Should we get a kitten?

[Jeff7]

I don't own a cat at the moment, although I'm contemplating getting two. I have owned cats before, however. I have a female friend that has just taken a kitten in recently, also.

1.) The magnitude of the litter aroma is inversely proportional to the frequency of you cleaning it. Scoopable litter and some forethought with regard to the destination trash receptacle makes this matter somewhat trivial on a day to day basis, especially with only 1 cat. Periodic "deep cleans" or "full changes" of litter are advisable. All in all, it isn't a lot of work, IMO. My female friend mentioned above is MUCH more of a neat freak than me, and she isn't bothered by it.

At my parents' house, litter changes were done once a week. Solids got scooped out right away - yes, you can smell it, even if they bury it, perhaps with the exception of really obsessive cats that will completely entomb anything they produce. We didn't use scoopable litter, but I'd think that it would help.

2.) You pull the veterinarian bill slot machine handle every time you get a new pet. Assuming yours isn't unusually unhealthy, you'll have shots, de-worming, and spaying or neutering. I've never had any extraordinary problems with a new pet, but I'd make sure things like dangerous chemicals or fragile items are stored securely or out of reach.

This.
Some have very few health problems. Some might come down with something really nasty, and then you've got the tough choice to make between extraordinary measures, or do your best to provide hospice care. :\

3.) After that, it's just food and litter, and toys if you want. It's a gamble with the toys, too. A lot of cats I've known will turn their noses up to store-bought toys and would rather play with the milk jug bottlecap or the ring that goes around it.

My cats were always perfectly fine with things like a crumpled up piece of paper, or a simple string, or a ping pong ball, or the good old laser pointer. I think that store-bought toys are more for the owner than for the cat.
One of my cats would even go nuts fighting with a knitted rug from time to time. 1, 2, 3.
With the laser, I'd at least give them a treat or something at some point; it might be frustrating playing with intangible technology that's a few million years beyond their level.

...
Cats are certainly not as slavishly obedient as dogs, but you might be surprised how good a relationship you can establish with them if both you and they are more in the middle of the bell curve in temperament (i.e., not extreme.)

Have patience, they adapt over time. You can't summarily order them around, but you can patiently inculcate some boundaries and expectations, like one does with young kids.

Yup. Some of them will at least give serious consideration to coming when called. Others might turn an ear and look in the general direction, then go back to sleep. If they're hungry and the call is coming from the kitchen, then there's a far better chance of the cat becoming mobile, and quickly so. And then there are some that are extremely clingy, and will immediately show up when summoned.


Red Squirrel mentioned barfing. Yes, some cats use this as a form of recreation, or else they believe they must do it 30x a day to keep evil spirits away from the bringers of delicious meat products. Others only do it if they've accumulated a truly epic furball. Some will at least be courteous enough to generate an "I'm gonna barf!" yowl a few times before they start horking. That gives several seconds of warning to quickly whisk the cat off its feet and plop it outside so it can do it out there. Then you've got to quick snatch it back inside before it can bolt off to start eating some grassy puke-fuel.

And on occasion, they may decide that the litterbox is unsuitable, and find an alternative. The frequency of this also varies by the individual cat.

Other: Butt-dragging. You're a fur-covered animal, and you've got no access to hands with opposable digits, nor access to a bidet, and sometimes things get caught coming out. Ooooh, that rug looks like it'll do the job nicely!
And sure, you can stop them.....while you're home, and awake, and in the same room as the cat.


Were it not for some of those various excretory issues, I'd want to get cats again. I've been around them since I was born; "cat" was my first word. They've always been all fuzzy and friendly and nice to have around, but I just don't feel much like cleaning up after them. And this apartment is carpeted everywhere with the exception of the bathroom, so there's a much lower probability of a cat barfing on an easily-cleaned surface.



Outside/inside: Early on, they were permitted outside during the daytime. (Rural area.)
One of them was sufficiently stupid that he would catch and eat shrews, which are slightly venomous. So he'd get a fever and sleep for awhile. I think he had to have that happen three times before he finally got the hint.
Later on, they were kept inside. Too many dealings with ticks, killing small animals, them staying out until after dark, and just the other risks out there for which domestic cats just aren't prepared to face.

 

[Markbnj]

I'd take a cat over three teenage girls any time. I only had two and they made me insane.

Ha, you have a point, sir.

 

[Mloot]

One thing that helps more than I thought it would is a covered litter box, as opposed to an open one. My MIL keeps an open litter box in one room of her apartment, and unless it has been just cleaned, you can always smell it. A covered litter box really helps contain the smell in between cleanings.

 

[BladeVenom]

Get a female kitten to avoid the possibility of spraying.

 

[LurkerPrime]

The best thing I ever did was install a cat door from my house to my garage, and put the litter and cat food in there. It keeps the smell contained to the garage and out of the main parts of my house. Now what I should do, is install another cat door on my large garage door, so that the cats can go inside/outside whenever they want.

Just like other people have said though, cats are assholes. They will piss in your house, they will tear up your carpet/furniture (unless you declaw them). To top that off, they may or may not even be nice to you.

