OT: Getting a cat

First.Aspect

Allow outdoors - yes
Insurance - definitely, should be about £5 a month
Scratching post - yes, but as far as a cat is concerned, the term "scratching post" is very broad and includes carpet, curtains, you, furniture, fences, trees
Litter tray - only for the night before you are going on holiday and need to keep him/her/them in. Indoors is for sleeping and eating.
House training - no need. Mum does that.
Unexpected garden fertilizer - nope, they WILL use the neighbour's
Alarm clock - no need
Plasters and disinfectant - stroke me stroke me stroke me, kill hand.
Bird table - dinner
Mice, voles, shrews, rats - possibly. Possibly dismembered.
Vomit - frequently, for no good reason. May contain traces of rodent.

greg66_tri_v2.0

First Aspect wrote:

Allow outdoors - yes
Insurance - definitely, should be about £5 a month
Scratching post - yes, but as far as a cat is concerned, the term "scratching post" is very broad and includes carpet, curtains, you, furniture, fences, trees
Litter tray - only for the night before you are going on holiday and need to keep him/her/them in. Indoors is for sleeping and eating.
House training - no need. Mum does that.
Unexpected garden fertilizer - nope, they WILL use the neighbour's
Alarm clock - no need
Plasters and disinfectant - stroke me stroke me stroke me, kill hand.
Bird table - dinner
Mice, voles, shrews, rats - possibly. Possibly dismembered.
Vomit - frequently, for no good reason. May contain traces of rodent.

It's because they bolt their food too quickly.

Simon's Cat vids are mandatory viewing.

dunnnooo

First Aspect wrote:

Allow outdoors - yes
Insurance - definitely, should be about £5 a month
Scratching post - yes, but as far as a cat is concerned, the term "scratching post" is very broad and includes carpet, curtains, you, furniture, fences, trees
Litter tray - only for the night before you are going on holiday and need to keep him/her/them in. Indoors is for sleeping and eating.
House training - no need. Mum does that.
Unexpected garden fertilizer - nope, they WILL use the neighbour's
Alarm clock - no need
Plasters and disinfectant - stroke me stroke me stroke me, kill hand.
Bird table - dinner
Mice, voles, shrews, rats - possibly. Possibly dismembered.
Vomit - frequently, for no good reason. May contain traces of rodent.

So, so, true.

fossyant

Oh yes. 4 legged furry Veloceraptors.

If they want to get away, like tablet or flee drop time, they will. I remember getting out the drops with just my boxers on - just before bed, I missed the cat (you get one shot as they can smell the stuff as soon as the dropper is opened), and she jumped onto my bear back with the claws in. I had to get the missus to come and remove the cat from my back - oh that hurt.

gbsahne001

First Aspect wrote:

Allow outdoors - yes
Insurance - definitely, should be about £5 a month
Scratching post - yes, but as far as a cat is concerned, the term "scratching post" is very broad and includes carpet, curtains, you, furniture, fences, trees
Litter tray - only for the night before you are going on holiday and need to keep him/her/them in. Indoors is for sleeping and eating.
House training - no need. Mum does that.
Unexpected garden fertilizer - nope, they WILL use the neighbour's
Alarm clock - no need
Plasters and disinfectant - stroke me stroke me stroke me, kill hand.
Bird table - dinner
Mice, voles, shrews, rats - possibly. Possibly dismembered.
Vomit - frequently, for no good reason. May contain traces of rodent.

Spot on, although I would add

Water bowl - prefer to use toilet, suck the tap, dirty puddles etc. as last resort will use the water bowl

rolf_f

Can never see the point myself! Unless maybe to use as a sort of self cleaning bike mop.

londonlivvy

My boyf has a cat and since moving in with him (over a year ago - so please don't say cats will grow on me), I've therefore had to cohabit with it. Frankly, I do not get the point. Dogs rule. Cats are aloof, aggressive (whoever wrote the stroke me, stroke me, I KILL YOU bit above was absolutely on the money), put fluff everywhere, eat everything that's not immediately covered and put away in a plastic box in a cupboard, kill birds and put poo in other people's gardens. Oh yes and shout from 530 am for their breakfast. Sigh. Oh and when you go on holiday you have to pay a fortune to get someone to come and feed it (£115 for A WEEK???).

Occasionally they will sit on your lap and look semi-cute, I grant you. But is that worth the trade off of all the rest? Nope.

