I have kitten questions! Please help

[dottyaboutstripes]

Kids and Dh keep asking for a kitten - I'm not keen in all honesty because I'm pretty squeamish re toiletting and the gifts they bring (as a child I remember our cat bringing mice, birds etc). I also don't want my furniture wrecked. Plus feeding our old cat would make me gag at the smell.
I know I sound miserable and pathetic but I would be happy to cuddle up with a kitty and love on it - it's the day to day potential yuck I don't want 😐
So I guess I'm asking how often do your cats have toilet accidents, bring in dead (or live!) animals etc. I don't want to feel pressured into saying yes and then having massive regrets

Honestly, I'd tell your husband and kids you're not going to get one. Get some goldfish.

Cat owner of 40 years

You can’t possibly depend on not having yuck. Nor can you be certain your cat will want to cuddle up.

And while kittens are cuter they’re far more work than adult cats.

Don’t get one unless you’re absolutely sure you want one, especially if you’re likely to end up doing all the work.

My cat has only had a few toilet accidents when she was a kitten, since then she's been good! She's never brought in gifts.

If all the litter cleaning/food disgusts you, get your DH and kids to do it as they're the ones who want a cat. My DH doesn't like cats so I do all the looking after as I was the one who wanted one. If you know that if all the cat care will be left for you to do, don't get one.

I have a house cat who came to us as a kitten already litter trained, not one accident at home. However, I don’t think there’s any way you can avoid the yuk. Litter trays still need cleaning and mine can vomit when she gets a hairball. It’s a bit like kids -you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. And as a pp said, they may not enjoy cuddles.

You forgot about vomit. That's definitely the worst cat gift and ours seem to do it with more frequency and hidden in more random places than other types of surprises.

Plus in my experience if they don’t wreck your furniture they’ll wreck your carpet. You have to love them enough for it not to matter.

Got my kitten at 8 weeks and she's had one toilet accident. They will need a litter tray for the first few months though before you can let them out so depends what you're like about emptying and cleaning them.
Our old cat came to us at 16 weeks fully litter tray trained, handful of accidents his whole life (died at 10). Although he did have bouts of vomiting which is unpleasant!
Yes they both have brought in "presents", probably unavoidable with cats.
You can feed dry food which is less smelly. Or a combination of dry and very good quality wet food which tends to smell less.
Honestly though it doesn't sound like you should get a cat if you're not prepared to deal with yuk, there are a lot of issues that can crop up and cats can be very difficult if not impossible to train. For example you can plan to only feed dry food but if the cat refuses to eat it what then?!

All cats are different. I've had about 20 cats over the years, some never caught any prey. But some brought in something most days and you then have the issue of clearing up the innards the cat doesn't eat, or the critter escaping who knows where.

Some of my cats were quite vomitaceous, others I don't remember ever being sick. Hardly any had toileting accidents, cats don't really do that as long as they have access to the right facilities. Speaking of which, who will clean out the litter tray?

You are right to resist. Please don't get a cat. If you want something to cuddle which won't give you any grief, get a soft toy.

Just get a Stanley knife and shred your furniture and walls yourself. Saves buying the cat.

I fostered one who was perfectly healthy most of the time except for the night he threw up roughly once an hour. Straight to the vets in the morning & it was nothing serious apparently but that was fun.

The first question any decent rescue or breeder should ask is whether everyone is on board with getting a cat. Please don’t be guilted into getting one, it’s not fair on you & it’s hugely unfair on the cat.

In all honesty if you're not keen then don't do it. We did it for the kids and I definitely regret it. Our cats bring something in at least once a week, in the summer it's daily. We do back onto fields so there's a lot more wildlife for them to get.
For a period of 3 months one of our cats kept peeing on my son's bed. It would go right through the duvet and soak into the mattress. We had to replace the duvets, get them dry cleaned and get our mattress professionally cleaned. In the end my husband put a self closing mechanism on the door.

I thought they didn't poo where they leave but ours poo in all the flower beds and any long grass. Oh and on our gravel driveway which we have then stood in numerous times.

Cat food stinks the kitchen out.

Expensive sofa and curtains are ruined.

Sorry if this is doom and gloom.

The kids LOVE them and they are great for calming hormonal teenagers and ragey boys down. They also snuggle up and fall asleep together. The children have definitely benefitted.

Ok I hear you all!
I feel such guilt.
I'm cross with Dh for putting me under pressure yet again today.

The vomit is worse. I have a range of semi feral garden cats and yesterday one had been sick in the polytunnel, and I had to clean up a mess of hair, some food and half a dead baby bird, with the eyes and the beak still intact. Pretty gross.

Tell your DH from me that he’s an idiot and that forcing you to adopt a cat when you’re not sure you want one would be cruel to the cat. Irresponsible types like him are one reason rescues are so full.

I’ve seen first hand what happens when cats are adopted by people who haven’t thought the whole thing through - sooner or later the cat comes back to the rescue, confused & traumatised. And that’s the lucky ones who aren’t simply dumped.

OP, this is a classic situation of a husband and kids wanting a certain pet. The wife, who never wanted the animal in the first place, is left to solely care for it. Don't do it. Your husband's attitude makes me feel angry.

I have had cats and I know how important it is for their adoption to be a joint decision.

If you don’t want one say no. The kids can have all the pets they want when they have their own houses.

We have two cats (got them as kittens).

Toilet accidents - never.
Wrecking the furniture - never.
They do bring in nice though.

No-one has mentioned the half dead small creatures that are obviously not long for this world...

So true!

Mine hasn't had any toilet accidents. The weeing in my large money plant and subsequently rotting it was no accident.

He only brought a live bird indoors once but now prefers to keep any prey outside at arms length from me as he is selfish in that respect.

He scratches just one part of the settee whilst I'm sitting on it as an attention seeking ploy because he wants me to do his bidding immediately.

He has Hills dried food so no smell from his food bowl and very low odour from his litter tray.

Barfed up furballs are grim, just don't go around barefoot in the dark. I

He blatantly sits on the kitchen table when I'm cooking, he has no guilt or conscience about being there.

His loveliness at other times cancels out the little shit behaviour he sometimes indulges in.