[Closed] Why is it a bad idea to have a cat?

If you can't talk yourself out of it... you deserve one.

When you fall down the stairs, they'll wait till you stop twitching too much, then feast on your eyeballs.
That, and they shed a lot of hair.

They bring presents into the house! It turns out the mice are just for me as she (the cat) hasn't blessed us with any while I've been away for the last few days.

They're better then dogs, and dog owners know it, so they will resent you.

Cats are ace. There's no down side. From time to time they may even allow you to feel like you're the one in charge in the relationship. Maybe. Not often though 😀

and I'm allergic to them

Non that I can think of* - cats are ace! If my GF allowed it I would have 30 of the fluffy buggers and be a mad old cat lady (allowing for ageing & successful gender reassignment).

*Aside from them causing asthma @ age 33 🙁
Seems I've got it for life now, but I'm not too badly affected.
Allergies apparently most likely with male, dark haired ones - according to my interweb research.

stupid question regarding your allergic/not allergic other-half:

what colour is the cat?

You have to either pay for cattery or get a neighbour/friend to feed them when you go away at the weekend.

Oh and based on our experience, if they get excessively stressed by something (eg next door's cat or similar) they may start pissing or crapping in the house to mark their territory...

fleas and the occasional dead mouse left on your pillow as a thank you present, thats about it for me.

but,i get a belly laugh almost every night with the stuff my 2 (sid vicious and moggy) get up to.

You can't spontaneously go away for the weekend or longer. And your kitchen smells of stale catfood.

Cats rule. Literally.

Seriously - they bring warmth and companionship and are good fun. They get a bit quieter when they're older but don't we all?

Go for it.

Not sure there is a downside...oh and you don't [i]have[/i] a cat, a cat has you.
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Fleas and presents, otherwise they are THE pet to have. Oh, get a cat hatch please, nothing sadder than an imprisoned cat.

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What are the downsides of having a moggy?

It's not a bad idea, they'll get rid of flies and bugs for you.
On the down side they'll wake you up at annoying times of the night bringing in caught animals in various stages of consumption, the live animals are the worst as they make more noise.
Have they been spayed, if not how old are they, the earlier they are done the less they spray and smell.
They'll eat you out of house and home.

Cat Protection society

We still have our feline lodger. She sleeps under the car, or if it's sunny in a big flower pot in the garden.

Meows wildly for attention, purrs hypnotically and closes her eyes in ecstasy if you pick her up and cradle her.

Her real owners must WTF their cat has gone...

He's a 2-year old tom, recently spayed & full of beans despite the fact he had to have major abdominal surgery a couple of weeks ago after being hit by a car.

(can't get video to YouTube play in Firefox but it works on IE...weird)

Siberian cats are considered anti-allergic by many people - one of my sisters has two. Apparently the breed lacks a certain protein in their saliva which many people are allergic to. Contrary to the commonly held belief it's not the fur which causes the allergic reaction but the saliva on it.

Of course you would need to be happy owning a poncey looking pedigree breed :

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Personally I prefer British short haired mongrels.

Pussy is ALWAYS high maintainance

Awwww cute moggies
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Unfortunatly it's not true, murdering bastards the pair of em!

shit, decline in the number of garden birds, did I mention shit?

As a confirmed dog lover I was surprised how much I've enjoyed having a couple of cats (I rehomed them from a friend).
They're independent, pleased to to see (when you have food in your hand) and entertaining.
Downsides - the odd dead mouse, taking a dead squirrel away from them and the live baby bird he brought in as a present, that wasn't my idea of fun at 4am. De-fleaing and worming them is a bit of a pain but some chicken helps them get over the inconvenience of being wrapped in a towel.
Keep the cat is my advice

I love cats. I have 4. They are all girls. It costs £80 a go to get them spayed, we didn't get one done in time so we had 8 cats. (fortunately cute kittens are easy to rehome).

Costs a fortune in food, which they eat all the time.
they S**t everywhere, they also wee in my basement, which has a yellowish floor so i always step in it whilst wearing to socks to get my bike out and put my shoes on at 5am.
Last night there was a bad smell in our bedroom, it was a large dead rat.
There is a pigeon blood stain on my stairs.
Leather sofa= scratching post.
Fluff on all my clothes.
they sleep on my side of the bed and hiss if i try to move them
they still want more food, so if I eat anything they are trying to get heads on the bowl.
there is feathers all over the garden, but I can't find a body...

