Thinking of getting a cat

[Loubelou71]

I'm thinking of getting a cat to help my son. He's a young adult and is very introverted but has recently said how much he loves cats. My other son mentioned wanting a cat a few years ago but now I'm starting to consider the benefit for my oldest son and that it might bring him out of his shell a bit. I've been researching RSPCA and looking at local breeders.
Is there any advice you could give me? I'm concerned about cost of looking after them, I don't seem to have a location where I could put in a catflap so things I'm sure I could overcome. But any thoughts would be welcome if you can

They will have a suitable cat. They have hundreds.

Ask on local Facebook pages about smaller rehoming charities. Also ask local friends who have cats where they got theirs from. That how we found the rescue centre we got our cat from.

We adopted him almost 3 years ago when he was about 4 months old (even though we said we didn’t want a kitten lol).

It’s taken him a few years to warm up to us. He’s still not a lap cat, very much an outdoor cat and very much a lone lion. Hates other cats (quite scared of one local one that’s about half the size of him)

Coat wise, the main expense is the cat sitter. She’s £10 a visit. Also our cat doesn’t like us going away so we can only go for a max of 10 days now.

We have a cat flap, but his lordship likes to be let out the back door instead!

Having him has done wonders for my autistic son. He absolutely adores the cat and he feels so calm when he’s around.

I would say as well, anything can happen so you need to be ready and able to give them and pay for anything they need, especially as they get older. It’s a huge responsibility as you are solely responsible for the health and happiness of your animals and you never know what’s going to happen. We have two seniors and have to pay for very expensive specialist food as one has a dodgy stomach and this was the only food that doesn’t make her vomit. Having said that, if you’re willing and able to take good care of them, they’re hugely life enhancing. I just sometimes think cats are not understood as being the responsibility that they are and that some receive substandard care or are relinquished because of that.

I have had cats since I was a child. As a family we bought kittens from the local pet shop, had kittens from people whose cat had had their own and we took in a stray. As an adult I've adopted via a charity and also had kittens from a pet shop. Not one of those cats was problematic in any way - all had different personalities, some were more lively or friendly, others shyer. The one who had been a stray was very sweet but nervous around our other cats. Our latest 2 were sisters - very loving with each other as kittens, mostly ignored each other as adults. The one we still have is almost 20 and still going strong.

We didn't pay up front for medical cover for any of them but I possibly would if we now had another cat.

We always have had a cat flap - never lived on a main road but near to them. Only one got run over (when I was a child). Others all lived to a decent age.

I just bought supermarket food until our current cat was diagnosed with kidney disease - she's been on a diet of renal food for years now - and also has a thyroid condition for which she has daily medication.

Neutered females are home lovers - they don't wander as far as neutered males. Our latest two barely left the garden, the one we still have only goes to the garden now to sunbathe. We've had a litter tray for the past few years due to our cat's sister being unwell and needing to keep her in, and we've kept that going for our remaining cat. Otherwise we only used a litter tray when a cat was unwell or when we left them at home for a few days and had someone coming in to feed them.

Unless you're very short of money, cats aren't really a big expense other than when it comes to vet bills. So having pet insurance makes sense, though over the years could possibly add up to more than the one off payments we have had to make.

Forgot to say that our cat flap is programmed so will only let our cat in - a vet can put a chip in them which helps with relocating lost cats (your details are linked to it). Prior to that some neighbourhood cats would sometimes come in the house as our 2 sisters were / are very sweet and unassuming kitties.

Yes, microchipping’s compulsory now.

I think spaying / neutering should also be compulsory, except for licensed breeders, and that should be a high bar.

We have two - bonded M/F siblings got them at a year old they're now 8yo.
The males insurance is higher than the females.
They have a microchip cat door locked in at night. They love their routine and I feel animals need routine for security.
The female loves my DH . She will spend time with everyone but not a cuddly cat more a 'sit on the bed with you or on the table next to you' .
The male loves my DD he's over her like a cheap suit .
They ignore DS
The male cat dislikes me . I get a total body swerve he leaves the room if I walk in . I have done nothing bad to this feline , he loves his house , I am nice and respectful to him. He just doesn't reciprocate ! If he allows me to touch his cheek it's like Christmas.
An adult cat on its own might be happier if they've always been an only .

