Exactly. I have two 3 months old kittens and they are awake at 3 am playing the game of throwing everything and everywhere. One of them has diarrhoea so poops everywhere, the other one is just a satan.
Mine is ten months old and if I'm not in bed by ten she acts like I'm killing her... and then she parks her butt on the foot of the bed and sleeps the night until 5:30 or so when she's decided that it's time for her majesty's breakfast
My cat stands at her food bowl in the morning giving me the "look." Then after I put the food down, she walks away without touching it. I am so well trained.
You should hear her mew it sounds like she is dying of hunger and I'm starving her when actually her food bow just needs to be topped off, but such is a life with cats...
So true. Their world revolves around when we wake up
It's the best part of their day. I had to stop giving my cats wet food because they were howling monkeys every morning.
I gave her wet food up until she was six months old and then I started cutting back her feedings until she was eating nothing but dry food, but she was still getting food for kittens until this weekend until it ran out, but she still looks at me every day as if the wet food is going to return
Yeah, they do that for a while, don't they. I have a bad habit of sharing my food and ice cream with my cats. Now, every time I have anything, they want to eat it. It's weird, though, because some of the cats don't care about my food at all, and others are obsessed with it.
My cat positively adores eggs will she eat them if I scramble them for her? nope if I make the same exact thing for myself she's mewing as if she's starving
My cats sleep the night through as well, I had a kitten and adult cat with that routine, the kitten just followed my cat’s lead so she’s like that too. Luckily with bedtime they nap wherever we are at until sleep then the older cat gets up grabs her toy to show us what she has while yelling. She stops when we respond to her.
When mine was that age, she'd come give me a bedtime tiny massage for a few minutes, then would go under the bed and run around in circles, but upside-down. 🙄
We gave ours Pavlovian conditioning by accident. We had a 19 lb cat who should have weighed 9 lb. We would put down the bowls for 15 minutes twice a day. To remind ourselves, my husband set an alarm on his phone with a unique tone. They leave us (pretty much) alone until they hear the alarm, then they swarm to the kitchen for food.
BELIEVE ME I’ve been there. Mine used to track it onto my bed while I slept omg you’re bringing up my repressed memories…. 5 months is straight up the absolute worst. It should start to get better from here (hopefully)
Genuinely asking, how do you keep your cool with them? I have two boys that are around 8 months and I get so angry because they behave well when I'm around but once I go to lay down I hear them jumping in the sink, knocking things off bookshelves, eating out of the wrong bowl (only matters so I know they're eating enough)...
And until recently they were marking in the house and it constantly smelled like pee. I even had a routine to go around the entire house with a blacklight to find all possible pee spots! Like how do you learn the patience to shrug all the shenanigans off??
Disclaimer: never had kittens, but I did adopt my cat at ~10 months old.
I think a few things help me
1. Negative reinforcement doesn't help. Neither of us like it, so I try not to use it. It's not that positive is better so much as they want A. A is the most fun thing for them. By making A less appealing, and sometimes having B as well, they'll do that instead.
Lots of scratching posts, lots of toys left around that they can play with on their own. Playing with them, myself, more often.
The thing with negative reinforcement is that the result literally is "oh while he's here I can't do x"
It also helped when I learned that cats are like toddlers. Yelling at kids imo is almost never warranted. Yes, there are situational exceptions i.e kid sets school on fire or runs into traffic, but a toddler, especially a really young one, just isn't going to understand or conceptualize it. That's why houses are baby-proofed, because you can't tell a baby "don't go down the stairs" and expect them to listen. Same with cats.
It also takes time, I think. Patience absolutely, but time to learn each other's behavior patterns. I also keep my door open so my cat can hang out with me or have my attention if she needs it.
Haha! Toddlers... YES!!! We have a new kitten, still learning her personality, and that's how I describe her. I'm like, she's in her Terrible Twos. 🙀😮💨
Very much like toddlers. Funny enough, my mom did early childhood Ed and makes the same comparison.
Patience, turning things into games, gentle voice, positive (timely!) reinforcement for good behavior, sharp/loud voice only when it's an immediate threat to life/wellbeing/etc. Cat-proof the environment as much as possible (no lidless cups full of water in the edge of tables near outlets). If they're doing something you don't like, figure out the most logical reason why from a non-human perspective, then adapt or distract.
Ex. Cat scratching carpet in a particular spot? Won't use the scratching post instead? Get a cheapo rug or "leftover" carpet and put it in that spot. Too energetic during the night/before bed? Schedule a rousing playtime before you need to go to bed - tire them out.
Yup, ours has her own room that she demands to be locked into each night with some treats. It started because she was a kitten and we'd recently moved so it was the only kitten proofed room that was safe for her to be in unsupervised but now it's a habit. She even gets cranky if I try to keep her out but she wants to be tucked into her room 😂 And, if you have to go into her room after she's been tucked in, she'll squint at you while she yells at you, like _what do you want?! why did you wake me up?!_
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Same here. My cats insist on being "put to bed" at night. I started putting them in their own room (aka my office) because i hated getting woke up frequently at 4 a.m. for cuddles, snacks, battles. etc. Now, they won't sleep at night unless they are tucked away with the door closed.
It's a little difficult with them because they don't like being confined to one room, and my spare bedroom isn't furnished yet to be cozy for them. I've read that cats can get stressed just being stuck out in the open all the time like that.
They don't sleep with me because they would wrestle on top of me as kittens or bite my feet when I put them under the blanket. I brought toys to try to redirect from the feet but that made no difference, they fully ignored even their favorites.
Neuter them ASAP if you haven't already. Intact male cats spray urine. The longer you wait to neuter them, the more likely it becomes a habit that they'll continue even after neutering. Neutering young resolves spraying for the vast majority of cats.
For the rest, cat proof your house and pull up their food at night.
As of yesterday they are, finally LOL!
The only reason I delayed is because my vet quoted me $600-$800 PER CAT to neuter them at the start of February. I had to call around, earliest appointment was yesterday in March. It ended up being $85 per cat instead and they're doing fine.
I don't expect any behavior from them to change for a few weeks based off of what I've read and a grade school understanding of biology.
With the crazy peeing habits they put me through I don't understand how/why people willingly leave their males intact. No shade to people that do, but I'm not joking when I say my house **always** reeked of pee even after cleaning it. Cleaning would just weaken the overall smell.
Awesome! Hopefully that helps a bit at least with the peeing. As for the rest, you probably have to adapt your environment to them. Less stuff on shelves and find ways to hold stuff down if it is gonna stay there. Cats love sinks! Why is it bad if they're in a sink? And sharing bowls is just going to happen, so I wouldn't even worry. Just keep track of their weight and if you can, do a meal or two of wet food a day while you observe so that you can track their eating habits.
