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Original poster

Considering getting a kitten

16 replies

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 21:56

Am thinking about 'adopting' a friend's kitten (she's allergic!)
Friend is really keen for him to go to a home she knows, so her ds can still see him etc
What do I need to consider first? Have never owned a pet before.
I live in a flat (with garden)
Have 2 dds (one crawling, nearly walking...am thinking about litter trays etc!)
Do cats need to be insured with vets?
Thanks

OP posts:

daisyandbabybootoo · 07/08/2007 22:04

need to consider whether kitten is child friendly...or whether your dcs are cat friendly. our local rescue centre are cagey about re-homing cats to hones with young kids.

if cat gets out to garden, you won't need a litter tray, unless you want to keep it in at night. is a cat flap an option?

insurance is optional, and like private health insurnce doesn't cover you for routine stuff like vaccinations/flea/worm treatment. insurance is around £7 a month for a young healthy cat.

flea treatment costs about £30 for a six month supply, vaccinations about £30 a year. can't remember how much we paid for worming tablets.

daisyandbabybootoo · 07/08/2007 22:08

btw am very jealous as would love another cat. ours was an abandoned cat we adopted, but he got run over last october and dh not keen on having another.

that's another consideration....how close are you to main roads, and if you are close is there anything tempting, like a wood or park, at the other side?

mumto2nuttybells · 07/08/2007 22:08

Hi i have reciently bought a female kitten who is now 18 weeks, she is lovely so well behaved and loves the children, i live ina gf flat with garden but she doesnt seem intersted in going out, i have a 3yr old boy and another who is 1 who is just starting to walk. My cat loves my 3 yr old and sometimes playes with mt 1 yr old but soon knows when to run off when he gets heavy handed.It worked out so nicely i got another kitten on friday who is male and is 11 weeks, he is a little more quiet and hides alot but he was cruely treated by previous owner but he is fitting in lovely with other cat.

Original poster

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 22:10

Thanks Daisy
Am not sure if the kitten is child friendly. as friend's ds is older (primary age).
DD1 is great with animals, but am obviously unsure about how dd2 (11m) will be.
We could definitely get a cat-flap.
The finance side of things sound ok.
I really like the idea of the dds being around a pet...myself and dp always had pets as kids.
Think we might have to go for it!

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Original poster

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 22:13

Thanks M2TNB
That's reassuring!
How long do you have to let the kitten 'acclimatise' before going out?
Am a bit worried about where we'd put the litter tray

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mumto2nuttybells · 07/08/2007 22:17

I was told when you buy a kitten they cant go out till there about 5 months or an older cat that has just moved in about 2 wks but it depends on the cat some will take to owner very quickly and want to stay in others will want to go out very quickly so aslong as its not in distress. Make sure you do a regular food routine so if your cat goes out it wil come back in when feeding is due and that way you can keep them in at night.

snowwonder · 07/08/2007 22:20

go for it

i love my cat called daisy, she is perfect, had her from a baby and she is now 11.
she has always been very good with the little ones and regularly gets pulled about (poor thing) she also walks to school with us,

she loves being outside and is in and out all the time with the help of cat flap which i think is a must as then you dont have to worry about letting in and out,

i dont have insurance, and she has never had any jabs - didnt know about them

she has had one trip to vets to have a tooth out, and we get flea stuff from the vets...

go for it i love cats especailly Grey ones like my daisy

Original poster

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 22:22

We are not near a main road, but the area is largely residential.
So would it have to stay in for quite a while if we decide to take it? I don't think it's had its vaccinations yet.
Blimey, have realised I am very ignorant about cats and their requirements! Hadn't even considered feeding!

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lisad123 · 07/08/2007 22:25

Just a word of warning about cats in flats. We had one but cats dont like corridors very much due to the sound they make, so ours refused to go outside. We were ok with having a cat that stayed in. However, he decide one night to go out of wndow and fell 3 storeys he was ok but after it happened a second time we decided to rehome him.

We now have 2 cats in our house, and they are fine. You can get flea treatment online now for £15 for 6 months and worming tablets are about £5 for 3 months. Would recommend insurance, we came back from holiday to a £500 vet bill.

Good luck
Lisa

mumto2nuttybells · 07/08/2007 22:28

You dont have to have it vacinated i asked my vet when i took kittens for a check, they said i dont have to but they could get cat leukemia if not, the injections are 2 seperate ones bith costing £40, personally i ahvent had them done, im not going to until they go out as my female dont want to go out.I went to tesco and got bob martins flea shampoo and flea spot on and house hold flea killer and it came to £10 and ot was perfect, it killed anything jumping. Plus my vet gives me sachet wormer for £1 a time and i only need to do that every 6 months now

Original poster

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 22:29

Thanks for replies!
Luckily am in a ground floor flat(house conversion) so corridors etc not a problem.

Great idea about on-line purchasing though!

Am really quite tempted. He is very sweet!

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nooka · 07/08/2007 22:41

Please get your cat vaccinated if it goes outside! We lost one to cat flu and two to cat leukemia. All completely avoidable, and we were gutted that it was completely preventable. On the other hand I think that insurance is a bit of a scam. We've had two cats for most of the last 10 years, and only once had a bill of any size (the insurance doesn't usually cover routine stuff like jabs/check ups) when one of our cats got run over and had to have his jaw wired and stay at the vets for a fortnight. Even then it was only about £150 (less than insuring both of them for a year).

Original poster

notnowbernard · 07/08/2007 22:46

We will definifitely go for vaccinations.

Thnanks for advice, everyone. I think the decision has been made!

Will be back in a week or so to ask numerous questions about cat-care etc!

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mumto2nuttybells · 07/08/2007 22:46

Spot on nooka when i read my insurance i found that the only thing they payed out for is if you loose the cat, they were willing to pay for advertisment and reward, and if the cat dies the price of what it would cost for a replacement

KITTENSOCKS · 08/08/2007 08:08

Just a point about vaccinations; if you need to use a cattery when you go away, they will not accept unvaccinated cats.

Original poster

notnowbernard · 08/08/2007 18:47

Thanks for all advice
Have decided to go for it, and he will be with us from tomorrrow! Have spoken to my friend, he has had his vaccinations and is litter-tray trained.

Can't wait to see the look on dd1's face when she sees him. I just hope the poor little bugger isn't terrorised too much

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