Should I Get a Kitten(s)?

Folken Fanel · July 2009

So I know there's an existing kitten thread, but I didn't want to hijack it, and many of my questions are more basic anyway. First of all, I want advice about whether or not I should get one based on my current situation, and if so, how I should go about getting one? What easily accessible resources are available to me to educate myself? More specifically...

I'm currently a grad student, so I'll be away from my 1bed/1bath apartment most of the day. I'm more of a dog person, but I'd hate to leave it alone all day. This was my mentality for getting a cat, as I hear they're not as lonely, especially if I get two.

How much money can I expect to spend on getting the kitten(s), vaccines, food, etc, etc? I make about $25k a year as a grad student so its nice to budget accordingly.

I don't know squat about breeds. Recommendations?

How hard is it to correct undesired behavior, aka scratching/clawing furnitute, chewing wires (I have wires all over my apartment), pissing/shitting on things that aren't litter boxes, etc? I'd obviously get a scratching post (they're all the same, right?) and probably a spray bottle (filled with water) to zap the fuckers if I ever catch them chewing wires. Is there ever any way to keep kittens from doing shit they aren't supposed to while I'm away?

I currently own a 4-foot long ball python. He (naturally) stays in his heating tank and never comes out, except for feeding. Besides keeping the kittens in a separate room while he feeds, what other things should I consider when introducing kittens into the environment. The tank is currently on the floor with a blanket on top of it (ball pythons don't like to feel "exposed"). How do I keep curious kittens from from fucking with the snake?

I'd prefer not to declaw. I'd like to know the pros/cons anyway.

What are the best things to feed it? How vast is the difference in quality for cat foods?

I like to go home (school in FL, home in MA) during school breaks in Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, but my dad is allergic to cats. I'd hate to torture him whenever I go home, but I'm not sure what I'd do with cats while I was gone. I'd really like to hear some solutions to this other than leaving them with friends.

Thanks!

EDIT: This will be a strictly indoor cat.

The LandoStander · July 2009

My wife and I adopted our cat Apollo (he was previously named Polo) almost 4 years ago, since then we've added a black pug to the mix.

Firstly, the cost:

Apollo is a male, long haired blue point Himalayan/Persian. Any male cat that is not a kitten should be on a cat food that deals with urinary tract health, provided they don't have other more immediate health concerns. Male cats can get urinary tract infections and are also prone to having 'crystals' form in their blood as a result of their difficulty in breaking down certain things, which can be fatal. Also yearly check ups will run you in the neighborhood of $100 - $300 dependent on the vet. Apollo has a somewhat rare genetic problem in that his gums will randomly sort of pull back from a tooth and expose the nerve ending which then needs to be removed, tooth and all. Which demonstrates that an 'emergency' or illness like this can result in bills well past $1000.

My wife and I don't pull in much more than 20k a year either but we manage just fine thankfully.

Next, Kitten or not:

I would recommend adopting an older cat (Apollo was 6 when we got him) and he's a very mellow gentleman who prefers pacifism when it comes to people and hiding when it comes to strangers in the house. Kittens shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time, they tend to get into things, though crating them is an option but it means you'll be cleaning up kitty pee and poo from a little crate. With an older cat, you can get an idea of how they act around other pets and whether or not they're house trained. Kittens involve a decent amount of work, vaccinations, training and general care/supervision. With your situation I really would push for an adult cat, to be honest adult cats really need to be adopted (everyone loves kittens) so why not open your heart to an older cat when others might not?

Food:

Male cats are, again best kept on a urinary tract health diet. Apollo only ever wants to eat dry food but I've heard some recommendations of mixing it up a bit with some wet and some dry. It really depends on the cat and their individual needs. I'd say that Apollo eats a medium bag of his food every month or so. The stuff we get is the Purina Urinary Tract formula and it runs maybe $17 a shot or so.

Litter:

Some cats are picky but Arm & Hammer makes some nice stuff. I'm not a fan of the Pine litter or the Wheat litter that you can supposedly flush and have less environmental impact, plus Apollo doesn't like the Pine stuff. With kittens you can buy training pads and sort of transition them into the litter (again another plus for adopting an adult cat).

Travel:

Cats are surprisingly vengeful little bastards. They will pee on things just because they're upset, and it's typically something that holds a lot of your odor like your bed, pillow, laundry etc. As a result my wife and I have found that Apollo can be left alone for about 48 hours with free reign of the condo. Kitty Carriers are pretty much a must, even if the only trip you make is to the vet. My wife and I tried ONCE to just have Apollo in the car with us and he actually tried to hide by my feet, right under the pedals. Needless to say that was not a good thing, and was the last time Apollo was transported without a crate. If your father is allergic, having a cat may be problematic, though some breeds of cat do tend to be a bit more hypoallergenic. DO NOT leave your cat alone for a long string of days, take him with you and set him up in a secondary bathroom or something that you can shut the door and sort of let him have something of a hotel room to live in for the duration of your visit. Afterwards a good vacuuming etc. should take care of any dander issues unless your dad is deathly allergic. If you can't take the cat with, having a trusted friend come by every day for a little visit may be the best way to go. Again, adult cats travel better/deal with alone time better than kittens.

