any cat owners?

wonderstruck91
wonderstruck91 Posts: 107 Member
in Chit-Chat
hey everybody. kind of random/OT but i am thinking about getting a cat. i have recently moved out of my parents home, into an apartment. i've always had dogs but i feel like a cat would better fit my lifestyle right now. i would be interested in adopting an adult cat rather than a kitten most likely. any words of wisdom? pros/cons that i should know about?

thanks ( :
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Replies

  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Don't do it. If they have claws they will tear up the carpet and furniture. If they don't have claws, they will pee on everything. Best case scenario, you get the smartest, most well behaved cat in the world? It still craps in your house.
  • kaylaandthestarcatcher
    kaylaandthestarcatcher Posts: 836
    Don't do it. If they have claws they will tear up the carpet and furniture. If they don't have claws, they will pee on everything. Best case scenario, you get the smartest, most well behaved cat in the world? It still craps in your house.

    I have two cats. They don't tear up anything. The only time they go to the bathroom outside of the litter box is when I've been a lazy owner and haven't cleaned their litter box in a few days.



    Cats are some of the greatest creatures in the world. Earning the love of a cat is one of the best things ever.
    They're work, but nothing beats a cat hug:
    tumblr_mccgmvCSLu1qasid6o1_500.jpg
  • thebuz
    thebuz Posts: 221 Member
    Ok on a more positive note..... We have two cats and three rabbits and there is a lot of life in our home. I love my cats. They are easy going and loving. However every cat is different and I would recommend talking to the people who are giving the cats up for adoption to ensure the personality is a good fit for you. Our cats use their litter box and scratching post without any problems but we do get the occasional hair ball. Lol. Let me know if you have any questions. I grew up with many animals.
  • b14a3w3
    b14a3w3 Posts: 61 Member
    Love my three. I adopted them all together as kittens. They are 3 yrs old now and still play. If you do get one or more, I recommend handling them everyday. I picked them all up daily and can do anything (nails, pills, belly rubs) to them now. They turn out affectionate if you show affection.
  • finding_sammi
    finding_sammi Posts: 207
    Love my three. I adopted them all together as kittens. They are 3 yrs old now and still play. If you do get one or more, I recommend handling them everyday. I picked them all up daily and can do anything (nails, pills, belly rubs) to them now. They turn out affectionate if you show affection.

    aww your cats are sooooo cute!!
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Also, cat people tend to wind up cat crazy.

    And yes, I have two cats. I'd get rid of them if I had the heart to do it.
  • Wannabeachday
    Wannabeachday Posts: 122 Member
    I have two. They never mess up anything and they are the sweetest things in the world. I would go to the Human society and adopt one that is needing a good home. Everyone always want kittens and there are so many adult cats that need just as much it not even more love. They are good because they are trained most of them and still have many years ahead of them in the right home. Good luck :)
    mackandme.jpg My Mackie
    2542606625_79e24a99bc.jpg My Moxy
    :)
  • TropicalFlowerz
    TropicalFlowerz Posts: 1,990 Member
    My cat Sara came to us as a stray,..a little older than a kitten(4mos?)....She is AWESOME! In 20mins of showing her a litter box she got it!,...Never went in the house,..and now in our new place I put the litter box outside for 24hrs 2 show her where to go from now on....,then threw it away,..she goes to the door like a dog,and Meows to go out to pee etc.. She's likes to cuddle once in awhile,..other than that she likes her space,we luv her!
    She came to us 6 yrs ago!
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    That's how I ended up with my cats....moved into an apartment and couldn't have a dog. Started out with one....he was so little when we got him we weaned him ourselves. We named him Simba. A few months later we decided to get him a friend and rescued a Siamese kitty from the shelter....a few months after that my friend got pregnant and couldn't take care of her kitten anymore so we took her in, too. Now we have Simba, Turbo, and Mim. Beware: cat's are sly little *kitten*.....it drives me nuts when they sneak up onto the counters, knock my stuff over, get into their bag of cat food, and meow insistently at three a.m. Just a warning.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    Don't do it. If they have claws they will tear up the carpet and furniture. If they don't have claws, they will pee on everything. Best case scenario, you get the smartest, most well behaved cat in the world? It still craps in your house.

