I'm getting a cat!!! Yay!!

After living in our apartment/cottage for a year, Sven-boy and I finally got up the nerve to ask the landlord if we could have a cat.

It’s not like it’s gonna mess up the carpets. Trust me, anything a cat did to these carpets would be an improvement.

So Sven-boy put on his California Department of Fish and Game uniform (he’s a student network administrator) and knocked on the landlord’s door. She said “welll…ummmmm…” and then looked at his nice khaki shirt with official looking patches on it, “You look pretty responsible. Okay”.

Yay!!!

We’ve already got the kitten picked out. It’s a black kitten who was raised by hand by a vet student at UC Davis as part of an orphan kitten program. He’s very well socialized and extremely friendly around people. We’re gonna name him Sputnik.

Sven-boy can take Sputnik to work with him during the days (they are very friendly to animals there) and he’ll get free vet care and supplies.

It’s going to be great! Imagine a cat to meow when we get home, curl up in bed with us as we read at night, hide under the bed when guests come over, play with anything we leave laying around unprotected in the house, knock over the flower vases and leave hair on our clothes. We’ll probably drive up to Davis on Saturday. I can’t wait…

You should call him Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

Please?

You may want to consider two kittens. I only say this because I’ve had a cat for five years and sometimes I think she gets lonely when I’m at work all day. The one time she met another cat (neighbor’s) the two of them just stared at each other cautiously for about an hour–no harm, but not exactly friendly.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve deprived her of some of her innate catness by denying her other animal relationships. We live in an apartment so she doesn’t get out much. Friends with two or more cats say that the maintenance on a second cat is only about 25% more than on one cat. On occasion I regret getting just one. I could have easily grabbed one of her sibling out of the litter at the Human Society…they were all so cute…

Once a cat is an adult it will be too late. So just a thought. Anyway congratulations. Cats are wonderful, in any number!

I’ll second that. Two cats.

BUT, one or two… Be sure you’re willing to get a lot of mess. Taking cats to work doesn’t sound like a good plan. Cats don’t like driving around. They want a home- their territory.

For god sake; Don’t think a cat is anything like a dog. They climb onto and into everything.

I know of a stupid bitch who killed her kitten while he crawled under her car. [now she ‘lost’ her dog. Some people shouldn’t take pets]

Cats are the best. Don’t ever think you’ll be boss though.

Think it over and if you do take one; **Congrats! **

My cat keeps pissing on my bed
:frowning:

egg

Hooray! A cat.

A pissing cat.
A shedding cat.
A territory marking cat.
A sofa clawing cat.
A songbird killing cat.
A knocking stuff off the shelves cat.
A climbing up the blinds cat.
A hairball coughing-up cat.
A crap in your shoes cat.
A let me pet you, purr, then go all psychotic and claw me cat.
A wandering off for days cat.
A strange and expensive disease getting cat.
A sitting on the keyboard cat.
A fighting at all hours of the night cat.
A hiding under a car, coming home, and rubbing grease all over the walls cat.
A getting it’s tail caught in the fan cat.

Sorry. Let’s just say I’m not on good terms with Creepy Girl’s cat, Rufus.

Congrats! I have two cats, sisters from the humane society, and they’re fantastic.

Sure, litterboxes are stinky. And cats delight on playing Galloping Horses at 2 in the morning. But the little furballs are friendly, calming delights most of the time.

If you can swing it, I’d recommend getting two cats as well. But I don’t think it’s a necessity. And you can add another cat to a household later on, usually; you just have to be delicate about it. Your local humane society, or The Denver Dumb Friends League, will have some information on how to do that.

Have fun!
Daniel

Throw me in with the two cats camp. My kitty, Zelda, who I’d had since forever, wasn’t very happy when I started working full-time and going to school over 30 hours a week. She was used to living in a house full of cats and full of people. She took a dump on my pillow and then ran away. This was 5 years ago and I’m still sad.

I do think that taking the kitty to work could be a good solution depending on the personality of the cat. I’ve heard of truckers that take their cats on the road with them successfully.

Not sure if this is common knowledge, as I haven’t needed a litterbox in about five years, but the new litter they have (they are little pearly things, instead of clumping sand or the regular litter) is working very well for us in our new apartment. Obviously when there is a poo in there it smells for a minute or two, but someone has done a good job with this product. Unless the poo is very fresh, 5 minutes tops, there is no clue in the air that there is a litter box in the apartment.

I would suggest trying this.

slight correction:

the litter is working out very well for the cats. We use the toilet.
(for some reason I had to correct that, I had a disturbing visual)

We just took our “free” cat to the vet to have his manly parts removed.

Cat = free
ball removal = 100.00
Poop inspection = 12.50
Worm medicine = 32.00
Little orange furrball who attacks everything that moves = priceless.

Well said Kamikazee

Those crystals are indeed wonderful! We use them to cover the bottom of the ferret cage and it keeps the odor down so much that we’re no longer worrying on the Wizard air freshener.

Ack, should have been “relying” not “worrying”!

Congratulation on the furry friend, cats are great. I’ve got three right now. Two cats do keep each other company while you’re away but don’t worry about adding another one later when your first is an adult. Just go slowly and make sure the first kitty doesn’t feel like he’s being displaced. I just recently added a kitten who now resides with a three year old and a sixteen year old. No major problems so far.

Allow me to second both ‘two cats’ and ‘crystal litter.’

My two (after the vet stuff was all paid for) (actually, it’s three now) aren’t really more work or money than one, and they keep each other entertained. When there was one, he was getting bored and neurotic.

Crystal litter is the greatest invention since… no, I can’t think of anything better than crystal litter. The wheel doesn’t even compare. It’s silicon, so it dries out the catpoop so it doesn’t smell and is easy to scoop. Best of all, you only have to change the box once a month (assuming one box per cat)!

Congratulations. I know you and Sputnik will have a long and happy friendship.

You have my condolences.

Sunday is the day we bring Sputnik home.

I come from a long line of cat-people, and have always had all kinds of cats around me, so I am well aquainted with litter boxes and the like. Unfortunately, our house is the size of a largish cereal box, and Sputnik is not going to be an outside cat (we live on a busy road) so I think one kitty is gonna have to be our maximum. It shouldn’t be too bad though. During the school year, my and Sven-boys schedules are random enough that one of us is usually home at any given time.`

We’ve been in pretty close contact with the people that are taking care of Sputnik (he’s a little old for a kitten- probably eleven or twelve weeks) and it seems like he’s really taken to the college student life style…He’s used to spending his weekends at the farmers’ market purring away in his caregiver’s arms and the weekdays sitting on his caregiver’s books to prevent him from studying…So cute!!!

I will for sure check out the crystal kitty litter. It sounds great. Thanks for all the advice and I’ll keep you updated on how things are going when we get him!!!

Although many of them enjoy having company, I don’t think cats really need a sibling or friend. I have three cats right now, and I think two of them would be happier as only cats.

I’d like to know more about the crystal litter. Is it scented, or does it actually absorb the stink?

Not to scare you away from the happy cat owning life but you might have some fun viewing the thread “I accendetally gave my cat a happy ending” submitted by deskmonkey. First page of MSPIMS.