 

[LookBehindYou]

My parents have 4 cats that stay indoors, when they go on vacation I am stuck cleaning litter boxes. Personaly, I think cats are cool pets, but I'd never own one because I absolutely despise having to clean the litter box everyday. It doesn't stink throughout the day or anything, I just absolutely hate picking up clumps of shit and piss out of litter boxes.

If you are in a neighborhood I highly suggest keeping your cat inside becuase it can be downright rude to your neighbors. Our neighbors (2 of them) have cats that stay outside. One isn't a problem but the other comes into our yard all the time and on to our porch all the time and scratches at the screen. This also gets our dogs barking like crazy because they see the cat on the other side of the window. As funny as it is seeing my wife carry the cat over to the neighbors porch all the time, its pretty annoying when you have to keep dealing with your neighbors pet that is left out for others to deal with.

 

[ichy]

If you're heartless, do everyone involved a favor and don't acquire a pet. If you're not, then you will have some expensive vet bills towards the last phase of their lives. Factor this in from the start or get a goldfish and call it a day.

I'm going to get some grief for this but I have to disagree with you there. Shelters are full of unwanted cats who are fucked and are doomed to live out their brief lives in cages followed by euthanasia. Even if you can't or don't want to shell out big money on vet bills you are doing a shelter cat a huge favor by adopting it. Living out say, an eight or ten year life in a proper home is a hell of a lot better than being put down in a shelter even if you can't or won't shell out the money to squeeze a couple more years of life out of the cat when it gets old.

 

[ichy]

First, they have a need to work the coating off their claws from time to time. They do this by shredding your furniture and whatever else they can get to. You can get your cat a scratching post, and likely she'll use it from time to time, but will she use it exclusively? Ours had an awesome scratching post, and she used it very energetically, as long as she happened to be in that room when she felt like scratching the crap out of something. When in other rooms she scratched whatever she damn well felt like scratching, and over the years has ruined a sofa, a loveseat, draperies, carpets, and who knows what else.

I got my cat an awesome scratching post that she never used. I then bought her a cheap cardboard scratcher that she loved and tore to shreds. I bought a couple more and put them all over the house, now I have no issues with the cat scratching my stuff. You've got to put in a bit of effort to figure out what works.

 

[ichy]

Maybe I'm really lucky but I have had almost no litter box issues. I keep the litter box in the basement but even that area doesn't really stink. Good quality clumping cat litter is absolutely worth it. I use Fresh Step Multi Cat and it's always done a great job. It's not the cheapest out there, but I buy it in big-ass 42 pound bags so the cost per month is pretty minimal. My mother uses some hippy organic cat litter for her cats and their box smells disgusting. To hell with "natural" cat litter, go for better living through chemistry.

One other thing that might help with the shit smell is that I feed my cat fairly good quality cat food. A lot of the stuff you find in the supermarket is just garbage that makes cats fat and diabetic. I'm not a nutcase who spends $2.50 per can of cat food, but Trader Joe's has pretty decent stuff for about 65 cents a can. I supplement that with Blue Wilderness dry food. Again, it's not the cheapest stuff out there but a $14 bag will last me several months so I don't fret about it. Some people will think I'm crazy for saying food makes a difference, but if you fed a person nothing but beer, pizza and McDonalds their shit would probably be pretty vile as well.

 

[Markbnj]

I got my cat an awesome scratching post that she never used. I then bought her a cheap cardboard scratcher that she loved and tore to shreds. I bought a couple more and put them all over the house, now I have no issues with the cat scratching my stuff. You've got to put in a bit of effort to figure out what works.

Or get a dog.

 

[ichy]

Or get a dog.

Well if you want a dog then get a dog, but on the whole they are vastly more effort than cats.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Cats are pets. Dog is family IMO.

 

[Linflas]

Or get a dog.

We own dogs and cats and both are equally capable of destructive behavior. Dogs are not immune to doing things to furniture and normally what they do is more immediately damaging than cats scratching on it.

 

[bignateyk]

Kitty litter stinks. And the smell is absorbed into the walls of whatever room you put it in. This is true even if you clean the litter daily. My advice would be to keep the litter in the garage or basement if possible.

Other than that cats are cheap and much more self sufficient than dogs. Maybe $25 a month.

To avoid the kitty litter stink you can just make it an indoor/outdoor cat if you live in a more rural area and you have it fixed.

 

[Broheim]

Cats are pets. Dog is family IMO.

this, although in my opinion cats are just vicious assholes who only tolerate your presence because you bring them food

 

[lxskllr]

I forgot to fill the food bowl last night. The girl won't let that stand for long. She'll get me up in the morning by stomping on me. If that doesn't achieve the desired effect, she walks on my face :^D

 

[Jeff7]

I'm going to get some grief for this but I have to disagree with you there. Shelters are full of unwanted cats who are fucked and are doomed to live out their brief lives in cages followed by euthanasia. Even if you can't or don't want to shell out big money on vet bills you are doing a shelter cat a huge favor by adopting it. Living out say, an eight or ten year life in a proper home is a hell of a lot better than being put down in a shelter even if you can't or won't shell out the money to squeeze a couple more years of life out of the cat when it gets old.

