OT: Getting a cat

secretsam

So - we're thinking of getting a cat - probably a rescue cat, no kittens however will need to be snipped and house trained.

My missus has had a cat before but I haven't - what should I expect? I love cats, but don't know anything about costs, feeding, vets bills, etc. Can anyone give any advice? Plus how much does it cost to buy a cat?!?!?!?!?!?!

PS: dog lovers - please, no hilarious comments, seriously.

cyclingprop

Shouldn't cost you much (if anything?) to get a rescue cat.

sfichele

cyclingprop wrote:

Shouldn't cost you much (if anything?) to get a rescue cat.

If you get a cat from a shelter it will be usually be chipped and will have had all its vaccinations. Whereas buying a kitten will cost a lot of money to get it through the vet for the first time.

mickbrown

Cat piss stinks. Really stinks. You should be aware of that.

Ben6899

Do it!

Cats are ace.

A rescue cat might cost you a small amount, but not the earth. We (our family home when I was younger) took in a rescue dog - we had to pay ~£60 to cover fees incurred to the kennels from vets, injections etc.

Keeping a cat doesn't cost much at all - the odd vet bill for check-ups, worming and flea treatment is easily manageable and we seem to spend very little on food, in spite of giving the little one the quality stuff and making sure she is always fed and watered properly.

Ours loves bikes as well; fascinated by the Campagnolo freewheel... she obviously knows what quality sounds like.

rick_chasey

mickbrown wrote:

Cat wee-wee stinks. Really stinks. You should be aware of that.

If your cat is p!ssing indoors it's not going very well.

estampida

house cat or outdoors?

not a fan of house cats, they need to be outside

if they stay inside you need 2 or they start to go crazy with boredom

outside, get a small wooden box (old rabbit hutch) and stick some straw in it so there is somewhere to go if its raining and the like - ( I come from north scotland so shielding from weather was important, if it's not happy in there stick it in and block the entrance with a brick give it an hour or so until it figures out there is no risk.

how many animals have 2 homes.......

gbsahne001

Ben6899 wrote:

Do it!

Cats are ace.

A rescue cat might cost you a small amount, but not the earth. We (our family home when I was younger) took in a rescue dog - we had to pay ~£60 to cover fees incurred to the kennels from vets, injections etc.

Keeping a cat doesn't cost much at all - the odd vet bill for check-ups, worming and flea treatment is easily manageable and we seem to spend very little on food, in spite of giving the little one the quality stuff and making sure she is always fed and watered properly.

Ours loves bikes as well; fascinated by the Campagnolo freewheel... she obviously knows what quality sounds like.

In February we took a rescue cat from Battersea and the cost was £60, although this ended up being higher, as we also purchased things like basket, carrier etc. The £60 fee primarily covered vaccinations, electronic chipping and being spayed.

Cats can be very funny, extremely fussy, affectionate, distant / aloof all within 5 minutes. Ours is still relatively young <1 yo and is very pleased that we’ve put in a chip id catflap, as it means that she can go in and out, as she wants without a collar (she’s lost 3 so far, so we’ve almost given up with these) and still the other neighbourhood cats can’t come in.

She loves chasing the dot of a laser pointer but not as much as the one we rehomed in Turkey; that cat would chase the dot all round the house without hesitation, this one will chase it but prefers to hunt it.

They can live for 20+ years so be aware of this but we’re pleased with the decision to get her

mudcow007

i got 2 kittens from the rspca for £60 each this included all vaccinations (these need doing yearly!) and were snipped too

if you put cat litter in a tray somewhere the cats will automatically use it - unlike dogs

id recommend insuring any pets you get, for about £3 per month you dont have to worry about a mahoosive pet bill

enjoy your feline buddy

we had to get rid of ours due to me being allergic

EKE_38BPM

I grew up with a cat and I loved it, but when I was about 13 it had to be put down due to old age.
My girlfriend has a cat and since I've been in contact with it, I've had really bad excema. My clothes are always covered in cat hair, I'm forever hoovering to try to minimise my exposure to the cat hair and it can be annoying having to adjust plans to make sure someone is home to feed the cat at the right times.

On the plus side, I enjoy seeing the cat mooch around the house, having it chill out on my lap as I watch TV and I really enjoyed seeing it bring home a little bird (of the flying around variety, not the female dwarf type), play with it for a bit and then slowly eat it. I took pictures of that as I didn't think the lazy, fat, hairy lump had it in her.

I used to enjoy having her sleep on the bed too (the cat, not the girlfriend, the gf is allowed in the bed), but she has now been banished from the bedroom because of my excema.

