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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

I want to get a cat. What do I need to know?

79 replies

whatnoww · 20/05/2016 11:44

We have an 8 year old who is desperate for a pet, work 9-5 Monday to Friday so won't be in during the day but half term is coming up so could be in a lot more often then.

What do I need to know? I've never had a cat before or any pet for that matter. Will my house stink? is it cruel to own a cat and be out all day? Do I need a cat flap?

Any advice or things to think about would be great. Thanks

.

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 20/05/2016 18:33

I'd for a rescue pair who can't be seperated, they will keep each other company.

Cats are great, mine goes out but no collar. He's chipped instead, plus he looks owned.

Slothlikesundays · 20/05/2016 18:42

Cats can be lovely, but no way of guaranteeing personality with moggies. You may end up with with a really vocal food their like me and be woken up at 4am every day for two years (regardless of if he is outside or inside!). Saying that wouldn't change him for the world -even if he did just jump in the bath with me-

KittensandKnitting · 20/05/2016 18:44

I think someone else said you will never own a cat :)

I have three :)

I haven Indoor cats who go into my tiny garden whilst supervised

I lived in London with PFC and PSC (precious first/second cat) so number three was an easy choice when I moved into another city-ish location. I also know their breeder very well, she adores her cats not farmed etc.

They are British short hairs which is the best of breads IMO (mcvitues biscuits advert cats) I chose this type of cat because I knew they would be mostly house bound (living in London) are very friendly to those they "adopt" and actually lovely

Adopting cats would not have worked for me.

You will need

Pet insurance
Scratching posts
Lots of play things
Lots of love

ElegantDream · 20/05/2016 18:45

I used Securacat but there are others out there.

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/05/2016 18:48

yes Your cat is gorgeous. We had three of them at the same time. Didn't wear black till I left home.

KittensandKnitting · 20/05/2016 18:48

sloth so true

I have one who bashes me on the nose if I have a lie in for food. Will be affectionate when the mood takes

One who will just eat when food is ready but will not "harrase" me, unless he wants "cuddles"

And one who will just tear around like a bloody loon, is 1 tomorrow

However all three are wonderful company

Original poster
whatnoww · 20/05/2016 18:57

Sloth - 4am. I'm hope I don't get a cat like that!

Thanks for the link Elegant. I was sort of hoping the cat would go out and come back and not get run over Although I would probably worry about it all the time it was out.

I'm not sure 2 cats would be for me but it's another thing to consider.

OP posts:
Slothlikesundays · 20/05/2016 19:05

Haha. Yes. I think my neighbours wish I didn't have a cat like him too. If I don't get up quick enough he yells outside their bedroom window they are in their 80s lets hope they're deaf. I call him the terrorist. He stole my muesli this morning (dry). The vets say there is nothing wrong with him Hmm.

KittensandKnitting · 20/05/2016 19:11

Maybe you should try a smaller pet first if your not sure?

Cats are big responsibilities? Could you get a Guinea pig?

They are still a massive responsibility but maybe more contained?

I miss my piggies and thinking of adding :)

OnTique · 20/05/2016 19:14

Cats are lovely pets Smile

One thing I do which helps with a litter tray if the cat kicks out the litter is to put the tray inside another deeper plastic box. Ours are ok with this and it stops the litter going everywhere.

Toddlerteaplease · 20/05/2016 20:54

I have got a top entry litter box. It was way overpriced but brilliant. Stops little nuggets of poo going all over the kitchen floor. Dyson V6 animal is amazing for cat hair. I got my two Persian girls from a Persian rescue. Wasn't planning on having a cat as I was worried about working long hours and a busy road near me. If they brought me presents I'd freak. But they are just brilliant. Fine being left all day and don't hunt at all. The wildlife is safe!! Just bee away for 4 days and left them with a cat sitter. They were completely fine but not happy with me on my return!! Too two lots of treats to bring them round! Grin

NameChange30 · 20/05/2016 22:21

Unless you live on/near a very busy road, you won't need to cat-proof your garden. It's advisable to keep cats in at night (when they're more likely to be in a road accident) but in the daytime the risk is lower. We let ours outside in the day and they love going in the neighbours' gardens (luckily the neighbours don't mind!) They don't go too far, and usually pop back during the day for food.