    True. My cats have destroyed my couch....I can't even get nice furniture. They also leave hair EVERYWHERE.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I have seven, all but one were feral or semi-feral neighborhood strays, and the other one was supposed to be a foster when I worked at a shelter. I'm not good at letting go. :happy:

    They don't shred my furniture. They shred their cat tree. And they use their boxes unless I'm a lousy housekeeper and go too long between scooping.

    I love that you want to adopt an adult. :heart:

    In my experience, male cats tend to be little more affectionate than females. More dog-like. In fact, I call one of mine my "puppycat." He listens better than the dog. For that matter... my other male plays fetch better than the dog. Some of my girls are very loving, but overall... the boys like attention more.

    I would give advice on picking out a cat, but... you really don't have any say in the matter. The cat chooses the owner, just like the wands in Harry Potter. I've never been able to pick out a cat. They always picked me.
  • allisonrozsa
    allisonrozsa Posts: 178 Member
    My cat Sara came to us as a stray,..a little older than a kitten(4mos?)....She is AWESOME! In 20mins of showing her a litter box she got it!,...Never went in the house,..and now in our new place I put the litter box outside for 24hrs 2 show her where to go from now on....,then threw it away,..she goes to the door like a dog,and Meows to go out to pee etc.. She's likes to cuddle once in awhile,..other than that she likes her space,we luv her!
    She came to us 6 yrs ago!

    That's brilliant.
  • feeny
    feeny Posts: 110 Member
    Don't do it. If they have claws they will tear up the carpet and furniture. If they don't have claws, they will pee on everything. Best case scenario, you get the smartest, most well behaved cat in the world? It still craps in your house.

    uh cats don't tear up things if you train them not to number one.

    number 2 de-clawing is incredibly inhumane, and just because cats have claws doesn't mean they will "pee on everything"

    number 3 if you clean the litter box as often as you're supposed to the cat won't "crap in your house"
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    But all my negativity aside, there is nothing quite like my Simba boy jumping into my lap and laying on my chest....I love that cat (Yes, I have my favorites.)
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Go for a shelter animal if you can. There are so many loving cats that need a good home! I got both of mine from the shelter, and they have been a wonderful addition to our family.

    Also, neither of my cats have ever peed on anything nor have they destroyed my furniture, but we do spend a lot of time playing with them and have lots of toys and scratch posts for them to get their scratch on. We also scoop the litter daily and do a fully litter change weekly to keep things from stinking and as sanitary as possible.
  • blanhe2
    blanhe2 Posts: 88

    I have two cats. They don't tear up anything. The only time they go to the bathroom outside of the litter box is when I've been a lazy owner and haven't cleaned their litter box in a few days.


    Cats are some of the greatest creatures in the world. Earning the love of a cat is one of the best things ever.
    They're work, but nothing beats a cat hug:
    tumblr_mccgmvCSLu1qasid6o1_500.jpg

    Hear hear!! I have two, and they are great companions!
  • v65magna
    v65magna Posts: 27 Member
    Do it!!! I now have 12 week old kittens at home after losing 2 older cats. There is nothing like the feeling you get when they sing to you.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    cats are great pets, but today's veterinarians think they should be paid just like people doctors. i had 2 cats get very sick around the same time back in 2006. in the span of 2 weeks, the vets (regular and the emergency weekend center) took me for $7000-$8000 in vet/surgery bills and both cats still died within 2 weeks. it was awful and both cats were miserable while i was desperately and futiley trying to save their lives. thus, i have nothing good to say about veterinarians since... they will nickel and dime you until you finally decide enough is enough. the problem is that cats will eventually get sick and die. unless you're heartless, you're going to want to try to do everything you can for them. that's how vets get their hooks into your wallet and it doesn't stop unless you make the difficult decision to stop funding the madness. if i sound bitter about it, i am.

