A total Newb here!

Hi there! I'm new here and I'll adopt a male kitten pretty soon. However, I'm uncertain whether I would be good enough for him. I'm a 20 yr old international college student living alone in a 10x10 apt in a small 3x3 room. The environment is clean and the weather is good (I live in California). I'm financially able to buy food, give shots, etc to it (I work at school). But I've never have cat as pet before (all I had was dog, but it was a long long time ago) and has no experience whatsoever. I'll also be unavailable half of the day (approx 8 hours, I'll be back at 3 or 4 PM) as I have to go to class and work. I will put him in my apt, but I know he'll be lonely..my housemates are rarely home as well. Could I put him outside?

I have another problem here. I'm arachnophobic, which means I'm dead scared of spider, whether it's dead or alive. I've heard that cats will kill small animals/bug e.g. spider/rat AND present it to their owner. I could have heart attack if one day my cat kill a spider and bring it to me. Is this true? Are there any way to train them not to bring whatever they've killed to me? (I also posted it in "Behavior" section)

Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina

y Milky

te saludan!!........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!... )

See you on the forums!

Hello & welcome

Hello, and welcome! Might I make a suggestion that you adopt a more sedate older cat? They really need homes, and wouldn't be as active or possibly lonely as a kitten might become. I definitely wouldn't let him outside. Too dangerous, especially if you're not around. I've never had a cat present me with a spider. Or any kind of bug. (usually only mammals or birds) They seem to understand that I can't eat insects so they just eat them for me, LOL.

Hi & welcome!

I agree that an older cat may be a better fit if they are going to be left alone for long periods of time. Also, you mentioned that you are an international student...where are you from? Are you going to be able to take the kitty when/if you go home? If you cannot or will not take the kitty with you, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get one. I'm not saying you wouldn't, but I know that there are restrictions in some countries regarding bringing animals in, and I don't know what your long-range plans are as to where you want to live.

Hi

Welcome!

clixpix; I agree that an older cat may be a better fit if they are going to be left alone for long periods of time. Also said:

https://statich.thecatsite.com/images/smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Click to expand...

I totally agree. The cats I've had have never presented me with anything either. Visiting friends years ago their cat left a dead mouse on their patio steps. If you do find the perfect cat for you, keep it inside.

Originally Posted by clixpix

Hi & welcome!

I agree that an older cat may be a better fit if they are going to be left alone for long periods of time. Also, you mentioned that you are an international student...where are you from? Are you going to be able to take the kitty when/if you go home? If you cannot or will not take the kitty with you, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get one. I'm not saying you wouldn't, but I know that there are restrictions in some countries regarding bringing animals in, and I don't know what your long-range plans are as to where you want to live.

Click to expand...

Hi! This was a good point that clixpix made, so definitely keep that in mind. Also, the cats my family had when I was growing up never left anything other than what was mentioned before...birds, rats, mice, or moles. They never brought bugs to us. Of course, the cats we have now are indoors only.

Hello and Welcome For your situation a cat is a good pet. Definitely an older cat would be better as they are more settled.

I have three outside cats (plus kittens) and they only bring rodents and birds home. I've never seen them attack a spider once, but since they eat any other insect, I'd adssume they eat spider too.

Do you have your eye on a special cat? If not, I'd suggest taking a look around the local shelters before setting oyur mind on a certain type of cat. The bonus for them is that they're almost always spayed and neutered.

Anyway, welcome to TCS...it's nice to meet a fellow arachnophobic!