Cats are a pain not?

[31133004Taff]

AIBU that cats are indeed a pain to live with?

Have had dogs my adult life but now it’s not reasonable to have one.

People highly recommend a cat and I can see the appeal, love the idea of coming home to a friendly purring cat. Regularly check out the older cats on the local rescue centre listings.

BUT ... Is the the reality being woken up at ungodly hours by drooling and head butting; gifts of rabbit, mice, bird entrails; decimation of my wild birds; howling scraps; peeing in dark corners.

Am I unduly influenced by the trials and tribulations of cat ownership on MN?

My cat doesn't do any of that much less work than a dog!

The walking up early part is all my cat does.

I have three cats.

None of them have had accidents indoors (ages from 12 weeks to 5 years) apart from when one had a UTI.
They're all indoor cats as we live on a 60mph road so no issues with hunting.
The older ones spend about 22 hours asleep. Currently the 5yo is sprawled in the sun, the kitten is asleep on his scratching post and the and the 4yo is curled up on the bookshelf. All very content!

They don't wake me up at 4am as they're all kept downstairs at night. They have free access to water, biscuits and their litter trays and have three rooms to explore between them.

I don't really relate to any of the dramatic cat threads on here

They are both a pain and a joy. Although out of your list, I only have the early wake up calls.

Get an older cat and it's very unlikely you'll have to deal with any of that. Most of them stop hunting by the time they're about 5/6, and if you get a rescue you can find out about its temperament and how much it vocalises.

Rescue a "senior" cat - 8+ - and it's almost guaranteed to be chilled. They live until around 16 on average.

Buy a kitten and yep, you'll have to deal with all that and more!

Cars are easier by far!
My cats only go in the main open living/kitchen dining area - they have a flap and don't bother us for food as they can't get to us lol 😆 the older one used to but when we renovated our home we changed the rules and it works much better

I never get any gifts, thankfully. They're generally pretty easy (and I've got more than 20!). The fur stuck to every bloody bit of clothing is a pain though.

You don't sound like you want a cat, so don't get one?

Noooo! I adore cats.

Many years ago we had Champion Cornish Rex.❤️❤️❤️

We let him go out via the cat flap as I could never keep a cat completely inside and we lived in a rural area anyway. He used to drag dead birds through the cat flap where he had ripped the belly apart with his claw and dug out the heart and liver to eat. 😱

I still miss him all these years later! (Vicious little devil!)

Mine stay out at night and come inside during the day to sleep and eat. I am allowed to stroke them if they want treats. They basically look after themselves! And I have never had dead animals brought home, they just bring me bark from the neighbours garden

Two words.....cat flap! Shut them in the kitchen overnight so no birds or bats in the bedroom during the night and they walk themselves. Much easier than a dog!

Our sleeps in until we get up, but then she always has access to biscuits so doesn't tend to wake us for breakfast. She also runs to the door and rolls over when we get home, usually snoozes in whatever room one of us is in and only brings live mice in – I imagine after much fuss was made over a few dead ones when she was younger. We're adept at catching them now! Depends on your threshold for critters but we had a dog and dealing with the cat's presents was always preferable to cleaning the dog after a fox-poo roll. Cats are a much more low-maintenance pet.

The only time my cat has weed in the house was when she was locked in a room for hours and we didn't notice. We keep her downstairs because she would wake us up constantly otherwise. Have also not had any "presents" from her for a long time; the hunting is often just a phase that they grow out of. I find cats to be the best pets for lazy owners who still want a pet that cuddles and interacts with them.

My cat has only had an accident indoors when hes been ill.
I lock him downstairs so am not disturbed at night.
He once caught a mouse in the shed, that's it. I lock him in at night (10pm ish to 6am)
Hes a rescue and a lively boy with me. Scared of all other people.

