Fragile felines? (Cats in General)

Member Name: rawwrjem

Product:	Cats in General
Date:	03/10/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: less messy, more independent,

Disadvantages: not very affectionate, too scratchy.

Cats. . .

You can buy a kitten, for anything between £10 to £200 for some rarer breeds. Personally, I've never spent more than £15 on the actual cat, but the extras to buy with it have made up for that!

The common cats are usually black, black and white or ginger. I've seen a few white, grey and tabby's and I've never laid my eyes on a 'designer' cat, like a siamese cat. I'm sure the people that pay more than £200 for a cat don't let it out the house incase it doesn't come back!

I bought a kitten about 5 or 6 months ago for the kids really. I saw the ad in the paper and picked up a kitten that was 8 weeks old. It was a little bundle of black and white fluff, small enough to hold in the palm of my hand. I was shocked by the cuteness of it, and for £15, I couldn't moan. We called her Millie and the kids loved her. I bought her bowls for about £3, a scratch post for £10, a bed £15, cat litter for £4, a collar for £2 and food for about £5.00 to last a while. So in the end, I had spent almost £60.00. Not so cheap now, but still cheaper than a dog.

The kitten was really cute, but it drove me mad after the first day scratching everything it could get it's little claws on! My settee, bottom stair, fireplace and sons chair had all become victims of her scratching with marks becoming visible after a few days. I couldn't exactly tap her and tell her off like you would with a dog, she was so small, I thought I'd probably knock her out if I handled her too heavy.

I didn't like the way I didn't seem to have any control over the cat, she'd swan into the living room despite me shutting the stair gate, because she fitted between the bars, and she kept going behind my settee and scratching it so I had to move everything to get to her, and when I did put it all back, she'd go behind again. I was getting really angry with her.

The cat was good in a way, because I didn't feel like she needed my full attention at all times unlike a puppy. After two days or so, she was using the litter tray which was so much better than having to pick puppy poo up out of the garden.

Cats are so much more independent, you can loose them out for a few hours and they're out of your hair and you don't have to watch them as much as you do with dogs, but at the same time, I didn't like spending money on an animal I didn't really get to 'enjoy' and interact with. I felt like the cat didn't want to be around me, just wanted to eat the food and then wreck my house.

Despite her being an annoying little beggar, I did like getting up in the morning to her purring at me for her 'breakfast' and she was just adorable when she was asleep. She'd curl up into a fluffy little ball and it was the cutest thing you could see.

I liked to have her on my lap for a fuss, but she'd often dig her claws into my clothes when I picked her up to put her on the floor which I hated because she'd pull the cotton from my clothes and wreck my tops.

Cats can be a lot less messy than dogs because they're not nearly as clumsy and don't run around knocking things over and drooling.

About a week after we had the cat, I saw my son pick her up and drop her, probably just to see what would happen. It wasn't from a high point because he was only 2, but it scared me incase he hurt her. He didn't really understand that he could really hurt her and I did catch him being boisterous with the cat and pushing her around. To stop him, I told him I'd take the kitten back if he didn't behave, but after I saw him kick her, I decided to take her back to the lady I'd bought her from.

I really didn't want to take her back and my daughter really wasn't happy, but I was scared my son would seriously injure her, and I couldn't risk it, so despite shouting at him and making him understand, I had to take Millie back to where I'd got her, but I was happy because the woman said she was happy to keep her and she had the mum too so they would be together, so I felt it was for the best.

In general, I think cats can be much better for working people who haven't got the time to devote to a dog, but I don't think that they are good enough for a family home who want a companiable pet to play with because cats are a bit more serious and boring. I don't really think cats are great to have around young kids, because not only are children a bit heavy handed with animals, but they can also get hurt when the cats dig their claws in or decide to scratch you.

Me: I'm a dog person. :)

Summary: Nice pets, but not for everyone.