My pet of 11 years recently died of mammary cancer. I’m trying to decide if I should get a new cat this summer or wait a few years. See, I’m an out-of-state college student who’s only home for maybe five months a year, so the animal would have to be taken care of by my parents until I graduate and either get my own place somewhere or go on to grad school (and maybe find a place where I could keep a pet). My gut feeling is that I shouldn’t, as it wouldn’t be fair to the animal or my parents.
I’d have to vote “no”, on this. You’d basically be buying your parents a cat. If they want one, that’s cool, but they could always get one, themselves. I’d wait.
I think you should wait until you graduate and/or have a place where you can keep a pet.
In the meantime, if your parents also want a cat, then it works out nicely for you in that you’ll have a kitty around 5 months out of the year. If not, only a couple more years until you can have your own.
By the way, I got a cat my second year of college. By the time I had a place of my own where I could keep her (in my third year), she liked my dad better than she liked me, so he just kept her.
I have two kitties of my own that I got about 2 months after I moved into my first apartment. I love them both very much and wouldn’t trade them for anything. However, if “your” new cat will be living at home at least until you are finished with school, it really become’s your parent’s cat. Now, I personally believe that every home should have a cat, but I think this is a family decision that you should discuss with them. I would definitely wait until you are settled before getting another cat just for you.
Another “no” vote. A couple months after our second cat died, my sister insisted on getting a cat. Well, by the time she moved out on her own, it was the family cat, not hers, and she wound up getting one of her very own. If you want to have a cat, I agree with everyone above who says wait until you’ve got your own place.
Don’t get one. You wouldn’t be getting it anyway, you’d be getting your parents a cat. It could be years before you graduate, get through grad school, and find a pet-friendly apartment. It’s not fair - to either the cat or to your parents, if they have grown attached - to then pull the cat away because it’s “yours.” And if they haven’t grown attached, what kind of home is that for a kitty, where they really don’t care if it stays or goes? Please wait until you are completely out of school and independent.
I have to say no. I hate to, but it sounds like if YOU want a cat, now is not the time.
I recently had to give my kitty up. Now that’s hard. You don’t want to put your parents through that, even if they would be willing to give you what would really be their cat after you graduate.
If you need some animal attention, may I suggest looking into volunteering at a shelter or something, as long as you can trust yourself not to bring home every critter in sight.
I grew up in a house with at least one cat at all times. Although I wanted one during and after college, I was living in a series of small, not cat-friendly apartments. To help with the pet craving, I adopted an African Pygmy Hedgehog. She was a great small pet who stayed with me through several moves and several apartments. (Side note… she lived three years and died from intestinal cancer, which is apparently common among pet hedgehogs). Now that I’m in an actual house, we have a cat adopted from the humane society. Macaroni and Schmeese is right on there. If you get a cat, go to your local shelter.
Small critters are not a complete substitute for a cat or dog, but they are easier to keep in small apartments. On the other hand, ferrets, gerbils, hamsters, chinchilla’s and guinea pigs all have their assorted issues too.
But if you can find one that fits your life style, your budget, your house/apartment, and your willingness to clean up, then a small critter may help hold you over until you can support a cat in the lifestyle to which he or she should become accustomed.
