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?

Farm foods here has 3 boxes of felix with 40 pouches each for £11

He has three of them a day and nothing else.

Our vets do a payment club where we pay monthly and then get all his flea treatment, worming, vaccinations and his yearly check up. Saves a fortune.

His pet insurance is also with the same people who we had house insurance with so it was discounted.

Dry cat food is good for their teeth. Get a decent quality dry food and make sure they have access to plenty of water, ours have a fountain. They get wet food every other day because one of my girls is prone to gaining weight quite easily.

Just remember the quote from the late, great Terry Pratchett "In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." Live by that, and you shouldn't go far wrong

Ha ha @allergictoironing that’s amazing!

We have emailed a shelter and asked about setting up a call next week. DS is so excited about having a pet but we have explained that it might take a while for the cat to love us to control his expectations

I’m now sitting here looking at litter trays and scratching posts...

Depending on the individual cat, you may want to look at cat trees. My Girlcat loves lying on the top most platform surveying her empire. If you have one by the window even better, as they can watch cat TV (aka the outdoors) from the comfort of their perch.

I would definitely recommend a cat tree and scratching post. Climbing and scratching are part of their nature. Most importantly, spend time with your cat, talk to him/her, play, just hang out. They want affection on their terms, but they do want affection. After a few months you won’t imagine a life without them!

Make sure you check before getting a cat that nobody in the household is allergic to them. Cat allergy is very common. Some friends of ours found this out the hard way, and the poor cat had to go.

Allergic has it!!

Pretty sure none of us are allergic.

Yes I’m looking at cat trees!

Is a covered (and filtered) litter tray worth it? They seem huge and not sure where we would put it.....

I bought a large covered tray ( I don't use the carbon filter though )
It is deep with a fairly deep tray . I bought a honeycomb rubber mat to catch the tracking litter (it doesn't stop it all)

My cats pee at the front of the box and pooh at the back -they have their little habits ) .
I did give them the cupboard under the stairs (with a catdoor) and two massive trays but they kept missing and poohing on the floor .
So the covered tray sits in the hall. We can hear them scraping so we know exactly when its used .

We have some chairs up in the small bedroom, one of DD old sweatshirts thrown over . Now taken over by the cats .
The triangular widest step on the stairs - now taken over by the cats
Two of our dining room chairs (with seatpads) - now taken over .....

And as you cannot have a Cat Thread without photos - this is our little boy , dribbling spit as DD is stroking him. He doesn't dribble any other time , even eating a treat . Just when DD strokes him.
When he arrived he was so shy he spent the first few days under the sofa and when he ventured out we all Shushed

If you look at older cats in rescue you should be able to tell by spending some time with them if anyone will react to them. I have never had a cat allergy until we got our kittens. And I wasn’t allergic to them as kittens but am to one of them as adults.

You can get washable sheepskins to put onto cat towers or favourite windowsills.

IMO the covered trays are def worth it , they keep the smell in , you can not see the poo , ( not the best sight 1st thing in the morning ) but for me the biggest advantage is puss can not pee /poo or kick litter over the edge of the tray . They are big though .

Put the tray where you think you want it at least a couple of days before you bring puss home to make sure it doesn't get in your way and you are sure it is the right place for it ,as it is not a good idea to move the tray around once the cat has got use to where it is ( for the 1st few weeks at least )
AS pp mentioned you can get rubber mats to put at the door of the enclosed try , they help get some of the litter off their paws , but if you go for a open try there is not much point in getting one as the cat will have four sides of the tray to exit from .

When you do go to pick your cat take a old piece of clothing with everyone in the house scent on it and leave it with the cat over night .
At the same time use a clean piece of clothing (or two ) and stroke the cat with it to get her /his scent on it and then put it where you think they will want to sleep in you home ( some where dark and out of everyone's way )
If you can bring home some used litter too and put it in their new litter tray so they know where to go .

