Tell me what I need to know about being a cat owner please!

[BasinHaircut]

DS (7) wants a pet. We have settled (after lots of discussion) on a cat. We are looking at cats that need rehoming. I don’t really want the hassle of a kitten and I prefer the idea of giving an older cat a home. I’ve never had any pet other than a rabbit as a child, when I obviously wasn’t ultimately responsible for it.

We don’t have a cat flap or really anywhere to put one unless we have the patio door re-glazed to put one in. Would have to rely on being let in and out when we are here for now. I also don’t really want a litter tray inside my house - do you have to have one? I’m assuming either a catflap (constant access to outside) or a litter tray is necessary?

What do I need to know about owning a cat? How much ‘work’ is it?

Once the cat is comfortable in a quiet room and with you in there you can let them explore the rest of the house at their own pace. Just don't let them run out of the external door. When you do first let it out, do it first thing in the morning before you give it breakfast. That way it will be hungry and have learnt that you bring food, so shouldn't wander too far and risk getting lost straight away. We've done this 3 times with different cats and it has always worked well.

We've always had a cat and never had a cat flap or litter tray Well then you are bad cat owners.

You'll need pet insurance, that is a must.

One real essential you will need is patience and the ability to take things slow. Rescue cats are the best and you'll be making such a huge difference to their life. You won't know what they've been through before so it might take them a while to settle, trust and eventually love but with your consistency and going at their own pace will make a world of difference. I've had three rescue cats and my boy rescues wanted cuddles and were asleep on the bed from day 2, my girl who I have now took a good month to feel comfortable.

We haven’t got a cat flap but I’m home and happy to act as butler!!
Also OP remember that a cat is a living, breathing being with a mind of its own. Your child may be desperate for a pet but you can’t guarantee a lap cat or one that will even tolerate fuss! An adult cat will give you a much better idea of temperament but everything still has to be on the cat’s terms.

They're wankers

They need a litter tray even with access to outdoors, mine comes back home for a poo 🤔 they are fussy with food and you need to expect to be covered in car hair. But they are just lovely and funny and generally amazing. Mine is a grumpy old sod but is very gentle and patient with young DD

Definitely need a scratching post especially for a rescue and as others have said have them in one to at first then gradually open the house til they get used to it. Have lots of enclosed areas they can hide in like boxes and ideally a high up perch too so they can look down on you

Thanks all. Lots to think about.

I think we would have to have a cat-flap fitted but we don’t have any ‘spare’ walls so it would have to go in the patio door. Assuming it would mean the whole pane would need to be replaced given that they are sealed double glazed units. I’m assuming it would be £500ish but that’s OK. I accept that I’d have to have a litter tray initially whilst they get used to home but otherwise is having a tray just outside in a sheltered spot and not one inside if we have a cat-flap ok? I cannot stand the smell of them.

Idea is to contact a rescue and hopefully be matched with a cat that likes humans. DS would want to fuss it for sure.

Would 100% have decent pet insurance.

We have a young son so we don’t have much furniture etc that we are attached to. It could knock itself out scratching to be honest.

My main reservation is having a litter tray inside TBH. I note the idea of a freshly dug area in the garden for the cat to do it’s business and I would do similar and provide a tray outside in a sheltered spot too.

We aren't bad owners, we let our cats out when we let our dog out regularly throughout the day. They tend to stay out over night by choice and so we don't need a litter tray.

No. Cat needs to be in overnight son needs a litter tray. And many cats don’t want to go outside anyway because they feel vulnerable.

Don't bother buying a bed. The cat will use it for about a fortnight, if that.
You can get it to sleep in a particular spot, by putting your best jumper or favourite item of clothing there. Usually it wants to sleep in your chair.

You need a scratching post. My cat is quite good at not scratching furniture but I have a faux leather bag that he can't resist.

You will need a catflap, but you'll need to keep the cat in for a while, which means being extra careful with windows and doors.

They only love you when they want something and everything is on their terms.

They are weird about food and mine will only drink out of certain things.

Fair enough re the litter tray. Maybe I am imagining it worse than it needs to be but my friend with 2 cats has 2 litter trays in an unventilated bathroom and whole house stinks of it. Is it possible to keep the smell at bay?

If you need a temporary litter tray you can get an enclosed one with a charcoal filter. I have 2 in my house because I have an indoor cat and my house doesn't smell of cat. (I have several relatives who would fall over themselves to tell me if it did!)

We have an older cat.
Had her for 15 years.

But she now pees everywhere and wakes us up at 5am for food. Although she has her last wet pouch at midnight and a bowl of dry food down all the time....

