Getting a cat

[Kittyblue]

I've had a few cats over the years, and over the last few summers we've fostered kittens for the shelter. I know when I'm ready to adopt again it will be after fostering. It's really difficult (for me at least) to figure out a cat's temperament after seeing it for a short time at the shelter or even having it at home for a short time. When fostering, we could easily figure out what kittens would work well in our household. You might consider fostering, I know our shelter gets so desperate in the summer they'll let you take how ever many kittens you're are willing to, whether it's 1 or the whole litter. It might give you and your daughter an idea of the care involved and determine if owning a cat is right for you right now.

 

[holden]

Cats can be trained to use scratching posts. I have several around the house. My cats use them every day. Please do not declaw. It is inhumane.

Every cat is different. Their personalities can vary. Some are loving and some are aloof. You just never know.

I have found that male cats are easier than females.

Any problems with not using the litter box is either due to a physical problem (urinary tract infection, etc.) or stress. Cats need to be played with regularly to destress. Some cats need it more than others. There are also pheromone devices too that can help. They are like a plug in room air freshener except you can't smell them.

With proper training, your cat can behave the way you want it to....most of the time. Watch some Jackson Galaxy clips on youtube about cat training.

 

[RamblingMad]

It's Halloween. Read up on pets eating their owners.

 

[HiStitch626]

I have had at least one cat all my life. You have already gotten some good advice so just a few tips.

You don’t mention how old your daughter is, but unless she is a teenager, the cat care will be yours. And even if she is a teenager, the cat care will probably still be yours.

I might recommend looking for a local adoption agency that fosters their cats in peoples homes. You’re much more likely to get a true impression of the cats personality then if it has lived in a shelter for a while. The foster parents just get a better sense of what the animal is like because they see it in a home environment. This is not a dig against shelters, they do an amazing job. But you seem to have concerns about the cats personality, so a fostered cat will have more information on that. Along with that, I would suggest a young cat, but not a kitten.

Cats can absolutely be trained to do lots of things. My girl shakes hands, rolls over, and waves her paw to say hello. But, her training took much more time and positive reinforcement then teaching the same behaviors to a dog. Cats cannot be trained to not do things. Negative reinforcement doesn’t really work, it just makes your cat afraid of you. And that can lead to negative behaviors like peeing outside of the litter box.

speaking of litter boxes, there are some litter boxes that are automated, so machine scoop the litter after your cat has used the box. I’ve never used one, but my sister swears by hers. That might be a way to cut down on the amount of scooping did you have to do.

My current cat is a female and she’s the smartest cat I’ve ever had, but the sweetest cat I ever had was a boy. You can neuter a male cat safely at about 10 weeks, and do not need to wait to spay a female until after her first estrus. Please do not declaw your cat.

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

Although I've never used them, there are sprays that you can get for furniture to keep the cats away. Just get some scratching posts and a cat tree so that they have something else to scratch on. If anyone has any recommendations for the sprays or knows more about it please share. Like I said, I never used them. (Currently I don't mind cause the furniture I got is second hand and not in very well condition, so I don't really care what my cat does. Then again I'm pretty lenient when it comes to rules with the cat) With litter boxes, there are self cleaning ones, and some ppl have been successful enough to train their cats to use the toilet. There's a potty training kit that's like a litter box but round and you put it in toilet. If I had a home with two toilets I would train my cat to do that. When it comes to what kind of litter, use what's best for you. I usually use Fresh Step or Tidy Cats. Make play time a daily routine, it will help with any aggression they might have so that they don't end up doing other things like jumping up on curtains. Also good for exercise.

If possible build some kind of sky way. Put some shelves up that way the cat can jump up on there instead of counters or tables. A good stern talking to them repeatedly might help. Eventually they will get the idea that counters or tables are a no cat zone. Also if possible, make a little outdoor catio. An enclosed patio area for the cat. (Unless the cat is trained enough to not run off or is naturally not a runner.) When weather is nice you can let them out so they can watch birds and other critters.