Cats are wonderful and a privilege to have. If you are keen to get a friendly kitten your best bet is to go through a rescue as their Foster carers will have spent alot of time interacting with the kitten this makes a massive difference kittens that are socialised and stay with their mum and litter until 12 weeks will be friendlier and well adjusted . Breeders sell kittens too early at 8 weeks and probably won't have socialised them. As people have said getting two is much better as they need to keep playing and without their litter mate this is more likely to be your fingers. The myth that cats are cheap and easy probably comes from people that get a " cheap" kitten from a breeder and then don't pay for neutering and vaccinations.

We adopted a tabby cat for my sister for exactly the same reason. He was such a sweet little thing, and she was really interested in him at first… but after a while, nope. 😂 The novelty definitely wore off!

I honestly do find our two cats low maintenance... but they are only 2 years old with no health issues (so fairly cheap to insure and so far (touch wood) have only had to go to the vet's for vaccines, spaying, and annual checkup) and are very gentle and unproblematic personalities. If you adopt an adult cat, you'll get a better idea of what they are like personality-wise.

Costwise: I don't pay for the vet annual plan as I think it includes a lot of add-ons you don't really need. There's increasing evidence that intensive preventative flea treatment is doing quite a lot of environmental damage as well as being unnecessary (recent committee in the House of Lords exploring this issue). I don't personally think that healthy young cats need a check up every 6 months, and nor do they need nail clipping, so I just have insurance and then pay for the vaccines and check (at our vet's £77 per cat).

If you get a rescue cat, it will already be microchipped and neutered/spayed and come with its vaccines done for that year and a proper medical record.

Food costs: really depends how much you want to pay. You can get everything from cheap supermarket brands to very expensive subscription foods. Although our cats do have mid-range rather than economy food, I don't believe the hype about how terrible supermarket brands are - catfood is heavily regulated and millions of cats lead long and healthy lives on Whiskas and Felix, so buy a food that you can afford and that your cat will eat (they can be very fussy) and don't feel guilty if you can't stretch to the top-range brands (which my cats refused to eat anyway when I tried).

It is worth thinking about what you would do if you go away for more than a night. Again, we're lucky because on our street there's a general consensus to help each other out with pet feeding/plant watering, but if you don't have friends or family who could pop in to check on and feed the cat, you'd need to get a petsitter.

We do have a catflap, but the cats don't really like using it. They are homebodies who don't want to do more than potter around the garden, and they're quite willing to stay inside until a helpful human slave is available to open the door for them. Again, if you adopt an adult cat, you might be able to get one who is happy with being indoor only or only having limited garden access.

Our cats have been brilliant for our children, and have been a very calming and positive influence on them. They help put the children to bed every night and act as a reading buddy for the younger one, and they are a very soothing presence in the house.

I don't personally think that healthy young cats need a check up every 6 months, and nor do they need nail clipping, so I just have insurance and then pay for the vaccines and check (at our vet's £77 per cat).

My healthy 7-year-old gets an annual checkup when she has her booster.

I think nail clipping partly depends on lifestyle though - my girl is an indoor cat so while she does plenty of scratching I think her claws do grow longer than they would if she went out.

Our cats are family cats ( though it was DH who was most vocal to getting cats) they don't belong to any one person . As long as they are fed,given dreamies, litter tray cleaned and attention given to them as per their demands, they are happy and don't care who feeds them.
I have the honour of taking them to the vet ( might explain Male cats dislike ) .
They're part of the family not one person's pet

I have 3 cats: a Turkish, a Maine Coon and a moggy. Turkish and moggy were rescues, and the MC wasn’t. I used to have four cats but my beautiful calico girl was hit by a car last year.

All are spayed/neutered, chipped and have top tier insurance. The insurance for the MC is pricey - the cost of the insurance for the other two put together. He was also on a prescription diet, but vet has weaned him off that. Moggy is on a hypoallergenic diet (again prescription), so not cheap. MC and Turkish now have Lily’s Kitchen. They have microchip-read feeding bowls, so they can’t eat each other’s food. These also weigh and monitor food intake. I pay around £16 each per month for vet prescribed flea/worming stuff and this includes 2 vet checks a year.

