Pros and cons of having a cat?

[CommuterMummy]

Never had a cat in my whole life and tbh I am and always will be a dog lover. But dogs are high maintenance and DH and I work FT mostly outside the house so I think a cat is more appropriate for us - I want DS to grow up with a pet.
The main things I am scared of are them brining in mice (I am absolutely terrified of them, one of my biggest fears), them disappearing if they escape from the garden, them runing all our furniture etc.
We’d be looking to buy a house in a Surrey commuter town so quite green but not too rural - is the mice risk still high?
Is there a way of ensuring we get one with a slightly calmer and more affectionate personality (like with dogs for example, even if of course there can be differences bewteen the same breed, they tend to share certain characteristisc).
I basically want a low maintenance sofa cat that is sweet and is going to be a good family companion, especially for DS.
Am I asking too much? I genuinely don’t know anything about them!

@category12 ahah fair enough. Is it possible to train them to only use the litter though? Silly question I guess as there are many cats livinfbg in flats in the world. I don’t mean for you if you don’t want to but more for us to try and avoid letting them out

Not true.

DP's cat is afraid of birds as they have joined forces to dive bomb her.

It's very funny to watch her run away from birds particularly black birds every time she goes out in the garden.

My two are very well behaved. They have me well trained. They cost me an absolute fortune, but have given me far more than I could ever give them.

Oh no, super easy to train cats to use litter trays. Keep it clean and there are rarely problems. They do not like dirty trays. Often they jump in and use it straight after you empty it 😂

An indoor cat who knows nothing else will be perfectly happy using a tray. I'm not sure how I feel about keeping cats indoors all the time, but I daresay they can have a great quality of life.

You can even work on training them to use a toilet 😃, (although I have never tried) - you get special trays that fit onto the toilet to start with and gradually remove it.

Emmamoo89 Just because my experience of cats is different to yours does not make my comments rubbish. You merely diminish your own stance with such rudeness.

OP yes, I live semi rurally which might explain the vast array of wildlife my cats present me with.

My cats have a cat flap and can go in and out as they please and thus bring anything in they choose, providing it fits through the cat flap. They have to be particularly persistent with the poor pigeons.

If you didn't have a cat flap or had it programmed only let them out, you'd be able to check them before admission. Like a doorman at a nightclub. Also night time is a time mine often hunt so keeping them in at night would cut down on the carnage.

And don't worry about mice taking over your house. Your cat won't be able to bring two in together and, if they make it alive into the house, your cat will soon find them if you're too squeamish to rescue them which I do understand.

It's not a constant stream of creatures being brought in. In the summer it might be once a week, in colder weather hardly ever due them being too idle to go out in the cold for long.

The animal sanctuaries are usually skilled at identifying cats to meet particular needs and wants. Good luck.

How old is your child? I wouldn't get a cat with a baby/toddler - wait until child is about 4. Cats will scratch and bite if provoked.

Mousing totally depends on the cat. Some never bring mice in, others do it constantly all through the spring/summer.

Most often mice do not stay alive very long in the house and even if you manage to rescue them they die of fright. Usually a mouser would bring a mouse in but kill it fairly quickly. They do then leave random stomach parts and sometimes just the head lying around.

I have a short haired cat that sheds an unusual amount. If she rubs against my leg it will be coated in fur and we get through a ridiculous volume of lint rollers. I have never managed to brush her and get to a point where it seems like the amount of fur gathered is dwindling - I can only go on as long as she will tolerate as she hates being brushed. With the excessive fur comes hairballs and other vomit.

However, I think she’s unusual as I grew up with cats and none were like that.

Apart from that, the only downsides are scratching the sofas and overeating (we cannot leave any food out). All the rest is great - lovely gentle personality, has only ever killed bluebottles and spiders and doesn’t leave our back garden so no worrying about her coming to harm or pooing in the neighbours’ gardens.

We have 2 cats and plenty of garden birds plus squirrels
The cats go out but CBA to do more than chatter

Avoid the bringing in of dead prey by not having a cat flap.
I have a cat but still have garden birds.
Agree that they have their personalities which you can't tell when you select really. I love my cat but when I first got her I was disappointed that she hates cuddles!

