What do I need to know before adopting a cat?

[mirth]

I've never owned a cat. I am even allergic if I get cat dander well into my eyes, but have no problem visiting others who own cats. Ideally this cat would be a mouser, or at least not completely disinterested in chasing off stuff (like Garfield) and be happy to use a clean litter box. The kids would love to have a cat as a pet. So I imagine it would live indoors but have free reign over the house and a yard 0.25 acres. But it would have to be let out by a human. (no kitty door) The house has an upstairs.

 

If I adopt from the SPCA and I turn out wildly allergic to the one I get, is there a say to return it? Same question for a store like Pet Smart. I don't have a problem paying for a cat. In fact, if some types are known to be less allergenic, I would buy one instead. Kittens are cute but I am not sure any of us wants to help train up a kitten. (I have no idea what is req'd to train from the kitten stage)

 

If it helps, we don't have any other small pets like birds or fish. No babies in the house either. Youngest member is 6yo.

 

So if you've read this far, what stuff would I need to welcome a cat in the house? Thanks, I appreciate all your tips!

[Mergath]

Well, there are hairless cats that you could look into buying. :tongue_smilie: Realistically though, you should probably just get a short-haired cat. Much less fuzz lying around with those.

 

Kittens don't really require any training. You get one, plunk it in the litter box once or twice so that it knows where it is, toss out a few toys, show it the food area, and you're good. Cats are a lot like toddlers in that you don't train them so much as just try to distract them from whatever they're doing wrong. ;) If you "punish" a cat by spraying it with water or giving it a swat, nine times out of ten the cat won't avoid the behavior, it will just avoid YOU.

 

The other advice I would give is that, when you do find a cat, keep it strictly inside for awhile so it has time to bond with you and your family. If you let it outside whenever it wants from the start, you probably won't see it much.

[Annie G]

If you let it both inside and outside, you're going to have to treat for fleas. Probably year round. I don't know how costly that is, because our cat is an indoor only pet.

 

If it's an indoor/outdoor cat, it will still need its claws (ours has his because our vet counseled us to let him keep them), and children have to be taught to respect the cat's wishes or be scratched.

[ocelotmom]

I've never owned a cat. I am even allergic if I get cat dander well into my eyes, but have no problem visiting others who own cats. Ideally this cat would be a mouser, or at least not completely disinterested in chasing off stuff (like Garfield) and be happy to use a clean litter box. The kids would love to have a cat as a pet. So I imagine it would live indoors but have free reign over the house and a yard 0.25 acres. But it would have to be let out by a human. (no kitty door) The house has an upstairs.

There are non-permanent options for installing cat doors. We had a full-length panel that could be put into a sliding glass door, for example.

 

In my experience with cats and allergies, giving them free access to the outside for pottying makes a huge difference (though it isn't necessarily very neighborly!). That, and keeping them out of bedrooms.

 

If I adopt from the SPCA and I turn out wildly allergic to the one I get, is there a say to return it? Same question for a store like Pet Smart. I don't have a problem paying for a cat. In fact, if some types are known to be less allergenic, I would buy one instead. Kittens are cute but I am not sure any of us wants to help train up a kitten. (I have no idea what is req'd to train from the kitten stage)

The SPCA we adopted from had an adoption clause that if you needed to give up the cat for whatever reason, you were required to give it back to them. I have seen breeders with similar clauses (and I don't know much about such things, but it seems like a sign of a responsible, caring breeder). I don't know about chain pet stores, but the PetSmart in our town didn't adopt out cats and dogs directly, but hosted adoption fairs from the SPCA on a weekly basis.

[Jeannie in NJ]

it would be great if you got an adult cat since most people want only a kitten. Also if you get only one kitten, the humans in the house will have to play with it alot while with an adult, it may still want to play with the humans just not constantly like a kitten would. Go to your local animal shelter and spend some time visiting with various cats and there will be one that your family will fall in love with. also an adult cat will have been spayed or neutered already and will have had its series of kitten shots so that is a plus.

 

Also be sure not to let the cat outside for a few weeks so it will not run off. It needs to become attached to its new house and new family first. Do you have a fenced in yard? That would be better safety wise to keep your cat in your yard and other peoples pets out of your yard.

 

You will need a place for its litter box away from its food and water dishes. Also being a single cat, it will probably want to sleep with someone in your family at night hopefully one of your dc and not you with your allergies lol.

