[Closed] I'm wanting to get a cat for the kids...............................

no it will crap everywhere. plus you'll have to look after it.

<joking>

Seems like a fair swap to me.

</joking>

Try the Cats Protection League.

do you live near a road?

do you like birds?

do you like your furniture, furnishings?

do you like the smell of cat shit/piss?

if its a Tom and you don't have it decommissioned then its likely to leave to go live on a farm eventually.

if its a female and you don't get it spayed then your gonna have every tom in a 15m radius in your garden followed by a pregnant cat.

ah what the hell get one! 😀

Cats are excellent - much easier to live with than dogs. If you live near a busy road though you might want to think again - their traffic sense can be poor.

As for being adopted by a cat - try the Blue Cross - we've had a couple from them and they seem genuinely caring, rather that seeing animal protection as an excuse to dress up in uniforms and get themselves on telly.

Any cat you get will need to learn to fit in with the household - that's not normally too difficult ( things like not being allowed on beds and that sort of thing ). As for litter training, that's normally pretty easy too - just get a good book on cats and follow the advice.

Any rescue cat should already have been neutered/spayed before it is re-homed. All you have to do is play prison warder for the first couple of weeks ( keeping the cat inside the house ) then, as long as it's old enough to go out, make sure it's hungry and open the door - it'll have a good look around, and be back in to eat/find a nice warm place to sleep.

Got a kitten 3 weeks ago. It house-trained quite quickly once I changed the kitty-litter to a gravelly stuff rather than the small wooden chips I bought originally. Since then it's got braver every day.

Disadvantage. It's a kitten. It'll probably be sick occasionally. It'll decide that the best place to have a runny turd is on a cushion in the corner of the room rather than the litter tray next to it. It'll then sit in this turd. And then it'll scratch you when you put it in the sink to wash it off. I had an exciting Sunday morning.

We got ours from a small ad in the local farming supplies shop. Suggest avoiding Cat's Protection etc, they generally insist you take two and you have to arrange home visits etc first. Waste of time.

Cats are ace, but they don't rely on you (as per a dog), so if you [or the kids] annoy it, it will either ignore you or move out... great pets when you realise they have chosen to stay with you, not the other way round (unless you don't allow it out). Wouldn't say they were the best of pets for small children, as they won't stand for being pushed and pulled around like a dog would, but then you don't have to walk a cat twice (at least) a day or pick up it's poo (as it in the neighbours gardens...)

As mentioned get one that's been spayed (I'd say exactly the same thing for dogs), they will 'probably' eat the local population of birds & small squeaky things, but not always. They probably will **** in your neighbours gardens.

We have three, two pretend to try killing stuff and one is a killer.
They're great, I love our three (we have a fantastic dog too) and our office cat (semi feral psycho killer, who knows he's onto a good thing living part time in a warm office) but my families always had cats around.

I love our cats, they have quite different personalities.
IME, females let you fuss them a bit more, which can be nice.
Be warned though, they can be excellent small animal killers - there can't be many shrews left near where we live & it's horrible if they don't kill them off & you have to, the shreaking noise rabbits make is awful!

Just make sure whatever you get is already house-trained and hasn't been removed from the litter too soon. Apart from that, just follow what the guys said above

I'm looking for four identical cats, five if possible then i'll have one for the spare wheel as well 😉

I loves my cat...

[img] [/img]

[IMG] [/IMG]

Go to the local cats protection league, they'll tell you all you need to know... If you are a first time owner I advise not to get a semi-feral kitten, they can be quite hard work.

Kev

yeh a cat wont stand for being 'for the kids'. cats are for themselves and wont put up with being bothered. we got a beautiful cat from the cat protection people and she is absolutely brilliant. very loving she is, but you might get one that has no interest in hoomans and just skulks around, its luck of the draw. she goes outside and i worry about her but she always comes back.

she doesnt look like this anymore
[img] [/img]

"I'm wanting to get a cat for the kids"
Why?

