Should we adopt a cat?

[Doublemint]

Background: married to DH have 2 DCs aged 3 &1. We have a westie who is so so docile and soppy, he's about 8 years old.

DH was allergic to cats, but when staying over at people's houses for a few days hasn't had a reaction in the last few years.

We have/had a mouse problem since moving to our current house 3 years ago.

We've put down traps, poison etc. Traps have always caught a mouse within 24 hours and poison trays are emptied pdq too.

Anyway, being aware we have two young dcs and keeping surfaces clean, tidy etc, I was feeling like we needed to do something else.

Our next door neighbour is 92 and has a v old (deaf) cat that she loves. Ndn gets out and about regularly and has lots of friends popping in, so cat isn't her only company.

Ndn feeds the birds (and vermin I suspect) all manner of things- potato skins, chicken, meats, pasta etc and puts it on her lawn. She now has a flock of pigeons that live
On her roof and poo all over our garden. It's a proper health hazard.

So I was considering just getting a plastic owl to scare the pigeons away a bit but they don't bother me as much as the mice.

Fast forward to last week when I found a dead baby rat drowned in DDs paddling pool.

This for me was a game changer. We are a busy young family, but we would (in my opinion) be a great family for a cat who didn't need constant cuddles and fuss.

A potential cat has come into the local rescue and conversation with the staff there think we would be a suitable home. He's house trained, aloof, likes hunting but also will initiate some affection. But he doesn't get on with other cats.

What do I do? Do I go for grumpy cat? Or no cat? I would feel so bad if our cat chased ndns cat away or they fought or something. But I cannot have this rodent problem ongoing. Ndn won't stop feeding the birds/rodents either. So getting in pest control wouldn't be a long term solution.

I've gtg to work as I've written this on my
Lunch break but will reply later.

Help!

Sorry should be clear mice are now out of the house, but still In the garden. With the rats and the pigeons.

You sort out your vermin problem, which can be done, you just haven't done it yet THEN decide if you want a cat.

Iirc the council can intervene if people are causing an on going vermin problem. There is no guarantee that a cat will be a hunter.

The cat being a hunter might just mean the mice/rats go from being alive and outside to being alive/injured and inside.

It's unlikely even the best hunter will make much of a dent in a breeding population of rodents.

Probably better to talk to your neighbour about the rodent problem, a good bird table might help.

That said, if DHs allergies are definitely gone I'd get a cat, I like cats.

Is NDNs deaf cat allowed out? Most deaf cats are indoor only, but obviously not all. I doubt a new cat would scare it off, it might spend more time inside though if yours is dominant.

Good point, our cat just brings his kids inside for us to finish off!

We recently had a rat nest outside and the cat didn't take a blind bit of notice

Ok I will contact the council and see what can be done.

I have spoken to ndn about the food attracting mice and us having them in our house twice before. She just said something non commital about how mice are everywhere anyway and there's not much anyone can do about it. And then about how much she likes mice.

She has two bird tables that get seed on and "special" food she thinks the seagull likes. Like seeds and bacon.

She's a little bit dotty and harmless enough. She won't stop putting food down though.

I will get it sorted before getting a cat. Will keep my sensible head on.

I still want to go see grumpy cat on Saturday though!!!!! Oooooh! I think I got a bit over excited about him.

Grumpy cat - bless! I do think though even if he is aloof, he does still need love and attention and cuddles - not just a life of doom gloom and hunting..... sorry I don't mean to sound accusing you though! Its just that there are so many sad cats who the owners cannot be bothered with, and I'd say only get him if you can give him love. I used to work with Cats Protection and so many unloved cats - used to break my heart :-(

Oh believe me he would be loved! But given his own space.

I've been looking into cat flap costs, thinking about how we could putting a high up deep "shelf" up so he could hide/sleep up there with some privacy in a den type bed.

He wouldn't be only here to hunt. It's just that his personality is such that I would be happy with a "hands off" pet/owner relationship and so would he by the sound of it! He's only two so lots of time to bring him round.

But trying not to think about all that until I've spoken to ndn again and then the council if necessary.

Especially not looking at types of cat den online. Oh no. No way.

And I'd be up for cuddles and snuggles if he agrees to it, but I wouldn't be disappointed if not.

A young cat that likes to hunt might play havoc with your neighbour's bird tables.

Go and meet him, you know you want to! You sound made for each other. My cat likes affection on his own terms. He won't sit on our laps but likes to be near us. I think he likes to pretend he's aloof so you might find grumpy cat is the same when he settles into your a home.

You might be just the home he is looking for. A lot of people want cuddly lap cats, he might well be overlooked if you don't give him a home. Just check he's not a biter or scratcher, I speak from a bad experience with a rescue cat who was supposed to be a loving family cat and turned out to be anything but. Sadly we couldn't keep her. Aloof is one thing, aggressive another.
Good luck!

Grumpy cat sounds great. If you feel you can give him a good home and the rescue think he would be a good fit then go for it, regardless of the state of your rodent problem.

You want Grumpy Cat, admit it, mice or no mice.

I think you also need to talk to the council re the rodent problem.

I admit it. I do want grumpy cat. Irrespective of rodents!

Gutted though as the manager of the rescue just had to cancel our appointment! Of course the text came through just after I had finally told our 3 year old we were going to look at some cats today!

Trying to rebook it though.

I want to chime in and agree that a cat won't necessarily want to do anything for the vermin problem, however we adopted a grumpy cat a while ago. Unfortunately he recently passed away. He changed our lives, and gave us so much. I still miss him . They are often overlooked too, for the younger, friendlier, prettier cats.

As much as I'd like a Persian I would really struggle to overlook a late neutered, slightly battle scarred old boy. But that's just me ;)

I'm a sucker for old boys too. They might be grumpy, but they can also be the biggest sooks.

I had a huge ginger tom fro a rescue centre, had been a stray. He was with me over 16 years and never to my knowledge caught anything or bought anything back. He made friends with 6 wood pigeons and would sit among them whilst they grazed in the garden. He had a frog friend and a hedgehog friend for a while. He also ignored the one solitary rat that used to try for birdfood in the winter.Don't count on a cat to tackle your 'pest' problem 😊