Anyone regretted having a cat?

[MozzchopsThirty]

I've never had one, would like one for me & dcs
Seen one we like and suitable for our home at local cats protection centre

I'm so nervous about it going wrong, worried that she'll scratch furniture, carpets etc
Worried about allergy
Worried I won't cope

You either love 'em or hate 'em, a bit like children.

If you love them they will be a part of your family and own a piece of your heart forever, if you're precious about your house you'll need to get over it.

Cats are loving but they do have their own agenda and you need to fit in with that, by all means set ground rules like sleeping in the utility room at night and no jumping on the kitchen counters etc. but do expect to receive 'gifts.

My dear kitty got into the Easter spirit and bought me a bunny not the chocolate sort and it was half eaten. She did get hit by a car and is perhaps a little more mental than she should be.

If you're stressed then there is no better therapy than a warm and loving cat on your knee. Enjoy!

This is our BiBi - moments before she realised she couldn't actually get back down from this tree and poor hubby had to get her down - her yowling was too much.

We've got three cats. All rescues. The third was from someone we knew who had just had a baby and unfortunately the baby has severe pet fur allergies (cats and dogs) so we took her on. She's lying on the arm of the chair next to me eyeing up the cursor on the laptop screen waiting to pounce!

We have various rugs scattered round so the cats are allowed to scratch them but not the carpets (rental) and we bought a bag of fresh catnip which we put on the places they are allowed to scratch (scratching posts, some rugs). This has helped massively.

I would never be without the cats. I honestly don't see a single negative in having them at all. They are all part of the family. Girl cat 1 is a sweetie, she loves lying on the bed with us at night, nudges me with her head and when that gets no response (because you know, it's 2am I'm sleeping) she puts a paw on my face. Then just presses harder and harder until I wake and scratch her head for her. She's a funny little soul.

Never. Can't imagine life without a cat. Ours is very clean - never messes in the house, but he does throw up spectacularly well and he runs with a wild crowd of feral cats so brings home fleas and way too many presents of birds, mice, voles, toads etc for us. And if we hadn't had pet insurance we'd be homeless by now due to bills. But he's so loving, brilliant with DC, so handsome and warm and snuggly and affectionate.

I had cats. They were lovely, but now that I don't have cats any more, I really appreciate the lack of cat hair on my clothing and the ability to go away for the weekend without worrying about feeding and watering the cats.

I guess it depends on whether the pros outweigh the cons. I would love to have cats again when life is less chaotic otherwise.

I acquired an adult cat as my neighbour (previous owner) had to go into a home. He's settled down well but it was a year before he came and sat on my lap. Obviously there are times when I regret it a little (sometimes wish he could clear up his own litter tray, wash his own bowls, etc) but the benefit I think mostly outweighs the bother. As a quiet widow it gives me someone to talk to!

I love my male cat, age 8, he's very soft, lets DD (almost 3) pull him around and has never once gone for her. He's loving and generally doesn't scratch much. He does on occasion but has never damaged anything and he pulls at the carpet to be let out. He also doesn't climb on the work surfaces.
Would I have another? Never. No matter what there is always hair everywhere. You'll find it in your car, on your chair at work, on your best going out outfit, which he will rub against as I'm leaving the house. He is quite a sickly cat too, it's been investigated and we've tried many types of food but he is still sick once a month. DD thinks it's funny and now gets the cleaning stuff out when she sees it. It's gross. He seems immune to all flea prevention methods. The vets had to refund us for the 6 monthly injection because it still wasn't stopping him getting them. Treating the house is a nightmare. Washing the bedding of everyone at 60, fumigating house, hoovering lots to get the eggs to hatch. We had fleas the week before my wedding, I had bites on my legs but luckily not my face.
NEVER again.

We've had ours for nearly 10 years now, from kitten. She's family. Although, typically female, she's too talkative sometimes .

We'd trained her to use the human loo (no, she doesn't flush, before anyone asks). It is possible, even with an adult. So even in a rented flat, all was well.

Having moved to a house and struggling for a few months with her absolutely determined to stop being an indoors-only dweller, we put in a cat door (works with her microchip). She still does her wees in the loo though. The poos have migrated outdoors now (typical of cats, btw, to have two separate no.1 and no.2 places)

One piece if advice regarding scratching posts: cats normally prefer to scratch either vertical or horizontal surfaces. Try to find out which yours likes better and start from there (shelter may be able to tell you).

