hora - Member
Should we get a cat?
Yes.
Male or female? I was thinking avoid pedigrees? Any tips? Keep indoors first then catflap etc going forward?
My rule of thumb:
1. Male
2. No balls (neutered if you wish)
3. Square face or big head (like them that way so when I pat them I feel good)
4. Short fur
5. Pedigree or not does not matter so long as you love the cat and it loves you back.
6. De-worm them from time to time.
Ours were always indoor or within the compound of our house. They know we did not want them to go beyond that. If they ventured into neighbours' yard we called them back ... they then slowly walked back like a pussy cat taking their sweet time when called but grumbled a bit (ours did) because we spoiled their outings. 😛
struts around like a drugged up Joanna Lumley
🙂
Ours doesn't like being picked up a lot, isn't too good at making it obvious he wants food and is then not very patient and wanders off before you have got his food ready, and doesn't sit on your lap unless the wife is wearing her fleece dressing gown. Sleeps on the bed every night though.
Whether cat or dog or whatever, always go to the local rescue, they aren't highly strung or the vet bill fest and you don't have to pay thousands to a person who makes a living out of generating animals that we already have an oversupply of
I had a feral one around the farm buildings for months. Used to sleep on top of the hay but would run a mile if you approached. I used to talk gently to it whenever I was down there and she eventually became a bit less scared. Eventually I was able to get close enough to give her a saucer of milk (honest) and she came and drank it and followed me to the house for more. After that she came indoors and didn't go out all winter. She is a really beautiful character, gentle and kind and will sit next to you for hours. But she doesn't like to be picked up or handled. She is definitely MY cat, though she does tolerate Mrsfarmer too
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Check out you lit with your posh cats! I've got a runt moggy and it's a complete idiot.
Cats are the best. I love cats. Here is my current cat, Marsha, in a box:
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She's a dopey old mog. She likes attacking my wife's head when she's trying to get to sleep, and she's not really one for sitting on laps, although she can sometimes be persuaded to sit on me for a few minutes. She once got stuck up a chimney. Cat haters who worry about cats murdering all the local wildlife will be pleased to know that Marsha is just about capable of catching earthworms, but anything with an internal skeleton and functioning reflexes is way beyond her skills.
I don't know if Hora should get a cat, but if everyone else could just carry on posting pics of their cats that would be great. 😀
Ours. Also a rescue. Again she's not an overly affectionate thing that wants to sit on your lap at every opportunity but the kids love her.
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....and this is the dopey one from next door who thinks that this is the easiest way to catch birds..
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We have 3 adults (stray ones that come and go as they wish and make our home theirs) and 3 kittens now.
My parents feed them and let them be to give them all the freedom they need. No restriction whatsoever.
They are non-aggressive and let us pat them as we don't like aggressive ones regardless of the cuteness ... if they are aggressive we kick them out instantly.
Want us to feed you then bow, submit and know your place pussies!
We have rescued many dogs and cats in the past from dog or cat catchers. If they are caught they would be bludgeoned to death. It is the first blow to the head that you see the animal spinning in agony as it's head split opened.
Cat haters who worry about cats murdering all the local wildlife
Don't just dismiss it as cat haters. I worry about it and I grew up with a cat. My parents still have him, he's nearly 19 and he's great. Fortunately he doesn't go outside any more, but he used to bring a few things back.
Studies have shown that owners underestimate their cat's predation rate, typically by three times, and that cats in the UK kill hundreds of millions of small animals every year. The effect this has on other animal and bird life isn't clear, but a lot of bird populations are in decline. I wouldn't get my own cat.
We have a rescue cat. We have no insurance and have maybe had £300 worth of vet bills over 11 years (the trick is to find a vet that cares for animals rather than one who buys a new Audi every 18 months; seriously, there are a lot of practices out there that trade big time on the british sentimentality about animals). If our cat get seriously ill then, well, he's had a really good life with us and I'm not spending £2k so he can get another 6 months of life.
Depends if you live near or on a busy road. We lost one cat at age 15 to traffic, got two males to replace her, a year later they both. Got run over within a fortnight of each other.
Their replacement is now 18 and doesn't even like going outside.
Cat haters who worry about cats murdering all the local wildlife
You can teach the cat not to harm wildlife. We did.
However, the stubborn ones will still do it occasionally but if we yell at them, then they would stop and pretend to do something else ... 🙄
Don't just dismiss it as cat haters. I worry about it and I grew up with a cat. My parents still have him, he's nearly 19 and he's great. Fortunately he doesn't go outside any more, but he used to bring a few things back.Studies have shown that owners underestimate their cat's predation rate, typically by three times, and that cats in the UK kill hundreds of millions of small animals every year. The effect this has on other animal and bird life isn't clear, but a lot of bird populations are in decline. I wouldn't get my own cat.
