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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

What age do they chill out?

17 replies

keepingsanity · 16/11/2024 10:33

I've had cats for most of my life (30+years) and last year lost my lovely girl at age 21

I'm thinking of getting another outdoor cat from a rescue but I have three children and need one with a chilled personality who doesn't damage carpet and furniture.

I was thinking of getting a 2-4 year old as they've passed the crazy curtain climbing stage. Is that realistic or should I go for an older cat say 5-8?

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ChocolateLemsip · 16/11/2024 10:43

Well...as I'm sure you know any cat of any age can be a destructive type. Or accidentally destructive like coming in an upstairs window with muddy paws and sliding down the wall.. I've had 4 rescue cats aged between 3-10 when I got them. The three year old is my current cat and by far the craziest but also totally manageable. The worst thing she does is leap up on top of the doorframes and charge about like a maniac. I'd say you'd be fine with a three plus year old but they are all individual so talk to the rescue about what you are after. Good luck OP!

keepingsanity · 16/11/2024 11:32

Yes I'd be ok with mess but it's damage that is expensive. Zoomies is fine 😁 Totally appreciate that each cat is individual. 3+ is the way forward I think 🤔

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namestevalian · 16/11/2024 12:17

I would get an older cat you'd be doing a better service to cats by doing so

They wait to be rescued for much much longer

I only ended up with a kitten by accident not intent 😅 My kitten is fairly relaxed - just with twice daily mental moments not excessive furniture damage touch wood

buffyspikefaithangel · 16/11/2024 13:37

Mine is 3 and just bonkers enough to keep me entertained!
He has zoomies, and will eat any plastic left out but apart from that he's very well behaved
Mostly a house cat, he would rather be with me than outside and couldn't catch a cold let alone a bird

What age do they chill out?
TroysMammy · 16/11/2024 15:15

I had Haribo when he was 9 weeks old. He's quite chilled and at 5 years old has recently found his purr. However despite trying to instil manners he is impossible. He scratches his cat tree then has a sly go at the sofa to get a reaction. My curtains have tiny holes caused by claws and being blackout curtains they aren't anymore. He sits on the kitchen table and sometimes walks across it when we are eating because he thinks it's the "quickest way" to get to his food bowl from the windowsill (it's not).

He does make us laugh, and is adorable, even when watching and giving me high 5s when I'm on the toilet and the neighbours think he's great although he looks at them with suspicion.

There is no guarantee whatever the age or background of a cat that your soft furnishings will survive unscathed.

EmpressaurusKitty · 16/11/2024 15:18

If you tell your local rescue you’re looking for a fairly chilled adult cat who’s ok with kids, they should be able to match you.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 16/11/2024 15:18

The Bengal mellowed at 10.

keepingsanity · 16/11/2024 15:46

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 16/11/2024 15:18

The Bengal mellowed at 10.

😂

OP posts:
Esgaroth · 16/11/2024 16:40

EmpressaurusKitty · 16/11/2024 15:18

If you tell your local rescue you’re looking for a fairly chilled adult cat who’s ok with kids, they should be able to match you.

Second this. We asked for an adult cat who was friendly and could live with primary age children and got a lovely 4/5 year old. He's fairly placid and extremely soppy - a perfect family cat!

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 16/11/2024 18:29

One of ours is six and a half - and he's just started climbing curtains again when he wants to attract our attention...
So no guarantees I'm afraid 🤣

ChocolateLemsip · 17/11/2024 18:36

Oh yeah I forgot to mention the presents... So far 2 wood pigeon (luckily too large to bring in through the cat flap), one magpie and 4 frogs ( actually I suspect just the one, very unhappy and traumatised, frog 🙈). My old lady cat used to be quite a hunter too though.

Overtheatlantic · 17/11/2024 18:39

A 5 year old rescue. I’m partial to black cats because they’re so affectionate and clever.

Aikko · 18/11/2024 10:27

My black and white tuxedo male cat is almost 11 and showing no signs of slowing down. 😅

Julianne65 · 18/11/2024 12:47

We have a 2 year old rescue cat and she is very well behaved mostly. She uses her scratching post, never the furniture and never howls for food. But she does like to sit on the kitchen table and kitchen surfaces and we can't train it out of her.

The first month she was very energetic but now she mostly goes outside to patrol and then comes in to sleep.

Canthave2manycats · 19/11/2024 01:12

Oh god, having adopted a tortie and white and dilute tortie and white kittens over 30 years ago, much as I adored them and they were our babies before (and after) having human babies, I'd never have kittens again!! They wrecked everything!

They were our 'planned' kittens but we also had two 'accidents'!! Ginger boy was about a year old when he sauntered onto our back windowsill with the biggest cohones I have ever seen on a cat (we soon fixed that!). He pissed on the furniture daily. He was a nightmare! DH loves his vinyl. TG he had plastic covers on them because Ginge peed on them regularly. I didn't tell DH until a couple of months after Ginger passed away!! He ruined two satellite receivers. I had to buy a unit with doors. I loved him so I put up with it, and when we moved house, he stopped! I will never know what stressed him out so much.

Then we had the gorgeous blue tabby whose bastard owners moved house and left him behind. Their loss, and our gain. He adored us. He was indoors in the garage and outdoors when we were at home, because he got into literally anything - couldn't have had him in the house. When he died we were adopted by an older tuxedo boy, who died aged 20+ we think over two years ago.

We've since adopted 3 more! One was 5, now 7, and she is a little lady, quite sensible and sedate. She does like you to play with her too. I fell in love with the second one from an online post. She's a long-haired tortie and white with the cutest face, but she was only 18 months old which was younger than I'd intended, but there you go. She is part Maine Coon/rest moggy and has also been the maddest ever cat I've had in a lifetime of having cats!!

She calmed down a bit when she was coming 3, and we adopted our half Maine Coon/half Ragdoll boy, when he was also 18 months. They have really bonded and wrestle, and groom each other! The eldest one hates them both so we have to keep them apart!

We've been so lucky that the last two love each other. I don't know what we would have done if none of them had got on, because we loved them all from the moment they came home. Having said that, our dining table and our new leather sofa of a year have been part of their race track and have suffered the consequences!

I think your best bet would be bonded siblings, aged 2/3, but if you have a good local rescue (which I do), ask their advice.

SammyScrounge · 19/11/2024 01:18

buffyspikefaithangel · 16/11/2024 13:37

Mine is 3 and just bonkers enough to keep me entertained!
He has zoomies, and will eat any plastic left out but apart from that he's very well behaved
Mostly a house cat, he would rather be with me than outside and couldn't catch a cold let alone a bird

Handsome devil too!

keepingsanity · 19/11/2024 11:40

I went to visit a rescue at the weekend and spotted a lovely girl at 3 years old but she had a visit booked in and they adopted her.

I've put my name down at a few rescues and am keeping everything crossed 🤞

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