Would I be a terrible cat owner (undecided)

[notacrazycatladyyet]

Hi! Please help me make up my mind.

I've lived in a quiet cul de sac for 18 years and have always had cats, never looked for a new one they always just "happened" somehow. All had long, happy I hope lives with us. However, last year my last lovely cat got hit by a car and died. We gave it a year to get over this but are now seriously thinking about getting another.
I'd like a rescue cat but after a VERY a comfortable phone call yesterday to a lady who rescues litters of kittens I'm doubting whether I can offer a good home.
Because.... I have a child who is 7, quiet, calm and good with animals but still that's off putting for a lot of cats.
My last cat got hit by a car and the house currently has no cat flap so I'd prefer a house cat except that I'm at work all day so is that cruel?
I'm open to all scenarios, getting a cat flap fitted, getting an older cat, getting a pair of cats who'd be company for each other. But honestly, would I be better to knock the idea on the head until my circumstances are a bit better?
Thanks for taking the time to read

Damn autocorrect "after a very uncomfortable phone call"

Our cats were 4 months old when we got them from a rescue. I'd waited until my youngest was 5 and the rescue were fine with that.

I find that so many rescues have such a strict criteria that it's hard to pass.

I can't see any problems so would go for it but would get a cat flap so it's not a house cat.

We've just adopted from World Animal Friends and our cat came from Romania. They have lots available!!!

www.worldanimalfriends.co.uk/cats-for-adoption

Ws have plenty of elderly.cats looking for homes where I live. All they want is love and you and you DC would offer that. Cat protection offer a fostering system when you look after cats that need a bit of extra care. Maybe pregnant or had an.operarion and they pay all the costs. Would you like to try that. There are indoor cats looking for a human home. Where snouts in the UK are you.

I have 3 cats, 2 rescue and 1 pedigree. None of them go out on a regular basis. The 2 rescue cats sometimes have a wander round the garden if the weather is good but otherwise they show little interest.
I think that unless you live in a really quiet area the risk of being hit by a car is too great.
I know others may disagree but my 3 seem perfectly happy. The rescue places were also happy with my decision before they approved me.

Absolutely don’t let the house cat scenario put you off. It is a much safer and kinder way to keep cats. Two house cats would keep each other company nicely.

Sounds like you would be a lovely cat owner.

Maybe get an older rescue cat rather than a kitten, one that is good with children and personality is known.

We have a 15 year old cat and she almost never goes outside by choice but lots of cats love to be outside. Whenever a cat goes outside there are higher risks than for indoor cats but if you are on a quiet cul-de-sac that's not like being on a main road. Most UK cats will be in that situation. A cat flap would be useful, even our one who is 99% indoor based, goes out occasionally if its really sunny outside.

Take the rescue's advice on one or a pair, our cat would hate a pair but others are OK with it, best when they are already a pair. Some rescues say indoor only, I'm not so keen on the cat not getting a say though but can understand those cats have been through trauma. I'm here with our cat in the day but in the past she has been quite happy here in the day on a bed or by a radiator, think she likes the quiet and whole house to herself. I think you working is fine, just leave food, water and place to sleep. We leave heating on in the winter for her.

You do sound like a perfect cat owner. I have house cats. They like a wander around my enclosed garden, but that's it. They have had a couple of accidental escapes into the big wide world and decided they don't like it.

Could you make a Catio (enclosed outdoor area linked to a back door)? Lying in the sun grumbling at the birds is a big part of life for some cats.

You siund an ideal owner. Rescues are nutty about who they re-home to these days. Yes, a basic suitability check but the blanket ban on rehoming to homes with children is ridiculous and risks cats being left in the rescue centre or people turning to Facebook/Gumtree. The only thing I would do in your situation is get a catflap. If you're in a cul-de-sac the risk of being run over is lessened and most cats are happier with outdoor access.

Third the idea of the older cat. One of mine is such a beast - he has other (trivial) issues that mean he was very very unlikely to be adopted otherwise.

He's mostly relaxed but still has his moments of madness.

What about an fiv+, blind or other cat with issues than mean it can’t go outside?

I adopted a pair of young adult cats who are indoor kitties for a couple of reasons. They are siblings and a bonded pair, and the rescue was very happy to find a home that suited them as a) adults are harder to home, b) pairs of adults are harder to home, c) indoor only cats are harder to home and d) black cats are harder to home - all of which were on my wish list (though colour was just a minor preference not a high priority).

They seem very happy & healthy, chase each other about and fight, lie down snuggled up together. Vet says they are in great condition. Boycat DOES have a bit of separation anxiety when I start a new job if I've been at home for a while, but that's down to his issues anyway we reckon.

However I do take issue with one aspect of your post - you don't "own" a cat, you are their guardian & more likely than not THEY will own YOU [drin]

Argh smiley fail!