Ben6899

thegibdog wrote:

Re the outdoors thing, I don't always want to go outside when it's cold and rainy, doesn't mean I want to be stuck indoors all the time though. We got ours as a 3-4 month old, he was always staring out of the window and trying to get out of the door until we had him neutered and chipped so we could let him out. He even tried getting out of a first floor window once! He became a lot calmer once he could go outside and have a run around.

Yes. Ours is allowed outside, but if the weather isn't great she'll just look at you as if to say: "there really is no need in letting me out this morning. Chill out, have a coffee, I'm quite happy sat here making sure no mice magically appear from behind the skirting board."

greg66_tri_v2.0

londonlivvy wrote:

Cats are aloof, aggressive (whoever wrote the stroke me, stroke me, I KILL YOU bit above was absolutely on the money),

I don't think cats see people as people. They see them as odd shaped cats. So they play with people just as they play with other cats. And that involves a bit of play fighting when it takes their fancy.

The best solutions I've found are (a) endure the scratching and rabbit kicks long enough to roll the cat onto its back, then go for the stomach. They recognise this as a win for you you and will twist away and scarper PDQ; (b) if you can, give them a light bite on the scruff of the neck. It's what their mother would have done when they misbehaved. Works, too.

rick_chasey

MonkeyMonster

Greg66 wrote:

londonlivvy wrote:

Cats are aloof, aggressive (whoever wrote the stroke me, stroke me, I KILL YOU bit above was absolutely on the money),

I don't think cats see people as people. They see them as odd shaped cats. So they play with people just as they play with other cats. And that involves a bit of play fighting when it takes their fancy.

The best solutions I've found are (a) endure the scratching and rabbit kicks long enough to roll the cat onto its back, then go for the stomach. They recognise this as a win for you you and will twist away and scarper PDQ; (b) if you can, give them a light bite on the scruff of the neck. It's what their mother would have done when they misbehaved. Works, too.

Same kinda tihng works for dogs - if you yip when they are playing rough or have clamped your wrist while playing it will stop them. Never would have thought on their back is a loss - because all it does it bring all four claws into play rather than just 2... if you can dominate then yes but otherwise that could be painful for you.

Or grow catnip in the garden - its a form of mint and watching a cat high on that stuff is hilarious.

jonny_trousers

Jumping in late on this one so will just say, DO IT!

There's a Skando saying that goes, a house is not a home without a cat, and I couldn't agree more.

The good thing about going for an adult rescue cat is that you will have an idea of its temperament before you commit. With kittens it's luck.

+1 to pet insurance, but like any insurance, they'll screw you over in the end. Made one smallish claim for my cat and my monthly premiums are now £26.00. Daren't risk cancelling it now, though, given her age.

greg66_tri_v2.0

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Never would have thought on their back is a loss - because all it does it bring all four claws into play rather than just 2... if you can dominate then yes but otherwise that could be painful for you.

Trust me: they will run away before they hurt you too much. That's not to say that they won't get some hits in, but they think that when they're on their back and you have the stomach, you could disembowel them, whereas all they can do is attack a limb. They know they've lost.

Kieran_Burns

Greg66 wrote:

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Never would have thought on their back is a loss - because all it does it bring all four claws into play rather than just 2... if you can dominate then yes but otherwise that could be painful for you.

Trust me: they will run away before they hurt you too much. That's not to say that they won't get some hits in, but they think that when they're on their back and you have the stomach, you could disembowel them, whereas all they can do is attack a limb. They know they've lost.

When we first got Mork and he got overly boisterous / aggressive / hissy. I simply held him down until he stopped. Nothing harsh, just showed I was boss. I became the alpha-cat after that and if I said No, it meant No.

secretsam

Does picking them up by the scruff of the neck (like their mothers do when they are kittens) work as a disciplinary tool?

graeme_s-2

londonlivvy wrote:

Dogs rule. Cats are aloof.

See this is one of my favourite things about cats. There's a degree of honesty there that I don't feel you get with a dog. Cats don't suck up to you, they just see it as their god given right to have their every whim catered for by you. It makes it feel extra nice when you come home and they come down to see you, or they curl up on your lap or whatever.