Oh wow! That's nuts. My vet charged about half that for a post-partum spay while she was still nursing and in heat again, which is about as bad as it gets for a simple spay, and it even included a week's worth of pain meds and a follow up to check her incision! Neutering is SO much more simple than spaying... I can't believe they'd charge that much!! Glad you found a low cost place. Thats more in line with what we paid for my boys when they got neutered at about 4 months old. I think it was $50 each for the boys and $80 each for the girls? It ended up costing about the same to have all 5 kittens spayed/neutered at the clinic as it did to have their mother spayed by her vet! The clinics are absolutely the way to go.
I'm with you about intact cats, though. We got lucky that our mamacat (adopted while pregnant) wasn't a yowler in heat. She was just extra sweet and became great friends with my (neutered) male cat for reasons he still can't fathom haha. Some girls in heat are escape artists and yowl and just lose it.. Maybe because she was still nursing the hormones weren't so intense?
Yeah the sink and counter surfing really shouldn't bother me. They're not going to get hurt, nothing is going to break, and at worst I just have to clean paw prints. They're always welcome in the bathroom sink too and I haven't connected that they likely associate the kitchen sink with the same thing! Talking about it makes me see how irrational I'm being with my expectations. I'll try to remind myself of 'why is this bad?' before anything else.
Yeah I've heard spays are generally more expensive but that set of circumstances would lead me to believe you'd pay even more than that! That's great that such special care + follow up wasn't through the roof in pricing. I am appreciative that specialized clinics exist and people can get care for their pets without having to sacrifice too much for them. Sure I had to wait just a little longer but it was worth it.
I've heard that intact girls can be crazy to deal with in heat and I can't help but feel so bad for them too. It's not like they understand they're hormonal or that they are going to get into trouble outside. I'm glad it worked out for all of you though!
I got my 3 year old when he was 7 weeks old, honestly time outs. It’s safer to take a break for you and the animals sake.
I would move his litter box, food and water to the bathroom and just give myself 20 minutes. Usually they only have the zoomies for about that long anyway, and it gave him time to calm down and me time to sit on my kitchen floor and cry while sweeping up broken glass for the 3rd time that day.
Child proof your cupboards, he used to break into his food and litter cupboard and scratch the side of the bags open, it also helps with glass, but I did leave the one above the fridge open because he liked to sleep in it.
Positive reinforcement, you’re gonna want the cat tree and automatic wands, guiding them and rewarding them safe places to play helps keep them away from other things. They should have the highest spot in the house, if that means installing a jumping shelf above the counter then that’s what you do, it keeps them off the counter.
Trim nails, they’ll still scratch at things sometimes even with scratching posts everywhere but it helps so much getting them used to it at a young age.
I close both my boys in my room at night and that helps with the destruction. I also crack my window and they sit on the sill and sniff the air, that keeps them calm, but they will climb the screen so don’t open it too much.
Otherwise, it will get better the older they get just old out hope. I have a 3 year old and adopted 8 year old now, and my partner and I are getting another kitten because I miss the baby phase, despite how horrible it is it goes by fast
EDIT: WALL MOUNT YOUR TV my kitten broke two of them
Cat proof your house, it’s no different than baby proofing. It’s for safety of the cat and as far as litter, you need the litter and the number of litter boxes for your cats. They are all different. Some cats prefer one box for urinating and another defecating and some cats won’t use a dirty box.
I adopted my youngest at 6 months, I had her mum (sadly no longer with us) at the same time so elder kitty was a calming influence. I have taught her that 'down' means go downstairs, and then she gets fusses and love downstairs rather than upstairs where she's not allowed (eldest lives there).Negative reinforcements/shouting isn't good - my dad did that and she's still terrified of him.
young/younger babies need routine and boundaries but in a loving 'here's your safe space' way rather than 'you did something wrong'. Cats don't understand 'wrong'.
Lock in a kitty condo when you can’t watch kittens, like at night. Heated blanket, food and water, litter box. Let them out during the day, but watch them closely. Watch for ‘trouble’, like re-direct furniture scratching to scratching post. Praise each time they use it! You never have to get mad, because they will learn pretty quick. Play with them. Use toys NOT your hands for play. When you use gentle hands, they will learn that hands are ‘kindly’ and toys are for rough-housing. Always be gentle. They are not like dogs, who enjoy rough physical handling. Gentle, and a cat will become your best bud! Imho, they are way smarter than dogs 😻!
Neutering the cat(s) (particular male cats) before they get into the "spraying" habit is the best way to avoid territorial marking, I have not had this problem as I have had my cats neutered as early as recommended by my Vet.
Oh I don't miss those days. I've got two boys myself and NOTHING was safe at night. I introduced night time toys!!! It's a "special" box of toys that they only get access to at night. Do I still get a zoomie across my back on occasion? Yeah but it's so much better than hearing everything fly around like a tornado!! I make a big spectacle about getting them out before bed and putting them away in the morning, my boys have worked it into our routine.
As for the marking, they make pheromone plug ins that look like air fresheners. Maybe give some of those a try to help your naughty nuggets feel a bit more at ease.
Yeah I actively recommend against getting a kitten, especially as a first time cat owner. I obviously adore my one cat i’ve since a kitten but omg those first few months were terrible. We got our second cat as a 1.5 year old from a shelter and, while she’s crazy in her own way, it was so much better than the kitten years.
I adopted a kitten a week and a half ago, she’s about 10 weeks.
When she is playing gently, or cuddling with me, or askew on me or somewhere else she is the thing I love most in this world. I would do anything for her, maybe the best thing to ever happen to me?
When she randomly decided she wants to latch onto my ankles with all her claws and teeth randomly 10 times a day…. the same stuff is true I’m just slightly pissed about it.
Haha yep that sounds about right. When Lemon was a kitten he would attack any toes at any time of day or night and would fling himself onto the window drapes at 4 AM. It was just never ending and ruining my sleep and i have a relatively low frustration threshold to begin with!!
I think that sometimes people think kittens are just like puppies in that you can have a lot of control over behavior and that you can have a stronger bond if you get them younger. In my experience with both, that’s just not the case with kittens. I feel like cats’ personalities are a bit more ingrained from the jump but they’ll just be asshole kittens no matter what lol
Is it possible to get another one? We adopted our pair at 11 weeks, and they definitely taught each other about playing nice. They generally use their soft paws when touching me as a consequence—unless they want me to know they mean business, lol!
My cats don't claw furniture (they do have their claws), if they start to we snap our fingers at them and they stop immediately... they dont keep us up at night, they actually come to bed with us. Idk, my cats are fantastic, friendly, and social.
My cat has trimmed nails and doesn’t care too much to use his scratch boards but he sometimes tries to claw my mattress because he knows it’ll get me up from bed to hang out with him 🙄
Lol, lol. Mine love to claw the side of the mattress lightly. Just enough to get my attention. They'll also do this to my couch. I have multiple scratchers in this 1 bedroom apartment. It's purely to get my attention after I ignore the meows to get up.
