Cat owners what advice, thoughts, tips, things to consider would you give to someone thinking of getting a cat?

[BaroqinAroundTheChristmasTree]

• ie me.

It's something I've thought about for a while and told myself I'd consider properly in 2011......which is now appears to be !

Now, I like to think of myself are reasonably intelligent, and I have thought about it on my own, and we had pets when I was growing up (though no cat as my dad was allergic to them) - dog, rabbit, fish, rats (eek!) etc so I'm not a stranger to pet owning - but it's been a long time.

So your pearls of wisdom of things to consider (no matter how obvious they are ] would be much appreciated.

Oh - and where would I go about finding a cat once I've made sure I'm ready for one???

Local animal rescues are always a good place to start. They would do a home check and if you passed then you could pick out a cat for yourselves.
They would usually ask for a donation- covers injection costs, etc while kitty was still at shelter.

Alternatively, local paper classified usually have lots of free to good home cats available. Local petshops sometimes have advertising boards.

i would second animal rescue,they do ask for a donation (ours asks £30),BUT they come neutered/microchipped and have had all injections, and they will find a cat suited to your needs.

thanks - have found a couple of places local to me to try - what's a home check - sounds like SS's for animals knocking at your door - eek!

Now tips, hints, things to consider?

Food, insurance, ermm.....you know - that sort of thing.

btw - have just been looking at photos on some of my local rescue places website and it's so how many lovely cats have been dumped

when we got our 2 kittens from our local cat protection,they came out to do a home visit,they just basically asked if we agreed to feed and look after them!
we had to sign a wee contract to agree to their terms (if it didnt work out,we would contact them to take them back ) they were lovely and we got them the next day :)

good luck x (i have 8 cats lol )

oh that doesn't sound so bad then

8 cats - wow that's impressive! I think I'll just stick to the one for now.

I miss not having a pet around the house. Never got one when I was married as exH wanted a dog, and I wanted a cat. I couldn't get through to him at all the amount of work (just going out walking them every day) a dog would be.

Obviously a cat is still work - but at least I don't have to go out in the pouring rain to walk it . And ever since I "out grew" my allergy to them I've wanted one.

Then DS3 came along - and - just like his older brothers was boistrous and terrified of anything small and furry that moved. He's fine with them now though (and has calmed down considerably). So now feels like the right time.

Need to ring my landlord - to check I'm allowed (have a very strong gut feeling I will be - he's lovely and very easy going) and presuming I get the nod from him will start the ball rolling.

Kittens :D

For food I would feed dry food only, as long as it's a decent quality like Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved etc. Online is cheaper if you have storage space. Iams is a brand in supermarket as an alternative. I would avoid wet food as it smells in summer and is worse for their teeth etc

A tallish scratching post will save your sofas.

A hooded litter tray will mean less mess if you can stretch the extra few quid.

If you order the stuff you need online you will get cardboard boxes to use as toys. My two are happy with just a cardboard box. Bite them, hide in them etc.

Thanks Claire - yes I have loads of storage space so will look into ordering online.

ahh - scratching post - hadn't thought of that one.

Don't bother, they're ungrateful little buggers, won't eat what you buy for them, will find any ironing pile and sleep in it and puke on your cardigan (I know which one of you it was - Sula!). It's a good job they're cute.
Seriously they can be lovely and great company and the children adore them.

We got two rescue cats late last year Baroqin (first time I've said that and meant 2010 )

We paid about £50 each and that was a half price sale I seem to recall (from the RSPCA).

I second all of Clairedeloon's ideas. We feed them a mixture of wet food and James Wellbeloved biscuits. We were advised too just in case they weren't good drinkers (the water in the wet food would help keep things like cystitis at bay I think is the reason it was recommended).

I would also recommend you get some cat behaviour spray just in the case the cat decides to claw your furniture. Our leather sofa was pretty much ruined within a few days with one of the cats using the side of it as a scratching post (instead of using the lovely scratching post that I had bought )

We went for older cats as I didn't want the hassle of toilet training. The downside has been that the RSPCA vet didn't estimate their ages very well. Our female cat was at the vets within days of coming here because she was limping and further investigation (xrays) revealed that she has bad arthritis and is probably at least twice the age that the RSPCA vet has suggested.

Good luck. I'm sure, like us, you wont regret it.

"Don't bother, they're ungrateful little buggers, won't eat what you buy for them, will find any ironing pile and sleep in it and puke on your cardigan"

• why are you talking about my children like that

I am actually really excited about it now 2011 has rolled round and I'm properly looking into getting one.

Now I need you to all cross everything for when I ring my LL tomorrow that he says yes. so I can write my shopping list and contact some of the rescue centres.

I would say prepare for your carpets and sofas to be scratched to bits and bed to be covered in hair, curtains to be ripped etc. It's worth it though, I couldn't be without pets and dogs are not really practical for us. We got 2 kittens late summer and the children adore them. My boy cat sits outside my daughters bedroom in the mornings and cries until she wakes up and lets him in so he can have a cuddle and a play. I would defo recommend a kitten/young cat for children as they are more tolerant.

