Thinking of getting a cat...

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  • JJ75JJ75 Posts: 1,954
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    Jair_Sharp wrote: »
    i would like to add also they do poop yes and if they did they bury it secondly it fertilizes the garden so its all good it means you don't add to the landfeild by chucking loads of cat litter away :cool:

    Not good for gardeners, the amount of times my dad's hand has been covered in cat shite :eek: He still likes cats though, just wishes they wouldent bury it!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,864
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    Function wrote: »
    Firstly I'm no troll and secondly, your above statement, I do not believe.

    My two come in to poo - we're currently living on a new housing development where there's nowhere to scratch and dig outside and they will not take a dump on grass alone. Where we lived before though was slightly more rural and there were plenty of flower beds, veg patches etc to poo in. Happy days! We're all off to Saudi soon though, so it'll be interesting to see how they react to that funny hard grass there and a walled garden,
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 508
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    Jair_Sharp wrote: »
    i would like to add also they do poop yes and if they did they bury it secondly it fertilizes the garden so its all good it means you don't add to the landfeild by chucking loads of cat litter away :cool:

    mine go in next doors garden so i dont hav to bother pickin ewt up :eek:
  • SambdaSambda Posts: 6,185
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    JimothyD wrote: »
    Its like this, see. I've always liked cats, I think they're fantastic creatures and I think they're nice to have around the house. My missus is a fan and wants one.

    The thing is, we bought and renovated our house over the past two years. Everything is brand new and I am very house proud.

    To all you cat owners, how are they in respecting your home? Our carpet is pristine and would hate to see bits that have worn away because a cat has been clawing at it.

    I expect we'll get a cat at some point in the future and it would be nice to have one now, but if I'm overly concerned about maintaining quality for my flooring and furniture for a couple more years, do you think we should postpone?

    Cats vary in how much destruction/mess they make, and you can't tell beforehand how much trouble a certain cat will be. If you're lucky, you'll get a cat who makes practically no mess. However, it's like having a kid - you've got to cost in the odd accident as these will happen, even if it's just from time to time.

    If you want some vague statistics.... we had three cats, and lets say they each lived for 10 years. During that time:

    Clawing. One cat clawed stuff, the others didn't. The cat that clawed had to be kept out of the rooms where she did it. She only did it in very specific places - something to do with the texture of the item - she liked rough, sack-like material to claw. But very destructive if you let her do it. We didn't bother to try to train her; just kept her out of (or at least supervised in) the rooms in question.

    Crapping/weeing indoors. Only one cat, and only once. Although another (unneutered) cat who we adopted as a stray would scent/mark indoors until we got him "done" a couple of weeks later.

    Puking. One cat only did this regularly to puke up fur balls (but with little accompanying liquid). He would do this in the middle of the carpet about once every 2 weeks. We just lived with it. You could often see him start to barf and we would whisk the Radio Times under his mouth! You have to clean up cat puke fairly rapidly otherwise the stomach acid will decolourise the carpet.

    Bringing in half-dead mice/birds etc.: One cat and only once.

    Fur: Only really noticeable as a build up in the places they slept regularly.

    Breakages: None that I remember.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,924
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    My stair carpet is shredded at parts. He sleeps where he likes, whether it is in the bed or on a pile of clean dried washing. Would I change him? Would I hell. Love him to bits.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,864
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    I have two (litter) brothers - one of them only scratches the spare piece of carpet by the patio doors, otherwise he's outside scratching wooden fence posts. The other little shit is constantly hanging of the sofa arms, mocking me until I get up to him then runs off. He also thinks that shredding carpet under the carpet grips will magically open a closed door. Genius.
  • Fletcher_11Fletcher_11 Posts: 63
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    As others have said, it all depends on the cats.

    We've got two, both aged around 14. One we've had for just coming up two and a half years, the other has been with my other half for about 12 years.

    In terms of damage and destruction, we're quite lucky. The newer of the two did like scratching our old leather sofa, but that's no more. The other one does have the odd scratch on a wooden chair in the garden, but that's about it.

    They get fur everywhere, but they're cats, what do you expect?

    As for the mess issues, in our old house they were welcomed next door (they took out the fence panel) so they used to do their stuff in their garden which never merited any complaints. We did have a litter tray for when they were locked in at night, but it was very rarely used.