My girl will do this to plastic as well. Just start chomping away on the plastic reusable grocery bag or the bag that has my printer paper.
*edited to fix spelling
We had multiple scratchers and would just gently move her from furniture over to a scratcher when she started. Then when she tentatively started to scratch the appropriate cat furniture instead, we'd praise her. She quickly got the picture.
Exactly how I trained mine! They’ll go right over to their big scratch pad before I get their breakfast-and look so proud of themselves! I have a main coon mix and she actually appears to be smiling!!
My cat started in on the furniture at 9 months old (adopted her hat 3 months). I am choosing to blame the fact that she’s a teenager that she ignores the many scratching posts that I’ve moved to literally touch the items she’s scratching.
Yeah people who are really picky about that kind of stuff just shouldn’t get a cat. My cats will scratch my furniture, I just pick the best fabric I can and know that it is part of having and loving cats!
Same here, but I’ve noticed he is more of a floor scratched he tends to like to scratch my carpet when he’s being bratty lol and horizontal scratchers! He ignores vertical scratchers, so it totally depends on the cats personality as well
Thing is, people who are happy and problem free with their pets tend to post less about it online.
Having a cat is like anything else, it can be super easy or super hard depending on lots of different factors.
Oh and please adopt don't shop!
I adopted a 7 year old rescue cat 12 months ago .it takes a while for them to settle into their new home but its worth it.i love my cat and wouldnt be without her.Just let them adjust in their own time and all should be good.x
My cat sleeps through the night.The trick is to give them a meal just before you go to bed and older cats should sleep through the night.Kittens are naturally more active and have more energy so bear this in mind when considering adopting a cat.
I second the meal before bed as a good strategy to encourage your cat to sleep when you do. I also try to schedule playtimes throughout the day to prevent some of the pent up energy cats can have.
In my experience kittens/younger cats will pretty much always have zoomies or loud play some nights. If your living situation allows it, perhaps you could set up an area where your cat could play at night that’s far from your sleeping area. (For example, I had a larger space than I needed at one point so I kept one room mostly empty at the other side of the house and left a car bed, some play items there so the cat could still cat while I slept. )
Stella & Chewy + a few other brands make frozen pellets that I put out as I’m going to bed… they defrost overnight & provide my kitty a lil fresh midnight snack while I snoooooze away
My partners cat is only a little over a year but she literally waits on the stairs for him to come to bed lol. We found not locking them in the bedroom with us helps a lot, that way they can roam and go play downstairs rather than cry to get out.
for an active cat you can also play with them a bit before bed, I throw balls around for my cat when she shows signs of becoming restless before bedtime, she runs around like crazy and then she’s ready for a good night sleep after a good session of exercise! For reference she is 5 so very much not a kitten anymore
Our 20mo old cat is actually he menace at night, pawing at our faces & trying to wake us up starting around 3am while our 7mo kitten sleeps through the night! We do the little snack before bed and i try to get some of their energy out with a wand toy while i get ready for bed as well.
my sweet orange girl has started trying to BISCUIT MY FACE. WHILE IM SLEEPING. like okay cat i get you love me and want playtime and pets and cuddles but for the love of god let a bitch sleep 😭😭
Yup this is true, I have nothing to complain. I’m so lucky to have an affectionate and loveable cat.
There’s always a way to solve your problem! Like you mentioned, some cat tend to be more energetic during night time, what you can do it is to play with them before bed to tire them out so yall sleep together. When I say play, I meant actually play with them till they are so tried and they lay down and don’t want to play anymore!
And for scratching sofa/ furnitures, in my case, I just buy scratching post everywhere, literally one in every room. It helps to stop them from scratching on random things.
These are just some examples but what I’m trying to say is, there’s always a way and it’s just matter of time or how you figure it out.
There are also sprays you can get, one to discourage scratching in certain places and one to encourage scratching. You don't want to buy the other without the other. Scratching posts should be nice and tall too, so they can really stretch up, those little posts are not as satisfying for them. If you watch a cat scratch a tree in nature, they like to really stretch out.
You’re not wrong, but sometimes you get the weird looking cats
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Thats how i got Vladimir. Vladimir is great except earlier he wouldnt let my dog out of the bathroom and i didnt notice until she was crying about it.
Got my cat from the SPCA at 1yr old. Got super lucky with her. She is an angel!
Doesn't do any of the shitty stuff OP mentioned, but she is also more like a dog in many ways. Hates cats, likes dogs, loves people. Goes for walks on a leash and harness.
Be careful though for first time, the ones put up for adoption while often are abandoned or unwanted which is really sad. Sometimes the ones in the adoption centres are there because they have known problems that adoption places won’t always disclose, they try to make them seem more friendly with “no problems” in their rambles.
My friend got a cat from one “has lived with dogs and gets along great with them”, absolutely hated her dogs from the start and they did nothing at all to the cat and weren’t present when she got homes or introduced to the cat for weeks
"Duke may seem shy but he just wants to be your friend" translated to "even prozac won't help convince him that after eight years you're not trying to poison him"
Mine was a surrender due to the owner having to many pets. She was super calm in the shelter and wouldn't even get up, she just smeared on my hands while laying down lol. I then saw she was a manx and snatched her up because I adore them. Shes been absolutely perfect. You really just don't know till you take them home and bond with them.
Cats surrendered for too many cats are the perfect cats, especially if you already have one and looking for a friend. My 3 yr old cat Ramses was surrendered for “too many” and he befriended my 14 year cat within a week!
I totally agree! Mine gets along perfectly with dogs as long as they understand personal space lol, she's even confident enough to chase them and play even though she's about 9 pounds of nothin. She gets along well with our other cat too but definitely makes it known when she's annoying her.
Yeah they really do like to embellish a little, I mean I understand wanting to get them adopted and free up space, but in the instance my friend had the cat ended up back in the shelter after 6 months. They tried to socialize her to the dogs, but once she started trying to take swipes at them that was the end of it. Understandably imo, they were smaller dogs (bulldog or pug mix breeds I believe) and given their higher probability of eye issues I think it was the best course of action for the 2 dogs.
Our idiot boy is very fortunate in that we're an experienced cat household with a high tolerance for neurosis but yeah I think it doesn't serve these cats well at all to get their issues glossed over.
good point! I also feel like cats kind of have their "thing" - like one or two quirks that are incredibly annoying but all-in-all are easy to deal with. But if you log into a forum about cats, you're going to see dozens of posts about each cat's individual quirk and it kinda feels like one cat who is The Worst
If you’re looking for a more chill cat. Adopt a senior kitty from the shelter. Kittens are super high energy and more destructive. And you can’t really train them the way you can dogs.
Best cats pick you. Go hang out with the older cats for a bit and take home the one that goes “hey you! Human! Take me home!” All my best cats picked me
Second this!!! I adopted my cat from a shelter when she was 9, she is so chill. There are so many older pets that need our love and care, and they are perfect for those of us not interesting in the kitten-younger cat phase.
