Am I ready for a cat/kitten?

[BigCheese24]

I’m considering getting my very first pet. For reference, I am a single 26 year old mum with a 4yo. I work part time & son is in nursery.

I’ve been wanting a cat for a few years - but how do I know I’m ready? Even as a kid I never had pets but I’ve always loved animals. I even had a short stint working in Pets at Home!

I’ve looked into getting a cat in years gone by but always talked myself out of it.

Is the time right now, and how can I be sure?

How did you know you were ready for a cat?

I don’t know about your situation (lots of rescues can be picky about little kids) but here was mine:

I was always firmly #teamdog and had dogs in my family home. DP always had cats, and I was never particularly “a cat person” although I was happy to have MIL’s cat’s cuddle up with me if we visited her. Her two cats had to be PTS in a fairly short time-frame (both a good age but still awful) and she adopted a young mum cat and her kitten from Cats Protection. The kitten was a pita, but I fell in love with the mum cat, a gentle stripy girl. MIL went off on a long trip, and we had both cats here for almost a month. By this point the kitten was almost one and still a pita, but mum followed me around like a dog, and I just loved her so much, she was my little chum. When they went home, I was bereft, and even missed the pita. We adopted our own lovely girl a fortnight later.

Seven years on, she had to be PTS aged ten, last year. It was awful and one of the hardest things I have ever done - she had a tumour in her stomach. We adopted a little boy cat who was just turned one very quickly afterwards. I honestly can’t imagine not having a cat now, although I would still love a dog!

Poor Stripy (not her actual name, but I called MIL’s cats Stripy and Black when they were here) had to be PTS with kidney disease. She was my gateway cat and I will always be grateful to her. Black is still a pita.

Our beautiful girl, our handsome orange boy, and the two of them kind of together - I’ve been through umpteen work laptops…

Do you have a garden and is it safe? Or are you planning to have it as an indoor cat? If so, just make sure you have plenty of space! Cats are really easy, they look after themselves mainly and you just need to give them love and attention, play with them and have somewhere who can step in if you’re not around! I got cats around your age when I was in a rental and best decision ever! I would suggest getting 2 if you’re getting kittens though so they have someone to play with - I’ve always had 2 at a time so they have company. If you’re getting one, maybe get an older cat?

I had cats growing up and always wanted a cat as an adult but DH wasn’t keen. Then he suddenly agreed and I signed up with rescue centres, went to visit some cats, and decided to adopt a pair of female kittens.

The evening I emailed the RSPCA lady to confirm I was definitely keen to adopt them I felt quite anxious as I sent the email about whether taking on the commitment was the right thing. On the way over to get them I was so nervous, worrying about whether I was ready.

It’s been absolutely fine and they are a brilliant addition to our family and a joy. And very easy to care for.

I think feeling a little nervous and wondering if you are ready is appropriate because you are taking on a commitment for a living being which may last many years. It shows you are a responsible pet owner. But obviously do think through all the practicalities.