The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Cat people opinions required!
jungleroomx
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
So, Im a newly single guy looking for work and have been putting some serious consideration towards getting a Maine Coon. However, Im concerned about a few things and dont want to be a bad owner.
1. Ill be the only person at the apartment, and Ill be working. This means the guy will be left alone 8+ hours a day.
2. I havent had a cat since I was 5. I did pretty well catsitting my sisters furball the other weekend, but that cat is about as low maintenance as it gets.
3. If I do get him, concerns about the litter box smell persist. Has this stuff gotten better over the years?
Again, Id like some companionship when I move into my new place, but Im also not trying to be a horrible pet parent. Is the Maine Coon a good choice as a single pet to be home alone during the day?
1. Ill be the only person at the apartment, and Ill be working. This means the guy will be left alone 8+ hours a day.
2. I havent had a cat since I was 5. I did pretty well catsitting my sisters furball the other weekend, but that cat is about as low maintenance as it gets.
3. If I do get him, concerns about the litter box smell persist. Has this stuff gotten better over the years?
Again, Id like some companionship when I move into my new place, but Im also not trying to be a horrible pet parent. Is the Maine Coon a good choice as a single pet to be home alone during the day?
0
Posts
I don't know about Maine Coons in particular, but I haven't heard that they fare worse in small spaces than any other cat. It should be better than the shelter or wherever you'd get the cat from.
Scoop it every day and it should be fine though. As far as I can tell...
I don't know if that breed is particularly needy, but I've never had an issue with leaving a generic "cat" cat home for long stretches of time; including long weekends.
2.) Cats are pretty low maintenance, but I wouldn't say that's specific to Maine Coons. You could just as easily go get any cat at a shelter and get it fixed and it will probably be fine. There are plenty of them, and they won't cost you 800+ dollars for a kitten.
3.) Scoop the box twice a day, add litter if it gets low and change it all out if the cat gets sick and the smell really is minimal. The scooping thing is an absolute necessity because as soon as the cat sees the litter box is filthy, it will get in the habit of shitting on the very edge and not covering it, or finding a nice shoe somewhere.
Personally, I'd go get a pair of kittens out of a single litter from a shelter. Two cats is no additional work to one cat really, and if they're from the same litter they'll be best friends. Two rescue cats will cost you about 10% of what a Maine Coon will cost and probably be a safer bet for overall health.
For smell you can get an enclosed/domed litter box, and some have charcoal filters or a slot for a scent/deodorizer. But mainly it's just about keeping it clean, and domed/enclosed litter boxes are a bit more fiddly to clean than an open box.
I don't know about keeping maine coons in particular, though as a serial pet owner I'd recommend making a home for a shelter animal.
Quite frankly a rescue cat is just happy to be somewhere and alive. I have a rescue Maine Coon that I found at a local shelter. He has one eye and had an extra claw on each paw (common) that was malformed and growing back under his pads (not common). He also sprayed everywhere all the time. They said he was fixed.
Turns out he his testicles had just never dropped, one was wrapped around a kidney, the other was still in the canal. He was basically an unfixed cat who needed 1200$ worth of surgery 2 months after I got him and although he's a tremendous asshole, he's also the most affectionate cat I've ever had... totally happy to even be alive. I think my other cat has schizophrenia, who is also a rescue but spends his days hissing at walls and running up the cat tree and attacking the ceiling in between naps.
Cats... they are interesting.
Good on you for the rescue thing. There have been a few "my first cat" threads and people discussing dealing with any problems that arise recently. You may want to just go browse through those and see if any other concerns pop up.
Edit: Above all. Cats are creatures of habit. You'll do fine as long as you develop good habits with your cat.
They really can be hugely different animals. My big fat-ass cat is not afraid of shit, prefers not to be alone, and wants to be in a lap 80% of the day. He greats us at the door, and follows me around. Very dog like in those ways. I'm not sure whats sorts of personality coons might have, but I'd look into it.
As for litter itself, they make robot boxes that can handle some of it for you, but honestly if your cat has good litter manners, and you keep his box clean, its not a terrible process. Get a litter locker or diaper bin if its difficult for you to immediately take whatever you clean out. In the modern age, I think poop handling for dogs is a way grosser process. The litter manners are key though, my cat is a champ about it.