Letting them out: I live in a quiet village. My house is on a hairpin bend of a 20mph road. I have a large garden. Kids play out on this road, so I thought they’d be safe (and they were pretty savvy cats). Before my girl was hit by a car, I only allowed them out for a short period of time in daylight hours. Their catflap was microchip read and only allowed them out at set times of the day. When my girl was killed, I immediately had large catios put up at the front and back of the house, so now they’re indoor but have access to the outside when we are at home. I will never let them free roam again, and I’ll never forgive myself for what happened to my girl. Stupid thing was that I’d been considering catios but thought I was being OTT.

Enrichment/exercise: I’ve got shelf things and obstacle courses put up on the walls of different rooms- so lots of climbing etc for them. The Catio at the back has lots of things they can climb too. Obviously they have lots of different toys.

Litter: I have a Litter Robot 3, a Litter Robot 4 and a normal cat litter box. Normal box is scooped twice a day, all are cleaned weekly.

The cats have a water fountain, but the Maine Coon can turn on taps (and the cats like to drink from the sink tap). The Turkish and the Maine Coon love water (playing in it too!).

Grooming: I brush them weekly (many times each week). They’re weirdos who like having their tummies brushed.

House is hoovered/mopped twice a day - I have Eufy robot vacs for this - or there’d be fur and cat hair everywhere.

Cat beds: I bought these, but they use our beds!!

to add: the vet plan thing includes yearly vaccines too. Also, the cats are 5, 5 and 4 years old, and we wouldn’t be without them. They can be complete sods, but they’re lovely. Really friendly and loving. Nothing beats waking up to a load of cats lying on you, all cuddled up. I can have a crap day at work but these furballs just make things better :)

Thanks for this. It's good to hear having a cat could be positive for my son.

I agree with the people suggesting going to a rescue that fosters cats in homes while waiting for their forever home. I also agree that a young adult would be much more suitable than a kitten, as you have a much better idea of their nature and personality once they get to 1-2 years old - a kitten can turn out any way at all.

While I agree with most of what you've said 4 pouches a day is much too much food, our cat has two, morning and evening plus a small handful of dreamies in the middle of the day.

I was going on what the packets suggested, I know every cat is different and some need more or less than than others. You can have a large and energetic cat who eats less than a small lazy one, both maintaining their weight perfectly!

Cats are all slightly different in the amount they need.

I've got one who eats four pouches a day, and he maintains a steady weight.

The other would eat six a day if I offered them to him. I am careful to give him only three - he was overweight at his last check-up.

And some, like Kitty, will eat a bit of wet food / or lap the liquid from broth & leave the rest of it because they only really like dry food. We’ve tried everything from Whiskas up to Untamed 🙄.

Our has two a day plus a few dreamies and a few biscuits. If he had his way that would be at least 4 breakfast lunch tea and supper. He is very big long legs enormous paws and weighs about 6.7 kilos they don’t go up to that weight when saying how much they should have!

I’m glad Snowcat & Stripey are doing well, @stormsandsunshine.

@EmpressaurusKitty I lost track of the Excellent Cats thread as I had a really busy couple of months and then there were hundreds of posts by the time I had a moment to check. I’ll try to jump back on the next one.

@Loubelou71 A few points about cat ownership. Firstly they aren't as self sufficient as people claim. They're sentient creatures with needs, different temperaments, quirks and illnesses just the same as dogs and you can't just chuck 'em out on the street when you want to go on holiday. It doesn't work like that. Secondly, you don't need to have 2 cats. I keep reading this on Mumsnet and, whilst it might be a good idea, it is definitely not necessary. Definitely rescue a cat OP. Shelters are bursting at the seams with loving and lovely cats. Do consider insurance costs. You really can't be a responsible pet owner without it and vets fees are astronomical these days, even if you need to have your animal put to sleep. Lastly, do not bank on your son being the primary carer. You must go into this assuming that you will ultimately or eventually be solely responsible for the cat. If you don't think you can, or you don't want to be the primary carer then please don't get a pet.

@stormsandsunshine (and anyone else who's interested)
LINK HERE for the latest Excellent Cats thread.

Lastly, do not bank on your son being the primary carer. You must go into this assuming that you will ultimately or eventually be solely responsible for the cat. If you don't think you can, or you don't want to be the primary carer then please don't get a pet.

This is a REALLY good point. You’re facing a potential 15 year or more commitment, OP, which could last long after your son leaves home.