Nail trims, or caps (they sell these caps at the pet store idk how well they work. If anyone has info on how well they work please share. I just see that as an option)

Cats can be trained, it just takes a little more patience than it would to train a dog.

Will say, getting them already fixed, or fixing right away is a good idea.

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

I've had a few cats over the years, and over the last few summers we've fostered kittens for the shelter. I know when I'm ready to adopt again it will be after fostering. It's really difficult (for me at least) to figure out a cat's temperament after seeing it for a short time at the shelter or even having it at home for a short time. When fostering, we could easily figure out what kittens would work well in our household. You might consider fostering, I know our shelter gets so desperate in the summer they'll let you take how ever many kittens you're are willing to, whether it's 1 or the whole litter. It might give you and your daughter an idea of the care involved and determine if owning a cat is right for you right now.

I agree, I think fostering is a good start. Last thing you want to do is adopt and then later down the line for whatever reason, get rid of the cat. With fostering you do get an idea of the care that it takes, you might end up finding the right cat for you, easier through fostering, and you're helping the shelter. I also agree, for me it's difficult to get to know the cat's personality and temperament in a short period of time.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Wow, thanks SO much everyone; this is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for! And special thanks to those of you who shared photos of your pretty kitties!

 

[Lilsia]

Another thing you want to consider is diet. Do not feed them crap food with fillers and food colorings from Walmart. Cats are carnivores and do not do well on food with grain. That is where cats gets issues with stones and urinary problems. We order raw food from a place called Darwin's. It comes in frozen 1 pound packages which is great for them, but very expensive.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Have you considered trying to talk her into a mild tempered, small dog. Some of them are very smart & easy to house train. If trained properly, they don't use the bathroom in your home or destroy your furniture. Most of them give lots of love. FWIW, I have had the experience of DS's ex-GF bringing a cat over that destroyed two of our new couches. No more cats in my house, but I do respect the fact that some people love cats. To each their own.

 

[DisneyHardin]

The cat wasn’t trained. It was locked up when you could not supervise it. Big difference.

She had free reign of the house when we were home and didn't get on the furniture. If she tried, we put her down and told her "no" and she learned not to jump on the beds or couch.

 

[hsmamato2]

I will echo some pp's.... please don't declaw. (not gonna fight about this here) I have had cats my entire life (and a lot of other animals too) I love them, I think they're really cool creatures. My current 2 are indoors only- my last pair was indoor/outdoor,and we had constant problems with fleas/ticks/ dangers outdoors. Never again for many reasons. Always indoor now. (I may build a catio next summer tho)
Cats are like every other creature,various personailty types. Some are lovable and cuddly,some are not. There are more non cuddly types than cuddly IMHO, my last cat (angel baby) was the sweetest,most human oriented pet I've ever had,I miss her terribly, she was very unique.
As for scratching,I trim their nails weekly so they're not oversharp, and they LOVE thair little cardboard scratchie things...(flat on the floor things) I sprinkle a bit of catnip onto those about once a week and they have a blast!
My current 2 are very different temperaments. The 2 yo (stray ragdoll) is fairly aloof,and friendly when she feels like it,never gets into mischief or causes trouble,she's a typical cat. My 6 month old calico is a little monster,and I just love her anyway. I also keep a spray bottle of lemon water for spraying her when she does some of her daily bratty things like tearing up all my plants,jumping onto tables (yuck!) etc etc. I have hope that eventually the lemon water spray will teach her not to jump on things she's banned from,but who knows? She's a brat, but also very cuddly and a sweet purr baby. (and spoiled rotten)
OP, sounds like you will be fine with a cat, just understand,animals do what they do sometimes... (for me,I dislike having a dog.so done with that)

 

[hsmamato2]

Have you considered trying to talk her into a mild tempered, small dog. Some of them are very smart & easy to house train. If trained properly, they don't use the bathroom in your home or destroy your furniture. Most of them give lots of love. FWIW, I have had the experience of DS's ex-GF bringing a cat over that destroyed two of our new couches. No more cats in my house, but I do respect the fact that some people love cats. To each their own.