I always recommend getting at least two cats, so that they can keep each other company and play. But per above, sometimes cats won't necessarily get along, even if they were born and raised together. Shelters always have tons of kittens, and if you get them young enough, they will likely get along just fine.
Keep in mind that cats are incredibly individual creatures. Getting a particular breed and hoping that this will determine anything more than what it will look like is a pipe dream. Each cat has its own distinct personality. People already make this mistake with dogs, and it's doubly true with cats.
For litter, we use this pine litter instead of the usual clumping kind. I find it smells less. But it's kind of up to the cat. Some of them are picky about litter.
Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
My last two dogs shed insane amounts of fur, especially the border collie/spitz mix. Shedding and vacuuming are nothing to me. Fun fact: I have about 15 lint rollers i bought in bulk for this issue.
Well, Im not getting the breed and hoping for personality traits. I want a big ass cat, to be honest, and theyre as big as they come without getting into wild subspecies.
I know cats can be individualistic but, much like dogs, there are certain behavioral baselines.
Believe me, Im not one to pidgeonhole animal by breeds, because Ive met lazy boxers and super hyper labs. I figure cats would be no different.
1) Whether this is a problem really depends on the cat, but it's probably okay. Cats are independent and most of them are okay with long stretches of time alone. They're also naturally crepuscular, which means they spend most of the daytime sleeping. Some cats will learn your work schedule and will naturally wake up from naptime when you get home from work.
1a) A bonded pair is a good way to deal with the problem, like a brother-sister pair or two cats who previously lived in the same home. I do not recommend adopting two cats who are strangers to each other and trying to integrate them into a new home as a novice cat owner. That will be a lot more stressful to both you and the cats than simply leaving a solitary cat alone for a long time.
1b) Simply having an inviting space for a cat in front of a window can do wonders for their adjustment. You can get a cat tree, or just put a fuzzy blanket or pet bed on an end table by a windowsill. Warm + soft + window = kitty's favorite spot in the house. Also consider that cats want to survey their environment from a high place, especially when they're someplace unfamiliar.
1c) I do recommend taking some time off of work or working from home if you can during the first week. In my experience, the more time you spend with the cat in your home environment during the first several days, the more they'll associate you with "home" and "family" in the long run. If you can't take time off, then try to bring the cat home on a Friday night so you can at least spend the whole weekend with it.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
These are my plans:
I want to (apartment permitting) install carpeted shelving at least along one wall to allow for the cat to be able to survey from above. I'd also like to make 2 hidey holes, one above (wall) and one low (possibly behind the couch) so the little guy or girl has freedom to move about as they please and also hide away if they're feeling stressed or tired or nervous around new company.
The window thing I didn't think about, but that's a great idea.
Yeah, taking leave and spending time with the furball was on the menu. It's something I did with my pups and I figured bringing in a new member of my house I should treat them no different.
Cats will find find a way to occupy themselves on their lonesome, and that might be eating your wiring/cables, destroying your houseplants, pissing in your bed, knocking over every goddamn water containing vessel in your home. They aren't unlike puppies in that regard except they seem more pre-meditated in their destruction.
If I get another young cat I might invest in a catting pole. I have no idea what they're really called, but it's like a short fishing pole with a cat bait (a couple feathers tied together) on a swivel. May not work on all cats.
So... I guess the 2 cat suggestion is something I should take serious consideration on.
But if you do get 2 or 3 or more cats, it's pretty much the exact same amount of work as one.
I'd note that while two cats generally isn't much more work than one, it's totally going to be twice as expensive. Cat food and vet bills x 2. I know some farmer types will put down a dog or cat as soon as a problem would cost money to fix, but if that's not your ethos then random issues can cost a few hundred or thousand dollars. Just budget appropriately and have money accessible just in case, is all.