Just remember the quote from the late, great Terry Pratchett "In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." Live by that, and you shouldn't go far wrong

So so true. Mine actually woke me up at 4am this morning puking up a fur ball in an over-dramatic fashion right outside my bedroom door.

I got up, cleaned it up, scrubbed the carpet and am tired and grumpy this morning - but when I saw her lying in a patch of sun at 730am I still spent a good five minutes stroking her and telling her she's beautiful.

Had you told me that before I got her I'd probably not believe you

Well, it looks like we might be getting a cat very soon! A local rehoming place has a 2 year old boy who was given up by a family about 3 weeks ago, he is currently with a foster family who we had a call with last night.

They said he is a playful cat who loves fuss and cuddles and we’ve seen lots of pictures and videos and he is adorable. She said that he is clearly keen to get outside do most likely not an indoor type cat.

As he is being rehomed from a family he already has lots of toys, a bed, scratching post and litter tray that will also come with him so we will be pretty sorted to start. Just need to look into getting the catflap sorted.

We are very excited!

Squeeee! So excited for you, OP (and for the obligatory pics when you get him!)

Congrats Basin, and welcome to a life of slavery!

I wouldn't fret too much about needing the cat flap before you get him, remember they need to be kept in for a few weeks after coming home so they recognise that it's their territory.

Ahhhh how lovely. Good luck!

Thanks!

Not fretting about the catflap just yet as we are going to be at home 99% of the time for the foreseeable future anyway so we’ll be around to let him in and out when he is ready.

Will share a pic as soon as we have him here.

Thank you all for your advice, I’ll probably be asking for more in the next few weeks!

That's great. He will need to be kept inside for the first three weeks regardless, you won't need a flap before then anyway. And you will need to be extremely careful about windows and doors during that time. Bear in mind that they can get out of really high up windows even with tiny gaps, so any room that he has access to during that time will need to have the windows firmly closed.

We ordered our catdoor ( needed to be made to order) and had it fitted about 3 weeks after the cats arrived .

Can I just announce that today is the Anniversary of their arrival ( in 2019) and I well remember the keeping every door and window shut .
We had an elaborate system of getting into and out of the room where they were residing. Getting washing in/out too .

After a week , we let them explore the hall and stairs but kept the doors shut (except small bedroom that has no door)

This morning female cat was larding at the open back door looking out at her garden.
I suspect male cat is larding on the bed

It is lovely that your Cat-2-Be is a family cat and you can give him the chance to take over his new home and spoil him in the manner he deserves .

@70isaLimitNotaTarget was that a cat door for inserting into glass? Lovely to hear about how your cats have settled in.

Update! Cat is arriving tomorrow morning! I’ve just run out to get food and cat litter etc so we are ready for him.

He will live in the front sitting room to start as the rest of the downstairs is open plan. Do we need to wait a week until we let him explore further? We can then extend to rest of downstairs and the landing (keeping all upstairs doors shut) then open the rest of the house up.

Not really the weather for keeping all the doors and windows shut though so that’s going to be interesting. Hoping it cools down again for phase 2

We didn’t wait a week for ours as she was curious, outgoing and desperate to explore the house.

Play it by ear for when you let him explore further - once he is comfortable, social and settled then let him roam further.

As my pair are indoor only, I use Flat Cats for my windows. They let the air and breezes in, keep the bigger bugs out, & keep the cats in. I've got bedroom and living room windows open today, and no chance of the cats getting out . And they are actually less obtrusive from the outside than you would think, my neighbours didn't even notice I was using them.

Oooh great news

Our door was a new panel made for one side of the French doors and the catdoor we bought fitted in.

We were adviced to leave ours a week because the little boy was so shy , he'd have been completely overwhelmed if he was subjected to to much too soon.

Even though he settled , new situations still phase him .
As you'lll know your boys background from being a family pet and in foster care , they can give you some pointers .

Welcome to your new cat - and in a very short time it'll be like he's always lived there