Declawing:

Some people will tell you this is the most barbaric/worst thing you can do to a cat. There are of course some exceptions/qualifiers in my opinion. Apollo's original owners (we got him from his second owner) had no idea how to care for a cat and had all of his claws removed. This is almost never a good idea, as it affects the cat's personality (Apollo is a wimpy guy) but that being said, I'm glad that my wife and I as well as his second owner were able to have Apollo, because a fully declawed cat has sort of special needs in that he can't ever really be let outside for obvious reasons of lack of defense, plus dependent on the method used to declaw, cats can be hobbled as it were. Apollo still fake claws at things, he works his little knuckles on things that other cats would be shredding. If you're planning on having this cat of your be an indoor/outdoor cat, then claws are helpful. I personally advocate for an all indoor cat, I watched a cat get run over by a truck once and it very nearly broke my heart to see a half crushed cat crawling for its life before dying just shy of the sidewalk. I know people say cats can take care of themselves, but humans are just so good at hurting animals of all sorts that I can't really justify taking such risks. If you go for the indoor only option a front declaw isn't out of the question. Cats use primarily their back claws for defense and their front for marking and playing so provided they're never going to see the outside world beyond perhaps a supervised walk in the back yard, a front declaw isn't a horrible thing. There are two basic procedures for declawing a cat. The old method is really a glorified grab and yank operation that sort of cuts/tears the claw out of the last knuckle of the cat toe, hence the long recovery time and a risk of lameness. Recently though a method using laser surgery has come into mainstream use and is the preferred method of most reputable vets, some will only perform this type of declawing. Recovery time is reduced to less than a week and is much less detrimental to the cat's health, so if your cat is an active claw-er this is a viable option in my book.

Cats are great companions and my advice is of course by no means the beginning and end. Check out a book about cat breeds from the library. K.I.S.S. Cat Care is a book my wife got when we got Apollo and it's been helpful a few times. Talk to friends about good local vets (expensive doesn't always equal better) and hop on Petfinder.com to see what's available in your area. Again, I'd urge you to consider adopting an adult cat from a shelter or another owner (sometimes people will ask that you pay them $50 for adopting the cat. This is because companies will actually 'adopt' cats and other pets with the intent of just using them in tests, which is sad). Lastly, I suppose I'll share what I think is easily Apollo's best picture. (The first pic is a little wide, sorry).

Apollo loves bags and boxes. Of course with bags like this one some supervision is required.

Apollo's mild nature means my wife gets to dress him up.

VisionOfClarity · July 2009

You should not get a cat. Cat's shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time anymore than a dog. And don't get two just so it's not lonely. If you're not going to be around to give it the attention it needs then don't get one, much less more than one. Why get a pet you're barely ever going to see when you already have one?

Oh and declawing is terribly cruel and inhumane and for people who really don't care for training, proper trimming or capping, essentially the most lazy of owners. If you can't have a cat with claws then don't get one.

Folken Fanel · July 2009

How long is considered too long? I mean I don't have to study on campus all day, I can just come home to study and make other adjustments.

VisionOfClarity · July 2009

People often get cats thinking that it's fine to be gone 11, 12 hours a day no problem because they go to the bathroom in a box. That's crazy. People often confuse the fact that they don't have a bond with their cat because they're never with it with the cat being 'independent'. If you're going to be gone on a long day once in a while that's fine.

Orogogus · July 2009

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

You should not get a cat. Cat's shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time anymore than a dog. And don't get two just so it's not lonely. If you're not going to be around to give it the attention it needs then don't get one, much less more than one. Why get a pet you're barely ever going to see when you already have one?

Oh and declawing is terribly cruel and inhumane and for people who really don't care for training, proper trimming or capping, essentially the most lazy of owners. If you can't have a cat with claws then don't get one.

One flip side to these arguments, at least where I live, is that many shelters are destroying animals regularly due to lack of space and funding, a situation that's only likely to get worse, and the shelter life doesn't necessarily provide animals with as much attention as they might like, either.

VisionOfClarity · July 2009

Orogogus wrote: »

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

You should not get a cat. Cat's shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time anymore than a dog. And don't get two just so it's not lonely. If you're not going to be around to give it the attention it needs then don't get one, much less more than one. Why get a pet you're barely ever going to see when you already have one?

Oh and declawing is terribly cruel and inhumane and for people who really don't care for training, proper trimming or capping, essentially the most lazy of owners. If you can't have a cat with claws then don't get one.

One flip side to these arguments, at least where I live, is that many shelters are destroying animals regularly due to lack of space and funding, a situation that's only likely to get worse, and the shelter life doesn't necessarily provide animals with as much attention as they might like, either.

There's also a reason most shelters ask how often you'll be away from home. They don't adopt to people who aren't going to see the animal more than a couple hours a day.

