Please talk me out of (or into?) getting a cat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cats are no more gross than children! Especially not a newborn.

Cats can have very different personalities. I have two, both like to hang out with my daughter and I when we are sitting quietly. They like to cuddle and sleep at my feet at night.

They're old now, they don't play much. But they enjoy running around after bugs in the house or each other. They are generally not a nuisance, except that one cries for his wet food in the morning if I don't get up on time. Get them an appropriate scratcher and they will not mess up your furniture. See, no big deal....

The cat haters must not know any cats

Yes, but eventually newborns grow up into kids who can go to the bathroom on their own. With cats, you're doing the litterbox for the rest of their very long lives.

[Anonymous]

I have two. My 4 y old loves them. One of them she says is her "boyfriend," and he lives to lick her, sleep with her, cuddle with her. She dresses him, put her princess crow on him, etc. he loves her.

He is 7 and when I gothim at pet smart it was clear he was a sweet heart - he loves a cuddle. He is also a great mouser.

That said, I have already told my daughter that once they die I will not get any more pets. Too much work, too much hair and font even get me started on the furniture/rug damages. If you decide to go ahead and get a cat, I strongly recommend you declaw him. I wish with all my heart I had done so when they were kitties.

Oh, I had dogs before and cats are a walk in the park compared to dogs....

[Anonymous]

Cats don't require a pet sitter for just a couple nights. Put out lots of extra water and dry food and a newly cleaned box with fresh litter and they're fine.

[Anonymous]

You might want to get DD tested for allergies first. It's better than finding out the hard way.

Signed a concerned but practical cat owner

[Anonymous]

We have a cat and a dog. Yes, lots of hair. We get a cat sitter ($20 per day) when we're going out of town for more than one night. Neither of us loves cleaning the litter box, and the cat does scratch the furniture. We have to feed him up on a kitchen counter because otherwise the dog will eat his food. We try not to think too much about the germs.

For us it's 100% worth it. We love that little guy so much. He is such a little character, such a little snuggler, a great foil for the dog, and a wonderful part of our lives. So, work and money, yes, but for us it's a worthwhile tradeoff.

In your situation, it sounds like maybe a cat who's a couple of years old would work best. That way they won't have kitten energy and you'll have a good sense of what their adult personalities are like, if they are good with the litter box, etc.

[Anonymous]

I love cats, have had them my whole life, all with different personalities. If I were to adopt another cat I would go to a rescue organization and get one a bit older whose personality is established - I like the cuddly, affectionate ones. Our current cat is 12 and I love him to bits BUT as sweet as he is, he can nip or scratch when he gets overstimulated. He also went through a period when he was pooping on the rug, he has had some health issues that have been costly, he does shed everywhere and spreads bits of litter here and there after he uses the box. He scratched my kid about 8 years ago and my DH (who is NOT a cat person) gave me an ultimatum - declaw him or bring him to humane society (and who would adopt a cat that occasionally bites and scratches?). We ended up doing laser declaw which is the more humane way to do it but it's definitely costly and I wouldn't do it if a cat weren't scratching. Oh, one more thing - he jumps on me in the middle of the night for food. Doesn't sound very appealing, huh?
And yet, I love him, my kids love him, and we'll take care of him until the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DO NOT GET A CAT! They shed way more than dogs and their hair gets everywhere since they can jump up on counters and such. Since you have a dog it will be jumping on every counter top and the table. Their litter boxes are gross and they get litter everywhere. You can't do much with them and cats are much more likely to bite or scratch small children than dogs are. They live a lot longer than dogs and especially towards the end are not enjoyable to be around. Dogs are always happy to see you and you can do so much more with them.

We used to have a cat but had to re home it because it started going bald from the stress our dog put on it. Luckily we were able to find a wonderful home for him and are still in contact with the people, but many time it is VERY difficult to re home a cat. The one thing that drove me crazy was the hair. I don't mind hair on the carpet and furniture as it is easy to vacuum up, but I can not stand it on the table and counters.

Yes, you need to TRAIN YOUR CAT. They are animals, like dogs, and require some training, especially I you get a kitten.


OP- there are a lot of cat haters posting here. If you already have a dog a cat is easy in comparison. My 4 yr old DD feeds the cat and the cat sleeps with her every night. It is worth litter scooping (which I only do 2-3x a week because I bought a huge litter box).

I wouldn't recommend getting a kitten unless your dog would be ok with being pounced on all day long and unless you have the time/energy to train it not to jump on counters or scratch furniture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cats are great. I love cats. I want to always have cats. But you are right that the litter box is a nuisance, and cats shed and throw up and sometimes don't do their business in the litter box and aren't good for the furniture, and the cat would be another living thing to take care of.

