Anything I haven't considered?

[Shuffletime]

Looking into getting a feline friend.

We have cat flaps from previous owners, initial set up is affordable, insurance quotes look OK, vaccines/flea/worm treatments/microchipping looks OK.

I've heard some cats can be fussy about food and litter? From the offset or is this just if you change brand?

We both work full time, we'll probably get a kitten in the summer hols so I can be home for 6+ weeks initially, but will that be long enough for it to settle?

If we have insurance does that cover vet fees or will we need a back up fund as well in case anything happens?

Our neighbour is a good friend and has cats so will pet sit if we go away.

Undecided whether we'd cat proof the garden or how much it costs.

Anything else I need to consider/research?

Neutering costs. Cats need to be kept in until they are neutered.

If your friend has cats they won’t be cat sitting, they will be popping in to feed and empty a litter tray. My cat would be really unhappy with such a short amount of human contact during a 24 hour period. I also couldn’t work full time as my Cat races to see me when I get in after my half day!

If you're both out at work full time I'd definitely get two cats, not one.

Insurance varies. Some cover illnesses for life. Others will cover each illness up to a certain amount £. The most common is that once your annual policy renews all those illnesses are now classed as pre existing conditions and therefore not covered if it happens again.

The extra money for food. As in one day they will like a food. And then they won’t. And I you will at that point just have bulked bought all of these ( they wait for this )
You will then spend ££££ on wasted food trying to find one they will eat. The probably they will then only eat the original one but by then u would have given it away

I'd either get an adult cat who's happy to live alone, or a pair of kittens. Single kittens can be shitheads as they want to playfight with your hands/ankles A playmate really helps!
We got a single kitten & I really wished I'd got two (already had an older cat, she's fine with him now but kept out of his way initially). He was an arse of an adolescent - literally climbed me and tried to sit on my head on several occasions.

Insurance - not all policies are equal. Many don't cover non-accidental dental care (most older cats will need a clean up and possibly extractions - this can be pretty pricey as it's a longer anaesthesia). Look for whole of life cover - avoid anything excluding conditions after a year. You'll still be liable for the excess and some apply an additional percentage, so check the policy carefully. I'd advise asking your vets which companies they are happy to do direct claims (where the insurer pays the vet) with - otherwise you may have to find thousands up front and then claim back from the insurer.

Thank you!

I'd looked at the cost of insurance but not the details - I'll look at that more closely.

I hadn't thought about getting 2. Definitely something to consider.

Definitely two kittens.

Get the best insurance you can afford - and you must get lifetime cover or else you could find yourself with some massive vet bills.

Insurance won't cover things like jabs, flea/worm treatment or neutering. Many don't cover dentals either which many cats need as they get older, so they'd worth considering.

Also don't forget the cost of things like bowls, cat trees, scratch posts, treats, toys etc.

Re: fussiness - they are fussy from birth IME be prepared to buy lots of types of food only for them to reject them all

2 is definitely better than 1 from the outset. Rather than trying to make 2 random cats like one another.

One expense I wasn't expecting was of veterinary food for dcat (renal failure from age 4). It has tripled our food costs due to low options in our corner of the world, and we're lucky we can afford it.

Is the cat flap a regular one or a microchip one? One summer we had foxes get into our house (as well as neighbor cats) through our regular cat flap so we upgraded to a microchip one after that. More expensive, but have kept out unwanted visitors.

What did you have in mind to cat proof the garden? Do you mean make the garden safe for the cat or how to keep areas of the garden cat-poo-free? You can double check the plants are not toxic to cats with a plant identifier app. Check that the garden is free from builders rubble like nails and glass.

Garden fences won't contain a cat, unless it is very young, old, or lazy. We have used a plastic roll of slightly spiky stuff (prickle strips search on amazon) in flower beds to keep cats from digging in (and pooing in) the dirt/ garden compost.

My current cats (i have 2 sisters) love catmint, so that is a cat friendly herb you can plant. A while back we lived in a flat with a gravel garden, and my then cat enjoyed the container plants, especially a seed tray full of grass he co-opted as a cat bed.

I highly recommend a self cleaning cat toilet. I have a Cat Genie. It may seem a huge outlay but you're going to be paying a fortune on cat litter and having to constantly clean it out. I found this to be time consuming and torture for my back. Also good for when people are cat sitting for you.
Instead of insurance have a dedicated bank account and regularly put money aside for cat emergencies or vaccinations etc. That way you're not limited to what the policy covers.

