I think I want to adopt a cat but I’ve never had a cat before and I have questions!

[Pigeonqueen]

Please be kind, some of my questions might seem daft 🙈

I’ve only ever had Guinea pigs before - many, many of them in a huge indoor cage, and I loved them to bits but my health is declining now (lupus, joint issues) and bending down on my hands and knees to clean the huge cage out was becoming very hard for me. Over time the herd became less and less and I sadly lost my very last one 3 weeks ago 😞. (Old age).

So…. Now I am Guinea pig free, and I’m thinking I’d like a cat. But I don’t know a lot about actually the day to day stuff of caring for a cat. I’m googling and watching you tube stuff etc. And I’d like to rehome rather than get a kitten I think (although open to a kitten through a rescue I guess).

The main things I’m confused about are -

If my hypothetical cat has a cat flap and can go in and out as it pleases (we’re in rural Norfolk) do I still need a litter tray?

Is getting an air tag collar a good idea?

Insurance - there’s a difference between costs for the same age of cat depending on whether it’s male (more expensive) or female (cheaper), why is this?

Are kittens easy to litter train? Or am I better to go for an older cat, maybe around 2 years ish?

Really going back and forwards on this and want to make the right choices for the cat and us all. (No other pets now, I can’t work due to disabilities so home a lot, Ds aged 13 and dd aged 21 who is at university most of the time and a dh who works full time).

Yes - our first rescue had been at the shelter a very long time and lived under the spare bed for weeks when we got him home. Turned into the biggest cuddle bunny ever, definitely worth the wait 🥰

We were told our madam rescue cat would "never be a lap cat" but she slept on my lap a few days after being rehomed with us. And she sometimes sits on DH if I'm not there. She is almost three and still a whirlwind. She didn't want to go out in the bad weather on NY day so we had to keep her entertained for hours until she burned off all her energy.

Not all cats destroy. Our little girl is actually very well behaved in that respect. She only uses her scratching post. She's a little bugger in other ways though. We can't train her to stay off the kitchen worktops and she does not like being picked up if we need to move her out of the way. She will slap us.

When you get a cat be aware that some will walk in like they own the place and others will disappear under something and take a while to come out. I had a rescue who spent 24 hrs down the back of a bookshelf and then 2 weeks under the sofa.

If you have a spare room it is best to keep them in there to start with. You can go in and spend time just being with them while they get used to you but also leave them to explore on their own until they are confident enough for the rest of the house.

I think you had exceptionally bad luck. I grew up with cats and have lived with 8 different cats over my life - none of them had trouble with a litter tray, destroyed the house or scratched us. Some of them would have a go at the furniture when they thought no one was watching but nothing got seriously damaged, let alone destroyed the house. Our one long haired cat did shed a bit (short haired are definitely easier from that perspective as a quick brush once a week keeps the shedding under control).

Cats have a very strong instinct to use a litter tray so if a cat won’t, it’s likely it is unwell or highly stressed in some way.

Reading and lurking 😊 really enjoying the comments and advice.

So I’ve registered with the 3 local cat rescues and I’m looking on the various rehoming sites to see what comes in. I’ve got a phone call with the largest cat rescue charity near me next week - they don’t list the cats they have online so it’s more of a case of them talking with me and trying to match me up. Then another one I saw a lovely little 1 year old ish cat so applied to say I’m interested in adopting etc (blue cross) but they messaged back to say that one had already gone and would I be interested in a 5 year old one… so I said yes and filled in the form. But dh is saying that seems a bit too old for us. It’s not though really, is it? In terms of cats they live till 16 ish don’t they….? I am just keen to avoid a lot of health problems and heartbreak too early on as we’ve just been through that with our last 3 Guinea pigs and I don’t think I could cope! (I mean obviously you can’t predict the future with any animal though can you, but you know).

I am keeping an open mind 😁

5 isn’t old at all! Some cats live until 20.

My girl is 5 & perfectly healthy.

Well this is my thinking. I will persuade dh 🤔😉 he doesn’t really know anything about cats so I’m teaching him. He just loves to stroke them on his way to work.

I don't regard 5 as old for a cat at all.
Our two 6 year old cats are still referred to collectively as 'the kittens' and our older cats (13) are still capable of very kittenish behaviour.
Our previous cats have all lived between 14 and 20 years so definitely worth going for a five year old.

Can you meet the cat? Your DH may feel very differently about a cat he’s met and bonded with as opposed to a theoretical 5 year vs 1 year cat?

But I agree that a 5 year old cat should have many years of good health.