About the kitchen counters and such: get yourself equipped with a water spray and spend a few days following the cat. If she jumps to where she's no allowed spray her with water. Ideally, do it so she doesn't see where it's coming from (so no association with you, but with the counter instead).

You won't regret it! As other have said, the payoff is well worth the trouble. Good luck!

We adopted a stray kitten just over 3 years ago and don't regret it for a minute. She is very entertaining and my 9 year old DGD loves playing with her. She is mainly an indoor cat as we live on a busy main road,but we do take her outside the back of our flat on the grassed area once or twice a week for a run around. Even tried putting a harness and lead on her in the early days but she nearly went berserk! The only gripe I have is the cat hair everywhere, even though she is a short-hair. She is fastidiously clean,used the litter tray from the word go without having to be trained. Costs very little to feed,about a fiver a week. Biggest expense is vet bills,so would recommend pet insurance. Ours is just under 8 quid a month but well worth it. We were so glad we took it out as last summer,we had to take her to the vet as she had a bad stomach upset with sickness and diarrhoea,and it covered the £800 worth of treatment she had. I would say go for it!

Yes. Ours is unfriendly and only comes into the house so she can piss in my handbag. I much prefer dogs.

Get some catnip spray to squirt your scratching post it attracts all my cats and saved my new suite, I wish I'd discovered it before.As for keeping it in utility room ? They aren't like dogs as in hate to be locked in, if she hears her family she will want to be with them.They are mainly affectionate you know, I have 1 that even follows me to the loo and into shower!when we go on holiday my friend comes in to feed cats and dog twice a day and cats are ones that pine.....but they are very much worth it, they worm their way into your heart and all have funny little ways....and they are on the whole clean unless litter tray is dirty or they can't get outside.if a cat thinks litter is too dirty it will toilet somewhere else

If you really love your cat and she will probably jump on your kitchen counters then just have very watered down bleach and quick wipe with cheap kitchen roll.keeps on top of things let's face it you wipe em down anyway to get anything that may be on them and this way you know you've caught any potential germs from paws.

ELK ....oh your so clever I've tried, I've even resorted to a soft foam nerf dart on 1 stubborn kittie.well water doesnt work she loves water she just started playing with dart.Now she loves foam darts as toys!!

My cat does fine in the utility room at night,everything is in there plus the cat flap,we're asleep so he can't hear us.
My friend is a vet and does the same so I took her lead! None of us get any sleep if we don't as he stands at the end of our bed and talks loudly to us

I have 5 of the little darlings, don't abuse the furniture or carpets they use the trees and garden fence. Yes, they do bounce around the worktop, just lift them off and use antibac spray. Sleep anywhere they want.. A brilliant purry alarm clock. Wouldn't be without them nor would my dh or dc. Nobody believes I am allergic as you get used to the fur and become immune, honestly. Got one trying to help me post lol. Maybe I should to change to' crazy cat lady'? Oh, and get a cat flap.

If the cat is young and friendly, go for it! As others have suggested you don't really know how a cat will turn out, some are lovely and some not so but the same can go for any pet (or child!!!)
My husband HATED cats, and was very negative about me getting a kittie. She won him over in no time at all and 12 years later she is still with us. My top tips are: don't exclude the cat from family life, otherwise she won't get friendly with the children, but possibly lock her into the utility room for the nights (so no waking anybody up).
Get her microchipped and get a cat flap that only opens for her chip, they are a bit expensive (£70- 80ish) but you won't have other cats coming in to nick her food / spray your furniture.
Don't allow her outside at night, when darkness falls it's curfew! Cats Protection people say that the majority of road accidents, fights etc happen at night.
Keep litter tray clean, she shouldn't really be doing more than 1 or 2 poos a day, if there's loads of mess look at her diet (mine lives on prescription sensitivity control food as she had endless upset tummies when little). Now fine, and almost never pukes.
Get her insured, it can feel a bit like money down the drain but is worth it ( we had a car hit which cost the most of £8000 to repair the cat).
Plant some catnip in your garden. My cat has no interest in the cat toys with dried catnip, but she goes bananas on the stuff growing outside.
Teach DCs how to handle the cat, and encourage them to do the feeding. The cat is always more likely to bond with whoever feeds her.
Children love having pets, and cats are generally fairly hassle free.