You sound an ideal cat owner.

Have you thought of a pedigree rescue? Like this one primarily for Persians: www.strawberrypersianpedigreecatrescue.co.uk/adoption/ They specify that cats must be kept as indoor only cats. Most of them are adults, and Persians are quite unadventurous and don't really want to go outside (donning flak helmet now as I'm sure Persian owners will tell me otherwise) - ideally suited to an owner who is out at work all day.

Or try the Celia Hammond shelters - they have lots of adult cats in pairs needing homes.

I was in a similar position to you only DS was 9 and most of the rescue cats we looked at specified older children

In the end we got a kitten as OH and DS had never had a ' brand new' cat

Turned out he was from a vet who should known better and neutered her cat

Our previous cat had also been run over at 12 the stupid thing and it does worry me now where it never did before, so we try and keep him in at night

A lot of bigger charities have a blanket "no children under X" rule, I imagine as they don't have the time to assess every situation individually. I've been volunteering with a small rescue and lots of people with small children adopt from us, though!

Is it possible the kittens you spoke about were rescued when they were a bit older and are more skittish? We do get quite a lot of shy kittens this way and they are not always ideal for busy homes with young children around. Many other kittens are more sociable and absolutely fine though.

In regards to indoor cats, it's not always easy to have an indoor only cat in a house because inevitably doors will be left open and people will be in and out of the garden during summer months especially. You could specifically look to be matched to an adult rescue cat that's known for preferring to stay close to home; not all cats like to roam.

I used to work with in a cat rescue, I can't remember what age the blanket ban was but I think it was younger than 7. I'm also pretty sure they'd have bitten your hand off if you are happy to adopt older cats especially an older pair.

I'd phone round a few local charities and just ask their opinion, some places can come across as very abrupt, others are much friendlier!

@viccat no this was the thing, she's often got litters and says they are nervous but these she said specifically were friendly. I posted on her video asking if they would rehome with a 7 year old and she said that was fine.
On the phone though, it seemed all she wanted to do was find fault.
Anyway as pp have said, I need to contact some others.

Thanks everybody for your input, I feel more confident about approaching rescues now.

Cats protection wouldn't re-home to me. They were hell bent on having outdoor access but said themselves that I lived on too busy a street. A smaller charity allowed us to adopt a very lovely wee cat who has been a lovely addition to the family. Both of our cats are indoor and very happy.

Most (all?) pedigree cat clubs have welfare and are often looking to rehome retired queens that have only ever known indoors.

Ours are pedigree re homes and the breed is generally bomb proof. My youngest was just 5 and they used to go to bed with her for an evening nap 😂 we have always kept them locked in overnight to reduce RTA risk.

Any particular breed you fancy?

First cat was a large super friendly moggie that we re homed 😍

How about an adult / bonded pair of adults, rather than a kitten? That way you can look for a calm cat that is used to living as a housecat.
It's difficult knowing what a kitten will grow up to be like - some cats really want outdoor access, some live very happily as housecats.
My two have restricted outdoor access - the catflap is open during the day, but I close it at night. Tbh they don't go much further than the patio lazy gits

FWIW we adopted two cats (brothers) from Cats Protection, they go outdoors and we adopted when our DCs were 4yo and 2yo. You sound much quieter than our house, for starters!

It all depends on the cat of course, and the reason we jumped at the chance to adopt these two was because CP ‘labelled’ them as suitable for young children which is less common for rescues - I’ve had rescues twice before, pre-DC. CP (like a lot of rescues) test new cats with volunteers, including children. You then go through a form, they look at your property (either in person or online, like Google maps and street view), and then they ask all members of the household to come to the rescue and be introduced to the cats to see how they react.

Our two cats had come from a family household and basically just weren’t wanted anymore, but they are super friendly and chilled. So moving into another family home was absolutely fine. They were 1yo when we got them, they’re now 3yo (and we now have DC3 too) and they seem very content! We have a variety of different spots around the house for them to have their own space, we taught the DCs how to be with them, they’re both very friendly but one of the cats is a bit more affectionate/soppy and has hugs and strokes with both of the older DCs; the other is a bit more independent and prefers us but has no issues with the DCs (not scared or aggressive etc). There is someone at home most of the time but we’re now getting a microchip cat flap fitted so they have a bit more flexibility to come and go.

Some rescues do give a very hard line, but your circumstances don’t sound unsuitable at all for the right cat.

Interested in the breed rescues as this is something I hadn't considered. Will look now, thank you 😊

Don’t get sucked into a bengal without a lot or research and thought.

There are loads in rescue for a reason

They are territorial -need masses of space, but it’s often stipulated that they are indoor only. They hate other cats, don’t mind a dog to bully , they are loud, demanding and narcissitic . Especially at 3am when their demands need to be met immediately...