Cats are awesome!
Google what they’re allergic to, I made mine quite ill by using a lavender oil diffuser.
A dog will love you no matter what, a cat will think about you deeply and judge you on what it sees. When a cat decides you are fabulous and loves you, it feels incredible. But, take the early days gently so the cat doesn’t decide you’re a jerk and ignore you for the rest of its life (like my cats do with my husband 👀).
Learn the basics of cat language. To introduce yourself to a cat, don’t walk directly at it, instead walk to a space about a metre away from the cat, not looking at the cat. Sit down and look around at everything except the cat, then make eye contact with the cat, blink slowly (translation: I mean you no harm), then look away. When you glance back at the cat, hopefully it’ll blink at you then look away, or if you are lucky it’ll approach you to investigate by sniffing you. You could try slowly holding out a hand, not at the cat but to your side, and see if the cat will come sniff your fingers.
If a cat rubs its nose on you, it has marked you as a thing belonging to the cat. You may see it doing the same to the catflap, doorway, land boundaries, food bowls and anything else it likes. This is a warning to other cats that you are already owned by a cat.
If one day the cat lies on its back and shows you its tummy, it is showing that it trusts you not to touch this most vulnerable part of its body. It is not asking for a tummy rub (it is very rare that a cat enjoys that). This is a very big compliment from a cat but they are manipulative little dudes and usually just do this when they want something like food or play.
Cats often love ear rubs and face stroking but be much more gentle than with a dog. Only stroke the fur away from the head. My dog-owning sister has mortally offended my cat by rubbing his fur back and forth, and now if she enters a room he leaves it.
Get a scratch post, and a catflap to let it out during the day, but keep it in at night (if you don’t mind having a litter tray). Cats love to go outside at night because this is when they usually fight for dominance over territory with other cats. The injuries get expensive. Much better to keep in at night if you can.
Deflea them with drops to the back of neck, I use Advocate. Never miss a treatment or you will get fleas.
You’re going to have so much fun 🥰