Eh. Given that cats have been here for thousands of years and for most of that time weren't fed nice stuff from Mr Whiskas' tins to keep them happy and lazy, or population controlled (other than with a bag, a brick, and a body of water), I suspect that their current effect on the general modern habitat is pretty small relative to what they used to do to small furry things. And yet, there are still shit loads of small furry things for them to catch.
As for population decline in birds, I don't think you can lay that one on cats either. OK, there's been a decline in bird life, but why? There's been no correlated increase in cat populations. Are cats getting more vicious, better at killing birds? Most people's cats don't kill *that* many, even accounting for underestimation. Is there a subset of new super-killer cats picking off thousands of birds every year? Doubt it. I think we'd need to look at, ooh, pesticides killing off food sources, or pollution from motor vehicles perhaps, for a more likely culprit.
Whatevs: cats are ace. La la la. 😛
ours is called Marsha too
Excellent! Our Marsha is named after a) Marsh, the bit of Huddersfield where she came from and b) Marsha Klein from Spaced, "Hello Brian". 🙂
I have something that might sound like a very dumb question. Several posters have had several cats in sequence - so you guys may have the answer.
We had a cat until early last year. We had him for 16 years and frankly he was very much adored. I am not sure if we would ever feel the same about another - and if possible would like to avoid finding out the hard way...
Do/can you love a subsequent cats as much as your first? I know it sounds stupid...
Some of the pictures of the pussies above have menacing look about them ... I doubt I would like to stroke them. 
There is a local black and white cat that when I stroke it once it's alright but if I stroke it again it would try to bite me.
What the cat does not know is that I have a way of holding the cat that I can hold it without it even able to bite me i.e. locking it's front leg with one hand and it's mouth is too far to bite.
I know this trick because I played with all my pussies through out my life ... it's one of their weakness. I put them in their place. 😛
jamj1974 - Member
Do/can you love a subsequent cats as much as your first? I know it sounds stupid...
Yes, all of them but there are several that I love very much.
No.......cats are rubbish.
Unless it's a British Blue, in which case, yes because they're more like cuddly bears than cats.
Awesome indeed.
Do/can you love a subsequent cats as much as your first? I know it sounds stupid...
Well, I lost my favourite cat ever last summer. She was the best thing in the world and I loved her to bits, I could bang on about how marvellous she was for ages but I'll spare you. Marsha is great and that but she's not Deeley (I reckon she misses her too).
I've had lots of lovely cats over the years, none of them as ace as Deeley was but I'd still rather have known them too than not. If I get to meet a cat even 1/10 as ace as her in the future I'll be happy. Get another cat! We're totally getting another one at some point soon, oh yes.
We just have a series of 'lost boys' who have turned up and moved in over the years. All real characters and I wouldn't want to have been without them.
Theres been no correlated increase in cat populations
How do you figure that one? There have been two peer reviews studies that I can find that estimate the UK cat population, one in 1989, which put it at 6.2million, and another in 2010 that put it at 10.3million. I'd say that's an increase. Its pretty clear that it's not a remotely natural phenomenon, and the population is way above the number of wildcats that would naturally exist if we weren't keeping domestic cats as pets. You are certainly right that the link between cats and the bird population decline is up for debate, I'd just rather not have a cat in case they are causing the problem.
Also, I posted this in one of the dog threads, it wasn't very popular. I suspect it won't be too popular here, but I found it interesting, and I hope people might give it some consideration before they decide to take on more pets:
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For reference, at the time of the study, the carbon footprint of the average Ethiopian was 0.67ha, and the average citizen of Vietnam 0.76ha.
Johnny Panic - great vid
You should watch a few of these (Simon's Cat) videos before deciding...
...they're more or less like documentaries, just need David Attenborough narrating 😉
The answer of course is yes, cats are mint.
Apologies for fuzzy shot - was a bit of a opportunist shot yesterday
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This is Timmy. He's ace. He also appears to have found a mouse nest somewhere this week.
I really like cats as individuals - if one is wanting to be friendly I'll reciprocate, but there's *three* cats which shit in my garden *every day*, that's 3 times 365 instances of poo-ing a year.
Cats kill birds and small creatures and can spread toxoplasmosis too, a google on the disease can prove enlightening.
Only get a cat if you really want a cat, but *please* don't let it poo in other people's gardens and kill birds and small animals too. :-/
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TimothyD - Member
Only get a cat if you really want a cat, but *please* don't let it poo in other people's gardens and kill birds and small animals too. :-/
Ours poo in our garden and are forbidden to kills birds but rat is fine.
