The pros and cons

[Mrsong]

I'm looking for honest opinions of cat owners on the pros and cons of owning a cat. We are considering getting a kitten. Looking at either a regular rescue or maybe an indoor cat like a chinchilla or rag doll. Im very drawn to these but assume they are more work? Be honest with me! I'm a sham so here most of day, kids are ages 4 and up. What are the things I might not think of? My main worries are that I'm a bit of a neat freak so worry about litter training , cat bringing home dead things ( unless I get an indoor cat)

My cat is an indoor cat. We have lots of cat friendly stuff in the house for her to do .

Firstly, why an indoor cat? If you need it to be indoors then rescues can find indoor cats for you. Unless you are at home all day then you need to have a bonded pair if they can't go out; for entertainment and comfort for each other.

It's always better to get rescues. There are millions (not an exaggeration) of cats needing homes. No one should pay anyone to create more.

If it doesn't need to be indoors then that increases the possibilities. Rescues will always assess your situation and suggest cat/s that would be suitable.

A small kitten, without its mum or siblings, will become very distressed. If you really want kittens then you should have two. However with kittens you don't know what sort of cats you're going to end up with. If you get adults then you do.

I've just realised that you would want it to be indoors in case it brings home 'gifts'? Is that the only reason? If so it's a very bad reason as you are basing it on your needs, not on the needs of the cat, which is never a good start.

If you are a 'neat freak' I think you probably shouldn't have cats unless you think you will be able to relax. You will have to have litter trays. There will be cat hair. They will probably sit on kitchen worktops. They will scratch your furniture. If you definitely wouldn't be able to cope with these things then don't get a cat.

thecatneuterer
^ this

There are more reasons than the bringing in of prey to want an indoor cat. I am paranoid about cars, dogs, poisons, accidents, other cats, foxes, evil bastards etc so got cats who needed to be indoor only. Moggies, from a rescue.

Downsides:
Fur everywhere at moulting time, just most places at other times.
Vomit - cats can have a tendency to chuck up (not looking at Boycat here oh no!)
They WILL go places you don't want them, unless shut out carefully.
They may be scratchers despite plenty of scratching areas provided e.g. Boycat has a "thing" about the wallpaper in the living room.
Litter trays, and the awful pong of a very recently done cat poo
Demands for attention when THEY want it - currently Girlcat is sitting in the study door making pathetic little crying noises because I'm not sitting in the living room while she sleeps
Like any pet, car when you are away

Upsides:
OMG they are the best thing that ever happened to me.
Purring balls of fur that cuddle (on their terms and in their time of course)
The company
The sheer beauty of them - when they move, when they sit or lie down
The entertainment they give you
Comfort of a gorgeous living thing that wants to spend their nights close to you, just because
Health reasons - google health benefits of cat ownership
The love they give you (again, on their terms of course)
They are addictive - don't know if that should be in this section or downsides!

If your a neat freak a cats not for you. It will scratch your furniture, carpets, beds. They do it to mark territory and you can’t stop them either.

If they get runny bottoms sometimes it runs onto their back paws and you get little poo paw prints.

If they decide they don’t like being indoor only and wee on the walls.

If they go out and hunt, live birds poo in panic when flying around the house. Worst was the baby rabbit with its guts hanging out.

Chinchilla can be grumpy. My friend has a stunning one. But she's not very cuddly. And the rescue I got them from think they are fairly grumpy. I have. A Persian Exotic and a long haired normal Persian. Omg that are the most wonderful creatures ever, The Exotic is ridiculously friendly and cuddly. The Persian is very calm, docile and very affectionate.
Neither very bright so better as house cats.

Pros: house cats
They are just wonderful!

Cons;
Cheddar's poo stinks
No other cons!

They are also literally the best thing I've ever done as a pp says.

If you have a long haired cat, as long as you keep on top of their coat it's not much effort. Mine have a hood going over with a professional groomer. There are several specific breed rescues.

Upsides - everything- including the artfully distressed patina all your furniture will acquire. You will be as classy as The Fucking Fulfords.
Downsides - regurgitating and finding frogs in the laundry basket.-freshly-licked mind you.
Being a captive audience to an elderly and very vocal raconteur so not being allowed to go to the loo incase you miss the story about the time they were on Mustique with Princess Margaret, Bagpuss, Cliff Richard and Biggins.
We love and adore our two - they are beyond wonderful even if they are now quite raggy round the edges.

Upside - they are very clean and fastidious. They use their trays without any issues. No fussiness over My Tray/Your Tray (I have M/F), they have two trays and use both .
But they like to plan for when I get home from work to have a pooh. First one . I clean the tray. Then the other . I clean the tray again . .

The litter tracks round the area of the tray ( even deep sided) Male cat likes to sweep it all away (on laminate) like he's digging. (It really is the opposite of help)

They travel through Space&Time . We can see Female cat in the hall then suddenly she's under DD bed .

Ours are identical jet black except he has a (as in one single) white hair . Their demeanor is different so we can tell who is who.
Unless they Gaslight us .
He is very shy but walked steadily towards me and through my ankles. I thought it was her ........till I saw her come into the room.
Realised he was pretending to be her to turn me barmy . I can see why Mad Cat Ladies end up , well Mad

Ours haven't been out yet but I anticipate Dead Things . If I couldn't then I would not have cats TBH .