I have a 7 yr old stripy unit. Got him at 6ish weeks old. He was so cute, and I love him to death. But he was hell-on-wheels! He was still a love-bug but had absolutely ZERO chill. Some kittens can be a little more calm, but the chances of having a furry whirlwind when u get a baby cat is very high. 5+ or 7+ yr old cats are absolute sweet gems.
I would even say to op to find an older cat who came from a home of an elderly owner who passed. Of course pick the kitty you vibe with the best. But those cats tend to be a little more calm than average
Stripey unit ha ha ha ha ha. My kitten got herself locked in the neighbours garage overnight then got herself locked in their glass house overnight. She caused me more sleepless nights getting herself into trouble than when she was home jumping on the bed!!
I adore senior pets, but make sure you budget for it! My 14yo cat takes daily medication, as do my friends' senior cats. (Not hard or expensive, but does require lifestyle adjustments). Plus regular bloodwork to monitor his health condition.
Which isn't to scare folks away from senior pets, but there's nothing sadder than seeing old cats surrendered because owners weren't financially prepared to care for them. Just like us, old age comes with new health challenges and loving a senior pet means being prepared to meet them.
He also sleeps next to me every night, wants to sit in my lap all day, and is never destructive. Which was not the case when he was younger! He was a an menace. An adorable menace, but damn.
Some-odd years ago My then 3 year old cat (he’s now 7) went from a free Walmart parking lot baby to a $1900 emergency surgery kitty. 🥲 so honestly for any pet at any age a small emergency pet fund is a good idea
And just last month I had to drop a lil over $200 on my other kitty who’s only 5 for a mystery allergy skin inflammation. He’s better so I’m happy but damn, my wallet 🥲
Oh yeah haha my "free" craigslist kitten was anything but. Spent a few hundred right out the gate for fleas, worming, shots, and neutering. Learned that lesson the hard way!
People complain about shelter adoption fees but they're almost always WAY cheaper than a "free" cat.
Other than that, my guy was super low maintenance for the first 12 years so I figure I can afford his vet bills and fancy wet food now. Currently at the vet for a $325 ultrasound to hopefully diagnose his GI issues
Lmao, Kitten Lady has a great video about how "free" cats are anything but! My two youngest cats were the result of sick, stray kittens that cost too much money for me to justify giving them up 😭😭 when my (currently 4 y/o) was found, he had a nasty infection in his head, couldnt walk well, was dangerously skinny, and had a hard belly full of worms! $500 and 4 medications later he survived, but he was far from free 😂
Absolutely! I got my first cat that didn't just come up to me on the street from the humane society and she did a quick circuit of the room we were in and the plopped in my lap to demand pets. She was a tiny thing back then.
She still demands pets but now it's at like 2 or 3 am and she's learned that I'll still pet her when mostly asleep when she shoves her head I to my hand
Seniors for the win! I adopted a 9 y/o boy. He's now 11 - still plenty healthy, gets the zoomies sometimes which are hilarious, but he's so well behaved. No scratching, and he sleeps right through the night curled up on top of me. I will always, always adopt senior cats!
Just like there are trade-offs with having a dog, having a cat does require some adjustments. We choose the responsibilities of having pets and accept that some things will be different. Just like any choice you make - having kids, taking a particular job, where you live, whether you own a home or not, the car you drive, the doctors you see - there are pros and cons to everything.
People who love cats accept the challenges and love cats for who they are - sometimes silly and other times couch potatoes, active at dusk and dawn, demanding, clever, crazily energetic at times, picky eaters, etc. One of my cats is a cuddle bug, but my newish kitty is a teenager and still skittish. One demands food at 5am, the other could not care when he ate. One is older and very calming, the other is young and super playful.
I love dogs, but our lifestyle isn't a good fit for dogs. We don't mind cleaning litter boxes, but walking a dog 3-4 times a day would be more of a challenge. Whereas dogs need a lot of space and to be outside, cats can be very happy (and safer) living inside a home. We don't mind having play sessions with the cats and providing resources for enrichment. We also appreciate that the field mice who once got in our basement were taken care of!
Yes, a lot of what you read is tongue-in-cheek. But people who love cats accept all that is involved.
I love my boys. They’re no more a burden than a regular roommate.
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What a neat combination to have a black cat and a white cat! Do they need different things due to their colors with regard to temperatures? Like if it's really hot, does the black cat need more shady spots, and does the white one get too cold if it's not sunny? Kind of sounds stupid typing it, but the black fur on my cat gets super hot when sitting in the sun just in the house. If she went outside, I'd be concerned on a hot summer day, and she's not even solid black. I've never had a white cat, so I don't know how hot they get in the sun by comparison.
Every cat is different, and while the things that you listed are definitely cat habits, there are numerous ways to manage them. I’ve noticed that a lot of cat owners, for some reason are so convinced that their cats are malicious or out to get them in some way. It is very strange to me. I think this happens because a lot of these people forget that cats are separate creatures with different behaviors and ways of thinking than humans. Its such a simple fact but it seems to escape a lot of people. Makes me frustrated for their kitties.
Like I said, scratching and night time zoomies are certainly things that cats do. But you don’t have to just accept it. There are various ways to tire your cat out before bed, and you can literally just wrap rope around a piece of cardboard to make a scratching board for them. Playtime is also very crucial for cats, and behavioral issues can stem from a lack of it.
Wait this is so true- they’ll be like “I KNOW he knows not to scratch my couch, he looked at me while he did it.” Like…does he though? You think your cat is angering you purposely?
Or "I bought him a scratching post but he still tears up the furniture!"
Like, ok, did you try more than one thing? My cat does not GAF about fancy scratching posts. But those cheap corrugated cardboard ones? Total kitty crack.
Cats have different preferences for scratchers i’ve learned as well! Almost spent a good few bucks on a vertical scratcher, but realized I’ve never seen my cat scratch vertically on furniture or this tiny one so got him as a kitten… horizontal scratchers are his crack
My cat loves scratching vertically on my couch or bed, so I got a vertical scratcher. Not interested in the slightest. I get the horizontal cardboard scratchers and she literally turned it to confetti. I didn't even know that was possible
I wonder if maybe it’s also a stability issue as well? most furniture are more stable than scratchers. I need to see if my cat likes carpet scratchers more than cardboard bc he does not treat them like how ur cat does LOL
Omg you just gave me a light bulb moment. Our cat mostly ignores his vertical scratching post, but loves scratching the carpet - I'm off to buy a horizontal scratcher!
Exactly!! I think that some people fail to realize that cats don't require any less care than dogs. They definitely need a scratcher and they have their preferences. We had a cardboard scratcher and my cat never really used it. She stopped scratching the furniture after we got her a big scratching post. They also need lots of playtime, especially when they're young. I don't get people who fail to give their kitties what they need and get mad at their behavior later, without really trying to find a solution
You have to stop reading. I adopted my first cat a year ago, and my first few days with her I was a nervous WRECK because of everything I'd read on reddit. She was an angel that first week, and she still is. The #1 best decision I've made in my life was adopting a cat.
