I’m moving in with my girlfriend and there is talk of getting a cat. Her apartment is a smallish two bedroom with a balcony on the second story of a quiet complex. I’ve always been a believer in pound kitties but I’m worried we are going to end up with a moggy that is too active for a house that size. I have several questions for dopers who have lived with apartment felines:
~Do you think it’s better to go with a breed for temperament? Recommendations?
~Is a single cat going to be okay (maximum 8 hours a day without company, though likely much less as she is a shift worker and I’ll be studying)?
~How can I kitten proof the balcony? Do cats jump off them if they see something of interest?
I lived with 2 cats in a very small one-bedroom for several years. Over those years sometimes my daily time away exceeded 8 hours, whether due to work, grad school, or taking care of a disabled boyfriend who lived a few minutes away. I can’t say that at times the cats weren’t bored, although they weren’t kittens; but it was very mild and it sounds like you won’t even approach that situation. Kitty will be find with a little daily play. (And of course you won’t let kitty roam outside unsupervised, right?)
I lived on the ground floor but those who had balconies put netting up so their cats would not leap (which they will, being impulsive)
Your normal pound cat is a grab bad, but I’m sure it will do fine. If it’s a kitten when you get it, it might get into more trouble, but it would in a bigger place as well.
I’d say two cats is best, and honestly not much more trouble than one. They can play with each other instead of say, your drapes. But if your situation requires you only get one, I don’t think eight hours of mostly sleep is too neglectful.
Not sure about your balcony without more description of its construction, etc. It may or may not jump. Some are more daring/stupid than others, and if the balcony is more open it might be more inviting. I’ve known some that have full access and don’t take advantage of jumping.
Oh man, a cat with a well secured balcony will be that happiest, least bored apartment cat in the world!
I would suggest you NOT get a Siamese or Siamese mix, simply because they can yowl like nothing else, and in an apartment, that’s a good way to get your neighbors to hate you. But they’re not very popular right now and unlikely to be in a rescue/shelter anyhow. Just a thought.
I lived for a number of years with two cats in a smallish one bedroom apartment. They were no problem. My apartment didn’t have an outside entrance, so escape wasn’t an issue. They kept each other entertained, although if I left yarn out, sometimes they would have it strung from one end to another by the time I got home. Keep their catbox clean and give them some play time when you’re home and they will be fine.
And when you get them, the kitteh pics rule applies.
I live in a third floor apartment and previously lived in a 2 and a half floor condo. My cat once fell out of the bedroom window (the condo) and once off of the balcony (or she jumped, I’m not sure). The balcony is over a large garden box with lilacs, so she just fell into the lilac trees when she fell from the balcony.
The window was another story. You could see the claw marks in the downstairs neighbors screen where she tried to break her fall, poor little thing cut open her chin when she fell on the paved entrance to the garage. And she wasn’t trying to jump out of the window either, she was just sitting in the space between the window and the screen and popped the screen.
I found her hiding in the garden box after that fall, and she never fell or even acted interested in leaving the balcony again.
My daughter’s cat, who now lives with us, has shown no interest in jumping off of the balcony, and this is the first time she’s ever lived in other than a ground floor dwelling. As to what they do? Well, my cat is lazy as can be, so she’s perfectly happy to sleep all day, and then nap some more, on my lap, when I get home. But now that there’s the roommate cat, they fight and/or play all of the time.
I know nothing of cat breeds, sorry that’s all I’ve got.
Speaking of cat litter - for an apartment dwelling cat especially, I highly suggest the “crystal” kind of cat litter. Not clay litter with crystals in it, but the stuff that’s all clear white or blue crystals. It rocks at odor suppression, as long as you follow the directions (scoop poop daily and STIR the crystals thoroughly. Skip the stir and it will stink like any other litter.)
It’s good litter in a house as well, of course, but with only a few rooms all on one level, litter box odor can get overwhelming with clay or paper or corncob litter, even if you clean it daily. Crystal is a boon.