Similar thoughts here.

"Hey look, I can give you access to a food supply and shelter that's a few million years beyond anything you can do. I may not be able to provide access to our more advanced medical technology though."

Heck, some people have to do that. Want an MRI and a hospital stay without being permanently in debt? Hope you've got lots of money sitting around, or else a good insurance plan.

 

[Gunbuster]

Cats are clean and in general don't smell. Lazy people who don't clean the cat box are what makes it smell.

Protip: Don't buy litter boxes for big $$$. Pick up Rubbermaid or target brand storage bins and dremmel out a door.

 

[darkewaffle]

The catbox will smell if you don't keep after it; also depending on the type of box you get I would definitely recommend keeping it on a rug or at least linoleum. One of our cats tracks litter outside of the box and while it's not necessarily dirty it is definitely annoying. Plus if the box isn't 'tall' enough one of our cats will sometimes' miss' it and hit the floor/wall/whatever.

Cats also throwup. Some a lot, some not so much. You can somewhat curtail it by brushing them and serving food in smaller portions, but you will probably still get cat throwup on something you don't want it on eventually.

 

[sigurros81]

My husband really wants to get a kitten, and I have some concerns so I'd like advice from kitten/cat owners on the following:

1) Does the kitty litter stink up the house? I'm a little bit of a neat freak, and I've never owned a four-legged pet. I feel like most dog owners say that their dog doesn't smell, but they've just gotten used to it, and when you go to their house, it definitely smells. So I'd like to ask this more to cat owners who never had a pet before and are kind of neat freaks.

2) What are the worst problems you've run into with a new four-legged pet?

3) What's the approximate monthly cost that a cat runs up in your experience?

Yes I realize I am going to get made fun of for certain aspects of this post, but I thought I might get some useful advice! Thanks!!

1. Nope, does not stink up the house, if anything it suppresses the smell. Just be sure to clean often (for one cat, every other day?)

2. The worst problem for me is the shedding. The cat I have now is the first pet I've ever owned, so I was thrown off a bit by how much fur the cat sheds.

3. Very cheap. Catfood and litter are actually very cheap, for one cat I probably spend about 20-25/month.

The cat I have now, he is the first pet I've ever owned. At first I was very reluctant to have him but he grew on me since I've gotten him. Cats can really provide hours of enjoyment, and if you get a cat anything like my cat, you'll be constantly entertained. They tend to do very silly things.

 

[DrPizza]

I have several cats - I don't even know how many. Most aren't allowed in the house, other than the back sunroom where they can escape frigid temperatures during the winter. One is an indoor cat (mostly.) Best cat we've ever had. It's playful, it loves to be petted, incredibly docile, and behaves a lot like a dog (and even plays with our dog quite frequently.)

Re: litter doesn't stink. No, the litter doesn't. Its shit sure does stink though. And, it shits in the litter box, steps outside the litterbox, looks inside, and scratches the floor. It doesn't bury its own crap, and everyone in the house knows within about 30 seconds when it went to the bathroom. No urine problems fortunately (those are absorbed by the litter.)

Playful at night - I have a big scratch on my toe from where I must have been rolling over under the sheets last night & the cat decided, "hey, play toy moving under the sheet! Must grab on tightly with my claws!" Woke me right up.

Cost is pretty low - $40 per month is a pretty good ballpark figure - canned food about once per day or every other day; otherwise, hard cat food. Plus, it begs for (and gets) table scraps or scraps while I'm preparing dinner. E.g., when I'm preparing chicken, the cat gets the extra chicken fat and any other hunks of meat or skin that I cut off. Ditto for beef. I cooked filet mignon the other night & cut off that little grizzly piece beforehand & gave it to the cat, along with the silver skin that was removed. Fri night, the cat split the contents of a doggie bag with the dog - leftover beef from a restaurant, and leftover fish. (Cat ate the fish.)

 

[bigrash]

Should we get a kitten?

Kittens are cute. Cats are evil. Don't do it!

 

[Gunbuster]

Another thing: Be sure to socialize the cat a lot. Make sure you have the time to do this. People diss on cats because some can be spooky and standoffish. You get a cat like that by not paying attention to them as a kitten.

 

[rsutoratosu]

Also cats like to bring you presents... ie dead mice it finds on your bed.. etc

also

http://gizmodo.com/5931500/why-cat-bites-are-pretty-much-the-worst-thing-ever

 

[Markbnj]

We own dogs and cats and both are equally capable of destructive behavior. Dogs are not immune to doing things to furniture and normally what they do is more immediately damaging than cats scratching on it.

Everybody has their own experiences, no doubt. I have two dogs and they don't cause anywhere near as much trouble. They get sick every now and then and leave something we have to clean up, but they don't destroy stuff. I think people have issues with dogs because a lot of them end up cooped up inside empty houses/apartments all day. If dogs have access to the outdoors and room to run and work off their energy they usually don't cause issues. Or at least, I'll put it this way: dogs don't have inherent behaviors that, unless mitigated, will destroy your stuff. Cats do.