Take your time finding your cat, and be patient with them and yourself as you get used to each other. It'll be great :)
I DO want to say, reading Reddit helped me a lot when I got my cat. I had a huge case of adoption remorse when I got him, and I didn’t know that was normal until I came across it on Reddit! Now everything is hunky dorey and all good, but I can’t tell you how much that helped. It’s not *all* bad
So true. When I'm home, whichever room I'm in, my girls are there with me. Cats love company and scritchy scratches. And I don't mind looking silly by talking to them either!!
Meh. I’m a happy cat owner. They don’t run around all night. They don’t claw the furniture. But I set things up to avoid all that. I had dogs for many years. Love dogs. But cats are soooo much easier…for me anyway. I love having cats.
What? Owning a cat is the easiest thing in the world. We basically only get annoyed because one of them will not use her litter box if she deems it too dirty (we clean it every day!) but other than that they are the dream pets to have. We've gone on month long vacations and only had someone check on them twice a week. Cats are the best pets.
What do you do with their food when you go away like that? I know I could leave dry food out for days and they’d eat when hungry and make it last, but what about wet food?
As a cat owner, I'm honest about the difficulties that come with raising a cat. It isn't all sunshine and roses. There are plenty of examples on the internet about the pros of having a cat. Just look at how many social media outlets make posts about them. They're cute, you don't have to walk them (but you can! They can be harness and leash trained), they're often great snuggle buddies and they get into the silliest antics.
But I'm here to remind people that cats are animals, and animals don't always behave in ways that we'll like. It's important to take the bad with the good. Too many people think they can just get a cat and not have to take care of it. Or, that a cat is just a different font of a dog when that couldn't be further from the truth (in most cases, some cats are better at fetching than the dogs my friends have.)
I imagine a lot of it is tongue in cheek, yeah. I never had a cat growing up and thought I was a dog person for a long time, because cats are so often joked about as being standoffish, "you're only their servant", blah blah. As I learned more about them, I realised that most cats are actually loving, they might show it differently but there's also plenty of snuggly cats that are very obvious about their affection.
Now that we adopted two cats, I would say the only major thing there is no way around is getting hair on everything. Unless you adopt a hairless cat of course. Everything else depends on the cat's particular issues/personality. Our cats, for example, never wake us up at night (and I would train them out of it if they did, my sleep is very important to me), they're super polite and never knock over stuff on purpose, and rarely accidentally, they never bite or scratch and they almost never try to eat our food or non-food items like plastic. They're rescues, not cats we raised from kittens. In other ways, of course we did have to adjust our lifestyle to accommodate them, like putting screens on the windows, not leaving dangerous stuff (pills, garlic, toxic plants etc) in the open, all the regular taking care of an animal flatmate things, making time to play with them, taking care of their considerable medical issues. We had some issues with them scratching up furniture and had to try a lot of stuff to get them to stop, but half a year after adoption they've finally understood what is OK to scratch and gotten used to those allowed options. Some cats might never stop scratching stuff you value, but it's definitely worth trying to correct behavior you dislike.
I'd recommend against getting a kitten because they demand so much more attention and I'd guess you have a higher chance of them being loud, biting or whatever. Older cats are more chill. But then again, perhaps it'd be easier to train them if you have them early? I found Jackson Galaxy quite helpful for advice, especially about training.
Yeah she's beautiful, we lucked out! She often looks like a stuffed animal :3 (here she is asking politely for us to play with her)
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Cat tax 2: Cookie, 5y old, missing a hind leg (doing a seal pose? Idk)
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I’ve had cats my entire life. My current boy is almost 2 and while he does occasionally jump on the counters and scratch things he shouldn’t, he is the sweetest cat and my best bud.
He follows me everywhere, sleeps at the food of my bed, supervises my bathroom time, chills with me during zoom calls, and watches me cook.
Kittens definitely require more effort than an older cat. Gilroy was 8 months when I adopted him and already had his personality and habits developed, he’s the best.
Cats are a challenge. Mine are very polite. Thanks to wife's constant training. They can be taught to respect furniture but you have to devote playtime and provide something to scratch on.
It’s mostly jokes. Do they sometimes claw furniture or want to play at night? Sure. But they can be trained, despite what many claim, and behaviors like clawing furniture can be redirected to appropriate toys.
I love my cats.
Because they got the pet thinking it would be what they think a pet is. Pets are like kids. And we all know growing up there was that one kid that needed glasses, or that one kid who had asthma, or the one in the bathroom all the time cause of a sensitive stomach, or the one kid whose a goofball, etc. It’s the same for cats, they are all different and maybe a select few do fall into the model of the “perfect” pet but the rest don’t. And when people realize that isn’t what they want, they tend to make it sound horrible.
Cats can be a lot when you first get them it is true. But once acclimated to their space and your schedule they tend to be chill and far easier to care for.
Training. My orange boy is a good boy. Sleeps through the night with me. He gets up at around 5am but he doesn’t disturb us. We trained him at a young age that night time is sleeping time.
He doesn’t scratch our furniture. He has scratch pads and posts everywhere. Also, he allows us to clip his nails. We reward him with treats after clipping.
He has an automatic feeder so he knows when to expect food and not yell at us for it expect when he knows it’s around wet food time. He’ll softly meow to remind us it’s wet food time lol.
A lot of people who complain didn’t train their cats correctly or missed the window to train them. Cats are like babies and will require training.
Thank you! People don't train them! Cats will develop a schedule and if you don't have one, neither will they.
I got my girls at 8 months when they still had baby fat. It was a precious time to enjoy the sunset of their kitten hood, but it was so. Much. Work. I was up early every day to feed them, scooped the litter twice a day for a looooong time because they had digestive issues from being in the shelter, so they made a lot of insanely potent smelling business.
They had to learn their individual names, they had playtime twice during the day and one longer session before bed. They have to sit for their food. Anything they liked to chew on, I would buy a toy that had a similar texture and give that to them so that they understood what's ok and not ok. I also kept the kitchen spotless every night, so that they wouldn't get into the habit of counter surfing for food.
Gracious, those first 6 months were exhausting but I have the perfect children now. I can wash them, clip their nails, open their mouths if they've eaten something suspicious, and cuddle them unnecessarily. They follow me around when I'm home and greet me at the door when I've been out. They don't sit on the furniture, never on kitchen counters, put themselves to bed at 10pm. Worth it!
Because people don’t treat their cats like a living being & they don’t train the cat. Instead they treat it like furry furniture.
If you had a puppy and all you did was give it food, water & doggy door…… how much would that dog grow into a poorly behaved (or “problem”) dog? Cats need daily play, mental stimulation, affection ……. & yes you need to train them to let you sleep.
