Dear cat owners!

[Gaidax]

Every cat is something different, I had 3 and every one of them was different personality-wise.

Generally cleanliness is not the issue, although some more furry cat may end up throwing up once or twice a week, simply because all the fur that gets stuck in the stomach. Also, yeah, if you will get furry cat it will leave fur everywhere, it's not terrible really, because generally he will sleep in one or two spots he likes and if you put some rag there it's cool.

Cat is a good idea, because it's pretty low maintenance. I do think something with shorter fur would be better generally.

[falagar112]

Some cat breeds shouldn't wander outside, like ragamuffins and ragdolls as they are too docile. I personally, cat breed aside, find leaving your at to roam outside alone to be irresponsible. I know they like to hunt and whatever, but cats can get hurt, stolen or die, or catch diseases. It isn't unheard of. Then there are cats that aren't always neutered and become pregnant or impregnate other cats.

Walking cats on a leash is a nice idea if your cat lets you! Some really hate it.

That is why I mentioned the leash - we had to use that over in Finland because our neighbors liked to shoot cats for fun (unfortunately, no joke)
I'm aware some cats are indoor cats - but from experience with having 3 cats, 2 outdoor, 1 indoor and a cat door... the indoor one at most takes a few steps outside, gets overwhelmed and runs back inside

As for leaving them outside - well, they have a cat door they can come back whenever they want. But they are predators by nature, and you should allow them to follow that instinct imo. Even when sometimes it goes at the cost of the cat. (had one eat a mouse with farm poison, that was not nice and did not end well)

Stealing cats? Sure if you take a expensive breed cat, but nobody should do that - use the shelter :/

Getting hurt? If you live in an area with very busy roads, don't take a cat.. reason I don't have any right now and they stay at my fathers place. Apart from cars, it's as likely to get hurt inside as outside, with their curious habit and no respect to throwing things around

[Deleted]

Preferably sterilized, but if that doesnt align with your morale or is illegal in your country then get a female, their urges are generally easier to control.

Females that aren't spayed go into heat every week or every other week, it'll meow your ears off. Unless you want to manually give your female cat an orgasm (yes I know it sounds weird) it'll keep doing it.
I don't see why anyone but a breeder wants to be up for that.

[Blackmist]

Two cats.

Three shit-trays.

Don't have carpets, because cats like to puke.

[Deleted]

I actually disagree with the ''you will be gone for a long time so get 2 cats'', while getting 2 cats is completely fine, cats are more than able to stay by themselves for 8 hours a day. The only downside is that if they put their claws into your furniture you wont be there to punish them so you will come home to scratches/bitemarks occasionally and it will be hard to train the cat not to do that if you are home.

Outside of that, if you care about your house being neat, get a short-haired cat, they (obviously) leave far less hair on the floor and are thus easier to clean up after.

While I would highly encourage you to adopt an older cat (which is usually more or less free), make sure to pay proper attention there, any bad traits they have from their previous home will be difficult to correct due to their age. Here a lot of the time they allow you a 2-week tryout time to see if you and the cat match before adoption, make sure to ask for that if you are adopting an older cat.

Obviously if you want a kitten for the ''aw cute'' factor feel free, but you would be doings society and your wallet a service by just adopting instead.

Also like someone else said previously, there really is no point in buying a breed cat (unless you want to spend ~2k on a savannah, they are fucking amazing)

[Deleted]

From a guy with 2 cats in a 60 square meter flat that works 12 hours a day and still manages to keep the place ceal and tidy:


Unless your cats piss around they won't make your flat smell. They WILL however make it full of hair. Get rid of curtains if you have them.

They will likely scratch your furniture. A sofa with rougher fabric is a perfect target. You can get as many scartching posts and patches as you want, they'll go for the sofa. My solution was to attach a scratch pad to the edge of the sofa they liked best. It looks ugly, but at least yor furniture doesn't get wrecked.

Buy this thing if you can find it http://www.catsbest.eu/catsbest_en/ - I tested tons of them and this one almost eliminates the odor.

