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).

Well he clearly chose you, so congratulations. He's gorgeous.

Enjoy your new Overlord. All hail King Gary!

He looks very confident, I'm sure he's going to enjoy getting you under his paw. He reminds me a lot of my tabby boy Hobbes. Hobbes was also a rescue and strolled out of his carrier and into the house as if he'd always been here. Five years later he's both a delight and a pain in the arse! He's always on the wrong side of every door and he loves being in the middle of whatever is going in in the house. Hobbes is very good with small kids and his favourite toy is a pompom.

Gary looks as if he has landed on his paws and I'm sure you'll have many tales to tell of his antics.

He's definitely a King Gary 😻

My Kloppy was the same when I adopted him - he just waltzed in, checked out every room and went 'Yeah, I love it here' within 5 minutes 😹

I love incapussitated. As soon as we move house we are getting a new overlord and I am going to borrow this from you, if that's okay.

Gary is a great name. I like a proper name for a cat.

Hi, please be aware though that not all rescue cats are cute and cuddly once you get them home. We are lifelong cat owners and thought we'd sern everythong but we adopted a "gentle,lovely" cat from a loca well known rescue centre,who when we got him home,bit,scratched,growled and hissed his way around. Didn't matter that we were kind,patient and had done everything we should,in the right way.He was just violent and antisocial,attacking us as we walked into a room.Please make sure you really chech before you get one! We are now so scared we won't be getting another. I preferred the days when you could actually see the cats in the centre,but now you order ome online,like a dress or a dvd! Is that REALLY the best way to commit to a lifelong association?

Not at the rescue DSiS & I got our various cats from! Ruth would never let a cat be rehomed if they hadn't interviewed and approved the potential slaves!

When DSiS went for hers the ones everyone thought may be a perfect match just didn't like her, whereas a couple of others she met almost as an afterthought are blissfully happy with her now.

Not at the rescue I volunteer for either. All the cats are fostered in volunteers’ homes, which means they know exactly what they’re like to live with, & potential adopters visit them there before making a decision.

This is quite an old thread now. Gary is still loving life with us and settled in well ❤️ love him to bits! (A little less when he’s meowing at me at 5.30am to tell me he’s seen a pigeon out of our window, but you know, good with the bad)! 😂

Lovely update! He has you properly under his paw.

This is my boy. He was around 5 months when rescued. He has a litter tray which he uses once in a blue moon. He is loud and decisive and very much the boss. He loves to go out and hunt and fight. Hence the one eye and current ear injury. He likes to get in my bed first thing in the morning and is most put out if I get out of bed before he has the chance to get in. He is fat even though I limit his food. I would put a tracking collar on him and see where he goes to get fed but he doesn't keep a collar on and I gave up a long time ago after totting up the cost of collars so far. He's a liability. Get a cat. Cats are great.

Unlike others I don't agree that they need a scratching post or a cat tree. Especially if they go outside. He gets plenty of jumping around outside and scratching. Though he does scratch the stair carpet but I doubt a scratching post would stop him.

Occasionally he goes through phases of pissing in boxes that have been left on the floor. This has included boxes of Lego (understandable, kind of similar to cat litter) and clean laundry ( less understandable) no reason for it other than being a complete dickhead. Then we have to keep all boxes off the floor and jump on him and throw him out if he so much as thinks about sitting in one until the habit is broken again. He's just an arsehole who likes to annoy us.

But yes get a cat because they are fluffy and they purr and they keep your lap warm.

Bloody new app thing was skipping around so much I didn't see the end of the thread even when I flipped it. I am delighted that Gary is such a fabulous cat.

Hi Gary, my cats (Jax and Akasha) say hi, and they think you’re gorgeous 😁

Happy catting! 🐈‍⬛