If the rescue agree we’d potentially be a good match we will get to have a meeting with them. I am hoping dh will fall in love with the right cat regardless of the age so we will see!

His favourite cat is a 17 year old Maine coon he passes on his way to work and he spends ages talking about them - that’s almost what’s started the whole cat quest! We often walk to dhs work and pass the same cat. All 3 of us love to fuss over it - it lays in the middle of the pavement and we know of the owners.

Would love to hear your update, when you get your cat, how it goes.I really want another one now!

We adopted two last year 1 and 4 years old who had come from the same household before the shelter. We had been looking for a few months and I originally passed over this pair as one was shy (still is skittish) but can’t imagine being without them now. Skittish girl is currently asleep on the back of the sofa and the clingy lapcat is lurking in her little cat cave at the top of the stairs where she can keep an eye on all of us. We adore them!

Our old ginger lives to 21 and was got and well until about 19. Still hunting and doing crazy stunts jumping from the tiny tops of 10foot fence posts 6ft across our alleyway. Your healthy lifespan is generally much longer then with almost any other pet.

We were aiming for a young adult for our latest but struggling to find any. Eventually applied for about 10 cats on 'pets4homes' a rehoming forum hosted by vets4pets. Poe was the youngest at 6months but he was too gorgeous to pass over. I always wanted a tabby.

Unfortunately his previous home was not great and we had to do the whole raft of vet stuff that never got done including kitten vaccines, neutering, microchip etc. he has never been outside and only just venturing out now. He's a bit mad but lovely and shockingly chilled considering we have two primary kids who fuss him constantly.

I think 5 is still young for a cat.

Best of luck! I hope it all works out. Remember to show us a picture of her if she comes home with you!

According to various websites, 5 in cat years is the equivalent of 36 in human years if that helps.

Definitely go and meet cats before you make up your mind. Some cats will hide in shelters and then be the life and soul of the house once their home. I've known some cats practically throw themselves at the door trying to be adopted and others won't even give you the time of day. If you do meet a cat who likes you, you will probably get "the paw", when a cat who likes you puts paw on you and claims you as their human.

Also, the cat definitely chooses their person on the household. You may think you're getting a cat for you but the cat may be far more bonded with your husband even if you do all the feeding,the cleaning and the vets visits!

Oh yes we absolutely will be meeting them first! It’s just the way rescues here work - not sure if it’s the same everywhere- is that you have to fill in a lengthy form for each cat you’re interested in first and then you wait for them to process it and if they think you’re suitable then you get asked for a meet. I’m not 100% committing to anything by sending the form in.

I very much hope that the cat makes me their special person but I guess like people they all have their preferences!

When I went to meet our kittens, the foster carer left me in the room with them and said “the tabby is more confident and playful, the white one is shyer”. I played with them for a bit then sat down and the white cat came over and sat on my lap. I really did feel like she had chosen me.

Ok so we are meeting the 5 year old cat on Monday 😬😳😁 - but - had a little chat with the rehoming manager today and they’ve said she had surgery a year and a half ago to remove some bladder stones and is now on a special urinary diet. How much of an issue is this? I am assuming we won’t be able to claim for any potential future issues with this on pet insurance and this worries me (was planning to get top level pet plan insurance). Would this put you off a specific cat?

I don’t know how much of an issue this, or not 🤷‍♀️ she seems absolutely lovely otherwise but I haven’t been looking long at all and I am very aware that other cats with no previous issues may come up shortly - am I biting off more than I can chew as a first time cat person here?

What do you think?

I had the exact same problem with my last cat. She was on special food which did limit our choices and she didn’t like it.
She got very ill with something that I don’t know if it was related or not and we had to say goodbye to her at 10.

I’m sorry to hear you had to lose her so young. 💐 This is what really worries me.

A lot are like that, but one of our local ones let's you come and browse and meet them all! They're the best. Maybe there's one like that near you, but it sounds like you've sussed them all out.

We had a vacancy for a cat 3 years ago. I set out to adopt a cat aged 5/6. First one was 5.... next two were about a year and a half each which was younger than I meant to go for but I fell in love!!

Urinary food may be more expensive I guess, and you're right, similar conditions won't be covered by insurance, but it would be a lovely thing to adopt this one because other people might be put off too? If she's well adjusted to her diet, she should be fine - depends whether the condition is likely to recur?

If she’s on urinary food it wouldn’t worry me tbh. I would look at the food she is on though and try and source wet food over dry.

A lot of people will overlook her for a condition that isn’t her fault and that can occur in a previously healthy animal anyway bladder/urinary issues or thyroid conditions crop up a lot in cats.