cat advice please

[dragonflygirl]

Me and kids would like a pet (DH not so keen, but I'm sure we'll win him round!). Originally thought a rabbit but, after looking into it, think they could be a lot of work for not much reward. We'd like a pet to cuddle and who wants to be with us.

Anyway, think a cat might be for us but have a few questions which I know mumsnet gurus can answer!

1. should we buy a kitten or rescue cat? I worry that rescue cat might not like kids or might have been too emotionally damaged to enjoy petting etc.
2. Can you keep the cat mainly in a particular area (especially at night) or does it have to have the run of the house. We have a large utility area and do dread the idea of dead mice etc. being brought into bedrooms.
3. Can you discourage them from bringing in prey? Call me old fashioned but I really hate small rodents/birds alive, dead or in-between. thanks guys

1. Rescue cats a bit of an unknown quantity but 90% of time very affectionate and "grateful". Often rescue centres will allow you to see how you go with a particular cat just to make sure it's going to work - probably the younger the better - often they are unwanted when people move etc rather than mistreated so no reason they should be disturbed. Very rewarding taking on a rescue cat - we have 2 and they're such sweeties!!
2. We keep ours in the kitchen at night - they know this and are fine with it!
3. don't get a cat flap if you want to avoid small birds being brought in - that way you can see if they're trying to bring stuff in!

1.I would say kitten, as much more likely to bond with you and become used to kids running around. Having said that, kittens can be bloody hard work - it's just as well they're cute.

2.We shut our cats in the kitchen at night - there's a cat flap in the back door. Ex-DH was once woken up by his cat standing on his chest with a live mouse in its mouth so I would never let them roam free during the night

3.No, I've always had cats and have never worked out how to stop them bringing in prey. But at least 50% of the cats I've had have never done so anyway - some are rubbish hunters or just not interested.

1. Rescue cats are fine, but I would take time to pick the right one. The people at the rescue centre will be able to advise you, and spend lots of time playing with the cate before you decide to take it.
2. It doesnt have to have the run of the house, you could close the door between the untility area and rest of the house at night, or shut bedroom doors.
3. If there is an answer to this one, I dont know it! Some cats are more into hunting than others, but I dont know how you can tell in advance, you wont be able to tell if you get a kitten or rescue cat.

my rescue cat was 6 months old when we got her from the RSPCA. She isn't very affectionate (unless it is food time!) but loves to be near the children.

She is forever catching things and bringing them into the house (sometimes alive and sometimes partly eaten)- i think that is partly due to the fact that she was a stray and had to catch her food for survival.

I also have a little cat who was 8 weeks old when we got her. She is very affectionate and "chatty" and other than an occasional earthworm, doesn't bring anything into the house.

We have one 14 month old boy and 2 rescue cats. We got them aged 5 months, so they were litter trained already, although we did have some accidents when settling them in. They are brilliant with the baby - letting him catch them and lie on them and pull their fur . The people at the centre should be able to guide you about which cats are suitable - ours are very affectionate.

They live in the kitchen at night and when we are out during the day - they have a basket and cat flap and are quite happy.

They do bring things in...

I've had my cat since she was a kitten and she's most definitely not affectionate! She'll come for cuddles but only on her terms. She's beautiful though and very very full of personality!

Apparently tortie's (which my cat is) are notoriously anti-social.

I have two cats, both from kittens as the rescue shelter said we lived too near a main road....

Ours have the run of the house at night, but that is because we shut them in at night. Partly because of the main road, partly to avoid hunting, and also partly because of some undesirables in our neighbourhood. They have the cat flap open during the day, but once it gets dark we shut them in until the next morning. It does mean that we've never been able to get rid of the litter tray, but at least it keeps them safe and our house mouse-free!

They're both hugely affectionate by the way. Total softies who like nothing better than lying in your arm like a baby or rolling on their back for a tummy tickle.

rescue cats can be the most rewarding and you have the added advantage of being able to see what the cat's personality is like before you take it... kittens can be a somewhat unknown quality... it's hard to judge what their temperment willbe like as they get older... i've had some kittens that grew into gorgeous loving cats and some that were always moody and unfriendy.

also, kittens are very hard work and more so if you don't have cat experiance.

my mother always kept our cats in the kitchen as they made too much noise at night (this was only after she relented enough to let them in the house at night at all! ). and our last tomcat had to be contained to the kitchen/dining room for reasons i won't divulge as it might put you off cats completely!

the best way to ensure they don't bring prey in is to not have a cat flap so they have to ask at a window to be let in and you can check they're not bringing anything in as they enter.... they'll be perfectly happy with this and it also prevents every cat in the neighbourhood coming in the cat flap with them

Having been through this recently I would err against rescue cats. I took on two rescue cats last year, brother and sister, 6 yrs old. Was happy to get older cats as that is what we'd had before (previous ones weren't rescue but were similar age when we got them). Unfortunately the info we were given by the rehoming centre was duff. Probably not their fault but not sure they actually took the time to evaluate them.

