should i get a cat?

[Clueless Morgan]

I like animals and want a pet but my apartment doesn't Allow dogs but allows cats. I like dogs better but willing to settle for a cat.

Watch a few episodes of My Cat From Hell. If you're not willing to do the types of things Jackson Galaxy recommends for cat owners (daily play, daily litter box scooping, scheduled meal times, etc.) than don't get a cat. And don't get scared by the crazy cats on that show, if you start off with daily playing and regular box scooping and building a good relationship with the cat (just like you would do with a dog) than you don't have to worry about having a hellcat.

You can train cats, too, BTW, it's just a little more time consuming than with dogs because dogs are pack animals and are eager to please their pack leader and fall in line whereas cats can be stubborn and willful.

Karen Pryor Clicker Training for Cats

I've clicker trained my two cats to touch my finger with their noses, stand up on their hind legs, give me high-fives and to stretch up to door knobs when they want in the closet where I keep their special toys (that one backfired as now they do it to the door to the garage when they want to go outside - it's become the train-teh-hooman trick). They also walk on leashes and we're working on consistency with jumping up to the counters and sitting on cue.

Total cat-gushing moment:
(if you can't stomach this type of thing than don't get a cat )

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This is Riley out on his leash - wasn't clicker-trained to walk on a leash, I just worked at it and he decided it wasn't an imposition when he realized how awesome outside is.

They harnesses I use for my cats are actually really small dog harnesses that you lay on the ground, put their feet in and buckle at their back so you don't have to fight the cat trying to slip something over their head, which cats generally don't like.
Here's a link to the harness I use - it's not the exact harness, but it's the same style.

This is Rudy napping in his carrier - also didn't clicker-train him to do this, but you can certainly CT a cat to go in and out of their carrier, as well as not to be afraid of cars or the vet or other people, it just takes time and investment in the training, just like with a dog.


This is me clicker-training Rudy to accept his inhaler (he has asthma) - this is mid-way through training. I'm using chicken baby food as his treat/reward in this video because he luuuuuuuurvs pureed meat baby food. (Just make sure it doesn't have onion or garlic in it)
Link to my FB video
He was maybe only a year old when I made this video (he's five and a half now) and I'll tell you what, clicker training him to do this has paid dividends. He gets his inhaler twice a day and it's easy-peasy to give it to him. My neighbor has to do it when I go out of town and she watches my cats and even she has no problems with Rudy and his medicine. It's Rudy's parlor trick whenever I have people over, they're all just amazed at how calmly he accepts a mask over his face like it's no big deal, because it's not to him.

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The drawback about having a cat is having a litter box in your house, but the easy way to not make the litter box a big issue is to scoop it every day so it doesn't smell. Yes. Every. Single. Day. It not only keeps your house from smelling, keeping the box clean also encourages the cat to use the litter box and not, say, your couch cushions or the pillows on your bed...

Also, the best thing for cats is to feed them wet food - none of this dry kibble bullshit, it's really unhealthy for cats to eat dry kibbles and the answer is NO, IT DOESN'T CLEAN THEIR TEETH! Kibble is as effective at cleaning a cat's teeth as potato chips are at cleaning yours. Do you brush your teeth by eating potato chips? Mmm, no. Feed your cat wet food at the very least, and CT them to allow you to brush their teeth. (You should brush your dog's teeth, too, that's not just a crazy cat lady thing)

A bit of a cat food rant...

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Catinfo.org is a good resource for nutrition info for cats. You don't have to do a homemade raw diet by any means, but ANY wet food is better than dry kibble; cats need to take their water in with their food, otherwise they run the risk of dehydration and/or UTIs... Dry kibble may be cheap, but nobody ever said that having a pet is supposed to be cheap. If you want a cheap pet, get a goldfish. (Also, keeping a super clean, scooped-evey-day litter box can help prevent UTIs, especially if you use an inert, scoopable clay litter - again, Feline Pine might be cheap but it can also aid in bacterial growth and promote UTIs.)

Full disclosure, I don't feed a raw or homemade diet, my cats get Fancy Feast mostly - the Classic Chicken and Turkey flavors for the most part since the Classic preparation doesn't have wheat gluten in it and fish isn't that great for cats to eat. They also get Wellness Grain Free packets and the Rabbit and Duck flavors of Nature's Variety canned food for variety in proteins, but those are really expensive and I have to go to the specialty pet store to get them so they're a supplemental thing. My personal motto in feeding my cats is that if the protein source (chicken, turkey, duck, rabbit, etc.) isn't something I could conceive of my cat killing and eating if they weren't indoor-only domesticates than I don't feed it to them. Cat's don't eat beef or lamb naturally, they shouldn't be eating it in canned food. </rant>

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Cats mostly get into trouble when they're bored or you don't pay attention to them because you're gone all the time. If you get a cat, get them a cat tree they can jump around on and nap in and scratch their claws on, and get them a variety of toys, including ones they can play with on their own while you're away, and ones that you can play with them with.


Bottom line is that cats can be amazing fun, especially when you take the time to build a relationship with them and do something unusual with them like teach them to walk on a leash - most people are amazed by cats that do that and that aren't totally afraid of strangers. If you want to blow someone's mind with an awesome pet, get a cat and clicker train it.

And, yes, be prepared for a 15-20 year commitment.

[T.J.]

This is so sad, Tori. *hug*

Can you have a bird? Parakeets are just awesome, and can be cuddly and can bond very strongly to you. Plus they're cheap and cheap to feed, and easy to leave on vacation.

Not sure. Never had much exposure around birds. Be no place to really put it.

[Minimalist]

Yes. Get a cat.






They stay this cute!

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

You got it backwards...you should be wondering if you're worthy enough for a cat to get you.

source: I'm a cat.