    We moved last year and have a couple of bits of garden that are a touch unloved, shall we say, and the pair of them happily do their business out there. Again, we put the litter tray down when we first moved but they just didn't use it.

    Case in point came the other week when - due to the wind whistling through it - my girlfriend locked the cat flap one evening and forgot to unlock it. Rather than messing all over the place, our newer cat came and scratched on our door. We thought he wanted food, so fed him, then he came back and was still "creating", so we let him out and he was soon pooing like a good 'un.

    It's all about training and the cat's personality really...
  • big brother 9big brother 9 Posts: 18,152
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    i want a cat also for my kids, the wife though is alergic to fir but only seems to be irratated by long fur, any advice as to which cat to look for that wont irritate her
  • CLA29CLA29 Posts: 410
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    i want a cat also for my kids, the wife though is alergic to fir but only seems to be irratated by long fur, any advice as to which cat to look for that wont irritate her

    My cat was a pure black shorthaired moggy and he didn't shed much fur at all. I had a couple of cat allergic housemates over the years and they were fine with him.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6
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    I think it depends on the cat/kitten. We had one a few years ago and he was no trouble whatsoever, no damage to anything in the house at all. When he died we went and got two kittens, absolute nightmare!

    They tore the couch to shreds (leather) doors, walls, carpets, curtains, bedding, socks, lamp shades, nothing was safe from them at all. Both of them refused to use the scratchy post. They did grow out of it as they got older but the damage was done at that point.
  • lem ramsaylem ramsay Posts: 1,076
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    Function wrote: »
    It's other peoples homes, and in particular their gardens that they struggle to 'respect'. Do me a favour, wherever it is in this mortal land that you live, start a trend and keep the moggy in the house all day every day and let it do it's thing in a cat litter tray that you empty yourself and dispose of yourself, which will allow all the non cat owning neighbours around your way to not find any suprises in their own gardens.

    Thanks in advance from all non cat owners of Britain.

    You can't keep a cat inside all day if you have a garden outside. My bf's cat has been an indoor cat all his life (he was living in a flat before with no outdoor access). We have a tiny garden and he is constantly bawling to go out now it's a bit warm. My bf doesn't let him out because the cat likes to get into other people's gardens and he is afraid he might leave brown surprises in them. I doubt he would as he has been using a litter tray for 18 years so he's used to that by now.
    When he was being let out all the time at first, he would still regularly use his litter tray and never did anything in the garden.
    I am sorry for him as I can see he'd be happier outside but he's not really my cat, so I have to do what my bf wants.
    We do let him out if we can stay outside with him but he tries to jump the fences all the same. Sorry for the OT.

    We shouldn't keep a cat here as the landlord doesn't want pets but we are keeping him because the alternative would be to have him put down and that's a big no for us. Yes, a cat would leave hairs and litter everywhere and scratch (not necessarily destroy stuff). If you want a cat, you have to accept that it's going to cause some mess.
    Our cat likes to scratch the stairs when he wants us to do something and we are sleeping and occasionally throws up or wipes his bum on the carpets after a poo.
  • howard hhoward h Posts: 23,350
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    avasgranny wrote: »
    My stair carpet is shredded at parts. He sleeps where he likes, whether it is in the bed or on a pile of clean dried washing. Would I change him? Would I hell. Love him to bits.

    That's the whole bloody point about letting a cat own you. When you get home from work, full of all the world's worries, all the world's stress and everything, and there's HIM sat at the end of the drive waiting for you to open the door and sort his tea out....
    Wouldn't change a thing.
  • Kaz159Kaz159 Posts: 11,824
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    orangebird wrote: »
    My two come in to poo - we're currently living on a new housing development where there's nowhere to scratch and dig outside and they will not take a dump on grass alone. ,

    Mine comes in to use the litter tray too - she doesn't go outside. She was an indoor cat for the first 2 years of her life (she lived next to a busy road so too dangerous to let her out) so think this may have something to do with it.

    She uses her scratching post most of the time but does like to have a claw on the wallpaper next to the patio doors for some reason.

    She often chucks up, which is the thing I really can't deal with so OH cleans up after her.