see I'm the exact opposite, a cat comes potty trained and easy to care for (once the daily litter scoop is done) a dog is endless amounts of work IMHO. Like a toddler that never grows up.....I'd much rather scoop a box for 5 minutes a day than have to walk and potty train and worry about all that

 

[hsmamato2]

I forgot to add this..... I have always had a pair of cats. Why? They keep each other company and prevent some of the boredom induced (naughty) activities we don't want them to do in the house. Believe it or not, 2 cats is basically as easy (or easier) as 1. It doesn't seem logical but it is. Lots of shelters have bonded pairs ,or from the same litter. trust me on this. Mine have also all been female too. (my current pair,I got the older one last year as a stray,and the baby from a local farm this summer, they bonded pretty fast)

 

[mom2rtk]

I forgot to add this..... I have always had a pair of cats. Why? They keep each other company and prevent some of the boredom induced (naughty) activities we don't want them to do in the house. Believe it or not, 2 cats is basically as easy (or easier) as 1. It doesn't seem logical but it is. Lots of shelters have bonded pairs ,or from the same litter. trust me on this. Mine have also all been female too. (my current pair,I got the older one last year as a stray,and the baby from a local farm this summer, they bonded pretty fast)

I almost posted that same thing yesterday. I highly recommend a pair of litter mates. When our matriarch passes, we're considering adding a pair again. (Had a pair of males many years ago).

 

[mom2rtk]

see I'm the exact opposite, a cat comes potty trained and easy to care for (once the daily litter scoop is done) a dog is endless amounts of work IMHO. Like a toddler that never grows up.....I'd much rather scoop a box for 5 minutes a day than have to walk and potty train and worry about all that

We've also had a couple dogs. Way more work.

 

[kymom99]

I’ll add that it’s nearly impossible to keep houseplants if you have a cat. They chew them and then cough the pieces back up, knock them over, dig in the dirt....you get the picture. I have managed to keep a couple violets. I’m not a big houseplant person anyway but I do miss having beautiful poinsettias at the holidays.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have at least 100 plants around my house (plantlady/catlady) and she likes to destroy some of them for sure, but not all. The lemon water works wonders on getting her attention diverted... She's getting much better overall...hoping that trend continues lol. This is the first cat I've had in my life that gets into plants....

 

[fly girl]

I’ll add that it’s nearly impossible to keep houseplants if you have a cat. They chew them and then cough the pieces back up, knock them over, dig in the dirt....you get the picture. I have managed to keep a couple violets. I’m not a big houseplant person anyway but I do miss having beautiful poinsettias at the holidays.

We have been lucky to keep our houseplants. I did have to put small pebble/rocks in our larger potted plants as our current cat loves the dirt (yeah ... that was "fun.") But once I did that, he was annoyed and gave up on them. In the beginning I also sprayed the leaves with bitter apple to deter. Occasionally he will try and play hide and seek in one, but I blame that on dh. The cat was sleeping behind it one day and dh peeked through the plant leaves and my cat thought it was a game. Ugh.

 

[aggiedog]

Lots of very good information here. We've had multiple cats for my entire life, literally since I was born. I think my sister figured over the years growing up to into my adulthood and now in my own home we've had close to 40.

Some points to emphasize -

Their personalities are all over the board. Neurotic to completely laid back. I agree looking for a foster to get the best read on their baseline personalities. How they act under the stress of the shelter is not necessarily how they'll be at home. Ask me how I know.

Older cats can be the sweetest. I have a soft spot for adopting older cats, and some of the best ones we've had were 1+ years when we got them. Kittens are cute, but be warned that around 9 months they turn into demons and will climb and claw everything in sight - usually at 3:00am.

Absolutely feed them good food. It's more expensive, but will keep the healthier and in turn make your life easier with less vomit and urine to clean.