All cats destroy furniture.

It's nice furniture, or a cat.

I prefer the cat

My current rescue cat has never scratched the furniture in the six years I have had her. She uses her post, or goes outside to scratch. She’s an excellent mouser and keeps the vermin down, which is vital as my garden backs on to barley fields and I get loads of field mice, voles and shrews.
I have always kept a cat since I had my own home- for nearly fifty years now. They are lovely, furry, purry, cosy things, and make a house a home. Mine sleeps curled up by my feet in bed, and never disturbs me before 8am.

OP, why would you not consider keeping them indoors only?
I have 4 BSHs, they don't go outside. I'm planning to build them a catio at some point.
They're content and safe indoors and won't kill all the birds in the area or upset neighbours by pooping in their gardens.
I tried having a dog last year. So much harder work. The house training, the chewing, the walks. Cats come a lot more 'ready made'.

Pros: it will shit on your neighbours lawn and they'll hate you (only a pro if your neighbour is a wanker. If not, see cons list)

Cons: your house will stink of cat piss and cat food.
It will scratch stuff and throw up on your rug.
It will drag disgusting birds and mice in.
It will walk on your kitchen surfaces and your friends will feel sick and judge you.

Google a cat flap called only cat which won't open if it detects something in the cats mouth.
My rescue is a dream. Sleeps all day on my bed, goes out at night till 4am ish and very clean.

My cats are a big part of my life , they are more like dogs and follow me everywhere. I have to shut one in a room if l go out for a walk, he would happily follow me miles and l end up having to bring him back. They sleep in my room, sometimes on my bed, they love it when I' m out working in the garden, one just wants to be picked up and carried around all day, he's like a big teddy bear. My largest one is fond of dragging enormous dead rats through the cat flap, he is a hunter, the others don't seem as bothered. I have a big garden with lots of trees, they love to climb. They all get on, sleep next to one another, groom one another and chirp at each other when passing. My home is lovely and calm, peaceful and they bring something extra, hearing them purr at night, magical.

The only con for me is when they die, heartbreaking. I can easily deal with upset stomach muddy footprints,, molting, vets bills, sharpening claws, dead rats etc, that's all part and parcel of having a cat.

@Tockomtele it’s what I’d prefer but I imagine it’d be difficult to stop them going out if we had a garden.
DH also says he wouldn’t want the litter inside all day so we could do that at night but during the day they’d go out with a catflap

I was going to reply with there are no cons with having a cat. But it depends on the cat and it depends on you. they are quite independent.

one of my cats had an accident and died. Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking as he was the best cat ever. So affectionate. He slept next to me in bed every night.

one now has an illness meaning special food at £60 a bag.

insurance covers fuck all.

One of my neighbours' cats would just lie on my lawn. When I came out he would just purr and demand attention.

The reason for that is my neighbours had a young child so he preferred my garden.

Unfortunately he's now in cat heaven.

My litter trays are on the kids bathroom. In our old house we had a catflap and they rarely used the litter tray.

Ours -brother and sister now about 5yo

They add such calm and comfort to the house . My DC are adults , these cats would not have thrived with children .
The female adores DH and sits with him as he WFH
She tries her best to break into DD room . All other internal doors are open except DD room.
The male adores DD
They tolerate DS but make their undiguised dislike of me very plain.

We have a safe garden for them and a microchip catdoor .
The male leaps up on the bed at 5am and I say "Oh hello you" and stroke his neck , it's the only time he lets me touch him.

Food is £
Vaccines and worming flea drops

We can go away as the DC still live at home , they wouldn't cope with the changes of a cattery . In the future they'd need a pet sitter at home .

They get on well with each other but usually sit in different rooms .

They are common or garden black moggies . The sort that rescues are overflowing with . But good housemates

And they use their trays , they;ll come in to use their trays then go back out .
Occasionally miss the tray and get the carpet . Couple of vomit episodes , Fair bit of grassy spit . So far no hairballs .

Cat Tax applied

^

I sometimes open DD door if FemaleCat is protesting abput Being Locked Out .
SS woke up to both cats in her room........ I denied all knowledge !

DD not SS

@70isaLimitNotaTarget lovely kits.