How much time to spend with a cat

Greetings all,

We are three in the apartment, and we are looking to adopt a cat. The cat is 5.5 months of age and a cross-persian.

On week days, I and another normally finish work and at home by 8pm and get to sleep by 11pm. The third house-mate comes home around 5-6 or earlier depending on some days.

On weekends, we spend a few hours out of the house and spend the rest most of our time in.

I am very concerned about how much time we would be spending with the cat/kitten and how this may affect her. Given our current lifestyle hours, do you think this is enough time to dedicate?

Best regards,
Krz

I'm probably not the best to answer... I'm a stay @ home mom so I'm home with my cats all day... caring for my 4 kids, who play with the kitties too & then in the evening after the kids go to bed I then play with the kitties too

Your schedule sounds very similar to mine. I feel that I spend quality time with my kitty. My husband and I give her a lot of attention when we're home: playing, brushing..etc. I'm also able to stick to my feeding routine with her (gets wet food morning and evenings with dry food as a snack in between). Of course, if you think your kitty might be lonely, you can adopt another to keep her company. Babee is an Exotic Shorthair (persian breed)-she likes to have my husband and I all to herself. Her previous owner said she doesn't care to hang out with other cats. I'm not positive if all persian cats prefer to be the only one in the home or if it's just my kitty. Good luck on adopting your kitty.

Thanks for the responses so far. At most I may spend 2 hours of my day, on weekdays, and 1 hour on average with the cat. I normally start work from 9-6 and get home around 8pm. So on weekdays the cat would have to be alone most of the time during the day.

My other housemate, however, may spend more hours (I am guessing 1-3 hours) since she gets home earlier than I do. Therefore, the cat would have company during the late hours of the day.

My third house mate, works the same hours as I do and get back the same time.

On weekends (saturdays and sundays), we could probably dedicate 3-5 hours, possibly more, a day with the cat.

We are thinking of giving it a toy(s) to play with in our absence. Ive heard persian cats to be good when alone. So this may be a plus factor here.

Is this still enough time for the cat/kitten?

It depends ...

when my cats are young ( either kittens or kittenish usually up to age 2 ) I spend likely 2-3 hours per day ...

ages 3 to 10 ish about 1-2 hours with play stuff and a hour or so cuddle time

my Kandie from ages 14-18 got one and half hours in the early morning 5-6 am ish , then about an hour midday , hour early evening and 1 hour after my two went to bed ... she had CRF and was a bit high maintence ohh and the knowing her time could be up at anytime caused me to focus on her

Ok so I guess 2 hours a day on weekdays is not such a big issue. However, we will only have one cat in the apartment. I hope the same still applies

It depends a lot on the individuial cat and their need for interaction, play and attention. I know that wouldn't be enough for Mosi as he's a very lively cat who needs to be kept occupied. I spend 5-6 hours each evening with him. Mostly playing but when I'm doing other stuff I'm around for him and he likes to help out with whatever I'm doing Jaffa would cope better as he's less lively but I think he'd benefit from more time spent with him than that as he is a bit of a mummy's boy. But if you have a laid back cat such as a persian that may be enough time. Do you know what kind of personality this kitten has? Persians are generally fairly laid back, but as this is a persian cross, she may have inherited the non persian temperament. The main problem with a 5 month old kitten is that if left alone for long lengths of time, kittens tend to get bored and make their own entertainment which isn't always a good idea! I'd consider getting 2 kittens or a slightly older cat.

I think two cats is out of the question.

On average it would be 12hours with the cat from Monday - Friday, assuming we all (everyone in the apartment) spends a total of 2-3 hours each every day with the cat at home, after work.

I think this shouldn't be a major problem.

Im hoping its more cross-persian-lazy than non persian temperament

Honestly I think it depends on the cat.

I have 2 very lively and active young things, and even though they have each other, they need a lot of time with us as well. One of them became very stressed when I went from part-time work to full-time, but then he is an Oriental Shorthair and they are extremely people-oriented and bond almost obsessively with their humans, wanting to be near us all the time, and needing a lot of athletic play.

Due to the fact that Nate works an irregular shift pattern and his working hours and days off don't always coincide with mine, I calculate that the cats are left to their own devices for maybe 16 hours a week - at least one of us is there the rest of the time, including for 3 whole days a week, and the cats are welcome to cuddle up to us in bed too so they can also feel close to us when we're sleeping. I ended up getting a second cat because it was clear that even that small amount of time alone was too much for my other cat Radar and he was bored and lonely while we were working! But I would imagine a more laid-back Persian would have different needs in this regard!

