should i get a kitten?

Question

i have just settled into a new house with my fiance but what i miss from 'home' is the cat and dog. i really want to get a kitten as its not fair to leave a dog all day. Anyway, i don't mind litter trays to begin with but want to train it to go outside, my problem is that front and back gardens are both paved and didn't think cats would go on paving stones and maybe need grass. I'm thinking it will venture into neighbours gardens, which i doubt they'd appreciate. Is there another way? help! i really want one!

Answer 1

My cats don't have grass I have a minimalist style garden. They still sleep on the stone. I also have decorative bark and they love that too.

Answer 2

There is a popular thought of why women have cats. It is believed that Most educated single white women who have not been in a relationships for some time and are above 25 have cats, so the need for a cat, asks the following:

1. How commited are you to you fiance? Or should I say he to you?
2. Are you in fact looking to have baby but aren't convinced that either you or your fiance are parent material?

What fulfillment will a cat bring that is missing from your life at the moment? If this need is great enough and the reasons solid, there should be no hesitation.

I hope these questions open the subject for you

Answer 3

The person who said 'get a good fence' has obviously never had a cat! There isn't a fence going that will keep a cat in (or out). Cat's are probably popping in and out of the Gaza strip at will.

Only tightwads would worry about your cat crossing their gardens. Get one, they are great companions. Or better yet - get two! They enjoy each others company and two are no more work than one, really.

Oh, and our garden is all paved over also, but our 3 cats don't mind - they do cross the neighbors gardens though, never had any complaints about it.

Answer 4

How kind you are to think of other people before you get your kitty!
I have had cats and kittens all my life and would say this to you. Most kittens are litter trained before they leave their mothers. You can put their tray outside in the daytime at first and bring it in at night. After a while when they start to explore they will use neighbouring gardens and wasteland, but remember this. Cats are very clean and want to cover up any evidence that they have been around,unlike dogs who want to mark their territory. Un-neutered cats will spray to mark their patch but that can be resolved. They won't dig large holes in gardens either. The disturbance is minimal. They don't dig plants out either...they prefer soil which they can scratch over. I really hope you get a kitten. They are great, aren't they?

Answer 5

Don't get one, get 2 especially if you both work all day. Then get a cat litter tray indoors. As you said, they will use the neighbours gardens otherwise. If you really want a pet them you may have to make a compromise in order to keep them and the compromise in your case would be a litter tray indoors. I have several litter trays indoors for my 12 cats. I use a wood based cat litter which doesn't stink like normal stuff. I scoop the poo out at least twice a day and put either in the bin or in the toilet so that the litter never gets stinky.

Answer 6

I have two cats, they both use the litter tray when they are indoors. My younger one is very timid and refuses to venture anywhere outside the backyard so she always use the tray, so you might have to put with them using it all the time. If the cat does go outside you will need some sort of tray for him/her to go in, you could get a plant pot and fill it with you soil - just make sure you turn the soil so stuff can decompose.

Get a kitten they are great fun but remember in 20yrs time it could still be around.

Answer 7

The first question should be in regards to your fiance. Does he mind having a kitten?

Thank you for being considerate of your neighbors, not everyone thinks like you do. Some people (neighbors) might think of a cat running around loose outside as a total neuisance (getting into everything) or even a stray and have it picked up (depending on where you live). Make sure your neighbors don't mind cats before you let it roam outside on its own.

Answer 8

Don't get one kitten on it's own, get two (from the same litter) so they can keep each other company while your out all day. Get them from the local animal sanctuary, rather than from a breeder. The Sanctuary will have given them a full check up and neutered/spayed them already.

Take a few of the paving stones in the back garden up, and replace it with bark (to supress the weeds, and give the kittens something to dig in and sharpen their claws).

Answer 9

I saw once a set up for cats to go through a "doggy door" which led to a tube leading into a covered kennel. The cats can come and go as they please but they can't leave the house or kennel. I thought this was an ingenious way to let your cats be the king or queen of their own domain. The tubing was corrugated plastic and it was laying on patio blocks and the door was installed in a wall instead of the houses back door. They used a flat of dirt with grass growing in it for a place for the cat to get grass they eat to help puke up hair balls and the kennel was set up with weather proof cat stands and it was covered with heat/light reflecting tarp. If I had cats now I would do this in a heart beat!! I also would get litter mates and both female. You can keep the litter pan outside this way too.

You didn't talk about where you live but this can be set up as weather proof and heat pads put in a dog house for them to venture safely outside in winter too!

I love this idea. As a matter of fact, I think I will design one and put it on my website~~~

Have fun with your loved ones!!!!!

Answer 10

you should not get a cat or a kitten if you are not willing to keep it safe indoors..
cats who go out have an average lifespan of less than 2 years..
cars, angry neighbours, other cats, disease, worms, fleas, cults, research labs, getting lost.. etc are all risks for cats who go out
they need something to dig in like dirt or sand so cement yard is no good
if you feed a good quality food and use a good quality litter you wont have a problem
the better the food means the cat will eat less and poop less - and have no odor
non-scented clumping litter is good, but silicone beads have 0 odor..

so the thing is if you want a kitten/cat but are not prepared to really care for it.. you shouldnt get one


**ADDITIONAL INFO**
you can build an outdoor "cat run" run out of 2x4's and chicken wire with window access and have a door so you can get in and out.. either next toyour house or under a raised deck - so ya it is possible to fence for cats...
declawing is cruel and declawing causes many side effects from refusal to use litter to nervous behavior to biting

Answer 11

Hay if you want a cat then get one and if you want it to eventually go out then it can go out, you sound as if you wouldn't mind if it lived full time with a litter tray so this is optional to you. If it does start to venture out you will have plenty of time to warn your neighbours that you have a kitty and that you don't have the garden facilities for it to do its business so might go into their, and just let them know that if they do not want this then they can scare the cat out of their garden as the kitty will find somewhere to do its business even if it means going to the next street.
I have two and don't mind them doing it in my garden but have warned all my neighbours that if they are in their garden and it looks as if they are going to use it as a toilet and the neighbour does not want this then they are just to scare my cats out of their garden, I know I should feel bad for saying this but I don't as I scare any cat that is not mine out of my garden lol,.