We give them good quality food with a high meat content (no grains). Cats are carnivores and most cat food is appalling unsuitable for them!

I found a good litter tray with very tall sides (ordered it from Amazon US as it was cheaper than the UK site, even with delivery) which has minimised the amount of litter and shit and pee outside the box. Tried lots of different litters and Cats Best Oko Plus is definitely the best.

NameChange30 · 20/05/2016 22:22

appallingly unsuitable

NameChange30 · 20/05/2016 22:24

I also meant to say that we've tried a few different types of wet food but they don't seem to like it that much - they actually prefer the dry food we give them, strangely. It is a good quality one, at least! (Orijen)

Original poster
whatnoww · 20/05/2016 22:48

Thanks for all the replies. I've been looking online and found out all sorts of different information but I love hearing people's real life experiences.

DH is on-board, I wont mention anything at all to DD untill we are 100% sure.

I'm thinking cat rescue place to have a look, just me and DH and then if we find one that would be suitable after speaking to the staff etc. We can then tell DD and go back (the ones I've seen say you have to take everyone that will be living with the cat), then there will be a home visit I think and hopefully we will have a cat Grin

What will they look for at the home visit? Anyone any experience?

OP posts:
Original poster
whatnoww · 20/05/2016 22:52

Thanks for the food advice. I'm hoping the rescue will help me out and tell me what he/she likes. Hopefully it will be decent quality or I can try and slowly change to something better if not Smile

OP posts:
burythechains · 20/05/2016 23:05

When we were inspected (by a small local cat charity - the big one locally wouldn't allow us to have a cat as we worked full time - just how they thought they would ever find enough owners with that rule beats me) they were looking at whether we had a range of surfaces in the garden, were we on a busy road and had we thought about where the litter tray would go. We had already chosen our moggy by then so they simply asked for the £50 donation and that was it.

Toddlerteaplease · 21/05/2016 13:06

The rescue I got mine from just looked me up on google maps and that was it. They usually like to have a vets reference but I didn't have one. I think the fact I was prepared to pay £200 each and drive 100 miles to collect them was enough. I've home checked for them as well. I just want to check it's a safe environment for a cat. Enclosed gardens etc for house cats.

Original poster
whatnoww · 21/05/2016 14:19

What if my house is on a terraced street and I just have a yard? There's a road at the front, not main but we are not exactly in the countryside. Won't I be found suitable? I would like to let the cat out like the nieighbours do.

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 21/05/2016 14:21

It will probably be fine, as it's not a main road. If the cat isn't satisfied with your yard, it will find its way to more interesting places to explore Wink
I suggest putting a cat flap in the back door if you have one. We did that to encourage our cats to go into the garden rather than out front where the road is (albeit a quiet road!)

Original poster
whatnoww · 21/05/2016 14:31

Thanks Another Smile

I would be willing to get a cat flap. There is countryside very near by without crossing a road at all thinking about it. There are a few cats in the area that seem to do ok. One ran in my house a few months back and his under the stairs Grin

Another one has 3 legs and likes to sit on my windowsil and scare me half to death when I open the curtains

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 21/05/2016 14:33

LOL! See, you're clearly a cat person, the neighbouring cats know Grin

Original poster
whatnoww · 21/05/2016 14:35

Toddler - yeah I think the money and the drive shows commitment! It's the yard that worries me as there are no flowerbeds or grass. There is at the front but that's near a road.

Oh well I can only try.

OP posts:
Original poster
whatnoww · 21/05/2016 14:37

Another - I thought they were terrorising me untill I read this thread. Now I know they are simply trying to control me and make me into a well behaved human who will feed and play Grin

OP posts:
TheABC · 21/05/2016 15:02

YY to keeping your cat indoors at night. It minimizes the road risk and the amount of small animals killed (and dragged home). Likewise getting two cats as companions for each other is a good idea - you can bulk buy food and get additional animals discount on pet insurance to keep the costs down.

I would also second a high-sided litter tray - we got a transparent storage box from B & Q as we have a large maine coon who likes to dig!

The biggest concern for me would be the garden. If you prefer to keep the astro turf, could you get some pots or boxes with interesting plants (catnip, lavender etc.) to make the garden a more attractive place for cats?