Kittens are hard work, but I think cats just get better and better with age. That said, each one really is different in temperament (we have 5, ranging from those who are a bit difficult (slightly incontinent and neurotic but loving and adorable Manx) to those who are cuddly and easy going (fat boy cat) so I second the recommendation to get one from a shelter so that you will know what you are getting. Plus you are giving a good home to a cat that might otherwise be overlooked.

Our cat has peed in dark corners (and not so dark ones) but no more as bought a spray to deter her, no “gifts” but she’s an indoor cat and we wouldnt be without her ❤️

"BUT ... Is the the reality being woken up at ungodly hours by drooling and head butting; gifts of rabbit, mice, bird entrails; decimation of my wild birds; howling scraps; peeing in dark corners"

We never get any of that. We have a door at the bottom of the stairs so cat stays downstairs at night. He cant catch anything for toffee, so no gifts.

I've had both cats and a dog and cats are far, far easier to look after.

Cats don't drool, well mine didn't, they had too much dignity.

And as for peeing in dark corners, never, even when they were very old. But come to that neither does the dog.

We did get wood mice brought in live quite frequently by the male but apart from that I don't recognise any of the things you say cats do.

Okay, it's true, when they were kittens they would bring in the odd frog and one of them brought in a very long earth worm and presented it with great pride but it was only for a short period when they were first honing their hunting skills.

Cats are lovely.

Dont get a kitten. Get a slightly older cat with an established personality and then you know what you're getting.

Cats have a wide range of personalities. My childhood cat was the chillest and most loving cat. He just wanted to sit on your lap or be held like a baby.

My current cat is a complete bugger, but I still love her.

Had dogs and cats my entire life. Cats are much easier than dogs.

My cat has peed inside not in his tray once in his life (he's 3 and I've had him since he was a kitten) he peed because I didn't hear him mewing to be let out as I had a migraine and was asleep. He's never brought home an animal (I wouldn't be that bothered if he did) he brings home balloons instead, I think he likes the texture. He also doesn't drool or head butt things. He's the easiest pet I've ever had. I've had loads ranging from hamsters to horses and everything in between.

Noooo, cats are just so easy.

Being woken up at ungodly hours - no, Arthur is in the kitchen all night (or out having a party).

Gifts of rabbit, mice, bird entrails; decimation of my wild birds - the odd mouse in the kitchen, mostly he eats the lot, just a smear left. They don't decimate wild birds, our garden is full of birds. He only manages to catch two or three a year, and they will be the weak ones.
Howling scraps - not that we hear. No issues with chip based cat flap, so no-one else comes in.
Peeing in dark corners - Never happened, even when he has been shut in conservatory all night by mistake. Cats are REALLY good at holding on!

Cats are awesome, but you know you don't HAVE to have a pet right? All pets are hard work in their own ways, as much as I love animals the older I get the less I feel that I need to own one.

Cats are way easier! Mine brings home gifts but tends to leave them outside and has never peed in the house. He has access to biscuits and water all the time so helps himself when he’s hungry and it’s not feeding time.

Major advantage to cats is they don’t need walking or the same level of attention as a dog.

As PP have said, it’s better to get an older cat as they are usually “pre trained” in terms of toileting etc. Plus there are lots of older kitties who are looking for forever homes out there!

I have had four cats.

One kept to himself and only bothered with humans when he wanted feeding. He was far far too lazy to hunt.

Then got a pair of litter mate rescues (only two surviving out of mum and litter) and one was borderline feral even after getting fixed. He wandered off one day when he was about two or three never to be seen again but was something of a menace.

The other of that pair was terrified of her own shadow when we first brought her home but she became the most perfect little lady. She was very petite, affectionate and silly. She only peed on stuff when we moved house with her and only ever brought home 'presents' when dp, who was at that point just a boyfriend, came over to stay. We think she was trying to show off to him.

We got another to replace the nutter that ran off and was quite amiable too, but he also went missing. Strongly suspect someone else 'adopted' him as he was a greedy bugger and we didn't give him too much food. He was also far too lazy to hunt. He mostly slept and ate. He never peed anywhere except his litter tray.