World's Best Litter
Boodha Dome Covered Litterbox
Drinkwell Fountain
Bistro Automatic Feeder
Evo Dry Cat Food
Cat Hammock
Armakat Tree
Nail Trimmer
Soft Claws Nail Caps
Da bird Toy
Furminator Brush
Slick Brush
The Litter / Box / Food are just what I use. My cat is sensitive to things and gets the poops off most foods. Fountain has a filter and holds a ton of water, can be taken apart and run through the dishwasher and it keeps em drinking plenty of water, plus you don't have to fill it every day. The food dispenser is because cats like to be fat if you let them, recommended is 1/4 cup twice a day per cat, my cats got fat on that so I currently have it giving them 1/4 cup total 3x a day it's nice because it means you can sleep in and they still get fed and "smack the humans face for food" never becomes a pattern. The cat hammock (I own 2) is because they like being lazy, and will not travel far if they feel like scratching a thing so it's best they have a thing you want them to scratch that isn't your couch. The cat tree is just because it's awesome and they love it. The Furminator will remove undercoat, but it can hurt them if you use it too heavily, so get a slick brush to just groom casually and clean em up. Nail clippers and caps because it's pretty great to nip the tips of the claws and then put caps on them so they don't destroy your feet while you sleep. Da Bird is just the classic toy on a stick that you can get different heads for.
I also recommend you find some clippers that you're comfortable using on their butt. They will get litter or poop stuck or matted in the ridiculous pantaloon style fur on the backs of their legs sometimes, and just keeping that trimmed up is a good idea. Getting them used to having their feet messed with is a good idea as well, even if you don't cap their nails, they will need them trimmed once in a while.
Edit: I'm sorry for the brain dump. I was originally just commenting on the idea if you buy a good food/water dispenser they will be fine if you get stuck at work.
I can't advise there. I'd be preoccupied that now I'm responsible for 2 new lives instead of 1.
I guess I wanted to indicate that their desire to occupy themselves may manifest destructively. Make sure there is always an open path to the litter. Mine have always wanted to knock over anything with water, so we've had to adjust where we place cut flowers and we police dining/end tables more.
That said one suggestion I can echo is to get it acclimated to getting brushed often, they're pretty much all hair and while they can do a decent job cleaning their own fur, they are also prone to knots that are a pain in the ass to get out.
you just get handy with a buzzer. we have a rag doll who gets sanitary trim of his butt region. cracks down on that.
other than the brushing near every day i say you will be alright.
as far as 1 vs 2. do whatever. some cats are a one cat household, some are multiple. our first cat loved other cats to the point that we had play dates for him. our second cat hated others (except the first) and stopped us from fostering.
really depends on personality
Two cats is an INSANELY better idea than just one.
If they're a bonded pair or young enough.
The last thing I'd need is a battle royale occurring in my apartment every day when I leave.
Worse case scenario, even if that does happen, they will eventually tolerate each other. Battle royale behavior rarely continues more than week.
I've adopted several older, anti-social cats who at worst just had a few days of hissing but eventually were just part of the nap pile.
While i am all for saving two cats instead of one, i would advise to make sure they get along beforehand if possible. Alternatively, have a second placement for one of them if things don't work out.
I will vouch for that fountain. I had a cat who would only drink out of running taps, I was thrilled to learn these existed.
I will also vouch for that da bird! Everything you've hear about "Laser" pointers is true, but it's more fun for everyone when they can actually tackle their quarry.
My current pair of MCs are breeder cats with tested parents, I don't care if people hate.
Yeah, if you want or are thinking of 2, there are tons out there that are required to be together, so it's not hard.
a full maine is basically a large dog.
Seconding the advice for pairs. Having a buddy cat means they'll suffer less separation anxiety when you're gone. The downside is that it may mean they are less generally cuddly, since they don't need you for cuddles. The cats Strikor and I have are independent like that, but also have their cuddle moments. I am happy that I rescued them at the same time because it's much harder to make cats bond if you don't adopt together.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
Yes. The size was one of the selling points.
Is the other half a bobcat? That's friggin enormous
E: Scratch that "I don't know about that breed" from earlier. Looking at sizes and pictures on wikipedia, at least 2 (if not 4) of my Mom's cats match these specs.
In which case: You are making the correct choice, they are the best cats.
No wonder all my cats since have seemed like runts...
pine litter is excellent at masking odor
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Awesome, ya it wasn't meant to dissuade or anything, just sometimes people don't realize these are small bears heh.
and obligatory pic since I didn't before!
I just switched over to the recycled newspaper stuff and it works great. No odor at all (after the first day, strangely)
Plus it's crazy light