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

[Loopylooloo]

My adorable BSH cats have scratched one leather sofa to bits, so much so the insides came out and we had to replace it, also scratch the carpet, and one of them sometimes wees on the front door mat if he gets stressed. They also bring in a variety of creatures , dead ot alive, including baby rabbits, lizards, birds, mice, voles, a mole, to name a few.

Ours hated the cattery, and we had to ask neighbours to pop in and feed and let them in or out. We just lost one of them, aged sixteen, which broke my heart, but, I wont be replacing him due to all of the aboove.

I am not posting photo of my cats as they look adorable and you will immediately forget all of the above!

[scottishgirl1]

We have a Birman and when she was a few months old we got a BSH kitten. Both indoor cats with very different personalities but definitely since we got them we only go away one big trip a year. They go to a cattery an hours drive away to the lovely lady who bred them so for the Birman she is always happy enough to go back there and be spoiled rotten but the BSH detests it and pines. She loses weight and last time we went away in 2019 we had to get pills from the vet to keep her calm so she was definitely more content whilst away but still lost weight.

For weekends away only some of us go so as not to disrupt the cats so it has definitely had an impact on travel plans. And I couldnt leave either of them home with someone dropping in as they are so used to company they dont even like being left for a few hours.

I adore them and it has been best thing ever having them during the last year or so but definitely have had to be careful with leaving our BSH more so than the Birman

[snowbelle]

I have two rescue cats, contrary to popular belief they can be trained.
Mine are trained not to jump on kitchen counters, we have CCTV in the kitchen and we know they dont!
They are clean, as I have mild Hyperosmia ( an extra keen sense of smell)
They dont scratch the furniture as they have more toys than the average toddler !
They do not bring presents as they are in a cat proof garden
They go to a cattery and stay in the cat penthouse with cattery owners who love all cats and treat all of them like royalty
They only go to the toilet in a litter box not in the garden
They drink Brita filtered water
Eldest has his food imported from Germany
They are cats,not kids and do not sleep on our bed

Am I mad , most probably !
But I wanted to show that popular misconceptions are not always the case.

[Taffy1959]

We have 3 cats who don’t scratch our furniture and they don’t jump on the worktops either.
My house doesn’t smell as they use litter trays with lids and a filter.
When we go on holiday we use a local cattery and we’ve also used someone who comes in and feeds them twice a day and empties the litter trays and cleans them.
I’ve never been without a cat but when these go I won’t be getting any more due to our age I’m almost 62 and DH is 70.

I think if you need to be convinced you shouldn’t get a kitten it’s something you should all want.

This is my youngest cat Minnie and if you do decide to get a kitten I hope you get one as loving as she is

[danisleigh]

We have 4 cats, the youngest of which is a 6 month old BSH. She is lovely and has the most amazing personality. We get my sister to come in while we are away but if that ever changes we will get someone who does home visits to come in to them. To be fair my son is 19 so doesn’t always come with us anyway.

[Rac20]

I’m sorry. I love my cat. Interestingly before I had a cat, I didn’t like them at all. Now, I feel like it’s having just another teenager in the house. Reminds me of my eldest DS quite a bit.🤣

Do understand the holiday thing though. He hates the cattery and then I hate the fact that he’s home and we’re relying on people coming in to feed him if we don’t take him to the cattery.

Sorry, I’d be getting the cat. 😬

[Moorlandman]

Don’t buy a car if your love wildlife - cats will kill most things sadly.

[taffs travels]

I love my cat and can't imagine the house without her. BUT she does impede on our freedom. we have a cat flap and a very kind neighbour who will come in twice a day when we are away. we would love a kitten but our head needs to rule our hearts. I could not expect or ask my neighbour friend to to empty a litter tray etc as she doesn't have any animals herself and a new kittie would have to stay in . I will only ask her for our 2 week main holiday so when we go for weekends away in our caravan we come home early every morning to feed and fuss her then load her up with dry food for the day. she is fine with this as she is older and just sleeps and sunbathes in the garden but a kitten will need a lot of attention and playtime.
I also leave her with cash in an envelope for any emergencies and her vets number. Some cats can't tolerate catteries and she is one of them so don't rely on them as an option.
as I am writing this I feel I am justifying my own reasons why we are not getting a kitten but I hope I have given you some food for thought

[TigerMom]

We have had cats for 34 years so cannot imagine life without one. We currently have a 8.8kg Maine Coon who is a big softie. He has a cat flap but spends 90% of his time indoors. He never scratches anything but his scratching post. He is a very successful hunter and we do get a lot of murder presents and he uses the bonnet of my car as lookout point so it is covered in cat paw prints. Five weeks is a long time to be away and a cat won't understand what is going on so maybe wait until you are at home more?. That would be the sensible thing to do so almost certainly not what I would do

[FlorayG]

Please adopt don't shop. So many kittens are abandoned and they are just as good as ones that have a bit of paper that says they are worth a lot of money - which is all it is.