Ours still try their utmost to be fastidious but age is becoming a losing battle. I gently file claws with a crystal nail file and trim matted bits. They still like the furminator but it takes a long time to carefully groom them.
They are the first pets DH has ever had and he is a total mad cat dad. It melts my heart how kind he is to our doddering duo. They were 16 last week so, of course, there was a bit of a buffet and presents: small canopies for their sunloungers and langoustines.

Much of what I would say has already been said...

So just reiterating getting two kittens is definitely better than one, they will grow up much happier and better socialised and cause less havoc.

Although I would possibly recommend you consider a young adult rescue rather than kittens - a laid back, child-friendly cat, around 1-5 years old. You will know their personality much better, kittens are a gamble...

They do create some "mess" in the home, there's no getting around that. Some tracking of cat litter, or bits from the garden if they go out, cat hair of course on soft furnishings and your clothes... On the other hand cats are very clean and with kids you are probably already used to some "mess" and maybe clean regularly enough to not notice any extra?

Other things to consider - finances (insurance, annual vaccinations, monthly flea and worming treatments, food, litter, bigger purchases like carrier, cat tree, toys, bowls) and arrangements for holidays.

Also your location - busy roads? Detached house with easy access to front or a terrace with a safer network of gardens at the back? Would consider you catproofing your garden or getting a catio built (safety for cats + less chance of "presents")?

I love having cats and wouldn't be without but I don't have kids and mostly work from home so really appreciate the company.

They travel through Space & Time

They all do this

Definitely get a rescue/rescues plural if they already come as a pair. When ours go we'll be looking to provide a life of luxury and absolute Riley for slightly older cats.
You cannot tell how a kitten's personality will develop but with a young but more mature cat, it will be an easier fit.
Yes, yes, yes to the safety aspect. We had to move for our pets' safety. Trading up was not that thrifty either but we don't have children and they really are our family.

Agree with the comments about having identical black cats. There were times when snorg would do something that her sister usually did. And it would completely throw me!

Not great for neat freaks. We had a rescue (adult) cat for four months, before he got run over. He was a nice cat and good with the kids but some of the gross things I can remember include:

Stroking him once and then realising there was poo on his tail

Finding a piss soaked rug in my daughter's bedroom

He nearly always did runny poos. My best friend is a vet and we followed her advice, but it just seemed to be how he was. For that reason, his poo never stayed in the litter tray, and always seemed to be down the side of it, or on the skirting boards

He snuck out once and came back with a gravy colour around his chin. I don't know if he'd been in someone's bins but he proceeded to throw it all up

He always seemed to have little bits of poo stuck to his bum?!

I don't think I'd get another cat tbh!

Thank you all for the very honest feedback! My kids are at the age they are begging for a pet. We all would love a dog but I know that we are not ready for a dog just now so considering cat. I think I was drawn to an indoor cat like persian/ rag doll because of temperament. Aren't they supposed to be more affectionate? Also we have cats next door , one of whom has decided to live with us 50% of the time We don't let her in the house anymore but she is in our garden most days. So I worry about the 2 not getting along if we get an outdoor cat. My kids are fantastic with next door cat and animals in general & it would be lovely to have a new addition. I'm just worried about my anxiety around cleanliness.its the only thing holding me back.

We have had cats all our lives. Last year our 2 elderly cats died and a couple of months ago we got a kitten. I have been shocked at how much of a handful she is, as soon as I get up in the morning she is attached to my bare foot. Even if it doesn't move she will attack it and I do not remember my other cats being as naughty as she is and she hardly sleeps during the day. I cannot imagine having her and small children together as they would be covered in scratches. I must add that she is also a delightful, loving, confident thing, but omg.

Op, google Jackson Galaxy.
Also, I always had rescue tabbies but our cat now is a rescue tuxie. Indoor girl. She's lovely and confident and pretty tidy. I'm old hence the "I've had a few cats thing". My dd (12) loves her. As do we.

cons- cat poo, scrabbling furniture, getting people to feed when you go away, vets bills/insurance
pros - cats
If you are a cat person you don't need to weigh them up!

Persians are nice but the eye gunk really puts me off. They do tend to have very sweet personalities though.
I have 3 indoor ragdolls and they are just adorable! They do take more effort to entertain than outdoor cats, but if you have an enclosed back garden you can make it safe for them to play out.

You do have to expect mess though. Mine are great at using the litter tray but I have one who prefers a certain rug to poo on if possible
They also wake up early. One of mine will try and wake me first by sitting on my chest, when I ignore him he goes and wakes the kids up for cuddles.

This is the poo culprit. Too cute to be mad at.

The only con for me is cat hair on my work clothes.

Cannot explain how much we adore our cats (100% get two). Last night I cried because I shouted one and she wouldn’t come to be but would go to OH. He then cried because he was so happy she went to him. We’re a pair

Persians do tend to be sweet, but then so are plenty of normal moggies. You can of course get rescue persians. I had a rescue persian and he was more of an outdoor cat than the majority of my moggies. He wanted to be outside constantly and in all weathers. He also had multiple health problems, as pedigrees often do, and died very young, as pedigrees often do.

Really just go to a rescue and say you want a quiet, homely, affectionate cat and they should be able to suggest some. They will probably still want to do out though. And don't worry too much about the cat in the garden. They generally come to some sort of accommodation - providing that one isn't excessively aggressive of course.