Cat ownership - honestly how difficult is it?

[crummyusername]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting an adult rescue cat. Really it's for my 11yo son, who's got anxiety and possible autism and is desperate for one. I don't mind cats but to be honest, have had a tough few years and don't really want the extra responsibility. However if it makes a difference for DS I'm willing to consider it.

Everyone I talk to seems to say it's barely any work looking after a cat - just make sure it's fed basically. Surely there's more to it than that? I don't want to go into this underestimating the commitment. Grateful for any thoughts!

My cats are indoor. The older one had a major operation on his leg when he was a kitten, so it's held together with pins. He's 13 now and totally fine but he's not the most agile and is at risk of injury if tries to jump or climb too much. My other cat was an adult when we got her and had always been indoor.

We have a large run built onto the side of our house. The cats access it by climbing out of the downstairs toilet window there are different levels and a little house they sleep in etc, so they do get to go out a bit. It's a good solution for us and them I think.

We use a cat sitter when we go away, it's more expensive than the cattery but my older cat did very badly in the cattery once (lost 25% of his body weight in two weeks and he's only little in the first place) so I wouldn't use it again. Then again, mine are bengals and are a bit more prone to stress etc.

I have a pedigree long haired house cat, she's a bit of extra work as I have to make sure she's not bored as she doesn't go out, she needs grooming and bathing, she's food fussy and I have to find willing friends or family to either have her at theirs or house sit when we go away. I put her in a cattery once, but she got too stressed and came down with stress induced cystitis so I haven't since.

She's very rewarding though, she's currently purring away on my lap and bopping my chin with a paw to try and get me to stop playing on my phone and give her all the attention instead. Much less high maintenance and more rewarding than DH'd tropical fish tank.

Indoor cats are MUCH more work and generally not particularly happy. Cats are supposed to have access to the outside. They should only be kept indoors for medical reasons.

Letting cats free-roam in cities is very much a British thing; in most countries indoor cats or cat-proofed outdoor spaces are the norm. Try to adopt a cat in Athens or New York and the charity will most definitely ask for it to be kept strictly indoors because there are way too many dangers out there. My local Facebook group has literally daily posts about missing cats and cats found flattened on the roads. Cats have historically not been valued the same as dogs have, as evidenced by the fact drivers don't even have to stop if they hit a cat, unlike if they hit a dog.

If you live in a house with your own garden, then a cat-proofing the garden is of course the best of both worlds (look up Sanctuary SOS, Protectapet etc.). You need to ensure windows are secure (look up Flat Cats) because cats do jump and fall out of open windows.

@hepaticanobilis

Well yes because their batshit attitude to cat care means their feline population is evolving away from outdoor survival skills! Whereas the UK cat population is evolving so those cats who can hear cars etc are more likely to reproduce.

Would you, as a human rather live a boring risk free life or an enjoyable, free life with some risk? We drive cars because we want freedom, but we risk death every time we do.

Honestly OP, don't get an indoor cat, they get so miserable and bored.

This is so cultural though.

In many countries, letting cats free-roam outdoors is considered animal neglect as you're leaving them open to so many risks by letting them wander about unattended - especially in parts of America where they're at risk of being killed by coyotes or mountain lions.

My indoor cats are also very low maintenance so I'm not sure what you mean by much more work? They get fed twice a day, have biscuits/water left out 24/7 and they have free access to their litter trays which are scooped and cleaned regularly - that's it.

Would you, as a human rather live a boring risk free life or an enjoyable, free life with some risk? We drive cars because we want freedom, but we risk death every time we do.

But we have the capacity to understand and choose for ourselves - cats don't.

It's interesting how most people who are pro-roaming would never agree to letting dogs roam around willy-nilly without leads or supervision!

@coffeecupsandfairylights

Well yes, because cats are much smarter than dogs and evolved to free roam, dogs haven't.

We don't have the right to take their freedom away.?

Dogs free-roamed in the UK up until relatively recently though, and they still DO free roam in many countries all over the world.

The Control of Dogs Act only came into place twenty years ago.

I don’t get all these cats waking people up at silly o’clock. My cats have dried food down at all times so never pester me to get up - neither are overweight either, they self-regulate. Cats are amazing, the solace, comfort and amusement they bring can’t be measured. I recommend getting two as they are a comfort to each other at stressful times - like when they go to the vets or if they go in a cattery or are home alone with a cat sitter visiting. Downsides are they will chuck up sometimes, one of mine goes months without doing it then will do it every day for a week, the other one rarely does it though. You will need a good scratching post and a litter tray even if they go outside. My cat had a bladder blockage a few years ago and if we hadn’t had a tray indoors we may not have noticed in time that he was struggling to wee and he would have died a horrible death, the other one had blood in her poo that needed treatment and which we wouldn’t have known about if she only went to the loo outside. I can’t stress enough that you will need insurance. The bladder blockage treatment cost over £6,000 which we would have had to pay for if we weren’t insured and didn’t want him to be put to sleep. Cat now needs specialist food, which the other cat prefers to eat as well. 🙄

The truth is a lot of people keep cats, don’t insure them, don’t have a litter tray inside and feed them cheap food that isn’t that good for them. If you want to look after them properly it costs a bit more in time and effort but not that much in comparison to what they give back. I would ask the rescue to find you two lap cats that are already bonded to each other. As you don’t want kittens you shouldn’t have any issues finding them. Good luck, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without a cat once you get one.