To cut a long story short we tried for 6 months to help them settle but in the end had to give up. Won't bore you with the details in case you're reading this whilst having dinner, but not at all pleasant.

Contacted the rehoming centre who were happy to have them back and admitted that the rescue cats's 'story' might not have been what we were told. They have offered to rehome kittens to us, which is what we are going to do in the next couple of months.

I originally didn't go for kittens because I thought it would be more hassle. Had I known then what I know now I would have rather had the kitten stage than what we had to deal with on a daily basis. It was also heartbreaking explaining to my 4 yr old why we could no longer keep them.

Should add that the other two cats we had for 8 years both brought in 'friends',mostly dead but sometimes alive. For a while we had a mouse living behind the washing machine in the utility room living on cat food!

Can I add another vote for getting a rescue cat. I don't know where you live but we got ours from Battersea Dogs & Cats home and they had a little chart by each cat pen which told you whether the cat got on with kids / dogs / likes / dislikes etc The staff also told us about each cats temperament too. Our cat is fab - we've had him for four years now and he's really affectionate and loving.

We give ours the run of the house at night but when I was growing up my Mum always shut the cats in the kitchen at night. As long as they've got access to food, water, outside or litter tray and ideally somewhere warm and comfy to sleep they're fine.

Some cats are hunters and some aren't - again you might get some clues from the rescue centre. Our cat has never caught anything - far too lazy.

Lol at Hassled ex being woken cat standing on his chest with a live mouse in its mouth

Am now agog by all these nefarious cats committing dark deeds, never to be named!

we got a new rescue cat recently. We went to the blue cross and they were fantastic.
It is very unlikely they will let you rehome and older cat if you have small children. blue cross have a over 10 policy.
Mine are 7 and 9 and have had animals all their lives, and there was only 1 they would consider for us out of 30/40. They were happy for us to have a kitten though.
As it was we took the older cat, and she is adorable, a v.friendly loving tortie but quite nervy.
Yes, you can keep a cat shut in, as long as you have a litter tray or a cat flap to outside. as for the prey, I've never found a solution I'm afraid. All I can say is you get used to it

We have a rescue cat and I would recommend one but perhaps for a first cat a young adult would be good. Ours was about a year old when we got her. Which for us was an ideal age.

Our cat very rarely catches things and brings them to the house, and never inside the house - we have lived here for over a year.

We shut her down stairs at night and the cat flap is open but in the cold weather she rarely goes out.

She would love to sleep on the bed with us but it irratates us! So she is satisfied with the novelty of having a night on the sofa bed when visitors stay, ususally our visitors are amused by this too, although we always check if they are happy with this.

One way to discourage them bringing stuff in (I have posted this before) is to actually praise them lots and lots whe they do it.
The cat thinks you are the head cat and therefore wants to please you. If you say 'Naughty cat! and are cross with them when they bring something in they will do it all the more to try to please you.

Mine was a donation froma friend of a friend of a afriends aunt who was too ill to care for her, and she was going to be put down She was six months old when we had her, had never been outside, never heard or seen a man or children, and stunk of cigarette smoke. She was so timid and scared....... and still is.

She adores me, and i her, and she follows me everywhere, but runs from the children and dh, except ds who is 14. Now age 2 she will jump and sit on my lap but would never lean on my legs for a fuss etc!

i feel proud of myself every day that i gave her a much better home.

She sleeps on my bed all night, and is awake all day. i worry about the foxes with her at night. I tried to leave her downstairs but she cried!

I get mice and rabbits on the patio, but strangeley enough i'm not squeemish about them - thought i would be!

Clearing ds 14 bedroom last week, i found feathers and a wing under the bed! I have no idea how she got it up there without me seeing (no cat flap!)

agree with peachy on that one...... my cats get buckets of praise and rewards if they bring us anything and only ever do so once in a blue moon..... my mother goes completely mental when she gets presents and her cats bring her every bird in the garden (they seem to understand which are her favourites too and are very proud of themselves catching her favourite robins )