    if you get a cat or dog, be prepared for this when they get older and you have to start worrying about things like kidney disease or cancer or hip problems (dogs).
  • serenalesley
    serenalesley Posts: 58 Member
    If you adopt an adult cat, you'll be able to get a good personality match, and you will gain an independent but rewarding pet who you will very quickly not be able to imagine being without. But do be prepared to become less house-proud, and change cat litter more often than you'd ideally be bothered to. :)
  • motivated1624
    motivated1624 Posts: 3
    We ended up adopting a stray cat, he is super sweet and easy to take care of. We also have 3 dogs at our house, I can't say that the dogs are easy to take care of. With the cat we have to make sure he has food and water and we are able to leave for a few days no problem. Our little kitten is about 7 months old and he is not fixed yet, or de-clawed. He likes to run into our room and grab a hold of the bottom of our bed. But he does not scratch on anything else in our house. We have a scratching station for him and he is good about using that. I was not a cat person before getting this little kitten but he is wonderful and I would say it all depends on the temperament of the cat just as it would a dog. Best of luck with your decision.
  • reasnableblonde
    reasnableblonde Posts: 212 Member
    I've always had cats. My current tri-color tabby, Gizmo, is hysterical. She's from the animal shelter, where her adoption price was cut in half and a note was attached to her cage that said "I don't know why no one wants this cat." She's playful, super friendly, sweet, and demanding all at once. Her vet says she's "developmentally disabled" (kinda stupid too), but we love her. Before her was Pepper, who was very intelligent and graceful, and lived to be 18 years old.

    I highly recommend going to your local no-kill shelter and start looking around. Wait til you find one that "works" with you. Some people like higher energy "mousers" while others like lap love-bugs.

    Don't declaw - there are alternatives like Soft Paws. And make sure kitty is fixed. That'll help with spraying. Keep a clean litterbox in the house and some decent clawing trees, etc. and you're good to go!
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    I have had my kitten since July. my mom has two cats and I also pet sat for lots of cats. I love dogs too but cats are great when you can't spend as much time at home as a dog would need. My cat was a rescue from my cousin. One of her coworkers found her, she took her home and then decided she didn't want her anymore. I guess I can see why, but I've had a lot of experience with different animals so she doesn't bother me much :)

    As for the negative comments, it depends on the person AND the cat. My cat hasn't torn up ANYTHING but she does scratch me. Seriously, all my furniture is in the same state it was when she got here. I guess she's just not a destroyer. As for the peeing everywhere, she's never done it. Not even right outside the litter box if I forgot to clean it.

    I'd say just make sure you're patient. My cat is kind of crazy and more energetic than most kittens so she likes to play rough sometimes. I just make a point to have toys near me so i can throw them or dangle something to keep her from attacking me.
  • ctgirlscout
    ctgirlscout Posts: 90 Member
    I love cats. I have three house cats, and an outside cat (stray) that adopted us 5 years ago that we care for. Cats can be very calming...especially when they curl up in your lap and start purring!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    My fiance and I have two cats. 13 month old Peanut and we adopted 3 month old Marceline last weekend.

    DSC00031.jpeg
    Peanut ^^^


    DSC00043.jpeg

    Marceline ^^^
  • MrsWonderland
    MrsWonderland Posts: 107 Member
    I grew up a dog person till one day found a kitten that was a few months old she was the best. All she wanted was to be with me. Yeah all cats are different, but my sis had 7 cats and only one wasnt social. They were all well behaved used their boxs unless she didnt get to it quick enough. I only had one cat so it was easy to keep up with her box. I dont have my baby anymore miss her every day. Im planning on getting another one soon. Dont think I will ever want a dog again even though I still like them, cats have won my heart.

