getting a kitten

[pizzathehutt]

me and the mrs are getting a kitten tomorrow

is there anything we need to know before hand? any tips?

been told about the worming and having her spade when she's 6 months

any tips for training her not to run out the front door at all? we live on a main road you see

thanks
Andrew

 

[Cazza]

Buy yourself a trowel and some dog fouling bags so you can collect all of its crap off your neighbour's lawns in a few months time. And buy a bell for its collar so at least the birds will get some warning. Shame that won't do much for the countless shrews, voles, newts, frogs, slow worms, lizards, snakes etc that it will kill during its lifetime. :?

 

[theforceuk]

Don't do it!

 

[Mini99]

Sorry to say that the best tip I can give you is...DON'T DO IT!!!
And this advice is from experience 8)

 

[Mini99]

Buy yourself a trowel and some dog fouling bags so you can collect all of its crap off your neighbour's lawns in a few months time. And buy a bell for its collar so at least the birds will get some warning. Shame that won't do much for the countless shrews, voles, newts, frogs, slow worms, lizards, snakes etc that it will kill during its lifetime. :?

I would like to say that this is funny, but it's all facts, very sad facts!
Very well summed up!

 

[Cardbackkid]

I like cats

 

[peekaygee73]

been told about the worming and having her spade when she's 6 months

If you haven't already do some research. Cats aren't as big a commitment as dogs but there's still fundamental stuff you need to know, such as how long to keep it in the house before letting it out (so you know it'll come back). But one thing I can tell you; a kitten will wreck your stuff and can climb and jump - so keep your vintage well away from it!

 

[TheJabbaWookie]

I don't know Andrew, first marriage and now a kitten... whatever next?

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

Don't listen to as the naysayers, cats are ace and if you put a bit of time in when they're young there's no reason they'll **** your **** up or wipe out the local wildlife.
I kept mine inside for at least 9 months and then gradually introduced her to the outside world. If she went anywhere near the front door though I go absolutely mental to scare the crap out of her. It seems to have worked as I've only caught her out front twice. Getting any animal to do what you want though means setting rules and sticking to them religiously, if you're worried about your collection just make that room off limits.
Buy a collar with a bell and don't let her stay out at night.
Oh and give her lots of strokes and cuddles.

 

[Dannywhiteley]

Nasty, angry little ****ers

 

[Section 8]

Tips from experience:

1. The more you handle, play and fuss them, the more friendly they will be.
2. Talk to the RSPCA about how to look after them best especially what food etc. They also spay them far cheaper than a VET.
3. If your planning on having kids in the next few years do not get a cat. Cat litter and pregnancy don't mix.
4. Do not expect it to do as it's told by commands. Yet it will be far easy to toilet train than dogs.
5. Scoop out the shits from the litter tray, rather than tolerating the smell and throwing away full trays of litter every time.
6. Get insurance.
7. Move all Star Wars, vases and valuables off shelves etc.
8. Don't let any existing kids torment the **** out of it 24/7 or it will grow to not like them. Let the cat come to them and let it sleep in peace.
9. No alarms and no surprises.
10. Get a box with some holes in it.


You only let them out of the house when they are 6 months old or so. Do not let out of the front door onto the road as they won't last long.
If you have a back door, then only allow them to leave through that door. They won't like the noise of the road if it's busy so will prefer to go out the back.

 

[subzero]

I really dislike cats, I don't hate them because I love all animals but I still hate them if you know what I mean lol.

Be wary of any neighbours who may have outdoor bird aviary's nearby, cats are ruthless if they discover one and they'll just keep coming back again and again for years trying to get kills. My dad has kept all different birds over the past 20 years in the garden and we've had 2 or 3 neighbour cats at any one time coming back every single day stalking them and scaring the **** out of the birds trying to get into the aviary. Our dog chases them away daily and a lot of the time even almost catches one, but they just don't give a **** and keep coming back. :lol: One year I even seen a cat dragging off one of our pigeons over the top of the fence, poor little ****er.

They only kill birds just for the hunt, they don't even eat them or anything they just do it for fun the little bastards lol. It can't really be stopped if they're let outside to wander about, but as mentioned above even a bell can give birds a warning something is coming.

 

[poncho]

you take a huge risk living on a main road

some cats have a good road sense some dont.

 

[theforceuk]

I do like cats as well, had three as a kid and two died in traffic accidents. Wasn't even a busy road.

I would never get another one, the wife is highly allergic to them anyway.

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

One last tip - make sure you name it after a Star Wars character.