On second thought, from what I’ve seen and heard of siamese, from friends who’ve owned them (and my daughter’s cat is one), they can tend to have kitty box issues, that is, they like to use things other than the kitty box, and either be WAY too picky about the box (where it is, if you do or do not use deoderizer, if it gets moved 5 inches to the left, whether they have to share with a new cat), or way too UNpicky about where else they go. I could be wrong, but the “grandcat” isn’t the only one I’ve had friends complain about. Just a thought.
a 2BR is TONS of room for one cat! I once had 4 cats in a tiny 1 BR, and two of them hated each other and so one had to be confined to a bedroom for a month. Not ideal, but they survived (Mr. I Don’t Play Nice With Others is Over 17 now, and still fiesty, and still hates that other cat).
Cats aren’t as “breedy” as dogs – the distinctions between cat breeds are basically visual/aesthetic, rather than being strongly based on temperment (for the most part). Your best bet for getting a cat of a certain temperment is to adopt an adult cat.
I don’t know how things are in Australia, but I can get sand litter for about one sixth the cost of that stuff (thanks, Costco). Cat box smell is never a problem except for the ten minutes after they go. It’s not like when the dog eats something that disagrees with him and you’re scrubbing the carpet for the next thirty minutes.
I had two plain old Domestic short hairs in an apartment like that and they did fine. I am a believer in getting 2 cats instead of just one so they can amuse each other.
Get two adults from the pound - with an adult, you can see what kind of personality the cats have and get an idea of how lively they are before you get them home. Maybe consider getting a cat on the older side since they may be calmer and less energetic than a younger one would be (and sadly the older cats are often much, much less likely to get homes even if they have most of their lifespan still ahead of them).
The humane society in my community often has pairs of adults available that came from the same home that they are hoping to place together. You might want to ask at the shelter if they have any calm adult cats that already know/like each other and would do well together.
late to the party on this, but i agree with all the previous posts.
no siamese. they’re wonderful charming beasts - but way too chatty for your environment.
definitely get yourself adult kittehs - preferably two so they can keep one another company. i would dearly like to add another to the superkitteh contingent at casa scubaqueen, but funds are an issue for that right now so i’m settling for two right now instead of the three or four i’d like to have.
save your sanity. adults aren’t as batshit crazy as kittens - as much as i love them - and adults will settle in quicker. i believe in indoor cats only since it prolongs their lives and is far safer than an indoor/outdoor situation where they’re exposed to cars, poison, predators, and more.
throw some netting around the balcony railing. can’t take the chance that they won’t launch themselves on a whim.
If you go to a shelter, they can pretty much tell you what kind of personality a cat has. An older cat is less likely to be really active and would be hard to adopt out, so you may be doing yourself and Mr Cat a favour by adopting and older one.
They like to sit around and move from sunbeam to sunbeam and look at the world through the window.
All cats are a different, and some cats are lap cats and others are happy with just a pat on the head and then to be left alone.
Cats and apartments go great together! I’ve always had pound kitties/rescues and have been very happy. They do fine alone, but for the best results get 2 - a bonded pair would be ideal.
For litter I prefer unscented (the scents the litter companies add to litter is headache-inducing) clumping, but I have found what I feed my cats makes a big difference in how smelly things get. I feed Wellness canned and that food keeps smells to a minimum.
Good luck with the addition, and don’t forget the pictures!
I’d keep the cats off the balcony. They can jump off and get seriously hurt at that height.
I highly recommend getting two adult cats, rather than a kitten, for the same reasons as others have mentioned. I’ve adopted two adult cats myself, and even though I regret not having them as kittens, they are somewhat less likely to undecorate the Xmas tree, for instance. Also, I have had Siamese or been around Siamese all my life, and almost all of them will talk constantly at the top of their lungs. Siamese have a distinctive voice, too, and at a distance it sounds like a human baby is crying. Closer up, it sounds like you’re torturing the cat. So they aren’t really great for apartment dwellers.
I’ve got 3 in a 2BR and they are fine, space wise. In fact, one of them has his own room, the spare BR I use for storage, that the others have no interest in going into.
I also have a kitty door that leads to the 2nd story balcony and a storage closet. I keep the litter boxes in the storage closet, so the cats are out there all the time, and none of them have jumped. I think having access all the time to fresh air and sunlight is good for them.
I would suggest, if you decide to get 2 cats that you also get 2 litter boxes. I had 2 cats and 1 box for a long time until I read somewhere that I should have an equal # of both. Now I have 3 and 3, and notice less fighting, especially between the older 2.