Accept and embrace the fact

They do nothing . My DH used to complain that our guinea-pigs were lazy eating/poohing machines but at least they mowed the lawn ( admitedly in rectangulat patches were the runs say ) . And they squeaked enchantingly

They are very tidy (generally) but you will have to try and fathom "Why? they do or don't do . Our female was missing the tray (body was in, bottom was out) We dug out a huge underbed storage tray and filled with the litter , they use it fine .
But it needs cleaned very frequently
And litter tracks . I am vacuuming a couple of times a day
They like the ££ Cats Best (TBF its what we bought them and they like it so why change)

FemaleCat likes to "help" DH when he WFH , Paws at him for attention. Strides infront of his screen .
Demands that No Door Should Be Shut to her
MaleCat likes underwear

Our stair carpet (old when they came to live with us) is looking a bit rough now
I'm buying a new sofa , the delight at this is tempered by the knowledge that MaleCat will see it as a challenge Haha Giant Scratch Post

They basically take over
My adult DC are in-house cat sitters . The cats are too shy to go to boarding

We got 2 (young adult) because they have each other (Bro/Sis) and they aren't much more bother or expense than having one cat .

Instead of insurance have a dedicated bank account and regularly put money aside for cat emergencies or vaccinations etc. That way you're not limited to what the policy covers

I'd say do both. Even if you saved £100 a month, if your 6 month old kitten swallows something they shouldn’t or your 12 month old gets hit by a car/falls out of a window & fractures it's pelvis, you won't have anywhere near enough for treatment.
My dog developed an immune condition at 9 months of age - his bills over the last 6 months are over £6,000 & all covered by insurance apart from the initial excess.

Oh and The Presents

we get -
earthworms
snails
butterflies (usually eaten and vomited)
hairballs
the odd pooh (which is kicked out of the tray occasionally poohed on the carpet)
grassy spitty throw-up

one bird
no mice (yet)!

@anameIcallmyself

I highly recommend a self cleaning cat toilet. I have a Cat Genie. It may seem a huge outlay but you're going to be paying a fortune on cat litter and having to constantly clean it out. I found this to be time consuming and torture for my back. Also good for when people are cat sitting for you. Instead of insurance have a dedicated bank account and regularly put money aside for cat emergencies or vaccinations etc. That way you're not limited to what the policy covers.

I really, really wouldn't scrimp on insurance for while they're young.

Yes, by all means save for things like dentals, but if your six month old cat goes outside and gets his legs broken or pelvis smashed by a car, your savings won't even begin to cover the bills unless you've been putting aside a grand a month!

Vet bills can get very expensive, very fast, especially if your cat decides to get hurt or sick out of hours (which is practically a guarantee in our house ).

I’m a fairly new cat owner, feels a bit like having a toddler in some ways.

Ours is a rescue ragdoll, 4 years old. She absolutely couldn’t be left all day on her own, she’s very needy and likes to know where we all are. She basically follows me round the house all day. When I’m not there she bothers DH but it’s back to me as soon as I get home. DH is WFH and then retiring this year so he will be here for her.

She meows if she can’t find us. Eyeballs me in the morning and meows when she wants to get up. This may not be the same time I want to get up🤣 she poked my arm and woke me up last week when she wanted to be fed.

Some of that is the breed though from what I have read.

Food…yep, very fussy.

Cat litter does gets everywhere, we manage that easily enough.

The best thing we ever did was get a cat, she is adorable and has brought so much joy to our lives so definitely recommend getting a cat.

Food - begin with the brand your cat is used to. If you want to change brand, mix a small amount of new brand in with the old and gradually increase the proportion of new food over a few days.

Similar with litter - keep to what they know; if you want to change put the new litter in a separate tray next to the old one. Litter trays need to be one per cat plus one; so minimum of two if you have a single cat, three if you have two.

I’d definitely get 2 , our adult son has just got siamese brother / sister kittens and they are really cute together . He got Petplan insurance with 12k cover and it was about £300 per cat per year which sounds quite expensive but he probably ticked yes to lots of things that he won’t actually need . He intends to get a very large catio or cat proof a section of garden by the better weather .

Definitely look at rescues - the adopted fee usually covers thek being health checked, deflead and wormed, vaccinated, microchipped, neutered & often 4 weeksfree insurance.
Our black & white RSPCA kitten was £95, even if I'd got him free it would have cost more than that to have his initial vet stuff done.
He's a stonking great thing now, not even two and nearly twice the size of our older (tabby) cat.