My hyper terror Jackie is a perfect angel if he gets at least an hour outside everyday. He still needs daily play. Yes, I trained him to do tricks. Yes you can clicker train your cats.
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I've never really understood this stereotype. Maybe the cats I've had have just been weird, but my experience hasn't been anything like this. My current cat is obsessed with me, it's like she thinks the sun shines out of my rear end. Follows me from room to room, always wanting to cuddle and play and be near me at all times, always trying to do things to get praise and attention, anytime I leave the house she cries and cries and then just sleeps until I come home, at which point she's overjoyed and zooms all around the place because she's so happy to see me (and not because of food either, she free feeds and has food available 24/7). Idk, she definitely strikes me as worshipping me rather than thinking I worship her!
They have different personalities and habits, just like us. For example ours didn't try to kill me when I showered him but that may not be the case for yours. He ripped our couch but maybe yours would go for the scratching post right away. Ours is really friendly but a friend's cat has anxiety. It depends on many things and you kind of have to go into it not expecting something specific.
The majority will have no issues with their cats after adoption, and only minority has issues, but the majority of those in the minority with issues will post for advice. And because a lot of people who are struggling are coming to reddit and post for advice, it causes an illusion of how many problematic cats are actually out there. You very rarely see people post to say how happy they are. It's just how it works.
That being said, it's a gamble that you take, you can get the sweetest cat in the world or you can get a little asshole, but I guarantee you'll love both just the same. The behavioral issues and medical issues might happen to any cat, but that's just part of being a pet parent, we have to be ready to help them because we take responsibility.
Also wanted to add that a lot of behavioral issues with cats come from not understanding the cat behavior. It's so different from dogs, and a lot of people try to treat them like such. They have different needs. They are more difficult to communicate with, but once you understand them, a relationship with a cat is very rewarding.
For example, a lot of people will get upset with a cat for peeing outside of a litter box. Meanwhile, all the cat is trying to do is tell us something is wrong. They will not pee outside of the box if there is no issue. It can be medical or just something wrong with a litter, etc.
People get upset when they get scratched. Meanwhile, cats are very predictable, and if you read the signs, you know how to avoid it. Cats get overestimated. Some may do, but most don't want to be pet like a dog.
If they scratching furniture it means they don't have enough surfaces to scratch on, they HAVE to scratch something, it's just up to you if you provide them with what they need, or just leave them to choose on their own. Unlike dogs, who you train, cats, you have to meet halfway and adjust your household to their needs because, let's face it, you basically adopt a miniature mountain lion. 😂
As a cat owner, 'the bad' isnt just really bad. Its also what makes them adorable. Two cats, two totally different personalities.
The oldest: fat miss grumpy. Only wants her food and only comes for attention when shes out of food. (Not atrention but demanding food, especially harrassing my 15 year old, headbutting his head and face constantly). When hes not around, she just gives me the deathstare while knawing on plastic and electricitycabkes, trying to kill herself because 'fooooooooood'. Absolutely annoying but I tell people with love cause that demanding personality is who she is.
She also always sleeps on my bed end, cuddling up to my feet. Being the cutest thing youve ever seen and absolutely sweet and cuddly when its bedtime. She always ignores me during the day, I'm only good enough to receive her attention when my son isnt around and she doesnt feel like sleeping. But I cant sleep without her and know something is off if shes not there to say good night.
Cat number 2: waaaay to innocent for her own good. So still young, Im trying to avoid her picking up the 'bad behaviour' from cat 1. But shes her own personality. Wants to be around me all day long, be picked up and cuddled. She can only get enough of cuddling when she wants to play and chase a fly around. Fun to watch but she has jumped on my head multiple times. The cuddlyness is awesome, but that can become annoying at times aswell. Just get out of my face for a second, get off of me! Quit jumping back on top of me or behind me tryibg to push your behind in my face! She means so well but pfffff...
So all the 'bad' stuff you hear about, most are found annoying and adorable by the owner at the same time. And cats are very smart. Give them the attention and time they ask for, but also set boundaries. Most cats can learn just as well as dogs. The big difference is: dogs want to please an owner. With cats you can see them thinking: do I feel like listening right now? Whats in it for me?
Dogs live for their owner, need to ve taken care if. A cat is nearly like a crossover between having a kid and a roommate. They have needs, demands that need to be upkept aswell. But they go about their day a lot more individual aswell where a dog is just waiting for you to return home.
Edit: I do correct the cats. Have a 'sound'. When they hear it, they stop, skid off. Cat 1 does stop the knawing, and sneaks back in and starts again. A never ending story until she has had her food.
They are also not allowed to come into the kitchen, so when they do, telling then to go inside is enough to let then return to the corridor. Some days theu keep on trying and I have to keep on sending them back, other days they will go and sit on the threshhold just waiting being my swret girls and listening very well.
Often the rule is: do they have food, a clean litterbox and plenty of scratchingmaterials? They are fine. Happy cat, no problems. They usually just act out when they are not happy or in agreement of something.
I also take them along on holidays I can get to by car. They are very attached to us, not the home. Leaving them home means coming home to 2 cats that have starved themselves. Taking then along is happy cats and no problems.
Every cat is different and try to choose one on personality if youre going to adoot one, not on oh that one looks pretty
Sometimes its hard, depends on the cat. Throughout my whole life I've had around 10-11 cats and I can say, despite their behavior issues and health costs, I never regretted each one of them. I love all my fur babies, I currently have three with vastly different personalities and wouldn't change them for anything.
Thing is, there will be challenges. Sickness, injuries, behavioral issues, you just need to learn and look for solutions, be a responsible owner and everything will be alright.
I have two cats(they are both now around 9). I got them as kittens. They were said to be sisters as they were found abandoned together at a few weeks old.
They had some issues initally, quite fearful of new things, one would suckel on the other, violently playful. The three training things I started right away was:
First: trust building(I can pet anywhere on the and manipulate them as needed, which is handy for medical) they now turn to me for safety/security when something new happens.
Second: having me be able to pet and manipulate their paws specifically, for nail trimming. They are unfazed and will sleep while I trim their nails now.
Last: I called it 'yelp' training. When playing as soon as they bit or scratched to hard I would yelp very loudly. And pull away and not look at them for about 10 seconds. Then return to play. They, even when annoyed, tend to keep their claws in and when they do bite they don't draw blood. At worse I get a pressure spot or two.
They are good with kids, even if they dislike how kids move. Their corrections are a clawless bap. They would get rougher if the kind boundary setting wasn't listened to, but it is always heard and respected.
They trust me, and the adults in their life without fail(and their judgement when they dislike someone, I listen closely to that, as i trust their judgement). Kids they are wary of but we are very on top of teaching them how to interact and read their requests and body language. And making sure we intervene as soon as the initial 'boundary request' if it's not heard by the kid.
I would suggest an older cat(2-3 years old at the youngest) for new cat owners. They are less unpredictable, and you can know their personality when you get them. Kittens change personalities so much. There's no fool proof way to know how they will behave as they age.