Get a good vacuum cleaner. You'll need to vacuum up the hairs and the litter will be EVERYWHERE, no matter what you do. It sticks to their paws and they carry it around. I quickly vacuum every evening when I come home.

Get rid of cheap, synthetic rugs. Those are magnets for hair and they are a pain to clean.

A diet of raw meat will save you cat-food money and vet money, but it's time consuming. Where I live I can buy extremely cheap frozen meat meant for cats and dogs. It also makes them shed less hair. (read up on BARF). At the very least feed them wet food. Dry food should be for emergencies or when you leave for a day or two.

Get a cat fountain. If you set one up and put out some bowls of dry food you can leave for 2 or so days and the kitty will be just fine.



Oh yeah, carefully clipping their claw tips (if you declaw you're an awful person worthy of contempt) helps with mitigating damage. Regularly brushing with a Furminator helps with the hair problem a bit, but doesn't eliminate it. Try to get a rescue cat instead of buying one. Free + a kitty gets a nice life.

[yetgdhfgh]

Its funny but i once got a new fridge and it came with this cardboard floor that the box had and it made the most perfect cat scratcher

It was so thick with cardboard to hold the fridge but my cats just love the feel of cardboard to scratch up so much so they havent touched my couch in a long time

Not sure if this is relevent to this thread but iam just saying a cardboard cat scratcher makes a wonderful and cheap scratch board

[Deleted]

Anyone saying don't get a cat because you work clearly hasn't been around cats very long - they literally sleep 18 hours a day if not more, even the younglings, they could not give a shit if you're not there for half of that time.

I'd recommend getting 2, we got two Savannahs a year ago, brother & sister and they're fantastic company for each other and for myself and partner when we get back from work.

My advice would be;
1. Get a "water fountain", my partner grabbed this: http://www.millracegardencentre.co.u...FUG4Gwod2pQJrg
But in all honesty anything that keeps the water moving to avoid it from becoming stale - ofc still replace it regularly.

2. If you're buying from a breeder, stick to the food they've raised them on for a few months. The cats are going to be stressed moving to a new place, so having the same food will help. You can move to a healthier diet after they've settled.

3. Same as 2, use the same litter stuff. We took a small bag of the (clean) litter the breeder used and put it in our box so the cats would recognise the smell and know where to do the deed.

4. Cats will hide in the most dumb of places, we ended up naming one of ours Dusty because she managed to hide under the bath tub (after we thought it was a sealed unit) and the oven (which we found after turning it on!). So don't be alarmed if they go missing, as long as you've secured the house as best you can - if they're not house cats then this isn't as crucial.

5. We didn't do this when we first started off and this was a mistake. Stick to one room when you first get them, visit them a few times over the space of a few hours. Once they start to relax, spend some time in the room doing something quiet like reading or just browsing the internet. It will help them to recognise you're not a threat and create the foundation of which you'll build a relationship on.

6. Don't leave washing on the floor and try to not leave the wash basket in a reachable place or floor level - they will pee on it.

7. Get a cat tree, they're fucking fantastic. Can be quite pricey but a good one will last you a long time. They're multifunctional so they can have a sleep place, a scratch post (basically just the structure wrapped in rope) and a hiding space.

8. Regulalate feeding, stick to a pattern. Cats need/rely on structure

9. Although it goes without saying, don't leave food, alcohol, tobacco, weed etc around - they will eat it given the chance.

10. The vast majority of cats will greet and play with you using claws, a simple tap on the paw will cause them to put them away - unless they're attacking you in which case back off.


I know this is a big list, pets of all species are a big responsibility but a lot of this stuff becomes second nature after awhile. I've been around dogs most of my life and although adjusting to cats wasn't as big to me as it would've been if I didn't have cats... It's very much worth it

- - - Updated - - -

Oh yeah and look into raw food, a lot of vets will disagree with you but they're predominantly sponsored by shitty pet food companies, it vastly increases their lives, increases the quality of their coat, reduces the effects of things like diabities and a whole list of other stuff.

If you're on Facebook there's a page called "CRAP" or "CAT CRAP", it's thousands of people who raw feed their cats.

