Considering getting a cat as a reformed cat disliker...

[PurpleGooglyMonster]

I will admit that I never used to be a huge fan of cats. I'm unsure why, they always made me feel a bit uneasy for some reason. I'm a massive dog lover and my aim is to have a pup one day, but that probably won't happen for a good few years now.

Over the past couple of years I have warmed to cats and don't mind them. We used to have a lovely cat who visited our old house, and we live in a very cat-heavy village with lots of nice friendly cats who i always stop to say hello to now. I think I could grow to love a cat if we had one.

My dd is almost 8 and the hugest animal lover ever. Her absolute ultimate dream would be to have a cat. She's always so sad that she doesn't have a pet and I just know how happy it would make her for us to adopt a kitten or a young cat. She's an only child and I think it would be a good companion for her.

But I'm really torn about the commitment! I know cats aren't quite as a big commitment as getting a dog, but I'm worried about regretting the decision. We will occasionally have a night away but have friends who could pop in to keep an eye on/feed a cat. It doesn't happen very often but it's the thought of being tied down, if that makes sense? I know it's probably not much of an issue in real life as I know tonnes of people who have cats and don't find it a problem! It's more of a we can't decide to visit our parents overnight as a last minute thing as we will have to find someone to look after the cat... Also we rent and are hoping to stay here for a long time, but have had to move a lot due to landlords selling houses etc. Our current landlord are fine with us getting a cat but it might cause issues in the future if we suddenly have to move again. Most landlords don't allow pets at all.

I'm not sure what I'm really asking here, but maybe looking for some reassurance from cat owners that it will be ok? I've never had a pet before so I think this is why it feels like such a huge thing! I keep thinking about how thrilled dd would be to finally have a pet and it would be just lovely.

You do know that now you have considered been owned by a cat that it will happen dont you
I would go for it , I lost my dog 4 years ago and knew due to my work increase commitments that getting another dog just would not work .
So two years ago I rescued a 5 month old kitten , like you I was never a big cat lover before though I have always liked them and grew up with them .
My overlord now determine when i can sleep ( 3am zoomies ! ) and constant talking in the evening.
I work away from home from time to time so I make sure he has plenty of dry food and a auto water drinker .
I am going to buy a auto food feeder at some point soon to as very occasionally I have to work away for two nights .

Please get a rescue , if you let us know roughly where you are we can all recommend local shelters .
I got mine from here www.millstreamanimalshelter.co.uk/
They have a well monitored FB page with a lot of rescues looking for a good home

Its only really an issue whilst they are young. Kittens need regular feeding of wet food for the 6 months - small portions multiple times a day.

I would say the ages 1-2 are quite fraught as this is the age where they are very adventurous. So will fall out of trees, injure themselves, and will attempt to use 8 of their 9 lives! So I wouldn't leave them for long at that age.

But once they are older you can just leave a mountain of biscuits and a load of bowls of water for up to 2 days/nights really without anyone popping in.

They also do love a cattery if you find a good one. We have a fantastic cattery with a woman who absolutely adores our boy and he always comes back very happy.

Hello, reformed cat...ambivalent person here! Mainly because I'd grown up with dogs, parents always have dogs, never ever been around cats etc. But once me and the kids finally got housed in a council place it started to feel distinctly empty without a pet and I was determined never to have something in a cage again (guinea pigs are adorable but my god the amount of poo you end up cleaning out each week!)

Like you, dog ownership is hopefully on the cards in a few years but no practical just yet (mainly because the DCs are too young to be left by themselves once the novelty of taking it out for a walk every day wears off!)

So I took the plunge and started looking at rescues. Kittens are adorable but far too much of a commitment and there are so many slightly older or much older cats in need of a home. We ended up with a beautiful but rather stupid tabby who was 10 months old when he came to us and it's worked out beautifully.

Obviously all cats are different but my experience has been super low maintenance. I shelled out for pet insurance because he's allowed outside and pay for flea and worm treatment (my vet does a 'pet club' deal which includes the treatments at the best price on subscription). Add in food and toys that's he's entirely uninterested in and a cat tree which he adores and you're all set really. He used to use the litter box but now he has free access to outside he doesn't bother with it (I still have it set up just in case he's scared to go outside for whatever reason).

Overnights have been rare thanks to lockdown but the odd one or two really haven't been an issue. One I left fairly late in the day so just topped up his food bowl and water, closed off the toilet and bathroom and he was fine until I returned the next day (no different to me leaving for a long day at work really, just at night rather than during the day). If I were ever to go for a weekend or a longer holiday there's a choice of catteries or cat sitters nearby so I'd just look at reviews and make my choice

He's great company but not clingy, likes a lap cuddle but also will take himself off when he feels like it. Youngest DS in particular absolutely adores him and he's charmingly stupid so entertains us with antics. No regrets!

Oh that is great news about being able to leave them for one night when they are a bit older. I didn't really realise that, and it eases some of my worries a bit.

I am a freelancer and work from home permanently so frequent feeding etc wouldn't be a problem.

I live in Bradford and know of a couple of local rescues. I'd definitely adopt, I wouldn't dream of buying a kitten when I know how many need rehoming.

I am really starting to persuade myself now... I've not even asked DH what he thinks

@MollyBloomYes

Hello, reformed cat...ambivalent person here! Mainly because I'd grown up with dogs, parents always have dogs, never ever been around cats etc. But once me and the kids finally got housed in a council place it started to feel distinctly empty without a pet and I was determined never to have something in a cage again (guinea pigs are adorable but my god the amount of poo you end up cleaning out each week!)