Fingers crossed your landlord says yes.

I have no carpet (well one rug in the lounge - but that's mine and was cheap anyhow). All (very badly scratched already) floorboards.

I have no curtains either (all blinds which are pulled up to ceiling height during the day)).

We got a ten month old cat from Cats Protection last year. I highly recommend them - brilliant organisation and she is an amazing cat - cats are generally wonderful!

Then a cat sounds ideal for you! Rather like my house there is nothing to ruin, (my carpets being old and ruined by my previous cats and my sofas old and manky anyway).

Baroq I think you are one of my FB friends. Have a look at my pics, (my initials are LC and my profile pic is, wait for it........... a cat! My cats are blimmin gorg I think.

One thing I would say is that they can become expensive. I had 3 adult cats, one of whom needed a special urinary food which cost me £40 a month as they all ate it and then another one got hyperthyroidism which cost £30 a month in medication. You have to weigh up the cost of insurance against the cost of ongoing medication/a huge one off vets bill.

I'm definitely going to get insurance. The food cost I've factored in - I finish paying off a loan in Feb - so there'll be that extra as well.

Yes you are on my FB - your cat is gorgeous

I wouldn't bother with a cat scratching post - I've never seen a cat use one.

Apart from the old toothless farm cat I feed mine biscuits. For one or two cats you can get boxes of biscuits for a quid from Wilkinsons or Lidl and they are absolutely fine. Seriously don't bother with the wanky expensive brands. I was given a 4 week old feral abandonned kitten last year and I did give her wet kitten food (after I finished bottle feeding) as she had a shitty start to life, but she is on biscuits now. I have 5 milling about, but 3 are outside farm cats usually so buy sacks of biscuits (Purina). I only do fish biscuits/tins as I think it's better for them, and the smell of other stuff makes me sick. Tuna is probably the best thing to feed them on or white fish.

Second what others say about kittens - if they grow up with kids they are amazingly tolerant. I would get my face ripped off if I wore the little one as a scarf.

You can train cats to stay downstairs as well, my mum did, but I haven't managed this so the hairy buggers are always on the beds.

And don't expect to get a lap cat. None of mine are, they are all different though.

The cheapest lifetime insurance I could find was about £6 a month from Homebase. Others were cheaper but wouldn't cover ongoing illnesses after the end of the yearly term.

We got ours from the Cat's Protection who charge £60 as an adoption fee now.

It's so good for children to have a pet I think. Good luck and I hope that you do get your cat.

Oh, and if you get young cats I wouldn't bother with insurance. Your main costs will be yearly vaccinations, sterilisation, worming and fleaing. For fleas I get the powder from Wilkinsons - frontline doesn't work any better and is VERY expensive.

If you get housing benefit you can get one cat covered on blue cross. RSPCA also do free clinics for people on low incomes. I used one here once and didn't go back as with this particular clinic it was a deficient service, but it may not be where you are.

Also, RSPCA give out vouchers to cover some of the cost of sterilisation regardless of your income.

We got our cat from CPL, but we signed on as cat cuddlers for a month or so before we found exactly the right cat for us.
Took DS along every weekend for an hour to play with the cats, it's the best money I've ever spent.

Silly question - you say you outgrew your allergies, but what about your dcs?

We only discovered dd1 (age 9) was allergic, after she went to a friend's house and spent an afternoon "dressing up" her friend's cat - she came home with a puffy face and streaming eyes. Although she'd had sporadic contact with cats before it was the first time she really had a bad reaction.

It made saying no to a cat that much easier (it was only me allergic before then).

oh you cat owners are all lovely

Thank you so much for all your advice - I will let you know tomorrow if I get the go ahead from my LL

CV - yes they're all absolutely fine - have been round loads of friends houses (and have stayed overnight in those houses too) where there are cats and petted/cuddled/played with around them no problems at all.

Mine was a bizarre allergy - I was allergic to some cats but not others - I had one friend with 2 cats (sisters they were from the same litter). I could have one of them sat in my lap all day and be absolutely fine. If I so much brushed against the other one the allergy stuff flared up. Mine only showed up when i was about 13 for the first time. Had it for about 7/8yrs - all I can think is that it was a hormonal thing

earwicga - I will get the insurance as sods law with me dictates that if I don't my cat will then need a huge one off expenditure and I won't have the money.

Aye, it would work that way. I don't live anywhere near a main road, and it's most likely that you'll need the insurance in case of an accident.

I would strongly suggest that if you go for a kitten, that you get two rather than one. Two aren't really all that much more expensive than one, and two playing together saves your hands from scratches... plus they're hysterically funny.

Even if they grow up to ignore each other - I had sister kittens who did this, currently have an unrelated (probably, who knows how far feral toms travel for sex? ) tom and queen who are mostly Ok together.

Until he decides to sit on her head.

I would get insurance, (says she who has 3 cats and only 1 insured). My old cat is too old now but I will get my younger one insured when I get round to it. My friend had a kitten and at 6 months old it died of a viral infection. The PDSA paid for some of it as she is receiving benefits but it still cost her about £500.