12/01/2007
Cats
Hello,
The extent to which I love and worship cats cannot be overestimated. I thought I just liked them until people began to notice my indifference to family photos and news in contrast to my rapt attention when anyone was talking about their family pet.
I love the arrogant, selfish, stuck up little bastards with every fibre of my being. They are the one thing that leads me to believe there might just be a God. There is no bit of bad behaviour I cannot find an excuse for if a cat is the perpetrator.
Even when my own lads used to bring me live toads, I would merely exit the room and summon my father to remove the toad. Ten go back and play with the cats as if nothing untoward had happened.
Lack of pussy is all that I miss having left home. I live in a small flat and am told it would be cruel to keep a cat indoors but is it? I hear mixed reports. I did have a Guinea Pig by the name of Bel for a while who was almost as good as a cat but the pigs only live five years and the grief when they go is awful. Whereas a sturdy cat can last a couple of decades if it's so minded.
In truth I get quite lonely but not so lonely I want a human being getting in my road. I need a pet, I want a cat but don't want to ruin any animal's life. What should I do?
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7 comments:
I had a house cat and she was fine. She was a kitten when we got her so she had never been outside so she didn't know any different. I think it might be harder on cats that have been used to going out.
Having a house cat is perfectly fine. In fact, researching this for my own purposes recently I found a stat somewhere that the life expectancy of the average Glaswegian outdoors cat is about 2 years or less. Which is a statistic I personally find hard to believe but then judging by the endless parade of leaflets taped to bus stops going on about some black and white cat that vanished somewhere in Maryhill 6 weeks ago £20 reward maybe it is possible.
I discovered that there are whole pressure groups out there sponsored by the SSPCA and suchlike bodies that are dedicated to getting people to keep their cats indoors.
It seems you do have to keep some things in mind though for a house cat. You have to make sure they don't get bored, so make sure they have plenty of toys and stuff. There are contraptions you can get that let the cat climb about and scratch things and get up to larks. Also you are supposed to make sure it has a high place - some sort of shelf - where it can sit and see everything and feel safe.
I've researched this stuff because I am in a similar situation. When I was a lad, we lived in bucolic countryside so our cats were outdoors creatures and all lived till they were 20. But I'm less than keen to let a cat wander out into Maryhill Road where it'd probably be set about by hoodie wearing ned cats. And the wife seems obsessed with wanting a cat, I suspect because of repressed maternal desires.
So i might get a cat and might not. maybe I need to do more research..
Oh and if you get a kitten at this time of year it is bad, they are sickly creatures and you should wait till spring. That's what me mum said anyway.
Mrs Longrider and I share our home with ten of the little buggers. Cat politics occasionally resulting in a hissy fit, the remains of dead rodents and puking over the carpet are the minor inconveniences we suffer for the pleasure of their company. You can see them over at Felix Domesticus:
http://www.felixdomesticus.longrider.co.uk
Thanks folks all that's very useful. So unless someone comes along with information to suggest you're all wrong a cat it is. I will of course heed vavatch's mother's words in the spirit of you can't be too careful.
That clip is genius!
I know it's a little soon and I've only been in the house a few weeks, but it has crossed my mind to get a cat. Just need to figure out the cost of food and satisfy myself that it won't escape aafter about a week. House cats are fine, both the cats I grew up with started out as house cats, though once they escaped for a day or two, it was hard to keep them in.
You should be fine with a mog.
I think food is pretty cheap, also as you eat meat you should be able to keep costs down by feeding them scraps. Cats are mad for scraps, when our Tigger got a whiff of silverside he was like a man possessed. They also enjoy a scrambled egg as long as it's not too hot. The trick is to get them on the cheap stuff from the start, never allow a cat to develop expensive tastes. Our Brian will only eat wafer thin ham and chicken and cat biscuits. He will if pushed nibble a bit of tinned tuna but you can tell he's unhappy. And no he won't eat thick cut ham or chicken it must be wafer thin. Of course Brian is no ordinary cat -he has a big bushy tail just like a fox, four fine sturdy paws and a coat like silk.
I can't wait to get my cat! I know it's wrong but I think I'm going to get a kitten.
Ah, it won't be getting too many scraps. Don't want it getting fat, certainly if it's going to be a house cat and won't be getting much exercise.
I think I'll put it on the 'to do' list for the next year or so.
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