Cat advise please

equalsql

Iamnobody said: hi

Flanging_Fred said:

Thanks so far for the advice.  It seems being out for much of the day is not ideal but is not necessarily an absolute stopper. Would people agree?

I have no idea of the breed of cat the kittens are. They're furry, small, go 'Meow:, have s tail and a leg at each corner. That's about as much as I know at the moment.

Cats are horrible selfish little cunts who would probably kill you for their next meal...

I say that as cat owner.

They wreck carpets as well.

They cover you in hair.

They can live a long time.

But I wouldn’t be bothered about leaving them alone all day (them) as I’d recommend a pair. They adapt to you.

I know you’ve probably ruled out a dog but a retired greyhound would be happy as a pig in shit if you left it when you worked all day. If it can be arsed it might even wake up when you get home...

In my experience dogs are more responsibility but much more rewarding to own and train.

Kudos mate! I hate the feckin things. Birdy murderers and psychotic by nature plus owners are quite happy to let them off the leash so that they can shit in other people's gardens.

rawk100

We've had a moggie short hair brother and sister duo since kittens and they come and go as they wish through the cat flap. Really friendly pair

richardhomer

Life is always better with a cat....

WezV

my favourite moment of cat ownership was googling “how to toilet train a cat” only to find lots of websites showing how to train a cat to use a human toilet. Apparently you can’t train them to flush.

i only have one currently, and she is more like a dog.  Very fussy and wags her tail when happy, it’s unnerving.

  We had 4 or 5 at a time growing up, until one rescue cat called Magpie turned up on Friday the 13th.  She got renamed Satan quite quickly. She saw off rest, and outlived them all.  Survived 2 car accidents and throat cancer.  She used to sit on top of the fridge freezer and swipe at anyone who tried to open it.  I once saw her jump and pluck a pigeon out the air 5’ up.

Funkfingers

Flanging_Fred said:

Daughter's friend has loads of kittens and she keeps asking if we want one.

Uh-oh. 1) Peer group pressure. 2) Present owner hoping to avoid inoculation costs.

BRISTOL86 said:

if you get one from a shelter then they’ll come vaccinated, chipped, neutered/spayed and often with a spell of free insurance and all that gubbins. Plus, you actually help two cats as it opens up a space in a shelter. 

Another aspect of shelter-sourced cats is that - there is no nice way to put this - have already weeded out the ones that are not in good health.

VimFuego said:

IME cats much prefer company

Cats need human company - if only to open and close doors and to open food containers. 

webrthomson said:
Cats are amazing little animals – as I said I’m biased – but they will sometimes ignore you, sometimes love you and mostly train you to feed them on demand!

Mostly. 

blobb said:
Inferior human. 

This looks like a Catbert quotation.

Phil_aka_Pip

WezV said:

 I once saw her jump and pluck a pigeon out the air 5’ up.

I always wondered how Hendrix used to bag so many birds. One day i played the chase-the-ball game with him and tossed the ball up as far as the ceiling. He watched it on its way down, then when it was about my eyeball height he jumped off the floor and grabbed it with both front paws at about my nose height. I realised so that's how he does it.

menamestom

We have 2.  I didn't want any.  So I tried to compromise, ‘lets get a fish?’

We got 2.

They follow me everywhere.  To the toilet, down the road.  In the garden.  When I go out, they wait at the front for me.  One follows you, get’s about 10 meteres from home then waits there meowing constantly until she is collected, then follows me back howling.  Neighbours probably call me cat man.

They have a cat flap.  They go in and out freely except when they forget, or just find it more fun to wait at the front door and meow to get in or out.  When I have a conference call, one meows at full volume demanding treats.  They demand food constantly.  They fight with each other then curl up together.

On my pillow.   On my clean washing.  In my guitar case.

I work at home most days but they go off and do their own thing.  Unless I go out and then they wait on the windowsill until I return.

They are good fun but not nearly as independent as I remeber, but probably a lot more friendly and endearing.  Except if you pick them up and they give you that look, ‘put me down you daft human twat’.

djspecialist

A quick comment about cat flaps.  The back of our house has double patio doors which are all glass so no place to fit a flap.  When we had them put in, we asked the builder to make a hole in the wall next to them and fit one there instead.  Works perfectly.

gusman2x

My cat's always been left for the day. As she gets a bit older, she seems happier to see me when I get home, but I don't think she's ever been too bothered really. I agree that an adult cat will be better for leaving at home in the beginning. I've never had a kitten, but I suspect they're full time in the beginning.

Seen quite a lot of ingenious catflap locations over the years. In window panes it not uncommon. Like the kitchen window or something.

Get a cat. Cats are the bst things in the world, And most importantly, I think it's really valuable for kids to have animals gorwing up.

ICBM

My cat - sorry, lord and master - is very civilised. Despite being a perfect ‘wildcat’ tabby he doesn’t hunt - really doesn’t, not just that we don’t see it - he’s never once brought anything dead back, doesn’t chase birds in the garden and shows no interest in my daughter’s gerbils, and will not even eat raw meat, it has to be proper cat food. He’s mostly calm and gentle with humans, and really is the ideal pet.