 

also sometimes wetting the cats fur now every now and then can help with your allergies.

[gardening momma]

Also be sure not to let the cat outside for a few weeks so it will not run off. It needs to become attached to its new house and new family first. Do you have a fenced in yard? That would be better safety wise to keep your cat in your yard and other peoples pets out of your yard.

A fenced in yard will not keep out other cats. We have neighbor cats that occasionally come into our chain-link fenced yard. If you plan to let the cat outdoors at all, be sure not to have it declawed at all. I am allergic to cats, but grew up with them and dh and I got kittens about a year after we married. We had the front claws removed but kept the back ones intact. We intended to keep them indoors only, and did, until they were about 8 years old. My allergies were bothering me enough that I thought that maybe I could let the cats out for a bit and keep some of the dander out of my house. One of them was attacked by another cat and couldn't defend itself. He had some scratches on his face. (the other cat wouldn't go outside)

[Lolly]

You don't really have to do much for a cat, or a kitten for that matter. Feed it, clean the litter box, pet it when it wants you to, make sure it gets its shots and flea meds. That is pretty much it. If you are allergic to cats, I wouldn't suggest getting one. You will probably react about the time everyone is head over heels in love with it. Also a note of warning, you will not be allowed to adopt from the SPCA if you mention it going outdoors. That is strictly against their policy. You have to sign a paper stating that it will not be allowed to roam. (And, keeping a cat in your yard is a wee bit difficult.:tongue_smilie:)

[gardening momma]

I will also add that my allergies finally got really, really bad. We no longer have the cats anymore (for other reasons), but right around the time when our last cat was at the vet with serious health problems, I had bronchitis for the third time in 3 months. My doctor had me get a full panel allergy test. One of the things it showed (besides my allergy to cats, big surprise) was that my antibody level was more than 5x what it should be. It was so high my Dr. even prescribed an EpiPen. No more cats for me. ;)

[Jennifer3141]

Ok, I would not advise adopting a cat if you have anyone in your home with cat allergies but saying that... DH is allergic to cats and ADORES them so we have four.

 

Before you bring a cat into your home, please take your kids and your spouse to a shelter and inhale a couple of cats. Wait a couple of days and see what happens.

 

A reputable rescue will want the cat back but your cat may fall in love with you and you may fall in love with the cat. The potential for heartbreak is pretty high. :(

 

We bathe our cats every week. They don't like it but they settled into it. And actually, one of our LOVES his bath.

 

And we're really, really fussy about diet. The healtheir the animal, the less dander they produce.

 

Females also produce more dander than males.

 

And letting your cat outdoors will probably shorten its lifespan. Most good rescues will deny you if they think you are going to let the cat outside.

[KarenNC]

• Be prepared that this is for the long-term. Our cats lived to be 12, 15 and 16, while I have had friends whose cats were 18 or over.
   
  
• Here's an article on cat allergies and possible strategies to help, but it's generally not recommended for those with known allergies to get a cat http://allergies.about.com/od/allergies101/a/catallergy.htm
   
  
• Pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system should not clean litterboxes because of the risk of toxoplasmosis unless they know they have an immunity to it http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001661/.
   
  
• A fence won't keep a cat in your yard or other cats out. If you let it outside, make sure it has a collar (with a bell if you have a birdfeeder or value songbirds in your yard) with your information on it and be extremely diligent about rabies vaccinations, especially if you live near woods.
   
  
• Be prepared for vet bills. There are yearly exams, shots, etc and they add up quickly. We had one cat who was on prescription food from the vet for 10 years due to urinary tract issues, one on thyroid medication for a year and one on seizure medication for 4 years. The biggest concentration of expenses tends to be in the kitten stage (getting the cat fixed, kitten shots, etc) and when they get older (big issues started cropping up around age 12 for us). We are strongly considering buying into Banfield Pet Hospital's wellness plan when we get another one (these are associated with Petco or Petsmart locations, usually).
   
  
• Be prepared that cats scratch furniture, rugs, carpet, etc. Keeping their claws trimmed regularly will help, but not eliminate. I'm overall not in favor of declawing unless there is an extreme need (one friend did have to have her cats declawed in order to keep them when she went through chemo, for instance). Males may also spray, even if they are neutered.
   
