Total cat novice considering getting a cat - please fill me in!

[Aranea]

I've never owned a cat but am thinking of getting one, mainly because I hope it will stop my mouse problem. But I don't know anything about cat ownership, and I am not sure whether it's a good idea.

What does a cat need to keep it happy and healthy? Would I just put a catflap in and then not need a litter tray in the house? I hate it when you can smell cat in people's houses, and I assume that this would be because they have a litter tray?

Also, with two children (7 & 4) would we best off getting a kitten or an adult cat?

Would it be OK to keep a cat shut into the kitchen at night time?

Presumably if you have a cat you can't have a burglar alarm - is there any way around this, or do you just never turn it on if you've got a cat?

Finally - is it possible that even with a cat, potentially shut into the kitchen at night, we could still have a mouse problem?

Thank you for any advice you may have!

this litter

ive linked the cat litter OP. ive been a cat owner for over 20 years, this is the best litter ive ever found. its rather clever.

Thanks Vicar - I've bookmarked that. Whether I'll have the courage to actually use it and brave my senior boy's possible wrath (he's really very set in his ways) is another matter.

Once you teach them the basics they then start training you!

Oh Yes. I'm thoroughly trained.

There is only one thing to know about owning a cat, which is that you won't own a cat; it will own you.

My new owners are lovely. The first night we had them, they were quiet like mice all night and we got up to find two little faces looking up at us from the top stair. It was like having overnight guests who'd woken up early and were too shy to make their own coffee .

I think you should get a cat. They are brilliant pets and very little trouble.

Some cats are better mousers than others, and I agree with a previous poster that females tend to be better hunters, but you would be VERY unlikely to have any sort of mouse problem with a cat in the house.

You can put a cat flap in and you won't then need a litter tray. That's what we have always done and the cats come and go whenever they like, and poo/wee in the garden (buried, so we never see or smell it). But we don't shut our cats in st night. When we do occasionally lock them in (if trying to catch them for a trip to the vet) then you do need to put down a litter tray temporarily. They are naturally clean, very easy to house train, and hate having to wee inside - when we needed to get a urine sample from one, it took 24 hours of him pacing up and down behind a locked door before he was desperate enough to wee in the sample box.

So I would really recommend cats as family pets. The children love them and they (the cats!) are very affectionate and give a lot back. Personally I would avoid kittens unless you have a lot of time on your hands, and I prefer male cats as I think they are more affectionate. Also it's important to get a cat which has been handled a lot as a kitten.

Sorry for long post. I am a bit biased, as you can see!

If you go to a rescue, they may well have cats there - or can look out for one - who they know to be good hunters. In many cases a cat is given up by someone who gives the rescue a lot of background info about that cat, the rescue we used would have been happy to add our request to a list and contact us when a cat fitting the bill came in (eg, happy around kids, happy not having continual access to outside, happy to be a "barn" cat, doesn't scratch, likes / doesn't like to be picked up... etc). Obviously you need them to know that you do want it foremost for a pet :-)

Thanks everybody. Think I might go for it...

And note duly made of the wonder litter!

Another one here whose cats uses to bring in and release (alive) mice, frogs and birds.