 

[Lom]

When I was back at my old house, a neighbour had a white cat that kept shitting in my garden. My son would invariably step in it and walk it into the house. This went on for years and no matter how much I spent in cat deterrent measures it continued until it was run over a month before we moved (wasn't me guv although I had tried on a couple of occasions).

And now I've moved into my new house it appears I've inherited another shitting machine of a neighbour's cat; unfortunately this one appears to have stomach issues and a spray gun attached to its arse. At least with the previous cat I could pick up it's **** with a trowel and throw it back over my neighbours fence; don't know what to do with this one, it's like ****ing soup.

Anyway, point is I don't doubt cats are awesome to own because they look cute and they can be affectionate, but you won't have to deal with its ****, your neighbours will.

Could you keep it indoors permanently? Won't get run over and your neighbours wont hate you... Win, win.

 

[Mini99]

Nasty, angry little ****ers

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Lom, What a picture of urban happiness you paint!
:lol:

This thread has had me laughing out loud, thanks Andrew!
:? :roll:

 

[Section 8]

"Could you keep it indoors permanently? Won't get run over and your neighbours wont hate you... Win, win."

You can keep them indoors all the time and train them to get used being on a lead to take them outside.

Not sure how much this may take away from their standard of life.

 

[Cazza]

When I was back at my old house, a neighbour had a white cat that kept shitting in my garden. My son would invariably step in it and walk it into the house. This went on for years and no matter how much I spent in cat deterrent measures it continued until it was run over a month before we moved (wasn't me guv although I had tried on a couple of occasions).

And now I've moved into my new house it appears I've inherited another shitting machine of a neighbour's cat; unfortunately this one appears to have stomach issues and a spray gun attached to its arse. At least with the previous cat I could pick up it's **** with a trowel and throw it back over my neighbours fence; don't know what to do with this one, it's like ****ing soup.

Anyway, point is I don't doubt cats are awesome to own because they look cute and they can be affectionate, but you won't have to deal with its ****, your neighbours will.

Could you keep it indoors permanently? Won't get run over and your neighbours wont hate you... Win, win.

Martin, we have exactly the same situation. EVERY time I go to mow the lawn I have to clear up between 5 and 15 lumps (or pools!) of cat ****. EVERY time. I am so utterly fed up of it and don't see why I should keep spending money on deterrents year, after year, after year, to stop someone else's pets crapping all over my property. Both my boys use the garden a lot and regularly tread in it. If they were toddlers, this could have caused blindness. There was also a big, aggressive tom cat who used to spray everywhere to mark his territory. He killed half of our brand new box hedge as a result. He got ran over a couple of months ago, but another cat has just stepped up as the dominant male and is doing the same.

Not to mention the wildlife... 80 million songbirds a year in the UK. Just listen to Chris Packham talk about cats and wildlife...

Cat owners always seem to just bury their heads in the sand and just pretend it's not a problem. They always just laugh or shrug it off and NEVER take responsibility. Does my head in...

 

[lejackal]

When I was back at my old house, a neighbour had a white cat that kept shitting in my garden. My son would invariably step in it and walk it into the house. This went on for years and no matter how much I spent in cat deterrent measures it continued until it was run over a month before we moved (wasn't me guv although I had tried on a couple of occasions).

And now I've moved into my new house it appears I've inherited another shitting machine of a neighbour's cat; unfortunately this one appears to have stomach issues and a spray gun attached to its arse. At least with the previous cat I could pick up it's **** with a trowel and throw it back over my neighbours fence; don't know what to do with this one, it's like ****ing soup.

Anyway, point is I don't doubt cats are awesome to own because they look cute and they can be affectionate, but you won't have to deal with its ****, your neighbours will.

Could you keep it indoors permanently? Won't get run over and your neighbours wont hate you... Win, win.

Martin, we have exactly the same situation. EVERY time I go to mow the lawn I have to clear up between 5 and 15 lumps (or pools!) of cat ****. EVERY time. I am so utterly fed up of it and don't see why I should keep spending money on deterrents year, after year, after year, to stop someone else's pets crapping all over my property. Both my boys use the garden a lot and regularly tread in it. If they were toddlers, this could have caused blindness. There was also a big, aggressive tom cat who used to spray everywhere to mark his territory. He killed half of our brand new box hedge as a result. He got ran over a couple of months ago, but another cat has just stepped up as the dominant male and is doing the same.

Not to mention the wildlife... 80 million songbirds a year in the UK. Just listen to Chris Packham talk about cats and wildlife...

Cat owners always seem to just bury their heads in the sand and just pretend it's not a problem. They always just laugh or shrug it off and NEVER take responsibility. Does my head in...

Have you considered just getting a big dog? Voilà, no more cat crap