[zenkai]

Recently bought an apartment and now seriously considering buying a cat to keep me combany.

Having never owned a pet, I can not really decide whether it's something for me.

I like to have it clean in my apartment and I'm afraid that the cat will make it smell?

I'm away 8-10 hours each day for work?

Researched the breeds and came up with the following choises:

Ragdoll
British Shorthair
Birma

Any information appreciated!

if you enjoy scooping up poop, and dealing tons of fur, a cat is a good investment.

[Deleted]

Recently bought an apartment and now seriously considering buying a cat to keep me combany.

Having never owned a pet, I can not really decide whether it's something for me.

I like to have it clean in my apartment and I'm afraid that the cat will make it smell?

I'm away 8-10 hours each day for work?

Researched the breeds and came up with the following choises:

Ragdoll
British Shorthair
Birma

Any information appreciated!

I hated cats... until I met my friends Sphynx.

I know they look wierd, but seriously its like holding a baby(they are also known for being the "dog" of cats, refering to its interest for its owner and social skills)and you connect instantly.

And yes; get 2.

[epLe]

If you consider getting more than one cat, make sure they are related.
Otherwise its more likely they don't get along (keep fighting about territory) than keeping eachother with company.
This usually result with 1 cat getting nervous and unhappy.

Also make sure you feed cats with both wet and dry food, else they run a huge risk of catching diabetes.

At last, cats are in general nocturnal, which makes them most active at night.
This makes them sleep alot at daytime, and not really needing much attention when you're at work.

[yetgdhfgh]

Any animal or even baby you will have to deal with its poop but at least with cats they hide it in nice convenient litter boxes and not all over your floor like dogs do

(BTW I own dogs and love dogs)

[Thunderball]

Females that aren't spayed go into heat every week or every other week, it'll meow your ears off. Unless you want to manually give your female cat an orgasm (yes I know it sounds weird) it'll keep doing it.
I don't see why anyone but a breeder wants to be up for that.

I have unsterilized females (1-2 at a time) for over 20 years. No problem so far. Yes, they meow, but that's nothing compared to what a male does, especially if he knows there is a female in the vicinity.

[Deleted]

Erhm.. They should have chosen a different thumbnail for that video O.o

[yetgdhfgh]

No, cats just bury it with their paws, then walk all over your furniture, counter tops and face.

Poop is still there with cats, it's just not as noticeable.

Unless you are Howard Hughes is that really a problem?

[Deleted]

I have unsterilized females (1-2 at a time) for over 20 years. No problem so far. Yes, they meow, but that's nothing compared to what a male does, especially if he knows there is a female in the vicinity.

Well a spraying male cat doesn't sound nice, but I myself couldn't deal with a cat in heat. How come yours aren't spayed, are you a breeder?

[JohnBrown1917]

With that work schedule cat will be very lonely and bored. If I had such schedule, I wouldn't be getting a cat.

Main thing about cats is you should get a female cat. Many male cats mark their territory, so bored male cat in small apartment might result in him pissing all over your stuff.

If you get 2 cats who stand each other, its okay.
Or 1 cat if you can let it out.

[ItachiZaku]

Reading these comments i might not own a cat but something different that just looks like a cat.

Ferrets are good.

[Deleted]

Yeah, it can become a problem. Cat poop is special poop.

http://www.isciencetimes.com/article...lic-health.htm

http://theweek.com/articles/462366/c...s-than-thought

So this mainly seems to be a problem for outdoor cats, if not exclusively. But with the amount of cats around and the amount of people that have cats and outdoor cats, you'd think this would be a much bigger problem. Imo, it's just one of those fear mongering articles. How many people actually get problems out of this as I didn't see it stated in the article,it was probably not there because it's so minor that it's irrelevant, or I'm blind.

Also don't you have a dog? They carry parasites too and have poop particles.

[Fiddlewick]

Yeah, it can become a problem. Cat poop is special poop.

http://www.isciencetimes.com/article...lic-health.htm

http://theweek.com/articles/462366/c...s-than-thought

That sounds very much like dog-person propaganda to me!

In all seriousness though, people really want to avoid that parasite at all costs.