Lots of great suggestions.

Adding: never give a cat the plastic strip you peel off from the bottom of a milk jug cap to play with. Very bad gastric damage can ensue.

You should know that soon enough you will not be able to sleep without a cat on your bed, by your side or feet or on top of your head. Or whomever cat decides to grant that privilege. That bed will not longer be a person bed, but a cat's bed that some human is intruding in at night. Regardless of how big the bed is and how much you move the cat to the other side, cat will try to make you have some 3 inches of bed space. And somehow, after a while, you will be ok with that!

Animal Welfare League of Arlington to a great place to adopt from. The kittens are very well socialized through their Kitten College. We got the most friendly kittens through them.

Op - decide from the start: indoor only or also outdoor. No reason to accept bullying re: this decision (probably from this board, not from your neighbors)

Cats in a neighborhood work it out. They figure out territories. I would let your neighbor know, the one with an outdoor cat, if you get a cat that will be outdoors.

Last thing: there is no such thing as a lost cat. You are likely to be a good owner so you don't have to worry. If owners are not kind, cats look for a new circumstance.

All of the above advice is good! Keep in mind that many rescues will not allow for you to adopt a single kitten if there are no other cats in the house. And, if you choose the kitten route, I'd definitely get 2 whether it is required or not. Young cats need another feline playmate and in my experience it helps keep them out of trouble too

Try Last Chance Animal rescue, we have gotten our last 2 from them. They were at the petsmart on Potomac yards. They are tabby's and have NEVER gone out side. They are happy healthy and well loved. Each have their own personality.
https://www.lastchanceanimalrescue.org/adoptus-html/

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all. What a great set of comments/advice. I have no concerns about indoor only for us, just worried it would be cruel to the cat. (I need to be outside for a big chunks of the day or feel crazy! Maybe it's projection.)

It isn't cruel to live inside. What is cruel is having a cat attacked by other cats, dogs, wild animals or hit by a car.

If you get a younger cat have the cat get used to the cat carrier. Make sure you make it the best place to be. Take the cat in the carrier and drive around. Maybe even put food in it. Drive it around frequently so it is used to it and not afraid.

This way when you have to go to the vets it won't hide or try to fight you to get into the carrier. Also, don't get a pure bread. We have been happy with short hair and medium hair cats.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all. What a great set of comments/advice. I have no concerns about indoor only for us, just worried it would be cruel to the cat. (I need to be outside for a big chunks of the day or feel crazy! Maybe it's projection.)

It only would be cruel if you adopted an older cat that was already an indoor/outdoor cat and had a preference for outdoor. Indoor-only kitties are just fine, happy and healthier. My life-long indoor only cat would die of fright if put outside now.
Make sure your new kitty has comfy window perches to lay on and watch the birds and squirrels outside, aka “cat TV”.
Another tip: If you are not much of a cat person, and you really want the cat to be your children’s pet, make your kids feed the cat. Cats tend to pick one person and think of that person as “theirs” and give all or most of their affection to that person. And it’s usually the one who feeds them.
Congrats on your future new pet! Cats are great pets

Thanks, all. What a great set of comments/advice. I have no concerns about indoor only for us, just worried it would be cruel to the cat. (I need to be outside for a big chunks of the day or feel crazy! Maybe it's projection.)

I've finally found the perfect litter routine. Instead of deep litter I used to scoop through every other day, I now use a very shallow layer at the bottom of an open-topped box with high sides. I remove whatever the cat leaves, and I check morning and evening. The box doesn't smell anymore and the cat seems happier.