Thinking about welcoming some cats into our home....

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My DH has made no secret of the fact he is a Cat Person. We had a female tortie/white (rescue) many years ago , she was 2yo when she came to us and enjoyed tolerating us till she was 17yo.

DH has put up with 8 years of guinea-pigs (we had eight of them over the years , at one point we had five ) that DD and I kept.
So now we are without the rodenty types , the last of the group died recently.

I am searching out a glazing company to get a cat door in the french doors (I have said to DH that I will only consider cats if we can let them have access to outdoors as they please)

DH and I work , our DC are teenagers . DD was allergic to the guinea-pigs fur but fine with DBro cat .
No dogs.
Big garden , quiet road.

I think (hope) that a Rescue will say "Yes , you are suitable"

Like our previous cat , I'd prefer young adult to kittens because I cannot spend the first weeks litter training . My DC are home some days with their school/university so they won't be alone long term.

I'm browsing Gumtree ( not intending to buy from there ) some of the kittens ( 9w) are £100-£200 Some are Pedigree/Cross , most are moggies . A lot don't specify vaccines and they won't be neutered.
This is a piss take surely ?

So ....(gets to the point)

Where do you get your cats from if they don't come from a friend who has kittens . Does it have to be a local rescue to do the Home Checks?

What sort of price? I'm thinking of cat+vaccine+neuter , they will have an Adoption Fee of £80ish? approx.

Ideally 2 cats already a pair for company . M/M F/F or M/F ? Are littermates better (I know with puppies it is bad to have littermates) .

How long are they kept inside (assuming they are neutered/vaccinated) to get them used to us.

Best Pet Insurance ?

TIA. I want to step into this prepared . It has been a long while since we had a feline but I remember the presents - mice(dead) birds( sometimes alive and could be freed, sometimes shredded and eaten with the odd birds bum'n'legs left thoughtfully on the floor) , furballs artfully deposited on the stair.
And the stair carpet . She shredded the old one . We got a new one . I saw her paw reach out and told her "No" . She went meh and never shredded it !

And the indifference they show you, but if you try to read a paper , they sit on it .

Oh and MicroChips .

If I want the MicroChipped cat door is that all included in the chip? ( I'm guessing they'd be chipped , if not I'd have them done)

Where are you?

There are many many rescues around the country. Check out facebook pages. If you want a specific breed there are fb pages for them too.

We got our rescue as i was following the fb page when they found her. No other interest as she was pretty much a feral indoor cat. Never been outside but no human contact.

I’ve never had an issue litter training cats, they pretty much do it themselves.

Lots of kitten/young adult pairs in rescue atm.

Please don't buy from gumtree. It encourages kitten farming.

I'm in Essex (I need to get the door done first before we cat search)

I wouldn't touch Gumtree , just like I'd never get my guinea-pigs there ( people trying to either get rid of unwanted piggies (allergic/moving/kids lost interest/we're getting a puppy/ kids outgrown them ) or charging £££ to ensure a 'Good Home' when it didn;t guarentee a Good Home when they got them) Seems like Cat Selling is similar .
Breed a litter and sell , no forethought given, they don't know if the new owner will neuter/vaccinate/keep the animal , they justify the price to reduce impulse buys .

No specific breed , don't really want a long haired . I know they'll choose us rather than the other way round

You can find your local rescues on this website: www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-rescue-centres-uk-ireland

Yes, rescue cats are neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and usually come with a one month's free insurance offer as well. The adoption donations tend to be in the region of £50-100 in most places.

Most will do a home visit but it's not intended to rule you out from adopting, it's more to have a discussion and get helpful advice from the rescue volunteer who visits.

New cats should be kept indoors 4-8 weeks (and until they are settled and happy with the home and people) to prevent them going missing. You will need to be very careful about doors and windows during this initial period to prevent escapes.