    I still wouldn't be without her.
  • WolfsheadishWolfsheadish Posts: 10,400
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    Badcat wrote: »
    do you make your guests take off their shoes and put on clean slippers when they walk on your carpet?) :D

    Actually, yes, I do. Don't you?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,346
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    howard h wrote: »
    That's the whole bloody point about letting a cat own you. When you get home from work, full of all the world's worries, all the world's stress and everything, and there's HIM sat at the end of the drive waiting for you to open the door and sort his tea out....
    Wouldn't change a thing.

    This. Totally. My cat can be a git at times and he's destroyed the stair carpet and some wallpaper, but he's been a great companion. I work from home and he flops himself on my keyboard a few times a day while I work. Granted, it can be annoying at times, but it forces me to take a screen break while giving him some attention.

    He then sleeps on a raised platform to my right. He could sleep anywhere in the house, but he chooses to be by my side. I wouldn't swap him for the world.
  • dee123dee123 Posts: 46,201
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    JimothyD wrote: »
    Its like this, see. I've always liked cats, I think they're fantastic creatures and I think they're nice to have around the house. My missus is a fan and wants one.

    The thing is, we bought and renovated our house over the past two years. Everything is brand new and I am very house proud.

    To all you cat owners, how are they in respecting your home? Our carpet is pristine and would hate to see bits that have worn away because a cat has been clawing at it.

    I expect we'll get a cat at some point in the future and it would be nice to have one now, but if I'm overly concerned about maintaining quality for my flooring and furniture for a couple more years, do you think we should postpone?

    A litter box and a scratching post are a must have. That said a cat is a cat and it if wants to scratch it will.
  • BadcatBadcat Posts: 3,684
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    Actually, yes, I do. Don't you?

    No, I have nice proper floor boards, easy to keep clean and more hygienic than carpets :)
  • O-JO-J Posts: 18,807
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    edited 19/10/20 - 18:23 #44
    Sorry to bump this old thread but i lve been doing some cat research because im considering getting one myself, upon googling something came up about cat scratch disease which is sort of putting me off and many of the articles ive read or reddit posts saying horror stories about it and i suffer from health anxiety too, but cat scratching you is a part of owning a cat isnt it? Im sure billions of people that have owned a cat have been scratched atleast once in their lifetime and if cat scratches were dangerous nobody would own one, anyone here read or know about cat scratch disease? I would really like to get a cat.
  • TerraCanisTerraCanis Posts: 14,099
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    Try this https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/cat-scratch.html

    It's an American link, but the advice holds good. Discourage cats fro biting (one of ours 'chews' fingers when he's hungry) and scratching. Wash any scratches promptly, and keep their flea treatments up to date.

    I've found that most scratches come from their trying to get your attention (meal times again!) rather than aggression.
  • KintsugiKintsugi Posts: 427
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    JimothyD wrote: »
    ITA. All cats are different, I've had cats all my life, all with outdoor access, good tall scratch posts, catnip spray, toys etc. One was fantastic - no damage at all. Another scratched and ripped carpets if she encountered a closed door, one preferred the leather couch for sharpening claws, another the wallpaper on a particular corner.

    Indoor cats tend to be more destructive simply because they're releasing energy by climbing and playing indoors rather than outside. Teenage cats are particularly loopy and it's not unknown for them to run up the curtains! Personally I'd advise anyone who values a pristine house not to get cats. They will barf, they will shed hair and possibly scratch furniture/carpets. Think carefully - if you did have your couch scratched up or your carpets barfed on regularly could you live with it or would you end up rehoming the cat? It would be unfair to take on a cat then later rehome it for doing what cats do.

    I would never re home a cat, I know that even if it wasn't as respectful to our house as I would like, I'd still enjoy having the little fella around.

    I think its too early really. We can always get cats in the future and it will be even better if we do it when we have kids - it'd be fun, inspirational and probably a bit education for kids to have cats around.

    Perhaps a cat ,rather than kitten would be best . Kittens go crazy and break things but slightly slower , adult cats with good cat litter practice maybe better .
    I will say though , that the cats I've known love to scratch things , posts will help but I find a load of random blankets over edges of sofas and in front of closed doors do the trick. It doesn't look the best but its worth it . Dogs can be destructive too though and actually human babies probably are the same ,in terms of destruction.
    You can get great cat toilet trays these days though , with big high backs , like pods.
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