Kieran_Burns

Dogs are pets, cats are companions

Ben6899

My 2penneth: dogs and cats are equal.

notsoblue

Careful if it gets stuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwrl6bWfvrc

leedsmjh

SecretSam wrote:

Does picking them up by the scruff of the neck (like their mothers do when they are kittens) work as a disciplinary tool?

Not really - that's just a transport mechanism for a cat. A loud clap and firm "no" can work, as can a water pistol if you manage to have one on hand when the cat transgresses. Mind you, my cats are poorly disciplined as our beaten up rugs and sofa attest.

Mr Sworld

Agent57

We have two cats, which just cost about £100 to have their annual injections and a worming tablet.

The only problems we've had with ours were a case of fleas a few years ago (I'm more on the ball with the anti-flea treatments now...), and at this time of year there's a lot of hair around the place as they lose their winter coat.

One of ours is good at catching rodents and birds, so she brings home presents sometimes. Normally they don't make it into the house, but once or twice they have done. One time I was chasing a shrew or something around the kitchen trying to catch it so I could put it outside again. That was a merry dance.

Oh, and the occasional hairball/puke.

"Dogs are pets, cats are companions" is wrong, I think. Dogs are companions, cats are guests.

Dogs > cats.

EKE_38BPM

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

veronese68

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

I suspected your post would be worthwhile.
We have 2 cats, they're rubbish. Anybody want them? I'll deliver them at no charge, on the condition nobody tells the wife and kids.

jzed

Missus wants a cat. I'm getting two beagles, that way there'll be no cats. Have to get them soon before the missus sees another pointless hangbag dog, or fluffy thing. Unless it fetches a stick, likes to chase a tennis ball, or play with a football, not interested.

rjsterry

JZed wrote:

Missus wants a cat. I'm getting two beagles, that way there'll be no cats. Have to get them soon before the missus sees another pointless hangbag dog, or fluffy thing. Unless it fetches a stick, likes to chase a tennis ball, or play with a football, not interested.

Substitute small rodent/bird for stick, tennis ball and football and you're on to a winner.

k1875

At one point, we had 8 cats in the household. I'm not some crazy hermit, myself & my brother both moved back in with my folks, each bringing our 2 cats. Along with their 4 that made 8.

Unfortunately, we had to have Mr Cat (for 'twas his name) put down a couple of months ago and I've been trying to resist the temptation to get another to keep Mrs Cat (for 'tis her name) company ever since. This thread's not helped. Anyhoo, here are some things I know about cats...

The thing about them turning on their back is dead right. The trick is to let them dig their claws & teeth in, BUT DO NOT TENSE OR TRY TO WITHDRAW YOUR HAND. If you do this the pain is not severe at all and they soon realise they're defeated and give up.

Get Insurance. We shelled out over £1100 for an operation for Mr Cat which in the end only bought us an extra few weeks. I'm not sorry we paid it, but i'd rather some insurance company had.

Your cat only trusts you if it allows you to stroke the soles of it's paws for as long as you please.

Wood based litter is best for odour control, but does need hoovered up daily, as mentioned before.

Get your cat from a cat shelter / rescue / cat & dog home. They benefit by recovering some of the cost of taking them in, you benefit from the fact that they'll likely have been fed on a take ot or leave it basis, so they won't be a fussy eater. And it's just the right thing to do,OK ?

People will buy you random cat themed rubbish as birthday / xmas gifts on the mistaken assumption that since you like cats, you must like random cat themed ****.

They're miles more fun if you don't try to teach them to behave. Ours get trained well enough to know not to jump onto any work surfaces in the kitchen and no more.

And here is a picture of Mr Cat. I miss him like a lung.

Twostage

<--- Daughter's cat. Got bitten by a flea yesterday after finding one on this cat. He's sociable and can sleep for 20 hours at a time. The other daughters cat won't countenance any kind of human contact from anyone but her (the daughter) unless she's hungry.
Like others, miss my cat.

roger_merriman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4&feature=BFa&list=FLoC_-fOwbjvZOJd6C9yz48g

My wife has had cats most of her life, and we've carried on with them, does depend on the cat, how friendly etc they are.

we have a cat that was found in a box as a very young kitten, is a young very fluffy beast, that is a placid peal and stick cat.

i've used him to clean cobwebs before now he's very good natured though possibly also rather stupid!

gbsahne001

Had to play chase the rodent around the lounge last night, with Mrs GB cowering under a cushion; the cat was her idea but it's my fault that she's bringing in rodents.