throw up whatever disagrees with them, but ours had horrific diarrhoea until we figured out it was the food causing it. The vet ran tests - he had no bugs, was upto date with jabs etc. so we narrowed it down to food.

It's not an issue for most pet owners but it's something to think about if you don't know the background. Premium/grain-free/natural pet food is a lot more expensive than the supermarket brands.

Original poster
0nTheEdge · 29/08/2017 12:41

And yes of course I was going to get pet insurance and was wary of excesses because you can't predict what that will cost in total. Plus proper flea and worm treatments, and jabs, and neutering/spaying. I was planning to feed cheap supermarket food so the feedback has been a bit of an eye opener on that one. Add up all the monthly plus yearly costs, and unexpected bills....

OP posts:
SanFranBear · 29/08/2017 12:44

Good to see you've managed to get the family on board with postponing.

I would echo an earlier poster though - don't get kittens as they are full on and it sounds like you have a lot going on already. However, there are always heaps of 1 or 2 yr old cats in rescues who have passed through that stage but have their whole lives ahead of them. They are ideal as they're playful and gorgeous but are also litter trained, microchipped and once you've got their love, will be yours forever.

TheRealBiscuitAddict · 29/08/2017 12:54

I badly want a kitten/s at the moment, however I have recently been seriously ill so having to go in and out of hospital means it wouldn't be fair to leave a kitten.

However, when I do I would want to go the rescue route, because even if you take them for free it then doesn't encourage cat owners to have their females spayed if they think they can find homes for cute kittens.

stormroof · 29/08/2017 13:18

You can't afford your DC right now nevermind a pair of kittens. Get a grip!

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