She is lucky we love her 🐈🐾

OP, if you aren't prepared to have a litter tray then don't get a cat. You may find that the cat will be happy to go outside to toilet, but you may not. And most cats, as they get older, start to not want to go outside. And as I said above - if it's cold/raining/the ground is frozen they won't go out. If they're ill also. You may be able to get away without having a tray for some time, but you must always be prepared to have one.

What is your objection to a tray?

Cross posted re the tray. Trays don't have to smell at all! If you use wood pellet litter then that doesn't smell at all (whereas that cheap granule stuff reeks constantly!). So just get rid of the shit as soon as it appears and that's all you need to do for there to be no smell.

If it's anything like my two boys , I get nightly gifts of their stuffed toys and sometimes a whole basket , I cannot pee or have a bath alone but I wouldn't change it , my two boys are loving balls of fluff. I would have a litter tray just incase , my two are indoor so I need a litter tray

Cats are usually quite happy to poo in their neighbours garden.

I have catmint in the garden but It is shielded from cats. A neighbours cat was helping himself to it.

A litter tray should never smell. I use a cheap bin bag to line and a scattering of litter, as soon as it's used or first thing in the morning the whole lot goes in the outside bin and replaced. If your friends smells she must be leaving it there dirty.

As pointed out by TCN, the tray shouldn't smell if you use decent quality litter and clean it regularly. I have 2 indoor only cats who won't tolerate a covered tray only an open one, but I check regularly with my DSis when she comes round (pre-Covid) that she can't smell it (she has a very sensitive nose). By regularly I mean ideally scoop after every use or at least 2-3 times a day if that isn't possible, with a regular complete change of the litter & a clean of the tray itself.

Mine occasionally do the most dreadfully smelly poos, but they cover them well and you wouldn't ever know 5 minutes after.

You’ll call yourself mummy to them, most photos on your phone will be the cat. You will wish cats had phones so you could text them during the day & send cat memes saying “this is YOU”.

You will start off thinking you won’t ever do any of the above.

Basin do make sure your DC isn't allergic to cat fur .
The fur really does get everywhere - even if you don't handle the cat (which doesn't sound like the cat/human relationship you are after) they will get around the house leaving fur as they go.

A closed door is a complete abomination to our female cat . When they arrived I said the Utility was off limits because I didn't want them getting stuck behind the washing machine . Well she went in, nosed about , came out again.
I doube check before I load the WM or TD . 2 seconds to check, just in case .

The pantry is her favourite , she hears the door and bloody canters up, leaps in. We cannot prise her out , but she gets bored and scrapes at the door then slides out .

My DD keeps her door closed at night (otherwise female cat terrorises her ) The door to our room is open, the small bedroom has no door . DS room is open. Cat wants DD room. So the carpet gets mangles

Ours will happily bat your hand away . Whether there are claws involved or not depends on their mood .

My DC are 17 and 20 . They know to read the cats' body language .
We knew our cats needed a quiet (in our case 4 adults) home and were prepared not to have cuddly cats .
They like to sit beside us , have a head rub and a Dreamie .
She photobombs my DH when he's WFH .

OP, I got the x large litter tray with the sieve from pets at home, cats best smart pellets (the one with the purple and green bag), a little plastic scooper and some poo bags. I discovered the sieve's useless but the good thing is having two trays included. So: morning and evening I'll scoop out any poo and seal the bags carefully. Then once a week tip the whole tray into a bin bag and swap over to the clean tray while I soak the used one in zoo plus. Both my kittens have had giardia and using that approach has more or less kept me sane.

I have a covered litter tray with a filter.

The two main things that help the smell though are keeping on top of clearing out the tray and the type of food you feed them.

Raw feeding cats is quite a new thing but might be worth looking in to. I know with dogs that it makes their poo teeny tiny and hardly stinky at all.

I find the silica crystal litter is amazing and I have two indoor cats and never smell the litter tray. I did wonder whether I had gotten used to the smell (eek) but I recently had to use an alternative litter and I could smell the litter tray from the first time it was used. Defo the way to go. Food bowls and scratching post is the only other things you will need. My kitties do have and use their cat beds but they are not the norm. Every other cat owner I know would tell you the cat bed is unused lol x

We don’t have a cat flap. Our cat was a rescue cat and was a year old when we got her. She was our first pet and I don’t regret it! She’s very affectionate and good therapy when she’s curled up purring while being stroked. The downside is that she randomly 2 or 3 times a year wees on the bed or sofa. Cat wee is very hard to get out of soft furnishings. She also starts purring just after five every morning - we don’t need an alarm clock. She’s a friendly cat but the only person she doesn’t get on with is our 8 year old. He tries to hug and cuddle her or makes sudden movements and she darts away. He has a much better relationship with the dog. Cats don’t really take much crap so she isn’t a playmate for him (despite our attempts to train him to be gentle with her)!

Subjugation, that's what you need to understand...