If the cat was to disappear, I wouldn't be gutted as I like her just enough to not go the BBC method (Brick, Bag, Canal).

secretsam

estampida wrote:

house cat or outdoors?

not a fan of house cats, they need to be outside

if they stay inside you need 2 or they start to go crazy with boredom

outside, get a small wooden box (old rabbit hutch) and stick some straw in it so there is somewhere to go if its raining and the like - ( I come from north scotland so shielding from weather was important, if it's not happy in there stick it in and block the entrance with a brick give it an hour or so until it figures out there is no risk.

how many animals have 2 homes.......

Would be allowed out, we have a garden and there are no busy roads nearby. I adore cats...but am concerned about practicalities; would have to be short haired as long hair makes me sneeze and I'm not clearing up after it!

Kieran_Burns

I'm going to get a cat when I move house but I'm going for a Maine Coon (or 2!): the kittens are generally £450 each - a rescue cat is generally less than a £100 (to pay for the upkeep while it is with them)

Oh, and for God's sake get insurance. Don't begrudge a penny of it as you NEVER want to make the decision to have the cat put to sleep because you can't afford the bills.

When you go looking take your time (and if you go to a rescue centre, get to them early on the day when the new arrivals are shown), don't just pick a 'maybe'. We (ex and me) struck gold with Mork: the most affectionate and mental cat you would ever want to meet - played around like mad, but instantly settled in my arms when I picked him up. At least 1/2 a dozen other people wanted him before they could put the tag up showing he was taken

Oh, and Maine Coon:

EKE_38BPM

SecretSam wrote:

...would have to be short haired as long hair makes me sneeze and I'm not clearing up after it!

Definitely get a short haired cat. Beanie (gf's cat) has a double coat. Grrrr!
If long hair (all long hair or just cat long hair?) makes you sneeze with what I assume is relatively short term exposure, what will ~20 years with a cat do to you? I have had to get a topical cream and a steroid cream from my GP because of Beanie and often take antihistamines if my skin feels dodgy. The more I think about it, the close I get to the aforementioned BBC method.
Don't tell the missus!

greg66_tri_v2.0

SecretSam wrote:

estampida wrote:

house cat or outdoors?

not a fan of house cats, they need to be outside

if they stay inside you need 2 or they start to go crazy with boredom

outside, get a small wooden box (old rabbit hutch) and stick some straw in it so there is somewhere to go if its raining and the like - ( I come from north scotland so shielding from weather was important, if it's not happy in there stick it in and block the entrance with a brick give it an hour or so until it figures out there is no risk.

how many animals have 2 homes.......

Would be allowed out, we have a garden and there are no busy roads nearby. I adore cats...but am concerned about practicalities; would have to be short haired as long hair makes me sneeze and I'm not clearing up after it!

A rescue cat is likely to have been brought up as an outdoor cat. If you get a kitten you can keep it indoors for the first few months and it will be less likely to stray far outside. All the stuff about cats needing to be outside is bobbins. When it's cold ours (which is a mostly indoor cat) can't wait to get in, and when it's raining he has no interest in going out.

As for sneezing, it's not the hair length. It's the dander (skin flecks), and more specifically a protein found in the cat's skin. Some breeds produce less dander than others: oddly the long haired forest cats (Siberians, Norwegian Forest Cats and Maine Coons) seem generally to have lower dander levels than other breeds.

When we got our Maine Coon, Mrs 66 had a mild nasal allergy (she is badly allergic to animals), 66 major had a mild throat allergy and 66 minor had a contact allergy (I was fine, and I wanted the cat, so that's what we got). Within three weeks their allergies had all subsided to nothing. The kids now happily rub their faces in the cat's fur.

A covered litter tray with a clumping litter is the way forward.

greg66_tri_v2.0

More Maine Coons


(that's a regular sized red wine bottle)

tgotb

mudcow007 wrote:

i got 2 kittens from the rspca for £60 each this included all vaccinations (these need doing yearly!) and were snipped too
.
.
.
id recommend insuring any pets you get, for about £3 per month you dont have to worry about a mahoosive pet bill

Except that if the bill's more than £60, it's cheaper just to get a new cat. Even if you have to replace your cat every second year, it still works out cheaper than paying the insurance (and you'll always have a recent model...)

byke68

Go for it. We've got 2 cats, one which we rescued from misery, the other was a kitten and is a pain in the backside but every cat is different. If you get a resue cat, keep it indoors for about a couple of weeks so that it gets used to it's new home and all the smells and sounds and to get to know you. Buy a litter tray and a scratching post. For value, buy the huge bags of cat litter from pets shops rather than the smaller expensive stuff from supermarkets, last's for ages.

EKE_38BPM

TGOTB wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

i got 2 kittens from the rspca for £60 each this included all vaccinations (these need doing yearly!) and were snipped too
.
.
.
id recommend insuring any pets you get, for about £3 per month you dont have to worry about a mahoosive pet bill

Except that if the bill's more than £60, it's cheaper just to get a new cat. Even if you have to replace your cat every second year, it still works out cheaper than paying the insurance (and you'll always have a recent model...)