If you're having to ask on a forum whether you should get a cat I'd say that's a sign you're not ready for one and the commitment they require.
When you are ready for one you'll just know it and then go and get one no matter what anyone else says.
I'm not really sure how you can stop your cat pooing in other peoples gardens. I don't think ours does, but I can't follow the sodding thing about all day, she definately poo's behind a bush in our garden though.
Does anyone else cat follow them when they go for a family walk? It was odd having to carry ours across a stream because she had decided to follow - we now have to lock her up or make the kids run so she gives up and goes home. That cat carrier could be handy 😆
Yes. Here are mine.
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BigEaredBiker - Member
I'm not really sure how you can stop your cat pooing in other peoples gardens. I don't think ours does, but I can't follow the sodding thing about all day, she definately poo's behind a bush in our garden though.
Ours usually poo at the same location within our compound. They knew that's their "toilet" if not then they would poo in the bathroom floor (in Asia that's a hole in the ground for drainage so just pour water to "flush" out the poo).
Does anyone else cat follow them when they go for a family walk?
Yes, some ours would follow but because there were many dogs about we usually made them stay at home or they stopped when they saw a pack of dogs about.
There used to be an old lady in the Toon here walking her old dog and cat everyday ... rather peaceful to see three of them together. 😀
If I was considering getting a cat, I would definitely be thinking of an outdoor run for it/them. That way it wouldn't get run over, sh#t in other people's gardens or kill any songbirds etc.
They look pretty cool too, like a cat assault course! Out in that in the day, inside at night, sorted!
We found out on Thursday that cats and hamsters don't mix.
Kids think Hamster has gone off to hibernate.
Try fostering first.
+1
This isn't a dig at you, but did you previously give a pet dog up Hora?
Not having enough spare time for a dog wouldn't be in my top 10 reasons to get a cat, TBH.
Hora, do not under any circumstances get a pedigree or pay for a cat. There are loads of unwanted cats that need homes. Also get it neutered/spayed immediately if it's not already.
Cats are pretty low maintenance if they go outside to do their business, although you may piss off the neighbours if you don't have a big garden. Bells on collars can be used to reduce (but not eliminate) small animal slaughter.
Don't believe anyone who tells you ex-strays can't be tamed. This one was pretty much feral two years ago before we took him in.....
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No, because all cats are arseholes.
They are not affectionate, they are soulless mercenaries - they don't purr as a sign of affection, they do it for food/warmth. If they sit on your lap it’s because you’re the most comfortable place in that room at that time – ours used to like to stick their claws in anyone they sat on if they moved so much a millimetre, just warn them not to endanger their comfort again. If someone else offers them better food or more comfortable surroundings they will forget you in an instant.
They look all cute and furry when they’re kittens, and all sleek and elegant for a good few years after that, but then they become old, ratty aggressive bastards who shit and piss everywhere – one of ours used to look at an open door 2 meters away as say “nah, **** ‘em” and shit on the kitchen floor instead – have you ever gone into someone’s house and instantly thought – “bloody hell, that’s some funky cat smell!” Well, that will be your house, only you’ll get used to it and you won’t notice – but all your friends will.
When our two cats had to be put down at 16 and 17 years old, it broke my heart, it really did - when the first one fell ill I spent a fortune of my own money (they came with the Wife, who in turn got them from her Mum when she passed on and no insurance company wanted to cover them) on various tests and x-rays, the Vet continued to offer hope for just a few hundred more, then a few hundred more and why not a few more - thankfully a lovely Ventry Nurse pulled me aside when the Vet wasn’t about and told me the facts of life – I was burning through cash just to find out what was going to kill this poor suffering Cat anyway so I signed the paperwork for euthanasia.
When the second cat fell ill 2 years later I was more pragmatic about it, she was 17 years old and had been less and less active for a while so I just signed the paperwork – frankly after we got over the initial grief we were relieved and vowed never to get another pet.
This isn't a dig at you, but did you previously give a pet dog up Hora?
If I remember correctly he did this due to issues between the dog and his new son. It was a very responsible thing to do.
Cats are the devil incarnate, don't have em in the house.
Cats are ace
Fat George hiding from his two female housemates
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Get a cat, get two cats and listean to them turn your home into Brands Hatch at 3am or turn your bath into a skate park at 4am. Nothing i like better than waking up to the wrong end of a cat or having two cats kneeding my face when i try to lie in.
Don't get me started on wallpaper opinions. Oh! and cat litter! blooming cat litter! WTF just cover your doings over, no need to dig down to the earths core and dispose of it (although sometimes it's a good idea).
Get a cat (i want others to experience my [s]pain[/s] joy )
Get two cats and film your own fight club (baby cat butt wiggle is to die for)
PS
You will never have to pee alone