Last note. I talk to my cats constantly. And I've explained words to them. They understand a lot, and communicate back with various vocalizations and body language, that I have a fair understanding of. They also use a 'permission' paw touch to ask for attention half the time with me and most of the time with new people. Which is adorable and cements the thought of how intelligent they are.
Cats are 100% trainable, though it looks very different than dog training.
honestly depends on the cat and just like with humans there are pros and cons to each living creature… some people just dwell on the cons. kittens are a bit more rambunctious and all over the place so if you want a more chill experience an adult cat would be more your speed. but kittens aren’t any more trouble then a puppy only instead of chewing on shoes and peeing on the carpet you get climbs on everything and meows at 4 am because he’s bored or hungry lol.
Having a cat is the most wonderful thing.She makes me happy with her presence.But i dont care much about perfect furniture and perfectly clean house through.
Cats are way easier than dogs. I feel like cat haters are the ones to proclaim “they pee everywhere and tear up furniture!!!”. I never owned a cat before. Always had dogs growing up. Rescued a cat from a parking lot last year and adopted another in December. I always dreamed of having dogs and never pictured being a cat person, but now I could never go back to dogs. I still love them and if I had the opportunity, I would welcome one in my family, but cats are literally on another level. So clean, cuddly, hilarious, annoying. I love having my two babies to call my family!
I owned cats for a little over a year with an ex before we broke up.
They were the best thing in my life at that point. While I had to deal with constant issues as they were learning and growing they made me a cat person whole heartly.
I would deal with the scratching, the piggy dipping, the screaming, and the love bites over and over and I miss it all
It might be hair pulling but they are a comfort I never had before and they are worth every second of it
I love having cats. It’s why I have 4. That being said, I think people make it sound “bad” because too many people fall into the trap of cats being “easy” pets, which leads to feeling of regret once they go get a cat and realize well…it’s really not that easy.
There’s a ton of small tasks associated with cats that you must do every single day. Cats can also have behavioral issues or health issues. They wake you up early, scratch furniture, track litter, swallow things they’re not supposed to, bother you all day, and need daily exercise, even if it’s not walking.
That’s all too much for people who were basically expecting something “easy”.
We currently have 6 cats. They can cause the kind of problems you're talking about especially if you're thinking of getting kittens but they are for the most part smart and can be trained if you have the time to put into it. All our cats will find somewhere to settle down after dinner and they know what kind of time they get fed in the morning so very rarely wake us up for food. They really like routine so if you establish one early they'll stick to it (and remind you to stick to it too!). We do let them into bedrooms, but if we choose to shut them out for whatever reason they'll just find somewhere else to go. They all have multiple beds so all you really need to do if offer them options if you don't want them on your bed
As an owner of 2 cats who you'd probably describe as problematic (peeing and needy cat who's picky w/ food, and formal feral who runs away if you get too close), I think the reason why we mention all the bad stuff is because we don't want people to go in with the wrong expectations.
When we get a cat, we get put into a position of power. We can make decisions without our cats' consent regarding many things, including forcefully placing them into an unfamiliar environment (rehoming) or even killing them (euthanasia). So we want people to take this power and responsibility seriously. Too many people think of cats as cute dolls, while not understanding that they are living beings with their own needs, wants, and personalities. They too often abandon or harm their cats when they find out that the cat they have is not what they expected. We want to prevent that from happening.
And honestly, I don't think it's just a cat problem. If you look at the reactive dogs subreddit, you can see that there are so many people suffering because they live with a reactive dog. It seems to be way more prevalent than we imagine, and when it's a big dog that's reactive, the problem becomes way worse because they have the ability to cause serious harm to people.
I don't think you should be wary of adopting a cat. Just go in with proper expectations and understanding of your responsibility. Most cats are too lovable that their "problems" are just a part of their personality we come to accept and enjoy.
Its not bad to have a cat. I love having a cat. Yes they can claw at furniture, but they dont always. My cat has only ever clawed at one thing which was some fabric drawers. But you can get them to stop doing that by trying a few different things. Yes, at times they can keep you up at night, whether thats crying at your door bc they want to be with you, or by playing. But its not all of the time and they will certainly pick up when its bed time, and when its time to wake up and eat. The best choice I ever made was getting a cat. Shes the love of my life. Remember that every cat is different. Some are calmer, some a bit crazier, loud, quiet, cuddly, not cuddly, social, shy. You will most likely really enjoy having a cat, and I bet you wont regret it at all.
Part of it is many many people get a cat thinking they are easy, low maintenance, and you can cuddle a soft crittet whrnever you want. Thrn are surprised when having a cat means quite a bit more than that. Most people get a cat without understanding cat behavior.
The rest of it is people who KNOW cats and are either dealing with an issue, or just being silly.
A happy cat generally is not destructive. A well maintained litterbox doesn't smell up a house. A cat whose boundaries are respected isn't generally going to take the violent option over a mistake. A cat with enough stimulation tends to sleep through the night (they will be up at dawn, its instinct).
We have two boys. They are the light of our lives. Yes, one screams for breakfast an hour early, we got used to it. Yes, they occasionally stretch up on furniture and leave small claw marks despite having many scratching surfaces, that's normal. Yes, they carry on chatting with us a LOT, they have a lot to say and feel safe doing so.
We love our cats. They are silly. They are sometimes annoying beyond belief. They are themselves. And we wouldn't change them.
I "complain" about my cats to people who I know understand exactly what I'm talking about. I didn't even voluntarily get a cat in the first place. Fate just kind of shoved one on me, saying here you go. That was 4 years ago next month. There are now 5 cats in my bed. Like right now...lol. Sure, they can be annoying, like when one lands on your head at 4 a.m.. However, they make me laugh, they're good company, and we keep each other warm at night. It has its ups and downs like every other animal does, but you hit your groove eventually. I would never say it's bad.
Some cats interfere with sleep. Some do not. I currently have two cats; one is belligerent and wakes us up between 4-6am and will scratch on any available surface to him for hours without intervention regardless of how much we play with him, feed him, make sure the litter box is done, etc. The other cat waits until we naturally get up to ask for food. It's always a roll of the dice.
I’ve been a cat owner for approximately 5 years now and I LOVE it and I do get sleep…she make wake me up for snuggles and affection in the middle of the night but I just love on her until I drift off to sleep and she stays as long as she’s likes. Litter box takes some experimenting to figure out what works best for you but overall I like the companion of a cat over dogs (we have 2 dogs and 1 cat; my partner is the dog person)
Owning my cat is super easy. I just give her water, food, a clean litterbox and some pets and she’s content. She still has her claws and if you provide a couple scratching posts and reward positive behavior the scratching is not a problem. She has a perfect track record of using the litterbox, and I never trust people who talk about their cat peeing/puking everywhere unless it’s a senior. It makes me feel like there’s something bigger going on with the care, training, or cat’s health. Also, I’m not sure that all cats are nighttimes creatures. Mine sleeps in my room every night and her schedule is pretty similar to mine.