    I plan on feeding my new cat real food (chicken and meats), they are carnivores in nature. I been looking up on healthy cats because I have known many cats to have health problems. What I found was very distirbing Youtube has lots of videos about dog and cat foods and honestly I dont want to feed my cat any of it. I know many will disagree because they feed their cats dry food for many years, but I this is just somethig I want to do.

    Well I wish you the best with your cat.
  • tdbad1
    tdbad1 Posts: 87 Member
    You will not regret having a cat, im sure. the complaints of torn up furniture and spraying are things you can deal with.

    getting an adult cat...make sure it is already spayed or nutered. that will cut out the need to mark territory. Also getting an adult cat reduces the amount of clawing at furniture...ive found kittens do it more. Have a scratching post, or "cat tree" my cat loves old weatherd wood, so i keep a piece in the house, nailed to the wall for her.

    Older cats are more affectionate. they virtually take care of themselves. Im not sure where you will get yours from, but if you can, find out if it is an indoor only or outdoor cat. That will make the most difference. it is extreemely hard to keep an outdoor cat locked in. Cats will adapt to you, yet remain indepedant. Although be prepared to feel like you are "staff" once in a while,lol.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    cats are great pets, but today's veterinarians think they should be paid just like people doctors. i had 2 cats get very sick around the same time back in 2006. in the span of 2 weeks, the vets (regular and the emergency weekend center) took me for $7000-$8000 in vet/surgery bills and both cats still died within 2 weeks. it was awful and both cats were miserable while i was desperately and futiley trying to save their lives. thus, i have nothing good to say about veterinarians since... they will nickel and dime you until you finally decide enough is enough. the problem is that cats will eventually get sick and die. unless you're heartless, you're going to want to try to do everything you can for them. that's how vets get their hooks into your wallet and it doesn't stop unless you make the difficult decision to stop funding the madness. if i sound bitter about it, i am.

    if you get a cat or dog, be prepared for this when they get older and you have to start worrying about things like kidney disease or cancer or hip problems (dogs).
    Do you expect to be paid for your work? Veterinarians are doctors and aren't in it for the charity work. If you have that much of a problem with them, don't have pets. Wow.
  • babycakes1970
    babycakes1970 Posts: 111 Member
    I have one cat. He is seven years old and while we have some issues with his scatching up furniture (He would chew his soft claws off) he is super affectionate. No spraying ever. We had him fixed when he was around four or five months old.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    We have a wonderful cat we got from a shelter this summer. You will want to read up on cats and try to understand their behavior so you can prevent frustration for you AND the cat. For example, scratching is normal and necessary behavior for cats with claws. You have to be prepared to give them appropriate places to scratch and to teach them what your rules are about that. Our cat has all her claws and we are getting along with her very nicely now that she has settled in and we have set her up with three scratching pads in various parts of our home. As long as you are going in armed with knowledge and you are prepared to be a good cat "parent" then I think getting a cat is a very nice idea.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    If you will be living in an apartment and gone all day a cat would be better than a dog for sure. But I remember when we did that years ago, the cat would sleep all day then keep us awake at night! It was really annoying. I'd make sure that you play with it a lot so it gets some sort of exercise.
    Also, don't get one if you can't handle hair on everything, hairballs, stained carpet from hairballs, puke, pee, shredded furniture, changing the litterbox, vet bills, etc.
    We have one now that has been banned to the porch for those reasons. She has a heated bed and a heated water bowl and we do let her in once in a while, but it's only when she can be supervised every single minute! She also howls like a dying, sick animal (she's not sick, vet says shes fine) and it really sounds creepy. I feel sorry for my neighbors since I can hear her a block away. lol I'd give her away but I know that whoever takes her would end up kicking her outside where she'd be in more danger or they would have her put down.

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