I have two boys that are not related 6 year old and a 3 year old. Oldest was a rescue and youngest was abandoned kitten. Youngest used to spray even though he'd been fixed. We made more hide holes around and he calmed down. Will do it if stressed though. Female and female might be best so no spraying. Most kittens are not vaccinated or chipped. Cats from a rescue usually are fixed and chipped and vaccinated so works out well adopting one. Plus you dont have the crazy kitten stage 😂 litter training usually isn't a problem pretty much did it himself. Chipped cat flaps usually need a specific chip to work but I'm not too sure on that. Good luck into your feline adventure 😊

Oh I’ve just commented somewhere else. I’m so sorry you’re piggie less.
When I worked full time as a teacher we had cats and I let them out when I got home from school. We have never had a catflap. Partly as if you get a murdering cat they can bring in half dead things.
You could cat proof the garden to help reduce risk.
Last cats were 2 and 18 month rescues. Mother and son. Yes. She had babies at 6 months.
This time? We got kittens. They didn’t need litter training but they were bastards! Attacking us and each other at all hours of the night. And now they’re grown we find they don’t actually like each other. So an older bonded pair would be my vote. (Not two evil tortie sisters. )
Rescue. Apart from anything else they can match you to the best character for you.
Keep in for a month.
Lifetime insurance. Check who your vets will claim directly from.
And pics. We need pics.

The microchip flap learns your cats’ microchip code, any standard microchip will work. Catchat or your local Cat Protection branch would be good places to start looking. I have done home visits for CP, it’s mostly checking the road situation and talking through the practicalities of owning a cat and the adoption process. In our small branch we can usually also give more information on the cats we have available. We’re definitely trying to pass people not fail them. A very busy road would be our main concern.

Put a bell around the cats neck. Apparently half a million birds are killed by cats every week.

It is sounding promising .

My road is quiet .
I have a copy of Terry Pratchetts 'The Unadulterated Cat' which is all the Blob (owner) needs to know to keep them in their place .(from when we had our previous cat)

I am not phased by fur (or gifts)

Even with a busy road you could cat proof a garden or take on an inside only cat.
OP sounds like your previous kitty overlord taught you well. Sure you don’t want a pair of torties?
Oh and re allergies. You can be allergic to some cats but not others. Yep. I’m allergic to one of two sisters.

DH ,DD and I are vegetarian (DS isn't) and cats are the most un vegetarian animals out there. It means they won't be inclined to steal our food I suppose , they'll have their own.

Sadly we don't have many birds round here , There's a few fat wood pigeons and some squirrels and magpies . But my washing doesn't get bird pooh like it would've done 20 years ago.

Cats protection. Got to the website, find your local branch and ring them. They will ask you a few questions and let you know about any cats they have. £60 pet cat/kitten. Vaccines/microchip/neutered/wormed and de-flea.

They also support you with aftercare advice etc. It’s a really fab organisation.

I was owned by a Tortie for over 15 years. Many times I thought "So, I winder why you ended up in Rescue"?

Actually the reason was the arses who owned her previously let her have 4 pregnancies in 2 years then got rid of her because they had dogs and she was too much bother . At least they had the decency to dump her in rescue not in the Thames , I suppose .

You may well find that rescues work out slightly cheaper than Gumtree, as many on there are after the money.
A cat from a reputable rescue will usually come neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.
In all fairness, paying for the above could set you back £100 for a female cat, so £50-£100 isn't unreasonable. (Though it feels like a lot!)

I'm not too sure about the microchip cat flaps - you will have to buy the flap yourself, and I'm assuming you can programme it to recognise the cats' chips. We do have a microchip feeder - with that you basically set it up by pressing a button and waving the cat in front of it encouraging the cat to out their head through so it "remembers" the cat's chip.

Littermates are often better with cats, as they tend not to like unfamiliar cats. Most will usually settle down over time with gradual integration, and a few get on like a house on fire from the get-go, but some will never get along.
Sex is up to you as long as they are neutered, but I know a lot of people who say M-M get along best, followed by M-F.

