Kitten - remind me why it’s a bad idea…

[Scotsmomma2]

My Granddaughter would tell you it's a great idea,she was so desperate for a kitten and cried when she was surprised with one last year,now a year on and she still adores Oreo cat.He is a house cat and is like her shadow(Their house doesn't smell of cat at all)Apart from when he scratched the walls of their newly decorated bedroom, he's been a lovely addition to their family.He stays in the local cattery when they have weekends away.

[Claudette]

I have no problems with cats, I am a life long cat owner and have had two BSHs. I currently have two cats and two dogs.

I do not think you should get a cat. I think it would be unkind considering the five week holiday plus other holidays. Don’t believe this nonsense about cats not getting attached to their humans, I haven’t yet come across a cat that hasn’t.

We have been thinking that we would like to do a longer trip overseas when we can to make up for the last couple of years, but I honestly could not leave the animals for the length of time we would like to travel. Three weeks is an absolute maximum for us and I am nervous about that and would really prefer to stick to two.

[mandco]

They scratch everything you don't want them too - if you have any nice furniture or soft furnishings expect them to be the most popular and ruined in no time.

Cat pee stinks esp in the summer - enclosed boxes help

they do their own thing - you might have a very loving cat that won't leave you alone and insists on sitting on you constantly or end up with one that totally ignores you unless it wants something. If they want you up at 3 in the morning you'll be waking up

they bring you presents even those that are indoors cats - being woken at 2am by having a large spider dropped on your face is not something I care to repeat

Your arms & legs end up covered in scratches/pin pricks as they love to knead on you and kittens have a nasty habit of trying to climb up your trouser legs.

Despite it all we wouldn't be without ours

[jasminedivas]

We have a 12 year old cat and I do find it restrictive having him. We don’t have a cat flap so going away for a a night or two can be a pain as he often doesn’t return when friends pop round to feed him, so they either have to pop back or he is out all night.
He is used to going to a cattery for longer holidays which was fine until they shut down last year, luckily I have found another good one, but there seems to be less and less of them around.

I know you said it would be a house cat but I do wonder if that is really fair as most want to go outside, mine often jumps out of the lounge windows in the summer, will you have them closed then to stop the cat escaping? The same with patio doors and when u come in with loads of shopping and can’t quite close the door straight away to stop it getting out.

I have mine insured which was fine when it was £18 a month, I now dread the renewal coming through each year as he gets older, it’s currently at about £40 a month.

I love kittens and find them as cute as the next person but having a cat can be up to a 20 year commitment. I know I won’t be getting another one, even though ours is loved very much and a big part of our family.

[storm]

You could foster for a local cat charity... BUT you will end up with a hundred cats you end up adopting. This is why I'm not allowed to foster.
Safer to get 2 kittens ( company for each other) and use a home sitter/daily visitor/cattery when you're away.

[DisneyDaffodil]

We have had cats and dogs all our lives but have said we won’t have any more after our current pair even though we totally love them and can’t bear to think of losing them.

Our cat is 14, he’s an indoor cat as he was shot when he was 2 and lost the sight in one eye. This makes him at risk of predators if he went outdoors plus he’s very nervous so he can’t stay at a cattery either. We leave him for our holidays and SiL comes up to feed him and spend time with him twice a day. But he’s getting older and needs more care and has become clingy recently so we’re worrying about leaving him for longer than a weekend. We’ve got a week booked in Dorset next week and I’m really stressing over our cat.

We also have an 11 year old dog who comes with us on UK holidays but stays with our son and his fiancée when we go overseas. They now have their own pup, and we are socialising them so we can look after each other’s dogs for holidays. However last time they met, the pup was snappy and had to be told no many times. I’m hoping that, as he’s just a pup, things will get better but at the moment I’m not entirely sure what we would do if our son couldn’t have our dog as I think it’s unfair to expect him to settle in kennels at his age

Just 2 reasons to show how things can change and if you’re finding problems at the moment about taking on the care of a pet, then it’s likely that there will be more problems that you haven’t thought of too. Pets are such a huge part of the family and like all family members, come with a lot of love but also a lot of needs which have to be taken care of for many years. It’s a huge commitment. I’m not saying all this to put you off, as they give you so much love too but I think you really need to consider if you can give them all they need before you agree to getting a kitten Good luck if you get one and I hope you have lots of fun with them xx

[Sandra & co]

I like cats but I’m allergic, if there’s nobody to look after them then how can you get one. We had are in laws to look after our dog but now they can’t anymore due to illness, not that we’re going anywhere soon! I hope my house doesn’t smell of dog! 🤔

[Lola]

We love both cats and dogs and have had them for a long time. However now we are retired we go away a lot, even weekends in our caravan as well as holidays. Our last dog loved the kennels he went to and would happily spend any time there and we had an ex neighbour who used to come and stay and look after our cats whenever we went away. We have decided no pets for now until we are ready to stay home.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Cats bring dead things in the house
People can be allergic
They stink
Cost money to look after
You need to cut a hole in the door for a cat flap
No one wants to look after it

[2waterford]

In non Covid times if you like to go away that much I would say you will find having a cat restrictive.

We have 2 dogs and all was great when kids still were late teens and young adults there was always one at home to mind the dogs, however now the kids are all moving out starting to find the dogs restrictive, they are 10 and won’t be replacing them