Don't get me wrong, I have 4, but if it's because you've got young kids who are pestering for one then best not. Can you trust them not to grow out of it, get bored, tease it etc? If you're happy to take over at that point then fine but once you take one on it's a commitment for many years.
Cats can live to 20.
Cats cost money.
Food.
Litter.
Playthings, scratch posts, platform frames, carrier, endless list of stuff you need.
Vets bills - don't underestimate this. You may get a cat that never gives you any problems, or they can cost many many hundreds. Insurance is a must.

If you get one then get it from a local animal charity & be guided by their advice. If you have no other pets and want a kitten then any decent charity doing it's job will insist you take 2. One on it's own will get bored sensless and take it out on your furnishings. Older cats may be fine on their own but be guided by what the charity say.
An outdoor cat is a no no if you live near a busy road.

Are you prepared to deal with the offerings they might bring back - will that upset your kids? Headless mice, birds etc. Or live ones (just) that need mercy killing...
Geting back home to find a pile of feathers and a couple of unrecogniseable organs on your carpet - nice.

Having said all that, they can be great companions.
Males tend to be larger & more chilled out.
Females tend to be bossier & more independant.

Good luck.

Keva: Ocicat? ..... looks lovely!

I would deifitenly NOT got to the Cats protection league. Form my experience they will not let you have one! We went through this after our old mog died of old age, and wanted a kitten so our daughters ( about 2-3 years old then ) could have a nice kitten. Also was trying to balance pro's and con's of a particular breed of cat v's your good ol' mog. Rang Cat Protection League, all going swimmingly, must have an inspection of your house - yes ok, blah blah.... then I said we wanted a kitten for our daughtes.
" Children?? no absolutely not!!! they might harm it...."
I explained both me and wife have been brought up with cats, but they were having none of it. I was really offended! Rang RSPCA who were a lot more laid back but had infections in their premises. In the end, went for the pedigree as they were handled from birth, lovely affectionate, wonderful, and Gran and Grandad paid for the kitten as an early Xmas pressie!
I have since shown my cat and related the story about cats protection League - no one is surprised, it seems to be a well known reaction.
Their intense wish to get the best home for the kitten will not allow them to trust a home with children, which I find really sad.......
but I love my cat!
cheers
Q

I'm wanting to get a cat for the kids

Thats not a bad swap 😉

Well i have a cat, a black and white one,so politacally correct there,shes house trained and affectionate, uses a cat litter tray and the garden.

Now are your kids as equal for a swop.

OK I have taken on board all of the above comments and I think I will go with the singletrack massive, No go.

Also forgot to say Mrs R has put her foot down and said NO too, it's either me or the cat!!!!!

Thanks for all your help.

Christokid... Snow leopard Bengal with a bit of a moggie face 🙂

they do not seem to keen on cats when my killers come looking at them rochy when your round for coffee

is it a good idea or not.

If the kids are very young, it's only a good idea to get a cat (or any pet) if [u]you[/u] also want one.

Once you take on a pet, it is your responsibility to look after it for the rest of it's life. Obviously young children can't do that, you will have to do it. But if you didn't really want the pet in the first place, then it's unlikely that you will do a proper job of it.

Cats make great pets, but if you don't really want one, then don't bother getting one - neither you nor the cat will be happy.

Just to comment on having a cat near a busy road, this is not totally impossible. I live right on a busy main road, and have two cats that are free to leave the house at any time.
Ok so there's a big garden backing on to the Mersey valley, so they have all the space they need to roam. The fact is that they just do not go out onto the road, it's like an edge to their universe. They won't even let you carry them out of the driveway without all sorts of flailing and whining. I think it's good advice in general, but as long as they have space to explore without having to cross such a road they should be ok.

Keva: Ahhhh....yes of course! once had one in the next show pen, spent all it's time trying to dig through the bars to get at my Oci. - who for once was looking a tad nervous! I can't show now, but until recently was always with a lady from N.Devon who had a beautiful classic Bengal and was desperately trying to get it to be the first Bengal that reached Grand Champion. He was totally laid back, just as well cos he was a solid and very large cat. They seem to be either totally laid back or quite a handful.

