In the market for a new cat.

Hi everyone,
I am a father of two kids, an 11 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. They have been asking for a pet for a while now so my wife has told them that we can get a cat. We live in a 3 bedroom apartment on the ground level and I have 2 goldfish in an aquarium.

I have been trying to see what kind of cat I can get. Going through newspaper ads and getting infomation from websites. I have been going through this forum for a while and have signed up for some much needed advice.

Any suggestions are most welcome. Should I adopt or buy? Should I get a kitten or a cat? Male or female? Do diffent types of cats have differrent behavioral traits?

I personally think that Siamese cats are very cute.

Since your kids are old enough to be nice to a kitten, that would be an option, but they may have more fun with one that is a few months old, as they are more apt to be playful. If you are concerned about personality, maybe you could ask about a shelter cat tht has been around for a little while, and the workers are familiar with. I have had the best luck with red tabby boys as far a sweet personality goes, they just seem to be the biggest lovebugs, except my Scooter, who is dumb as a rock. The others I have had have been great.

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!

That is what I was kind of thinking. I will go to the local pet store and maybe see if they can direct me to some pet shelters close by.

www.petfinder.com

Put in your zip code & shelters should come up!

I stronlgy urge you to consider an adult cat. Your kids have never had a cat before, so the lesson of kittens + claws might be one you want to hold off on. You can often find adult cats who are already declawed if that is what you wish for. (Please, do not adopt a kitten & declaw) And adult cats just seem to be better for first time cat owners.

The bigest benefit to an adult cat is that you know what it's purrsonality will be like. There is no way to predict the purr-sonality of a kitten. There's a kitty for adoption here who was adopted by the Humane Society as a kitten....he came back because he was terrified of the kids. I would not have guessed him to be that way, but that's one huge drawback to kittens.

As for sex, it doesn't matter. Look for a purr-sonality that will fit into your family. Don't necessarily go for a super active kitty who might get bored/destroy your home. You can consider whether or not you want a pair of kitties. If you don't want a pair & plan to only have one cat, consider looking at kitties who do not get along with other cats(they are harder to place).

I believe all of the cats available at stores like Petsmart and Petco are rescued cats. Those stores invite local rescue groups into their stores to help with their adoptions.

And I agree with everything that Natalie (White Cat Lover) said.

btw Welcome to TCS. If you adopt, we all love pictures!!

Hi and welcome to TCS! We are so glad you have joined us!

If I can help you with any questions you have about the site, please click on my username and send me a message.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I believe all of the cats available at stores like Petsmart and Petco are rescued cats. Those stores invite local rescue groups into their stores to help with their adoptions.

Click to expand...

My husband and I got our two little ones from Petsmart/Last Chance Society when they were about 7-9 weeks old. That's super young but since I was going to be at home most of the time then, I was able to care for them 24/7.
Boys are usually easier to care for once they're neutered. They're personalities are usually a lot more laid back than females. Tiger is definetely more cuddly than Angel but he freaks out when it comes to strangers while Angel just walks right up to them.
My little sister has two Siamese cats, brother and sister from the same litter. They're qwerky! My favorite breed, personality wise, is the Maine Coon, aka Gentle Giants. Largest domestic cat breed but very popular around kids, hence the nickname.
And definetely check out that PetFinder site! It's quite useful for finding local sheltered pets.

I do volunteer rescue work and I agree with what everyone else here has said. The appeal of an 8-10 week old fuzzball is huge! But an older young cat is still VERY playful and not quite as crazy as a kitten. And you will have a better idea of WHO you are bringing into your home.

Personality is the most important - others here know more about this than me, but gender may play a role in integrating another cat later on. ( people here have said that females are more territorial, etc.)

We have had love-bugs of both genders come through our operation. And you would be doing SUCH a good deed to get a shelter cat. Take your children with you and let them interact with the different animals. Often, the cat will choose YOU!!

We have some now in our PetSmart store that would be great for kids, but alas, we are in Michigan.

Good luck and post back on your decision and share some pics with us!

I must say I really appreciate all the advice.

Now, I have been looking at some cats at local pet sheltes using that petfinder website and it is really good.

I like long haired cats. Is it true that long haired cats need to be bathed occaisonally?

I work a compressed week at nights so I will be spending the most time with this cat. Hence, I will be responsible for most of the cleaning and upkeep. As far as my kids are concerned, they are very well behaved and I am very sure that the cat will not have to go through rough handling.

Originally Posted by rb01

I like long haired cats. Is it true that long haired cats need to be bathed occaisonally?

Click to expand...

It depends. Tiger sometimes gets 'dingle berries', if you know what I mean, on his tail that I have to trim off. As for everything else, when they're really young, they don't know how to properly bath themselves so we had to bathe them about once a month or when they really started smelling, whichever came first. After they start getting better at keeping clean, we only have to bath them whenever they need it. They do require a lot of brushing because you don't want them to hack up a few hairballs from their cleaning.

Welcome!! Hope you enjoy the site!!


Valerie