Talk to me about cats

[ErnieAndBernie]

So my dc have been asking for a pet cat/ pair of cats for what seems like forever. I've just split with husband and moved back to uk after 3 years abroad (he stayed there for his job). Ds has a birthday coming up. And there is Christmas too. I'm happy to have pets but have never had a cat before. I'd be looking at getting them/ it from a rescue centre if we do go ahead. But please first tell me about life with them. What do I need to know/ consider/ financially factor in? Male?female? Pair? Just one? What happens if you go away for a weekend? Or on holiday?
Dc are 5 and nearly 10 if that's a factor

Kittens are bitey scratchy little buggers!
A slightly older pair would be calmer.
We had a mum and son and now have two girls. The sisters are not friends!
Consider costs of flea (monthly) and worm (three monthly) and yearly vaccinations. From vet. Never OTC stuff.
Neutering and microchipping before going out.
Going away? Someone in to feed them or cattery. We do cattery as I worry they wouldn't come in for someone else and risk of accident or injury if out overnight.
Do remember. Cats can live over 20 years. They are a LONG commitment. Your kids could be 25 and 30! Just a reality check if you're getting them for the kids. Oh and they won't be the one cleaning out litter trays!

Hi there. I'm ex-RSPCA Rehoming Officer for cats & dogs in West London. I have several of my own cats and have kept them for many, many years. Keeping just one pet can be expensive. For example, my 14 yr old cat was diagnosed this week with lung cancer but to arrive at that he's had a scan, x-ray and blood tests - very expensive. ALWAYS take out insurance, even the cheapest is better than nothing. Stay away from the well-known insurance because it is prohibitively costly. (I can recommend one back-channel if you wish).

If you live in a flat, do NOT get a cat or any other animal. A kitten will eventually need to go outside. No animal charity will allow adoption to a person who intends to keep the cat inside for all of its life unless the animal is old, handicapped or so disturbed that he himself prefers to be an indoor cat.. It is against the animal's instincts, which need to be expressed. He needs to feel the rain and wind in his coat, be able to climb trees and jump onto shed roofs and check out his territory.

Xmas or birthday is not a good reason to get a pet. The ages of your kids are relevant because they are now receptive to being taught not to drag a kitten around.

You will need a couple of litter trays, litter and sheets of newspaper, plus large bowl for daily fresh water and an assortment of wet food. Do NOT feed the cat entirely on dry food - it is lazy and wrong. Occasionally give him cold cuts such as sliced chicken or turkey, leftover from your own meals, and once out of the kitten stage you can also give him some raw chicken, cut up. I buy mine chicken fillets which I slice finely. Remember - cats are carnivores, they eat only meat. Dogs are omnivores (like us), but a cat's health & life comes from the nutrients found only in meat.

A piece of reality. Two-thirds of the cats that are dumped are dumped because the parent finds out that the dc are allergic. I personally took about 10 such calls a day, and the RSPCA switchboard takes scores.

To add If you are away at work for all of the day, do NOT get an animal. If you're at work for 8 hours, tag on 1 hr each way for travel ..... that makes 10 hours away from the house, which is too long an absence for a cat, whether he's by himself or with another.

Neutering and microchipping at the right time of course. As regards flea treatment it is absolutely not necessary to apply flea treatment monthly. That's what it says on the instructions by the manufacturer who wants your business, but in 35 yrs of cat-keeping I know that it is not necessary. The flea liquid is toxic afterall so I de-flea mine twice a YEAR - and they are all outdoor cats.

If you are getting a male kitten do not be persuaded into getting him the snip too early. It is the trend nowadays I know (originating in USA) and I've heard of some shockingly early neuterings - 6-7 months is fine. Be kind and tactile to the animal, and learn to "read" his needs.

Thank you. This is all really useful and interesting. We'd be getting pets as they were right for us as a family as opposed to a 'pet as a present ' and I'm lucky enough to work from home so am here most of the day every day. Neither of the kids have ever shown any sign of allergies when with friends pets so hopefully that won't be an issue.
You're right about the kids being an age to understand a pet, I don't think I'd do it if dd was any younger.
Is there any benefit to getting a pair of cats (i.e. 2 that need regimes together and know each other) rather than a single cat? And what are they likely to cost a month roughly?

Regimes?i mean rehomed

Insurance £42pcm
Dry food £17pcm
Wet food £17pcm
Vet bills routine incl jabs £10pcm
Flea and worm 3 times a year £5pcm

Add in cat flaps, microchipping, insurance excesses, scratched furniture, cat feeding on hols or kennels. did I mention the £350 to put flap in French window

They are a huge commitment. But they are worth it. Ours got a tail tip on barbed wire - lost an inch of tail £975, got poisoned - stomach wash, iv, ct scan - lost a kilo £2500, ate a bit of Lily £1, 046. God reasons for insurance.

Then of course when you leave the heating on midwinter, scratching posts, toys, etc., when you have to get up at daybreak to feed. Ours also finds charger and computer cables delectable.

BUT WE LUFFS HIM

Oh and dealing with random birds, mice and in our case frogs brought in for fun. Sometimes dead sometimes not.