Cats pee on things - sometimes due to organic medical issues, sometime mental (anxiety, anger, ??) I saw a cartoon a long time ago that was a pie chart of a cat owner thinking about their cat. The largest section by far was labeled "why is my cat peeing on things?" That's funny only because it's true. Nature's Miracle makes a urine remover that works better than anything I've ever found. On average, I've found boy cats more likely to want to pee on things for no good reason. I've had 3 girl cats over the years pee only with specific, ultimately manageable, medical issues.

Cats vomit. Hair balls, their last meal, the ribbon they just ate. We finally switched to a sensitive stomach food that helped immensely, at 50% more the cost. Worth it to not clean vomit daily.

Sometimes declawing is the only way you and a certain cat can coexist. It is not like removing the end of your fingers, it IS removing the end of their fingers. Generally, the vet will ampute the last section of each toe. I won't do it. You can also clip their nails, or put little rubber caps on them - if the cat allows.

Short vs long hair seems to be not a great indicator of who will shed most. Texture is almost as important. Smooth and silky seems less likely to stick to clothes as opposed to slightly wavy and "wooly" from my experience. We've had 2 short hair cats that shed so much they should have been bald, one who's fur seemed to be barbed. Once stuck on clothes or blankets it was sooo hard to remove.

Invest in lint brushes.

I actually prefer leather furniture as then the fur doesn't accumulate on the upholstery.

I hate litter boxes. They are a necessary evil and will need cleaned daily. And vacuumed around.

I agree 2 cats is better than one. Preferably the same age or bonded. I guarantee if you decide to go thru with this, asking a fostering organization for a bonded pair of older cats will make them jump with joy.

 

[katie01]

I love cats and had them growing up, but due to my MIL’s allergies, can’t have one. So I wouldn’t try to talk you out of a cat, but I was going to say what a PP suggested, have you thought about a dog instead? Yes, in one way they are more work because you have to let them outside and take them to be groomed (cats generally groom themselves), BUT you don’t have the stuff you are dreading with the cat: they don’t jump on counters (not small dogs anyway), smell up the house with a litter box, or scratch furniture. We are home all the time anyway and especially with this pandemic, so letting a dog outside is no big deal to us anymore, and it’s good exercise because it encourages us to take walks (but if you have a fenced yard you could let them outside to run too). One of our dogs is a shih tzu bichon mix and she literally does not shed a hair, at all. She’s quiet, small, and tidy and is a lot like a cat, she likes to sleep most of the day, and cuddle with us. A dog like a Yorkie might be a good choice too.

Also I completely understand your reservations about pets but still wanting to bring some joy to your daughter with all that’s going on in the world. It was the same for me, we have two dogs but my youngest daughter has wanted a Guinea pig for years and years. She said she’d do all the work, but I was just grossed out at the idea of a poopy cage in my house lol. I did finally give in and got her the guinea pig, it’s been so tough on all my kids this year with everything they’ve had to give up, but they haven’t complained. Anyway, she’s been great, she has indeed done the work, I willingly help though because it’s cumbersome trying to clean his giant cage by herself. And he does sure poop a lot, and I am still kinda grossed out by that, but he’s also sweet and cute, and we spot clean the cage often so there isn’t a smell in the house or anything.

Anyway, just wanted to say I understand that even when you have those same thoughts about some aspect being gross or a nuisance, like you said, you can still be a wonderful pet owner in spite of the reservations, once you willingly commit to dealing with all that. Just like when you have kids, you know you are going to have sleepless nights and poopy diapers and toddler tantrums and all the rest, but you decided whether or not it’s worth it. I’m sure your daughter would be very happy and you’d likely love the cat too. But again, I would say you might like a dog better! I didn’t really want to deal with the extra work of a dog, but had to go that route again due to my MIL’s allergies, but overall I’m thinking maybe it was the best choice for us. I do appreciate that they are happy sleeping in their kennels at night, aren’t shedding fur in the house, don’t jump on counters, or have a stinky litter box in my house. There are pros and cons with every pet, but they are very rewarding and bring so much love and laughter to a home