Anecdotally, IME neutered male cats are more openly friendly, whereas females are more reserved (though no less affectionate once you've "earnt" it). This really varies from cat to cat though, and a pp is right about males spraying if stressed, so worth bearing in mind.

Insurance - the important thing is to read the fine print for exclusions and excess very carefully. Bear in mind that vet treatment nowadays can potentially reach the thousands when choosing a plan. Lifetime cover is by far the best option - otherwise when your insurance renews any illnesses the cat has had during the year become excluded from future cover.
I use Petplan - it's one of the more expensive options, but they are fair and pay out promptly. However there are a lot of good ones to choose from!

Good luck, and dont forget to come back with photos!

We have two rescues from the RSPCA. Brother and sister, tiger tabby and tabby with white socks and belly. They were neutered, microchipped and hsd their jabs.

We live on a quiet close, backing on to another close, we have a garden and a cat flap (ours were semi feral so the RSPCA specified they should have access to the outdoors). We do get gifts (the female is a prodigious mouser) but our cat flap is microchip activated so we don't have other visitors and we can set it to in bound traffic at night. After 4yrs they're both lovely cats who love a cuddle and the boy cat even likes children.

Not sure on the cat flap as we have indoor kitties. Yes to the rescue, they'll already be neutered and chipped and should have had at least the first round of vaccinations. Our girls aren't related but they get on fine. I agree about a slightly older cat, we god DCat1 as a kitten and she was a little shit. Litter trained but just a tiny furry arsehole. DCat2 was 10 months and has been exemplary in her behaviour. We looked up local rescues in our area and it was a smaller one that were able to help our kitty find us.

Don't get a pair. Yes they are fine and play together as kittens but adult cats prefer to be solitary as a rule. The risk of two cars is behavioural issues as they grow and this can lead to spraying in the house. Plus they really don't appreciate being in a multiple cat household

What are the current vaccines?

It was Feline Enteritus/Cat flu/Feline Leukeamia/Cat Aids ...is that still the same or are there more.

There was a line in the Terry Pratchett book about going to the Rescue after Christmas or holidays when "the sales are on" which is a bit "Ouch" and desparately sad though probably true .

70 I can only hope our two own us for that long. (Last girl was 19!) They are evils but they’re our evils and we love them dearly. Good job they ended up with people who don’t mind staying up until midnight if they won’t come in or being skewered every now and then.
Safely spayed and we have since got a dog. They’re going nowhere. (Even if they do beat her up and I’m allergic to one of them.) I’ve said I love them right?

X post.
A bonded pair is fine. A couple of kittens might not be.
Our local rescue was empty of cats for Christmas Day. But they started coming in on Boxig Day

I've seen some on sites that are 'prefer to be the only cat' Super and a few pairs (that must go as pair)

There is room for them to find their own space if they want , but if they've always been a pair they should settle I hope.

I'm open minded , adult , young cat , not tiny kitten though .

Just a thought about your cat-flap: you can get it put through a wall if it would be simpler than going through a glazed door. Very best of luck with your search for a new feline friend. We’re just starting to look too!

I'd prefer young adult to kittens because I cannot spend the first weeks litter training

You don't really litter train kittens unless they're very very young like 4-6 weeks old and you're not going to get one that young if you go for a rescue - 8-9 weeks minimum. They usually get taught by their mum. But I would go for teen/older cats too if I adopted again as their personalities will have developed by then

The glass door is the only real option Kuduhudu

Its our kitchen/diner (we used to have a kitchen door that was half UPVC /half glass and that had the previous catflap) , but we had an extension a few years ago , so there's a bit of wall with a plug socket and a drop on the other side to the garden , and a kitchen cupboard on the other side of the doors.
Our french doors are about 33cm wide each (the glass bit) so it should be a case of swapping one side out for a glazed door with cat door and they can go onto the steps.

Definately want a cat that will go outside to mosey round the garden with us .