thinking of getting a cat

[Feelingsensitive]

I am thinking of getting a cat but am clueless on what to do. Can I have your tips please?

Can I stop it jumping on the kitchen side?
Do I need to bring it in at night?
How do I get it to use a litter tray?
Can I stop it bringing on dead/ha;f dead rats, etc?

As you may able to tell I am a bit worried about all this!

Well just remember this wise saying

"cats are like chocolate, it's hard to just have one!"

as for the other stuff

Can I stop it jumping on the kitchen side?

yes if you never let it up there and shout at it if you ever do, it will soon learn

Do I need to bring it in at night?
not unless you want to, although it may prevent it catching birds in the early morning

How do I get it to use a litter tray?
leave the litter tray in the same place, clean it out regularly and show the cat the tray as soon as you bring it home. It should learn that easily

Can I stop it bringing on dead/half dead rats, etc?
Yes if you don't get a cat flap it won't bring them in. It may still leave them outside the door thou!

1. If you can (painlessly and kindly) please tell me how.

1. Of course. Would you like to be ourside all night in the freezing cold?

1. Practice (on cat's part, that is). Put him into the litter tray as soon as he has eaten and each time he appears to be looking for somewhere to "go".

1. See 1.

Val - owned by 4 cats.

1. Ha ha ha. Kitchen counter, dinner table, bath and your neck when you're in bed.

1. Yes

3.What Val said- it's easy and cats get v.quickly

1. We live in a flat and I found dead birds a couple of times on the floor

What about a guinea-pig instead? They are a bit more environmentally friendly yet also very talkative and companiable.
I have a back garden which I hardly ever use because it has become the neighbourhood litter tray. Even if cats do learn to use a litter tray they are bound to use other people's gardens too. It is also very sad that pet cats are probably accelerating the decline of garden birds. So please have a think about a different sort of pet. But don't have guilt if you do get a cat - it's obviously entirely up to you!

I meant that my cats are indoor cats and still have managed to kill few birds.

Can I stop it jumping on the kitchen side?

Yes. Every time it jumps up, pick it up, say loudly and very very firmly, NO and put it on the floor. Took about half a dozen times of doing this over a few days with my youngest cat when he was a kitten.

Do I need to bring it in at night?

Yes. It's cold, and more importantly cats are more likely to be run over in the dark.

How do I get it to use a litter tray?

You know, I have no idea, mine all turned up litter trained, even the one we got as a kitten.

Can I stop it bringing on dead/half dead rats, etc?
Feed it so much it becomes obese and can't run? I tried a liberator collar (£10 from pets at home, they have a motion sensor and beep when the cat pounces) and wildlifeslaughterercat came home 10 mins later without collar and with a smug look.

Thanks all. I can't have a guines pig as we have a fox problem here and know it would end badly.

What about a collar with a bell to rid the problem of bringing in dead things. I really couldnt stomach finding a dead rat in my kitchen!