All this. But I would say that cats are far less demanding than dogs, and you already have a dog. And you might end up with a sweet purring creature who sits in your laps and plays and is generally fun to be around.

You might consider adopting a slightly older cat (like a year old versus a tiny kitten) just so you have some idea of the personality from the get-go. Try your local Petsmart on a weekend when they do adoptions. It's all rescue.

I recommend Nature's Miracle for any accidents and a plug in device called "Feliaway" for the initial adjustment period. You might also consider setting a daily reminder on DH's phone at a good time telling him to go clean the litter box, since he is the one who wants the cat.

[Anonymous]

My advice would be to get an adult cat. That way you can sort of assess the cat's personality better than if it were a kitten, and you don't have to do any litter box training. Maybe a cat around age 2? Still young enough to be fun and healthy. Also, I always said I'd never get a cat declawed, but I inherited an adult, declawed cat, and in the future I'd probably also look to adopt a cat that was already declawed (although I still don't think I'd get it done myself).

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I have cat allergies and can't visit houses where there are cats. For many cat allergy people, we aren't talking about some light sneezing. It's full on respiratory problems. Depending on who your friends are, this could limit entertaining options and playdates for your kids.

[Anonymous]

We got a cat last spring.
We got a Maine Coon. He has a great personality, very affectionate and is a "people person." we also specifically got his breed for this reason
He doesn't shed much which is amazing considering he is very very fluffy.
Pretty low maintenance and no hurrying home to walk. We have left him home alone for a few days with just neighbor kids to feed him and its been fine.
I don't find cleaning the litter to be all that bad and beats picking up dog shit then having to carry it until you find trash can.
The downsides, and this is specific to our cat
Sometimes poop gets stuck in his fur and its really really gross. So far, we have caught it on time but I am waiting for the day I come home to a house with poop streaks everywhere.
Since he is so social, he wont leave us alone at night. We have to lock him in the basement otherwise he attacks our heads at about 5am. If one of us gets up early and lets him out, he is not happy until he has awoken the entire family. This is tedious.

Otherwise, he is a great kitty and we love him to pieces.

[Anonymous]

I love my cat! She is such a great member of our family. I recommend getting a slightly older cat from a rescue organization. Then you will know the cats personality (friendly or scared) and the cat should be litter box trained. They should also be able to tell you if the cat is good with kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DO NOT GET A CAT! They shed way more than dogs and their hair gets everywhere since they can jump up on counters and such. Since you have a dog it will be jumping on every counter top and the table. Their litter boxes are gross and they get litter everywhere. You can't do much with them and cats are much more likely to bite or scratch small children than dogs are. They live a lot longer than dogs and especially towards the end are not enjoyable to be around. Dogs are always happy to see you and you can do so much more with them.

We used to have a cat but had to re home it because it started going bald from the stress our dog put on it. Luckily we were able to find a wonderful home for him and are still in contact with the people, but many time it is VERY difficult to re home a cat. The one thing that drove me crazy was the hair. I don't mind hair on the carpet and furniture as it is easy to vacuum up, but I can not stand it on the table and counters.

Yes, you need to TRAIN YOUR CAT. They are animals, like dogs, and require some training, especially I you get a kitten.


OP- there are a lot of cat haters posting here. If you already have a dog a cat is easy in comparison. My 4 yr old DD feeds the cat and the cat sleeps with her every night. It is worth litter scooping (which I only do 2-3x a week because I bought a huge litter box).

I wouldn't recommend getting a kitten unless your dog would be ok with being pounced on all day long and unless you have the time/energy to train it not to jump on counters or scratch furniture.

It is very hard to train a cat not to jump on counters when you have a dog. They want to be able to sleep somewhere where they will not be bothered which means going somewhere a dog can't go. Maybe we just had an overly playful dog but no matter what we did we could not stop the cat from jumping up on the counter when it wanted to get away from the dog.

[Anonymous]

I used to love cats until I had my first child. Since you have a dog, you might find a cat relatively low maintenance depeding on how you feel about litter boxes. But as they get older or if they develop health issues, they can be a real hassle.

If you plan on having any more children, I would wait to get a cat. I'm just thinking about the extra work cats require. Cleaning a litter box and cat puke are extra chores you won't want to do when caring for really young children. And you also don't want to worry about rehoming a cat because a new baby/child has an allergy to it.

I might get a cat again...when I'm old lady and need the companionship.