Consider adopting two cats... they can keep each other company. Two kittens from the same litter are best.

I'm home most days but whenever there's no one home Blossom is locked in the hall & bathroom so she can't get into any mischief. I think she sleeps most of that time.

Originally Posted by Callista

Consider adopting two cats... they can keep each other company. Two kittens from the same litter are best.

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I dont think this is possible. Seeing that one is already quite a big responsibility. That and landlady may differ

Originally Posted by Kalikat

I'm home most days but whenever there's no one home Blossom is locked in the hall & bathroom so she can't get into any mischief. I think she sleeps most of that time.

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Hmm, I may want to consider this option in cases that we may be at work. At least until she learns not to "play" around with the furniture

Its alright to leave your cat home for a while as long as the cat has interesting & fun things to do. You could make a special place for your new kitty, with soft items like blankets & pillows, scatter some toys around that area also. Cats love catnip toys, keeps them busy for a while...

Buy your kitty fun stuff to keep their mind off of you being out of the house...plus then your kitty won't get into your stuff if she/he has lots of her own toys to play with. But, it does depend on the cat...

Enjoy your new kitten! Update us all on how your kitty is doing!

Dave and I both work full-time, so the cats are alone all day. Before we got Connie, Lucy was very needy when we were home. Now that we have two cats (who accept each other, but certainly don't seem to be super-friendly), neither one seems to care much, as long as we're home often enough to feed them and warm up the bed all night. I guess, even though they may not want to groom each other or play together, they still get something out of watching each other throughout the day.

They're still very affectionate, but Lucy doesn't insist on living in our laps 24/7 anymore. We do come home to a ton of racket (a Siamese and a chatterbox DSH make a lot of noise, when they feel like it), but that's the same, whether we were at work all day, or I just happened to take the trash out.

IMO, unless you've got a die-hard "only cat", two cats are better than one.

Hi there

I have a 6 month old persian, i too was very worried about time spent with him as i work 9-5/6. When i first got him home i took a week and a half off, i spent it getting to know him, playing and letting him get used to his new surroundings. I then slowly let him get used to me not being there (and me getting used to not being with him!) as much and then i HAD to go back to work. He usually is there waiting for me when my key is in the lock but he looks like he just woke up and has been sleeping. Now it works well as when i am there i play and cuddle him constantly and when i am not there he catches up on all the sleep he needs to chase me when i get home. You have to remember cats love routine, when i am getting ready for work he knows what is going on and understands he will see me later, he also knows he gets a treat before i go and a treat when i get back and when his meal times are although i leave out dry mix thoughout the day. People say that persians are a very docile breed but it does depend on the character mine loves to play and run follows me everywhere. I do recommend taking time off when you first get the cat, you have to think of how you would feel if you came to a different home and then didnt know the people you were living with and didnt know their routine, it is very important you take time to bond with him so that he trusts and understands you. On the whole i think he will be fine, as long as you give him all love and care he needs you will find having a kitten is like having a child and even when you know it is safe you are still going to worry!!

Let us know what you decide to do PM if i can help at all.

I have the same schedule as me and my guys are perfectly happy!! Plus there are three of you so you won't have to worry about cat sitters on weekends away. I agree with the advice of getting two, once you have one cat, a second is not any more of a responsibility at all (assuming they get along.....I adopted a pair), and you don't have to worry about one being lonely.

But the fact that you are even concerned about the time you have to spend means i'm sure you'll be a great cat owner!

Remember that cats sleep a lot, too. Most cats sleep between 12-14 hours, some upwards of 20 hours. That means that if they're asleep all the time you're at work (very likely), they'll still sleep when you're asleep as well.

We were worried about what our new kitten was doing during the day, until we stayed home one day and he just slept. He was actually less playful that evening, we assume because we interrupted his sleeping pattern!

Originally Posted by EggyToast

Remember that cats sleep a lot, too. Most cats sleep between 12-14 hours, some upwards of 20 hours. That means that if they're asleep all the time you're at work (very likely), they'll still sleep when you're asleep as well.

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Not if they're called Mosi!

Originally Posted by urbantigers

Not if they're called Mosi!

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Yeah, Mosi looks like he's had too much caffeine