family wants a cat but we are not home much

[Anonymous]

Four of us (DD 9 y/o, DS 6 y/o, mom, dad) and while we would love to get a cat, I worry that we are not home enough. Typically we all leave at 8 am for school or work. Both kids are in sports, scouts, and language classes, so most weekdays we are home at 7; sometimes home at 5:30. Weekends are filled with the same, as well as the inevitable birthday parties, visiting family, etc. We had a cat pre-kids, but then we did not have after-work or weekend activities the way we do now. We are considering getting an older cat - thinking that way the cat would need less attention - but it still seems unfair to leave a pet home for that amount of time each day. And I worry that an older cat may need special care, like medication (our last much loved cat had a long illness) that would make us need to be home more often. We know the kids are not allergic and we have cat sat before. I looked into fostering, but am afraid I would be unwilling to allow someone else to adopt a cat once we bring the cat into our home. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Plenty of people with that schedule have a cat. As long as you pay the cat some attention when you are home, I think it’s totally fine. We’re more “glued” to the house now with a dog, but before when it was just cats we never really worried about how much we were away as long as it wasn’t overnight.

Have you considered getting 2 cats (a bonded pair, maybe) so they aren’t potentially so lonely? Once you have 1 cat, 2 is nothing. 2 kittens together are SO fun.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely get a bonded pair of cats, of whatever age. They'll be content with each other, and with family when you're home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely get a bonded pair of cats, of whatever age. They'll be content with each other, and with family when you're home.

+2. Definitely look to get a bonded pair of cats.

[Anonymous]

Two cats for sure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely get a bonded pair of cats, of whatever age. They'll be content with each other, and with family when you're home.

+1

[Anonymous]

Get two cats that will play together. Have a sitter come in for a little play time and snack mid day.

[Anonymous]

We ended up with 2 kitten brothers and while it wasn't the initial plan, I'm glad we did it. I have no guilt about the time we're away from the house because they have each other (play together, sleep together). I'm glad we ended up with 2.

[Anonymous]

I had a kitten that I found at a few months old and kept. She was viciously jealous of my time -- would attack when I left in the morning, seemed unhappy and angry. I found another cat just like her (for reasons I won't go into here, I think he was a littermate), and she accepted him. Now they are chasing each other up and down the hall and over the furniture most mornings. She likes to sniff him when he eats, and they are starting to sleep curled up together.

Thank. God.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to go off track, but I'm sort of in the same boat as you except that I'd like a dog instead of a cat.
I have co-workers who leave their dogs at home while they go to work, but I don't know if that's fair on the dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to go off track, but I'm sort of in the same boat as you except that I'd like a dog instead of a cat.
I have co-workers who leave their dogs at home while they go to work, but I don't know if that's fair on the dog.

No, not for a dog. Either you go home for lunch or you hire someone to walk and play with the dog in the middle of the day. And then you walk/play with the dog when you get home.

You do also have to play with and give kitties attention during the day too. It’s just slightly less time intensive.

[Anonymous]

We had a similar schedule when we had a cat, and he was fine. I think he slept most of the day. Look for sedate cats in the 2-4 year old range--not a kitten, but not elderly. Lots of toys, climbing trees, and a window he can watch the world from.

[Anonymous]

Definitely a bonded pair of cats, past the kitten stage. Rescues will be glad to point you to good candidates! As a bonus you and the kids will get to see the countless ways that two cats can be cute together that you'd never see if you only have one. Ours are adorable playing together, etc.

I agree that a dog is a different matter entirely. Most dogs would be very, very unhappy in that situation.

[Anonymous]

The two kitties should be from the same litter and they should not mind being together.
Pairing a large male cat with the female runt of the litter might not be a good pairing, for instance.
Try to pick a pair that seems to like playing together - from the same litter (sometimes cats who aren’t from the same litter don’t get along).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely a bonded pair of cats, past the kitten stage. Rescues will be glad to point you to good candidates! As a bonus you and the kids will get to see the countless ways that two cats can be cute together that you'd never see if you only have one. Ours are adorable playing together, etc.

I agree that a dog is a different matter entirely. Most dogs would be very, very unhappy in that situation.

There’s no reason to not get kittens. We did that and it has been a great experience through and through.