I like this a lot!

rick_chasey

Greg66 wrote:

A rescue cat is likely to have been brought up as an outdoor cat. If you get a kitten you can keep it indoors for the first few months and it will be less likely to stray far outside. All the stuff about cats needing to be outside is bobbins. When it's cold ours (which is a mostly indoor cat) can't wait to get in, and when it's raining he has no interest in going out.

.

I give the advice that they need the outdoors not for the cat's sake but for the owners.

Who wants a cat who p!sses and sh!ts indoors? Even if it is in one of those skank trays.

I can live with it when they're kittens, but I get them doing it outside ASAP.

Ben6899

She's holding that cat like she just hooked it and dragged it out of the local fishing lake!

Cats don't need to be outdoors. Ours is mainly indoors and, like Greg66's cat, is simply not interested in the garden if there's the slightest hint of cold or wet weather.

PBo

Greg66 wrote:

More Maine Coons


(that's a regular sized red wine bottle)

That's not a cat, it's an effing tiger!

rick_chasey

Ben6899 wrote:

She's holding that cat like she just hooked it and dragged it out of the local fishing lake!

Cats don't need to be outdoors. Ours is mainly indoors and, like Greg66's cat, is simply not interested in the garden if there's the slightest hint of cold or wet weather.

Your cats needs to MTFU!

greg66_tri_v2.0

Rick Chasey wrote:

Who wants a cat who p!sses and sh!ts indoors? Even if it is in one of those skank trays.

Covered litter tray, dude. It's like one of those boxes that you take the cat to the vet in, except with a swing door. And World's Best Cat Litter is very effective at killing odour. Hell, I might even try it out one day.

Ben6899

Rick Chasey wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

She's holding that cat like she just hooked it and dragged it out of the local fishing lake!

Cats don't need to be outdoors. Ours is mainly indoors and, like Greg66's cat, is simply not interested in the garden if there's the slightest hint of cold or wet weather.

Your cats needs to MTFU!

notsoblue

Cats are awesome.

That is all.

rick_chasey

Greg66 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Who wants a cat who p!sses and sh!ts indoors? Even if it is in one of those skank trays.

Covered litter tray, dude. It's like one of those boxes that you take the cat to the vet in, except with a swing door. And World's Best Cat Litter is very effective at killing odour. Hell, I might even try it out one day.

Filth.

Cats do their business outside, and bury it somewhere nice.

Anything else is wrong. Wrong I tell you!

graeme_s-2

We have a cat. She was a kitten from cat's protection league, and I think we paid (sorry - donated) £40-£60 for her, which included microchip, voucher to get her spayed, and she'd had her first round of injections.

One thing to keep in mind, is you do not buy a cat. You invite one into your home for a settling in period, and after a while the cat decides whether or not it wishes to continue living with you.

Running costs are pretty low (food is inexpensive, 1 trip to the vets a year all being well), and they provide endless companionship and entertainment. We had a long haired cat when I was a kid and I always hated having fur everywhere, so we went for a short haired this time, and it's definitely better.

This is Poppy when she was a kitten and had just discovered that she could get onto the bed from behind the head of the bed

rick_chasey

Time for some lolcatz...no?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Rick Chasey wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Who wants a cat who p!sses and sh!ts indoors? Even if it is in one of those skank trays.

Covered litter tray, dude. It's like one of those boxes that you take the cat to the vet in, except with a swing door. And World's Best Cat Litter is very effective at killing odour. Hell, I might even try it out one day.

Filth.

Cats do their business outside, and bury it somewhere nice.

Anything else is wrong. Wrong I tell you!

You're gonna love changing nappies. After you've done a few score of those, cleaning the cat litter is a breeze.

rick_chasey

Greg66 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Who wants a cat who p!sses and sh!ts indoors? Even if it is in one of those skank trays.

Covered litter tray, dude. It's like one of those boxes that you take the cat to the vet in, except with a swing door. And World's Best Cat Litter is very effective at killing odour. Hell, I might even try it out one day.

Filth.

Cats do their business outside, and bury it somewhere nice.

Anything else is wrong. Wrong I tell you!

You're gonna love changing nappies. After you've done a few score of those, cleaning the cat litter is a breeze.

Pfft. a) the product of my own loins gets different treatment and b) doesn't cat sh!t have stuff in that kills you? That's right, I saw trainspotting!

mickbrown

Rick Chasey wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

Cat wee-wee stinks. Really stinks. You should be aware of that.

If your cat is p!ssing indoors it's not going very well.

I wouldn't dream of having a cat. Or a dog. In fact if it can't wipe its own arse it's not allowed in my house