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)

I think having an indoor cat in a house is very difficult - especially if you have kids and will be in and out to the garden in the summer, want to leave the back door open and so on... Indoor cats tend to suit people who really don't have any outdoor space; if someone lives in a 2nd floor flat there is no escape risk really if windows are properly cat proofed or have restrictors. In a house though it's much harder.

Oh yes, and what viccat said. It's more or less impossible to keep a cat as indoor only when you live in a house. If you are worried about dangers then cat-proofing the garden would be the way to go. But it doesn't sound as though that is an issue here.

No problem keeping our cat indoors. We have made sure she has plenty of roosting, plotting, hiding, snoozing and playing spots. She is 4 and has shown no interest in going out

My persians are rescues. And they have had health issues which is a downside. But they have been worth it. They go out into the garden.

I have 3 indoor Ragdoll’s and wouldn’t have anything else now.

Ignore the pedigrees have health problems and die young that a previous poster has said, it’s not true at all. EVERYBODY disease that exists in pedigrees also exists in moggies, they are after all both cats.

In pedigrees (providing you find an ethical breeder) the kittens will have been DNA tested for all conditions know to be present in that breed to ensure the kittens don’t get them. You can’t do the same testing on moggies as with no clue to their background you don’t know what tests need doing and if you tested for them all it would rise the price of a moggie kitten higher than what anyone would be willing to pay for them (each test cost around £35 each).

If you want to know anything about Ragdoll’s feel free to message me. I will warn you they are a) addictive and b) moult a LOT!

Mine is a rescue. He sheds and throws up sometimes. However he has never scratched furniture and if he climbs on a windowsill, he carefully picks his paws up so he doesn't knock anything over
He's also horrified by dead things and lives by "they're FRIENDS mama, not FOOD"
He did bring me a leaf once, and a white feather (the day after my cousins funeral)
I couldn't be without him

Here is a research study comparing the life expectancy of pedigree cats and moggies. Most common cause of premature death was trauma (dog attack, hit by a car etc) directly related to being allowed to free roam outdoors.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25178688/?i=2&from=/24925771/related

We have mostly indoor cats. The little one seems wary of outside and will only come out on a harness, the big one on the other hand has worked out that if I am carrying a washing basket I may go outside and follows me to the door so she goes out into the garden under supervision - we have a main road at the front of the house so I don’t let her roam without one of us keeping an eye. She’s happy enough to wander around the garden sniffing things/chasing insects/eating grass so she’s not really a wanderer.

The main con is how much they have cost me! Dcat will only eat Applaws and Blink and she has hyperesthesia so she has cost a fair bit in food and vet bills, she is insured thank goodness. Plus after about a month of having just her I decided she needed a friend so rescued dkitten .

Sleep deprivation is another con - dcat is as good as gold but dkitten pats our faces/nibbles our toes/leaps on us in the early hours.

I wouldn’t be without them though. I love their funny ways and the evening snuggles when they allow them

I also get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that we rescued them from sad circumstances and gave them a happy home where they are spoilt rotten!

Ohh yes the keeping them in !

Mine are still confined to barracks , so when I need to put washing out/in, I need to make sure they are put in the hall and DH stands guard .
I have front door+ porch door so we make sure one or other is shut so no escaping. And the windows shut .

Add to it , I am menopausal and it's warm .

But , it is only a finite period. We have their catdoor now (but it isn't set up yet) for when they are ready to go out .
I wouldn't like this to be my cats' life for the next 15+ years .

They are amazing. They have their characters and routines.

Of an evening they like supper, a pooh and a mad half hour chase and squabble (amicable ) .

I’ve cat proofed my back garden, means we can have windows and doors open in summer but the girls are still safe. Was the best thing we ever did, they love it!