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).

How lovely! When we went to see our cat for the first time they let us bring her home straight away. I know that’s not the norm but be prepared just in case 😂

I’m so glad you have found the right one for you. You both know when you find each other.

Oh I love this - he was meant to be your cat! So exciting!

Our last old boy died 3 years ago, and I intended to adopt one. I fell for our girl on the rescue's website. I didn't get to meet her - just went to pick her up! She was 5 at the time too, so she'll be 8 this year. Before I collected her, I fell head over heels with another girl in a rescue! She wasn't yet up for rehoming but I vaguely knew the owner of the rescue and literally begged for her!! A year ago I fell in love with another cat from the same rescue - the owner knew we were mad cat lovers and had already adopted before, so we got him though a lot of people wanted him (he's gorgeous, half Maine Coon and half Ragdoll) and now we have three!!!

Looking forward to seeing your little guy! x

Thank you 💐

That’s such a lovely story. ❤️ 3 is a very good number… I can see how rehoming / adopting can become addictive.

I’ve been buying cat stuff since I knew I was definitely going to adopt so if needs must…! 😁

He sounds brilliant!

It's so much fun bringing home your first pet! I had a thread back in September about my rescue cat's first few days in our house. It went really smoothly but I think he is the chillest friendliest cat you could have - yours sounds like a similar personality! Some of the tips I had might be handy for you too?

www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/5169877-setting-up-room-for-rescue-cat

Thank you for sharing this! Great thread and so helpful. Your cat is gorgeous.

Thank you, he is a sweetheart and he's brought so much to the whole family. He's moved out of the basement now 😄

He's snoozing on the sofa next to me right now and I swear he's smiling.

Totally not completely invested in this thread!

I don't have a cat but I always see people saying to avoid collars on cats as due to the climbing and crawling through small gaps they do, it's easy for them to get caught/stuck/hung on things!

I can't wait to see a picture!

Our current cat we adopted at the age of 19 from the RSPCA. She is now 21 and in excellent health- just on thyroid medication with blood tests every 6 months to ensure she is on the right dose. She's been rehomed 8 times that we know about as she is a very tricky cat indeed. Very hissy and bitey and attackey. We adore her beyond measure. It is really really true that you have to meet 'your' cat. You knew it when you saw your boy. We knew it when we saw our girl. She's been hard work to socialise but she now spends her day either sleeping on my 14 year old DS or following him around. DH works from home and occasionally texts me from his study to say he needs a cup of tea but he is 'under the cat' as she sits on him at the computer.

I am sure your own brand new furry overlord will settle in brilliantly.

He’s utterly adorable, @Esgaroth!

Collars are really risky unless they’re the quick release ones, and even then they can get jammed.

Mine has been through quite a few. They just snap off.

Bless you for adopting such an OAP! Not many people would have given her a chance. I just love this! I hope you get plenty more time with her. You are truly earth angels.

Our last boy died aged about 20 (he was a stray who found us, weeks after our 3rd cat died inside 11 months, so we don't know exactly, he could have been older). He found us when he was about 8. We got him neutered in his early teens when he decided we were definitely his family and he was moving in fulltime!

The wee dote fought off sooo many illnesses because he just really, really wanted to live - he loved his life so much! He had several episodes of vestibular disease. He'd lost the sight in one eye. He had arthritis, diabetes, epilepsy. Every time we took him to the vet fearing the worst, he fought back. He was incontinent at the end but he never lost the will to live.

He was a demon at the vet!! Although he loved nothing more than a comfy knee to sit on at home. They had a warning on his notes, he was that bad!! In his last months, one of the vet nurses who knew him well said, "he's lost his fight" and our hearts broke. Next visit, his regular vet said, "he's back to his feisty self"!!

8 times is a lot, poor wee pet! We have a 2 year old adopted a year ago. He's been with his breeder, his buyer, rescue, rehomed, owner died, back in rescue, and now with us. So we are #6 and he's still a baby! He's the most trusting big dote and has been since he walked in our door!

Oh both yours sound lovely! It's hard when they have been rehomed alot of times. It does affect them emotionally. We can 'read' our girl's history by how she behaves- it's taken 2 years for us to be able to walk behind her without her attacking us- because clearly she has been kicked. Last week her tail was in the way of the door and I gently moved her with my foot before thinking about it and she was 100% fine and unbothered so we know she is well and truly settled.

We always suggest to the vets that they use gauntlets. But actually she freezes and shakes in fear when at the vet. We had her for about a month and when I took her to the vet she was shaking like a leaf and that is when i fell completely in love- just thinking; 'What have you been through?'.

6 times at the age of 2! Gosh that is alot. We have traced ours back to 2013 when she was first at Cat's Protection, then back to Cat's protection then back and forth at the RSPCA. So 8 rehomings in 12 years that we know. She'd been tried out 3 times in 12 months at the RSPCA and they told us she is hard work and to bring her back if it was too much. But she has latterly become a little snuggle monster. Such a joy to us.

Our late boy used to react badly to feet as well! We reckoned the poor wee man must have been kicked. If you put your foot out to stop him going out a door, he would attack it. It took years for him to trust feet but towards the end of his life, he accepted foot pets.

He attacked both us and the vet lol! There was one time he needed fur shaved off around his butt. It was Covid time and I told the vet that I really needed to be in with him! She gave me gloves which he utterly shredded; I don't know how I didn't get scratched! But he was so adorable and loving at home!

There was one time we left him to go on holiday. My neighbour was feeding him. We got home and he wasn't in the house (he had a cat flap). We went out the back and called him and he literally cried his whole way across the garden - he must have thought we'd abandoned him!

I really hope she will continue to be a joy to you for years to come! Very few people would adopt a cat that age, so respect! x

Our wee man will never be homeless again! If I kick the bucket, my DD1 will have him!!

Our “furry overlord” is coming home with us tomorrow! I will keep you updated and let you know how we get on. 🤩❤️ I’m so excited to become a cat slave 😂

Thank you so much for all your wonderful replies and advice.

Congratulations!

Yay!!! I'm so excited for you! And you have to pay cat tax!

Just be aware they can change behaviour in the first few days with the shock of the move! We had the opposite - our timid cat was quite bold on the 2nd and 3rd days (trying to prove she was lovable I reckon!) and then regressed for over 6 months before we saw eventually her real cheeky personality.

Come on then, let's see him! Or is he hiding under a sofa?

He is here and very curious about everything! I’ve set him up in my kitchen diner as that’s the only space I can contain him in for a day or so and he’s very chilled! I’m surprised! But like you say he may change personality and it’s all quite a lot for him to cope with! He’s very affectionate and already meowing at me and coming over to me for strokes when I come into the room. He’s very curious about the sink of all things and wants to sit at the windowsill watching the garden.

Here’s a pic -

Oh, he’s gorgeous! And that sounds very encouraging. You might find he likes drinking from the tap.

Whats his name?