The comments about cats and roads are a bit close to home at present. My first pedigree got killed right opposite my house, and this Easter gone my
next cat got clipped, and now sadly has lost it's front leg. He's absolutely fine, now etting around hunting etc etc.... but such a shame.
This is a quiet lane on the edge of a village. It doesn't have to be a 'busy main road'.
Q

[img] [/img]

how old are the kids.

if they are young young, the cat will decide on how well they get on.

some cats are fine with being manhandled, and if they start to get hurt, they will let you know about it!
some cats havent got time for it, and will "go out"

weve got 2, and they are perfectly happy with each others company, very occasionally, Del comes in and is happy to sit and be fussed, but its very much on her terms.
i wouldnt change her though 🙂 shes just "aloof"

i guess what i mean is, its a bit of a risk, unlike a dogs, which are thick and will play with anything that moves.

would you mind if one of your kids got swiped/clawed for pulling its tail?

if your the type of person who would say "your own stupid fault" to your kid, rather than have a go at that cat, go for it!

I would only get a cat from the rspca or another rescue place as there's already too many of them about killing off the wildlife. They will neuter/spay them and check their health. I think you probably just need to give a donation. I'd also only get a female as males tend to bugger off and are therefore more likely to get run over.

Would be careful about getting any pets for kids if they're likely to pester the poor creature all the time.

we have 2 moggies, a female that my wife has had from a kitten and a male that we got from the RSPCA about 3 years later. Initially he bullied her a bit (despite moving into 'her' territory) but now they get on reasonably well. If you accidentally leave food on the side she jumps up to get it and then pulls it down for them to share (he's too old and fat to do much climbing now)

But the big difference between the two is that she has been handled since kittenhood and I suspecvt he wasn't much before being offered up for rehoming, and consequently she is far happier to be handled still, whereas he still can lash out if you over fuss around him. For that reason, if you have young kids a kitten or at least family friendly one is important.

What about a rabbit - can be house trained too?

I have a wild garden that was once full of birds...

until next door got cats.

All the nest boxes are now empty and food is never taken from the bird table.

Oh and the garden is covered in catshit for my children to play in.

I am quite happy with rats, squirrels and mice but I consider cats as vermin.

EDIT - so if you like wildlife don't get a cat!!!!

Or if your neighbours like wildlife or gardening, don't get a cat, unless you want some very pissed off neighbours.

IMO cat owners are frequently a bit like the part-time smokers you used to get in pubs - they'd have a couple of drags, but most of the time it'd be smouldering on the table next to you stinking the place out til they got bored/desparate enough to take another drag.

Ditto re cats - often people that won't commit to the effort, say, of a dog, but are still want something fluffy around for their occasional convenience/satisfaction. Meanwhile the local wildlife suffers.
A mate got another cat at his missus' insistence (now she wants a bloody dog too..) - some months back the frigging thing was bringing in stag beetles during the one time of the year they're wandering around..daft twunt seemed to think he couldn't keep the cat in for a couple of weeks.

I've found the odd bundle of feathers ripped out of something in the last few years - at least one of the little ****ers near us has taken out relatively large things like jays/magpies/pigeons - probably 'cos they take longer to get off the ground. The bird feeders we've got are elevated and generally where there's good visibility, or in a cage on the ground for smaller birds, but the larger birds still wander off browsing the lawn towards the borders, where the cat thoroughfare appears to be.
Magpies and pigeons are two a penny round here, but jays we see a little less frequently, and we've always got at least a pair of collar doves resident nearby - I'd be *particularly* pissed off the the cat got 'em.

Oh, and one of furry shit machines has now taken to spraying up my freshly painted side gate...p'raps I ought to wire it up to the mains..

FWIW, fox shit's more of a nuisance in our garden, but that's probably 'cos I don't dig/hoe it over very often

I actually quite like cats, but I couldn't eat a whole one.

Get a Bengal, they are nuts. Ours attacks the two 16 stone mastiffs, which really pisses them off and gets played with by the kids and doesn't bat an eyelid. Cost a few quid mind. If you go for a pet, £4-500, a breeding cat £800-1200 and a show breeder £1200 and up.
They love water and are happy to be pushed and pulled around. Oh and they look absolutely stunning, everyone who visits will want one.

wont feed them for very long, plus think how long it will take to skin?

aye, bit chewy too. 😉