Personally I'd get one cat. Because with a pair one will die first leaving the other confused. And if you replace the missing cat, remaining original cat gets cross. In my experience.

Flea treatment: I only do it prior to going into the cattery. Worming: once or twice. Ever.

Holidays: 72hrs or less: automatic cat feeder + one litter tray per 24 hours. Cat locked indoors. Longer: cattery.

Insurance: about £13 pcm. It's with Argos I think.

Vaccines: about £40 a year (actually I do it every 13 months, long story)...

Food: box of 12 pouches of whiskas is £3.50 or 2 for £6 when on offer. Our (tiny) cat has one pouch a day (I think 2-3 is more usual) plus a handful of go cat hard food, which I get when it's on offer. Lots of people think whiskas is junk. But she's a healthy weight, has no health issues and now won't eat other brands. She also eats things the kids drop (crisps, cheese, meat, spaghetti). Water to drink. She loves milk but it's not good for them, I tend to give her the dregs of the baby's bottle if he leaves any. But not direct from the bottle!

I've always trained my cats to come in at night, and then I lock them in. Safer from cars, fights and foxes. Less hunting too. We have a lockable cat flap that only opens for her chip. But she can open it if locked so I block it with the kitchen bin at night.

My DC are 7,4 and 2. We had cats before children, and current cat has been with us since DC1 was 4 months. She's the kind of cat that runs rather than lashes out, and despite a tendency to sleep in cots / pram / bouncer there's not been any cause for concern.

Btw, cattery £13 a night. Microchip flap about £60, installed myself in old wooden door, but the window people did it when we had a new upvc door.

I have 3 An old lady and 2 siblings aged 2

Kittens are fab but scratchy and sooooo naughty but you don't need TV with kittens.

Older cats are easier to come by as everyone wants kittens.

Mine cost
Insurance £18 pcm. Older one not insured. I will pay upfront if anything happens luckily she is a hardy old girl.
Food massive bag from amazon of Iams. £28 lasts about 6 weeks.
We don't use litter. Outdoor cats.
Fleas and wormer about £25 a quarter I buy from amazon but they have stopped selling advantage so I'm hoping that's temporary so using frontline.

I use panacur wormers.
Vaccines. Lifetime vaccine scheme pets at home £99 up front but free vaccines thereafter. Totally worth the money.

I love my babies but the young female is a minx and sometimes I wish I'd picked her sister. Lol. Too late now. I'm stuck with her for life.
I love my boy though. He is my favourite cat ever.

We don't use Cattery's. We have lots of lovely neighbours with keys I buy them a pressie from my hols and also return the favour with their pets.

To add to pp, you do need to factor in that when you get a new cat, you can't let them out for ideally for four weeks (that is what is recommended, to make sure they imprint on your home).
IME, they go stir crazy after about ten days, but it's still a bit tricky - letting them out (having not had too much food in their stomachs), and encouraging them back in again.

Spend some time with people who keep cats and ask them the routine. I've (almost) always had cats - my parents' families always did too, but also means I don't always do it 'by the book' so have got things wrong sometimes - you will get contradictory advice too, and cats can be very different so its worth learning to be guided by the cat as well.

I have a pair of sibs who at age 4 are profoundly indifferent to each other - one is very cuddly with us, one is out hunting most of the time. Neither of them uses the other for 'company' though, so I think one is fine and probably better.

But I joined the thread mainly to say as a teenager, the cat was the one family member I felt comfortable with and got cuddles from, when I was being all spiky and difficult around the rest of the household. Which is why I wanted to have cats when my two humans reached their teens. And they luffs the cats too, like pp.

All good advice above. I acquired two 8 week old kittens in June to add to my family of cats. Some of the insurance quoted by people on here are pricey. I am paying £8.35 every calendar month per kitten (tho' I did qualify for a discount - £9.89 otherwise); always negotiate. This is for a "Lifetime" policy, no medical condition will be excluded once claimed on.

There is a standard policy, not Lifetime, which means that once you've claimed for something it is then excluded for evermore.

The problem with all insurance is the Excess, so a routine vet visit with maybe a shot of antibiotic will not be claimable. My kittens' Excess is £120 each; a vet consultation in my area is £35.

In my work for the RSPCA I came across only 3 catteries I would actually recommend, one of which was excellent and I would put my own cats in. RSPCA routinely rents space in private catteries because there is never space left at theirs.

If you can, I always recommend getting two sibs. One is a comfort to the other, and everyone afterall needs their own kind. I remember fondly, and still keep in touch with the 4 elderly cats that were left when their old owner died. I had them put in a cattery, two to each unit, and couldn't believe that Providence was shining down on them. They went very quickly: two to a fancy-pants home in Weybridge surrounded by woodland (I delivered them myself); the other two, the eldest (10 & 13 then, four yrs ago) went to an experienced cat person (I also delivered). I've visited the latter two several times and they are very happy. In fact, their new owner marvels at how polite & affectionate these two old girls are.

Insurance with www.pet-insurance.co.uk
which is a part of the specialist E&L Group.