Does anyone own a cat?

markpack

Apart from restoring a bit of canine/feline balance to the site... am thinking of getting one (or two) cats. Any advice, especially on likely damage to furniture and cables?

Philistine'sMonster

I guess every cat owner will have different advice cos cats are odd beasts. I have 2 cats -- they get lonely so 2 keep each other company if you're out a lot. Cats will shred anything that's shred-able (?) I've had the spines of books ruined by the bastards. They will kill anything that moves -- mine eat flies, wasps, and once a pigeon. They're furry psychopaths and they sleep for 18 hours of the day. Costs about 2 quid a week to feed them or more if you buy the expensive vet stuff. They like cheese. And earwax. And sunshine. I love 'em. 

jandb

Our cat loved to scratch her claws on the side of our settee - shredded it to bits. So we bought one of those nice scratching posts for cats ... she ignored it completely. Cats are great.

miss annie

I'm not sure that one can truly be said to own a cat.

They generally have strong opinions of their own about their living arrangements and are quite happy to bugger off elsewhere if they consider that owners or the accomodation is not up to scratch.

My last cat was partial to holding half dead mice in it's mouth, then releasing them in the house. At this point it would decide that the mouse was the dullest thing it had ever seen and nip off for a lie down leaving me to deal with the mouse.

If you are looking to rehome a cat rather than buying from a pet shop/breeder the Mayhew has a lovely selection of cats looking for homes

wisteria53

I prefer cats, even though I'm allergic for the first few weeks of "ownership". If you could only get them to do that massage thing with their paws on your shoulders.

dorothy

One thing I didn't know about cats before I got one, is how stoical they are. My cat is nearly 20 now. She's got very bad arthritis, has no teeth, can barely walk, or hear very well. But she still purrs like mad when I pick her up, and comes to greet me when I come in. Dogs are quite wussy in comparison.

markpack

Thanks for all the advice. Nearly went to see the Cat Protection League place in Archway at the weekend but it was closed due to a cat emergency.

Anyone else been there; good place to get a cat?

miss annie

I bought a friend a kitten from there. She chose one with the top snipped off of his ear as she felt sorry for him. The lady in charge convinced my friend that she should also have the other cat that was sharing the pod as they were brothers and shouldn't be seperated. She's a sucker for a sob story so took both kittens - £70 each three years ago. When she went to have them neutered the vet told her that the bigger kitten had already been done, hence the cropped ear(apparently an indicator that vets use), and that they weren't in any way related!

So I think that CPL are bandits. I'd deffo try the Mayhew first, it's just over in Kensal Green and they have a jolly website where you can have a butchers at some of the cats that they have.

Good luck.

Temeraire

My Mum just rescued two Kittens at the end of last year they are getting quite big now but are still killing paper – especially loo rolls. I would say the most important thing to do is keep well away from pet shops and careful of adverts as many of the kittens could be from farmed animals. The other thing to remember is that it is really important to try and socialise them. My Mum was on holiday just after the kittens arrived (they had been found on a building site and needed a home urgently) and so my boyfriend and I moved in and my boyfriend came home at lunch time to feed them. I would definitely recommend cancelling going out for the first few weeks to give them a good opportunity to get to know you. I really wish we could have cats but landlord is not keen on pets.