Orogogus · July 2009

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Orogogus wrote: »

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

You should not get a cat. Cat's shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time anymore than a dog. And don't get two just so it's not lonely. If you're not going to be around to give it the attention it needs then don't get one, much less more than one. Why get a pet you're barely ever going to see when you already have one?

Oh and declawing is terribly cruel and inhumane and for people who really don't care for training, proper trimming or capping, essentially the most lazy of owners. If you can't have a cat with claws then don't get one.

One flip side to these arguments, at least where I live, is that many shelters are destroying animals regularly due to lack of space and funding, a situation that's only likely to get worse, and the shelter life doesn't necessarily provide animals with as much attention as they might like, either.

There's also a reason most shelters ask how often you'll be away from home. They don't adopt to people who aren't going to see the animal more than a couple hours a day.

The no-kill shelters near me are like this, and they're animal relocation centers more than anything else. In the shelters where the time limit to euthanization is going down in response to budget cuts, they are much less choosy.

The LandoStander · July 2009

I would say that for an average work day, a cat does just fine by itself. If your absence pushes past 48 hours there's a problem, but a night away from your place of residence is hardly cruelty, especially considering it is air conditioned/heated (hopefully) and is stocked with food and water (assuming you are responsible).

My cat doesn't eat a compulsively so he can just have food set out throughout the day. I've found he goes through about 2/3 of a cup each day and he's actually surprisingly healthy for a nearly decade old cat, at about 9 pounds, our vet is always surprised he's got all day access to food.

Peoples' definition of cruelty differs quite a bit. As of the present however no laws that I'm aware of exist in regards to having your cat declawed. It isn't advisable to take their back claws, but my cat came that way. My sister's cat has her back claws but for the front she had the laser procedure. She was cranky for a day, had to use special litter for a week and was back to being her usual talky little self craving affection after a night's rest.

You have to decide in the end what to do. I think an adult cat and your determination to not be away all day should be acceptable. I think most cat owners work, after all someone has to keep the kitty fed, so the idea of never leaving your cat alone is a bit absurd. Also, get a sticker for your window/door to alert firemen and emergency workers to your cat's presence in the case of a fire etc.

VisionOfClarity · July 2009

Shelters won't adopt out to people who say they will declaw for a reason. It's on par with saying you won't fix it or it will be an outdoor cat in terms of being a surefire way to get your application rejected. There is no reason to get your cat declawed other than you don't feel like trimming, capping or training.

The stance of the MSPCA.

The stance of the ASPCA.

And the Wiki article which outlines how it is actually banned in many parts of the world as cruelty and in some US locations as well.

Rhino · July 2009

Couple things:

I ussually suggest if you are going to get one, get two. It's not that much more work; but they won't get as lonely and in my experience, seem happier. Getting two from the same litter is ideal (since they are already 'bonded' and close with each other).

Also call around and find a vet in your area. Ask how much it'll be for shots, spading/neturing and anything else you might want (de-clawing?) or anything you might not know about. Cats can be expensive! Make sure you know costs. While your at it, goto walmart and look around at prices on cat food, litter, pans, etc. Make sure you are ready for the cost. Some vets also offer "Pet Insurance" which might be worth it depending on your sisuation.

Declawing: Read up on this. Many people make arguments that it's inhumane. I personally don't do it.

> What are the best things to feed it? How vast is the difference in quality for cat foods?

Look at the ingredients. Cats are meat eaters. They eat meat. Look for food that lists some sort of meat (chicken, fish, etc) as the first most ingredients. A lot of cheap cat food uses fillers like corn or rice. Cat's don't eat corn and rice in the wild, they eat meat.

Also watch out for "meat by-product" for the first ingredient. Make sure it's meat; not meat by-product.

Aurora Borealis · July 2009

I think you should get a grown-up cat. The reason every cat thread says to get two is that kittens can keep each other occupied when you are not there. But an adult cat is more likely to be fine all by her onesies, in fact a lot of cats prefer not to share.
Kittens need more supervision, and yes you can train them more specifically but it can be a lot of work. But an adult cat in a new territory can be pretty capable of learning what is and isn't acceptable.
I think a nice mellow older cat would suit you nicely. When you go to the shelter or whatever, they'll probably be able to tell you "oh, this cat is very sweet and likes to just chill" or "oh, this cat has a big personality". And you can tell a lot by how they react to you. I picked out mine because she snuggled right up to me. It was like magic.
Also some personalities run with the breed. Orange tabbies, for example, are often very personable and calm. A purebred Siamese, not so much.
My cat usually travels with me, but not always. If I'm gone for more than two days I have somebody check on her. Just get a trusted friend to stop by your house and look after the animals. My friends usually welcome a chance to hang out with my cat for an hour, it's not a big deal. She's mad at me when I get home, and demands extra attention for the next week, but she doesn't starve or get depressed or anything.

Entriech · July 2009

You already have a pet, you're on a small budget, and you say you're more of a dog person. I'm not sure that adding a cat or two to that equation is the wisest thing to do.

Penny Arcade

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