Like you, dog ownership is hopefully on the cards in a few years but no practical just yet (mainly because the DCs are too young to be left by themselves once the novelty of taking it out for a walk every day wears off!)

So I took the plunge and started looking at rescues. Kittens are adorable but far too much of a commitment and there are so many slightly older or much older cats in need of a home. We ended up with a beautiful but rather stupid tabby who was 10 months old when he came to us and it's worked out beautifully.

Obviously all cats are different but my experience has been super low maintenance. I shelled out for pet insurance because he's allowed outside and pay for flea and worm treatment (my vet does a 'pet club' deal which includes the treatments at the best price on subscription). Add in food and toys that's he's entirely uninterested in and a cat tree which he adores and you're all set really. He used to use the litter box but now he has free access to outside he doesn't bother with it (I still have it set up just in case he's scared to go outside for whatever reason).

Overnights have been rare thanks to lockdown but the odd one or two really haven't been an issue. One I left fairly late in the day so just topped up his food bowl and water, closed off the toilet and bathroom and he was fine until I returned the next day (no different to me leaving for a long day at work really, just at night rather than during the day). If I were ever to go for a weekend or a longer holiday there's a choice of catteries or cat sitters nearby so I'd just look at reviews and make my choice

He's great company but not clingy, likes a lap cuddle but also will take himself off when he feels like it. Youngest DS in particular absolutely adores him and he's charmingly stupid so entertains us with antics. No regrets!

Oh this is exactly what I wanted to hear. I think low maintenance (in theory) is what I'm looking for, and I really couldn't get on with a caged pet like guinea pigs etc! So the same as you. It's lovely to hear how well it's worked out for you.

I always had dogs growing up, whereas DP always had cats. We both work full time - out of the house pre-Covid - so a dog is a no-go, and after cat sitting for MIL I was persuaded onto #teamcat. We adopted a three year old and she is an absolute joy. She’s seven now, and is just lovely. She’s far less work than a dog - she gets four (small) meals a day, toilets outdoors (although we do have two litter trays) and we keep her in the kitchen at nights to avoid her sitting on my head at 4am.

The constant sweeping up hair is a nuisance, but she is very long haired for a short haired cat (if that makes sense) and I am resigned that black clothes always have a sprinkling of cat hair on them.

We are lucky in that we have neighbours and MIL who are happy to come in and feed/fuss her if we go away. Our neighbour’s little boy loves her and likes giving her her “sweeties” (Dreamies) if we are all out in our gardens.

We have always had rescue cats and they have been easy peasy. Last two were 18months when we got them. Self reliant but cuddly. I don’t find them a tie at all. Very easy pets. We have always had neighbours with cats who we have a reciprocal cat feeding service with too. Ours gets fed once a day.

We’ve had our cat 6 months after I reformed DP. We do go away for a night and just leave him inside, we have an automatic dry food feeeer. It’s fantastic and helps lie ins happen!

Kittens are adorable of course, but hard work. If you want an easy life get a slightly older cat, the rescues are full of them. Leaving a cat for one night is totally fine, any longer than that we get a neighbour to call in to feed them (we have two) Cats are so much easier to keep than dogs, mine spend most of the time sleeping and/or ignoring me unless they want food and/or pets. Please post pics when you get one (or two, for company)!

@Judystilldreamsofhorses

I always had dogs growing up, whereas DP always had cats. We both work full time - out of the house pre-Covid - so a dog is a no-go, and after cat sitting for MIL I was persuaded onto #teamcat. We adopted a three year old and she is an absolute joy. She’s seven now, and is just lovely. She’s far less work than a dog - she gets four (small) meals a day, toilets outdoors (although we do have two litter trays) and we keep her in the kitchen at nights to avoid her sitting on my head at 4am.

The constant sweeping up hair is a nuisance, but she is very long haired for a short haired cat (if that makes sense) and I am resigned that black clothes always have a sprinkling of cat hair on them.

We are lucky in that we have neighbours and MIL who are happy to come in and feed/fuss her if we go away. Our neighbour’s little boy loves her and likes giving her her “sweeties” (Dreamies) if we are all out in our gardens.

Four meals a day! . Easy to see who is the boss in your house!

@alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 we were giving her two pouches of wet food, plus dry food for grazing, and she was getting to be a little fatty and the vet was not pleased! He recommended she gets half a pouch of wet food for breakfast and dinner, and small portions of dry food for lunch and supper. So it's four meals, but diet portions.

They are a big commitment. They need to be fed, watered, regular veterinary care, monthly worming, defleaing, insurance, toys, care when you take a trip, hairy mess all over the place , smelly litter trays, worry when they go out, decide to go on the missing list, sofa wreckers - all of these things and more. But, they are the loveliest little creatures you could share your home with, and they do love back, in their own individual and unique ways.

Happy catting🐈!!

I’m a dog person - I have two - but we also have a rescue cat who’s a bit of a legend. I asked specifically for a cat who was a bit gregarious who would handle a busy household and I definitely got that.

He’s very easy barring wanting to sleep practically on my face and is amoral when it comes to food. The weaker the child the more likely he is to pinch their dinner. Dogs have a bit more shame in that area.

We do love him very much, but the kids are far more devoted to the dogs!