  
• With all that said, I am very anxious to get another cat. It's been about two months since we had to have our last one put down (cancer and congestive heart failure--overall cost of his last 24 hours was about $1000 because of the emergency vet bills) and I really really miss having a cat in the house.
  

[Jann in TX]

Don't get a cat on looks alone.

 

When we were looking for our last cat DH gave clear instructions NOT to bring home a long haired, yellow or male cat.

 

After trying out about 50 cats over a few days at various rescues, we ended up with (you guessed it) a long-haired yellow male cat!:lol:

 

We wanted a cat that was comfortable with the kids holding it. (our previous cat absolutely detested the kids but adored DH and me).

 

I found several prospects that would LOVE to have been 'my' cat--but they did NOT like my kids.

 

The last cat we looked at was one that I had passed up earlier. Oldest dd brought me a long-haired yellow male to check out-- the clincher was that she was holding him UPSIDE DOWN! It ended up he had been raised by 3 young girls and was even used to being dressed up!

 

DH got over his disappointment (he wanted a cat with cool markings).

 

Mr Neelix has been an active member of our family for the past 12 years--he even LOVES big dogs! (he grooms them!).

 

"Mr." was a totally indoor cat for the first year we had him... then one day he 'escaped' and that was the end of that. He spends 80% of the time inside, but prefers to potty outside (fine for me!).

 

Last night he brought me a present-- a bird wing (with a bit of the bird still attached)... last week it was bunny guts.:001_huh:

[Paige]

Longer haired cats are actually less likely to bother your allergies than shorter haired cats. I think it has something to do with long haired cats shedding more fur but less dander. My dad is allergic to cats but was fine with a long haired one that adopted us when I was a child. He's also always been ok with my himalayan mix. I got a new cat with short hair last summer and he really bothers my dad's allergies. Even my mom, who isn't usually allergic to cats, says he bothers her.

[Elinor Everywhere]

 

Mr Neelix has been an active member of our family for the past 12 years--he even LOVES big dogs! (he grooms them!).

 

 

As major Star Trek fans, we all love your cat's name. :D

[Elinor Everywhere]

Our adult cats have been wonderful! Well, for the most part....there was one who ended up being shy and skittish, you know, the kind that hides under the bed, but that was the ONLY cat we adopted who was less than 2 years old. Our other ones have been between 4 and 10, and they've all had the best personalities.

 

I like adopting older cats because you can already see how they are - kittens are an unknown. I love male cats, because in my completely unscientific and anecdotal experience, they are more affectionate than females. With that said, one of our cats was a big, fat, gray female, and she was awesome.

 

Currently we have a cat who adopted US. He belonged to my neighbor, who apparently kind of grew tired of him. They got a little yappy dog, and Pippin (the cat) wasn't into that, so he started hanging around our house. At the time, we had recently put our beloved Chocolate Lab down, and we were ready for another pet.

 

Pippin is the BEST. We do not keep him inside like I did my other cats. He chose us, and we let him continue his freedom (he has his claws, and sadly, gets into occasional fights). But he's super-affectionate, beautiful, low-maintenance...a dream pet. We recently adopted a puppy, and Pippin is very gentle and sweet; when he plays with the pup he never uses his claws.

 

My dh has always been allergic to cats, but he takes care to not hold them and he washes his hands after petting them. He knows I love cats, and he loves me, so.....:D

 

Good luck to you - our cats have brought us much joy over the years!

[HollyDay]

if you are allergic to cats.......

[Mothersweets]

Are you okay with a cat walking on your counters? I only ask because most cats do this and personally, I find it yucky. It was one of the reasons I put off getting a cat for so long even though we had a mouse problem.

 

We adopted our cat from Petsmart about a year ago. She is nothing special to look at - just a brown/black tabby BUT -we hit the jackpot with our kittycat! She is an excellent mouser, very tolerant of the kids, doesn't jump on the counters!! (that's a biggie with me!), and does NOT try to sleep on my pillow. The only down side to her is that she doesn't like other animals.

 

I think most shelters DO NOT want you to allow your cat outside. Good luck finding a kitty! Oh - and Petsmart will let you return a cat within 25 days or so. I had a friend who bought a cat from them but found out she was allergic so kitty went back to the store. They (Petsmart) totally understood and it wasn't a big deal.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Mothersweets