Love love my cat, yes they are selfish and disrescpectful but that makes me love her all the more. Cats are very intelligent and when they accept you, you know it's worth it. Mine does bring me presents but she does not scratch the furniture nor have accidents indoors, she loves my DC and they cart her about like a toy. Unlike some posters I do allow my cat into our bedroom and I do love having her.

Go for it op.

I can't remember life Before Cats. One of ours has chewed through my handbag, shoelaces, coat collars, gloves, and regularly jumps on my head at evil o'clock. But look at that face....

I've been running a mixed species rescue for over 25 years and my feeling is No, you're not ready for a cat - if you're as concerned as you are about commonplace cat behaviours, you're going to become very resentful of the scratches on furniture/wallpaper, the trailed cat litter and the shed fur on everything that any cat will likely cause: you're correct in worrying about allergies - it might be a good thing to ask a cat owning friend if their kitty could holiday (strictly indoors for fear of it getting out and lost in a strange area) with your family for a week to ascertain any allergies. If you have small child/ren then it would be hard to keep a cat entirely indoors long term: so, would you be prepared to cope with injured and still alive rodents and birds and rabbits? Or stepping on the disgusting little gall bladders that cats spit out of their prey? Would you have it in you to praise your cat for "donating" a dead creature to you? They do it as a gift, and it's thoroughly unkind to scold them. What about your child - old enough to know not to pick up or squeeze all the time? The cat also should be insured for your own peace of mind - a simple amputation of a badly broken leg is over £300, and super vet stuff comes into the thousands. They need worming regularly, and a long hair cat needs daily grooming. If you're still not put off - go for it. Cats are the most wonderful, affectionate, quirky little beings when they're well loved and understood.

Yesterday we buried the DCs favourite cat. The day before all 5 of us trooped into the vets in tears after getting a call to say someone had kindly brought him in after he'd been hit by a car. Our cat was a ginger Tom loved by all, bit like a therapist for the DC,climbed trees with youngest, confidante and listener for middle and destresser for eldest.
I've been surprised by the weight of grief as DS2 sobbed himself to sleep last night, DS 3 is sure he's in heaven. So, yes get a cat, they are a bit of work but if you end up with a friendly one who will play with the kids they are so worth it.

I was brought up to hate cats, I let dh get a rescue to keep him happy. I bloody love them now, we are on our third, sadly lost one to cancer and one to the road .

They are rude, arrogant but full of personality and I love the contrast between ddog and her utter devotion opposed to dcat's aloofness.
My dd2 has autism, I swear that cat sees in to her soul, they are inseparable.

Always rescue, so many need homes.

Northern shepherdess- does he have ibd?

Mine was exactly the same, vet put him on a daily metronidazole tablet as a last resort (he was losing weight so fast as he got old). After years of diarrhoea we had solid, normal poo.

O/p no i have never regretted it. I could never be without mine.

I have 2 cats, the down sides are they cost a fortune (flea and worm treatment, insurance, jabs and both my cats have long term health problems) they are messy and they can be annoying.

However the upsides are they have made our house a home and our family complete they bring dd and I lots of joy. Girl cat has a special bond with dd who has sensory difficulties and has a way of calming her down when dd is stressed.

Both my cats sleep in the kitchen which is fine, they have never peed or pooed anywhere they are not meant to and they don't routinely scratch furniture although the sofa is looking a bit tatty

I've no idea micha.
The vet run through a serious of meds but nothing made a difference.
I think we had that med too... I'm pretty sure my daughter did once from the doctor.
The mother cat is dead now. She had litter after litter :/

I've got 5. And a 7mo ds. I'm very house proud. My sofa looks great, the cat tree is knackered though (2m tall scratch post thing). They don't poo or pee anywhere they shouldn't. Cats only do that if they're stressed or I'll or simply do not have access to a clean litter tray (choice of litter is really important). They do throw up occasionally (usually on a nice rug rather than the massive expanse of tiled flooring in my house ) and I cannot have any small or lightweight objects on surfaces as one of them sees it as a game to knock every fucking thing she can on to the floor. I also vacuum at least twice a day. But they're just joyful. Funny, naughty, affectionate and loving. Ive had many many cats (rescues that I couldn't bare to let go of) and I don't regret a single one of them. Neutering, vaxxing, chipping and insurance is a must though. Enjoy!