But he *hates* other cats. He’s absolutely psychotic - all the neighbours’ cats live in terror of him, apart from one which does fight back - the two of them are constantly at war. Mine usually wins, although it’s just debatable enough that the other one won’t back down. We’ve had to separate them many times when they’re really going for it - I’m genuinely concerned one of them will get seriously injured.

And yet he looks so innocent and harmless - which if you’re a mouse, a bird or a human, he is! Just not if you’re a cat...



He mostly stays in the house, both day and night - he will go out for up to a few hours at a time, to check that no enemies have encroached on his territory, but otherwise he's content to stay in by himself if we're not in. We don't have a cat flap - we are required to open the door when the master demands it.

Hattigol

Flanging_Fred said:

Any other advice that can help make a decision as my cat knowledge is pretty much zero.

Don't get one. They are basically TK Maxx dogs. 

Alterlifeson

We have two, a boy who is 19 and a girl who is 13. As others have said, it totally depends on their personality. My oldest one really likes human company and doesn't really like it when he is alone for the night, especially in the winter months when he isn't outside as much. This suits us though as my wife works shift hours and I do 9-5, so there is nearly always someone about. On the other hand our girl can only tolerate so much human contact and needs to get outside for some stress relief. She starts growling and hissing and standing by the windows, that's how you know!

I can't imagine life without them now though, be prepared for playtime at 2 in the morning though, ours like to play with the curtains, run up and down the stairs, scratch at the door if i close it. I'm pretty used to it now though!

equalsql

Bygone_Tones said:

High on your list of considerations should be your proximity to traffic. If you live on a busy road, or near one I would not recommend getting cats at all. They can go very far when you let them out - upto 1/4 mile or so depending on the cat, and obviously they do not know their green cross code.

Good advice, like I've said I'm personally not a fan of cats, but I saw one hit by a lorry last year just down the road from where I live and it was horrific. The poor thing was struck in the head and took about ten minutes to die. Nothing anyone could do for it. Even if I loved cats I don't think I'd own one where live because of the nearby traffic.

McSwaggerty

My Cat used to jump up and ring the door bell when he wanted in .

Not Joking.

Flanging_Fred

Thanks to all for the advice and experiences, it's actually very helpful. 

Ultimately it will need to be a joint decision between myself and Mrs Fred but at least I have some idea of what expect now and maybe make more appropriate choices.

Ben8010

McSwaggerty said:

My Cat used to jump up and ring the door bell when he wanted in .

Not Joking.

Ha! Mine (well my Mum and Dad's as I don't live there anymore) reaches up to the door knobs and tries opening the doors normally when he wants to go from room to room (our inside doors have very low handles).

I would definitely recommend getting a cat, they're for more affectionate and friendly than what they are portrayed as. Once they're settled in they're really not much work at all and, IMO, are very rewarding to have as a pet. I don't think people being away from home during the day is too much of a problem, even for a young cat. We've had our sole moggie since he was 3 months old (he's nearly 11 now) and for most of his life he's had to live with the house being empty from 8ish til 3ish and he's fine with it. He's never had a cat flap or litter tray and in the 10 1/2 years we've had him he's only done one shit in the house (and he did that on the doormat which was convenient). Saying that, he was house trained when we got him which is obviously a massive bonus.

Basically, my Mum will let him out when she gets up and, if the weather forecast is bad, she'll get him back in before she goes to work and he's more than happy to lounge around on his own all day. When the first person gets back home he'll either be asleep or he will run to the door to greet you. If the forecast is good he's happy to stay outside all day and do what cats do. He definitely prefers it when there's people around, and when they are he gets obscene amounts of attention and fuss - but I get the impression he's fine on his own too and I would defy anyone to find me a happier cat than him!

Of course, YMMV - all cats have different personalities, but 90% of the cats I've ever interacted with have been very pleasant!

ewal

We have two cats. JInx (see my profile pic) is a lazy old queen who hardly ever goes out and basically has us all dancing to her attention - she's almost like the soul of our house, always been there at the heart of things as we've gone about our life and the kids have grown up. She's 15 now and still going strong, hate to think of the day she departs. Coco is the 'black sheep' of the family - out a lot more, not so keen to be picked up, but still massively affectionate at times, especially when you go out to hang up the washing - one of her favourite things!!

The two of them are an endless source of comfort and amusement for the whole family. My son is a typical uncommunicative teenager, but he becomes a wee boy again and shows more affection towards our cats than he does for the rest of us!

Go for it!!

Phil_aka_Pip

@ewal excellent pix of excellent cats

bring back the Readers' cats thread

BRISTOL86

Be advised that the concept of ‘personal space’ is somewhat alien to our feline friends. Luckily I already knew Em  

ICBM

Cats can detect when something is of interest to humans, and whatever it is becomes the most desirable spot on the world to lie down.

Also, whenever a door is closed anywhere in the universe, a cat is on the wrong side of it.