Before adopting a cat make sure you can cope with:

• understanding that if you adopt an adult cat it will come with a previous history and might take a while to adapt (and that might involve the odd scratch...)
• you need to be able to financially take care of the cat (food, vet)
• your cat might develop a health condition that means they will need regular meds for life
• if you go on holiday you will need a cattery/cat sitter/friend to help out
• the fact that although cats are usually clean animals you will still need to do some grooming and litter-cleaning and you will get cat's hair around your home/clothes. They might have the odd ''accident'', especially as they get older in term of peeing and pooing
• If you have an outdoor cat they might bring in half-dead or dead animals back as ''present''. You will also need to make sure they are not going to be at risk from cars and roads.
• If you have an indoor cat, you need to provide them with enough stimulation to keep them happy and settled
• You might have to put your pet to sleep at some point when they become too sick and/or elderly to have any quality of life and that is really tough to go through.

I absolutely love cats and have had many but I just want people to only adopt pets if they know they can cope with everything that this entails.

I don’t get all these cats waking people up at silly o’clock. My cats have dried food down at all times so never pester me to get up - neither are overweight either, they self-regulate.

That's a very MN-thing in my experience. Most people I know have a cat or two (or seven in one case!), and none of them are ever woken up at stupid o'clock in the morning as a result!

The only time any of mine have had me up in the night is when they've been unwell for whatever reason, otherwise they just stay downstairs and sleep overnight and wake up when we do. I mean, they do pester shout for food as soon as I come downstairs but if I want to sleep in until 10am, they're not fussed.

I struggle to keep my 3 cats' weight down, definitely can't just leave food out 24/7. I put out less food than instructions say they should have, btw. They supplement with rodents (especially voles) in the hedges.

They also wake me up to..
demand a cuddle
demand a warm bed
demand I let them outside (I want them in at night)

Also I hate hearing them destroy carpet; that or the sound of puking makes me rocket out of bed, too.

My dcat is clearly a MNetter and he is a complete PITA, but we love him dearly so he's worth it. Won't use a litter tray, so have to get up several times in the night to let him in/out. Won't use a cat flap. Very fussy about specific brands of foods and now he is getting older his stomach is sensitive to changes in diet so he craps on the carpet. He's also very demanding for attention and will attack you if he's not getting it, but it has to be from a specific person
If we go away we have to get someone to stay in our house as he'd never cope in a cattery, I'm sure he'd be the type to self harm. He also falls out with us for a while after we come back to punish us.... After he goes we will never get another one.

Forgot to add he's now under a cardiologist for a heart murmur so that is a small fortune.

My dd9 is autistic and begged me for ages for a pet. We finally succumbed and got a beautiful rescue cat called Marley. He's a house cat and have had him for three years with no issues. He's so easy.

Depends on the cat îme.

It’s as difficult as your cat wants to make it.

My two are indoors only and perfectly happy.
One is white so where I live at risk for skin cancer and the other was born in a rescue and never been outside.

They have access to a covered and netted balcony but I have lots of stimulation around for them - they love boxes so I have boxes everywhere.

Cats don't need to roam - I used to have an indoor / outdoor cat and she's prefer to spend most of her time indoors or under our pergola. I'm 19 years she never left our yard.

Some cats need to roam, some don't. I had a young male who would become absolutely neurotic if you attempted to keep him in. He did die relatively young due to an accident. But he simply could not have been an indoor cat - that would have been cruel. My senior spayed girls don't want to go anywhere beyond their netted garden area. One got out by accident and immediately started crying to be let in. You do have to play with them more and have interactive toys though. I also think free-freeding is cat-dependant. One of mine self-regulates perfectly and has been an ideal weight her whole life - you could easily free feed her. Unfortunately the other is a rescue who was extremely hungry for the first year of her life and she has never forgotten it. Any food she finds, she eats. She's slightly overweight and its a struggle to keep it at that. If I free-fed her she'd be enormous.

Thanks. I think indoor may be the way to go, maybe with a catio if I can afford it. There are definitely missing cat notices around here and I’m not sure I could take the stress of that. And 2 cats so they don’t get bored. Would they be ok being alone all day though? I go out to work, sometimes out in the eves. I can get a cat sitter for holidays but not for a normal office day.

Cats like a bit of me time. Our Bengal used to give us “why don’t you both fuck off out” looks when we had AL.

Cats like time away from their owners. They also like to be with them. They will be fine. So long as they have a clean home and litter tray, food, water and a warm, clean, cosy space of their choosing to sleep and a few toys. They will be fine.
fwiw : I am currently shopping for a a catio. For something around 5’x6’ you can diy for a couple of hundred pounds or around £450 for a professional.
I have 5 indoor cats which currently go out in leads, but are getting a catio. They are happy and healthy, but it is all they have ever known from kitten hood.

"Would they be ok being alone all day though? I go out to work, sometimes out in the eves."

Yes, my cat is visibly pissed off during the holidays when we're at home all day. In fact sometimes, during the holidays she sees us coming home and then gets up and walks in the opposite direction to avoid us... until the evening, when she wants to sit next to me on the sofa and wants her head rubbed. She definitely doesn't do humans during the day time 😂

Would they be ok being alone all day though? I go out to work, sometimes out in the eves. I can get a cat sitter for holidays but not for a normal office day

They'll be absolutely fine. When we got our 6yo as a kitten, she was left from 8am-4pm every day from the start - we never had an issue. Just make sure you block up any spaces they might be able to squeeze into, and make sure they can access food, water and litter at all times :)

Cats are so much easier than dogs in that regard - they are incredibly low maintenance!