Ooooooooooh at last a thread I like.

Cats are ace, they're independent and not as 'needy' as dogs plus you don't have to walk them.

I've always had rescue cats apart from one big bu**er called Mr Darcy who is a Maine Coon who is as big as this one.....

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You can go away over night if they've enough food and water etc and they don't chew shoes

Ours has the tendency to favour her dad *Binners* and likes to sit on his Guardian and is generally the only person who can get a smile out of him when he's got a grump on.....

OMG Khani they are lovely!!!!

Vomiting at the foot of the bed at 2am.
Hair EVERYWHERE.
Unsociable.
Suspicious aroma from the corner by the door in the hall...

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killing all the local birds and beasts.

killing all the local birds and beasts.

The OP wasn't asking about the downside of keeping an upper-class toff.

Our little Button

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He chases silver foil balls and brings them back over and over just like a dog. And if I bat the ball with my slipper, he places the ball back in the slipper!

OK, the "persuading me otherwise" is not going so well. On top of insurance (c. 7 quid a month) what do I need to pay for?
Food - he's on Purina at the moment and I'd like to keep him on dried stuff (less stinky). Is the fancy Hills/Purina and better than Pets@Home own brand biscuits?
Vet bills - no idea what annual costs/check ups he'll need.
Anything else? Lots of websites say start up costs of >200 quid for a bed, toys etc but he seems happy with a cardboard box, an old towel and some string.

I'd like to keep him on dried stuff (less stinky)

I don't think it is. I am mistrustful of that artificial stuff. And never buy Iams, it's like smack for cats, they go mental demanding tons of it from you and you have no choice but to give it to them, and then they get fat.

We left a bowl of Purina out for ours all the time, he just grazed through the day. Tried Iams and he wolfed the lot as soon as we put it down.

Don't buy beds and toys. The cat will ignore whatever you spend money on, usually 🙂

There are two ways to stop them killing local beasties - one is keep them inside at night, the other is to never let them out hungry. Although this doesn't work with some bloodthirsty cats, it works with most.

And poo isn't a problem - your own cat should bury its own and it'll keep other cats away too.

OMG Khani they are lovely!!!!

It's just cost me £55 for her annual jabs.
Other than that, the Frontline (well [url= http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-6976-effipro-spot-on-flea-treatment-for-cats-4.aspx ]a copy[/url]) Flea prevention stuff is about a tenner for 4 doses (1 dose a month).

The worst cost is the cattery when you're away...

Ours eats Iams mostly with the odd bit of meaty stuff from time to time.

Don't buy beds and toys. The cat will ignore whatever you spend money on, usually

Oh... one of the vilest thinks known to man, is having a moggy wake you up by nuzzling your face then, as you come round, releasing the full on catfood-stench-yawn in your face

BARF!!!

ernie_lynch - Member

"killing all the local birds and beasts."

The OP wasn't asking about the downside of keeping an upper-class toff.

Sorry - easy mistake to make

Oh... one of the vilest thinks known to man, is having a moggy wake you up by nuzzling your face then, as you come round, releasing the full on catfood-stench-yawn in your face

BARF!!!

Or waking up in the morning on lying on your back only to immediately look straight into a cats a$$ as it's stood on your chest facing the other way.

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Our Jessica Rabbit Madonna Edwards or Jess as she's more commonly known

Don't buy beds and toys. The cat will ignore whatever you spend money on, usually

+1

Our cats enjoy a cardboard box, elastic band (one of them actually eats them), their own tails, and a brush or comb.

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Yep toys ignored or scared of, but dressing gown cords, cotton hanging off clothes, flies and imaginary bits of fluff all good to go

Downside? Screaming bunnies being devoured under your bed at 2am.. scream, scream, crunch, scream etc. etc.

Other than that, it's all good.. weekends away are no problem - just put down plenty of dry food.

clubber - Member
You have to either pay for cattery or get a neighbour/friend to feed them when you go away at the weekend.

Oh and based on our experience, if they get excessively stressed by something (eg next door's cat or similar) they may start pissing or crapping in the house to mark their territory..

These are the main problems as I see it.
We got our cat from a rescue home and she was fine for a while, but then started marking her territory all over the house. We tried loads to stop it, but never really did.
Moved house recently & touch wood - she has completely stopped. Like a different cat though.

She was ill a while ago that cost Petplan >£3k.

This was a pic of her once we got her home....
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and some pics once she recovered:

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