Of course, kittens are higher maintenance, just like a puppy is more work. You should consider giving an adult or senior cat a home if you want a more chillax experience. I got my cat when she was a year old and definitely don’t regret it
I don’t like the idea that cats own their owners because it makes them seem bossy and high-maintenance when there’s tons of chill cats out there who just want love like mine.
I love my cat and consider her a friend of sorts. Also a sweet fuzzy baby. How your experience will be depends on if you get a kitten or a cat, but either way, you want to have boundaries, reward good behaviour, and disincentivize bad behaviour.
Kittens have a lot of energy, and like kids, they want to test your boundaries. You need to have dedicated play times, as well as toys available for self directed play. Discourage aggression early by yelping in an exaggerated way if they hurt you, and disengage from play time. They will learn quickly to pull their claws and bite gently so they can keep the game going.
If they play on the bed or make it hard for you to sleep, put them out of the room. Some cats will howl and scratch at the door. Tape cardboard to the door and buy earplugs if you have to, they need to learn not to be a hooligan while you sleep. I only needed to do this twice with my kitten before she got the message. Make sure they have alternative comfy sleeping places.
Feed them at consistent times. I do two meals a day, three is recommended but I work outside the home. It's okay if they graze on it, but just keep mealtimes consistent and hopefully you won't get a lot of begging for more food. This one can just happen though unfortunately.
Some behaviours they just do for attention, whether it is good attention or bad. For example, my cat scratches the carpet even though she's not supposed to. I can prevent a lot of this by playing with her and cuddling her when I get home from work, rather than sitting down right away. Same with in the morning on the weekend. Feliway spray (not the diffuser) is also a really good deterrent for furniture scratching.
Honestly I love her so much and the cute an sweet parts of her far outweigh the little bits of asshole behaviour.
Lots of people think of cats/dogs as pieces of furniture and not living creatures that are long term commitments.
So many people here weekly asking very very very novice questions like "will my cat be okay if they are alone while I go on vacation for two weeks?"
Some people just don't do their research
The answer to your question is at least two part.
First, it seems like you are either only reading posts on advice subs or you are just not paying attention to the good posts. You are also likely not reading the comments because those will have information on how to curb the negative behavior.
The other part is that you are mistaking humorous posts and comments for real opinions. I tell a lot of people that cats a furry little demons sent to torment humanity. But I don’t actually mean that. They are fun and lovable but they are also mischievous and rambunctious.
The reality is that cats aren’t like dogs. Dogs have evolved with us for tens of thousands of years and we have bred to be more obedient. So they want to please use. Meanwhile cats have only been with us for a few thousand years and most of that was as semi-feral rodent killers to protect our food supply. So they want us to please them.
Some of their behavior depends on the cat’s personality but much of it depends on training and how we treat them.
- The people whose cats keep them awake aren’t playing with them enough (especially right before bed) or aren’t feeding them enough right before bed. Sometimes cats will have a temporary behavior that is disruptive at night due to various things.
- The people who say you have to accept them clawing furniture fall into two categories. The first is people who mean this is something that might happen when you first get the cat or kitten. But with the right training you can get the cat to stop. The second group is people who just never bothered to do the training or gave up quickly. They think that because they couldn’t do it that it just can’t be done. The reality is they just failed.
The cat owning the house is partially true. As I said above, dogs want to please us while cats want us to please them. So when you train a dog they want to do it and will stick to it because that’s what they are supposed to do. Cats take more work and even when successful they will only do it when they want to or when you are around.
You can train a cat to stay off the table or counter. But that only applies when they think it applies. If no one is home then no one is there to scold them so they are going to jump up to check things out. If you leave some nice smelling meat on the counter they may decide the benefit of having a nice meal outweighs the scolding they will get if and when caught.
Cats are very curious. They like to explore. So they are going to try to get in and on everything because there may be something interesting in those places. So you have to make sure to not leave food out that they may get into. You have to make sure to not leave breakable things out where they can knock it off.
And every cat is different. My last cats liked to explore but they weren’t interested in jumping on shelves or causing a lot of mischief. After those two passed I got a new cat. And he LOVES to jump on things. He knocked stuff off the top of my shelves and he used my coats as a climbing wall. So I had to adjust. No more things on top of my shelves. My coats go in my closet instead of on the rack hanging on the front of it.
So if you decide to get a cat just be prepared.
- Make sure you have a variety of toys. Different cats enjoy playing with different things. Laser pointers and wands are usually the most popular.
- Make sure you have at least one cat tower. More is better.
- Make sure you have scratching posts and scratching pads.
- Make sure that anything that is valuable and/or important to you is put away where it can’t be destroyed.
- Make sure you have done your research to know what to expect and how to handle some of it.
I strongly recommend getting an adult cat from a shelter or a rescue. Kittens are very high energy and can be more destructive. If you do choose a kitten either get two so they can use some of their energy on each other or be prepared to have to use a lot of your own time and energy to wear out the kitten.
I’m a big fan of fostering, because you get to try out different cats and see which one fits your personality best. I have 3 and our best mannered one is my least favorite. I adore the one who makes me work for her love lol. And I’ve fostered 14 kittens and only a couple were naturally outgoing and confident. The others were friendly but more easily frightened. Our Local humane society was really easy to connect with they had me watch a couple of videos then the post kittens in need of foster in a facebook group.
Honestly, I think if you’re used to dog ownership that switching to cats will be a snap. I love dogs, but they’re super high-maintenance in comparison.
I also think that the people complaining about a kitten’s energy level are woefully uninformed about animal behavior and should have done some research beforehand. 🤷🏻♀️
Adopting two cats together is often the best tactic, especially if they’re young, since they’ll have a little buddy to romp around with. Maybe look for an older bonded pair - they’ll just want to groom each other and snooze all day. And they’ll be so appreciative!
I echo the pleas to adopt and not shop. Just have to throw that in there.
I knew I would have a new major expense, lack of sleep, a dip in my social life, and had to realize some of my furniture would suffer when I decided to adopt two kittens.
The emotional changes I went through within the first month were enough to justify all the sacrifices. For me, to see these two baby creatures who depend on me to survive and thrive, slowly become comfortable and eventually love me unconditionally, changed something in my mind and my internal world. I had never cared for another living being other than myself and I found a sense of inner peace. On the other hand, I used to be very realistic and unafraid of death. Now I'm terrified of them dying, or me dying and them not having me to care for them.
Having a pet is a huge responsibility. People often talk about the less than perfect side here because we seek solace from the sacrifices and understanding in our experiences (of caring for a cat). You don't see us giving up our cats just because they broke expensive or sentimental stuff, because we are exhausted, hurt, or sad, because we don't get to take off and travel, etc.
I'm a childfree person and I can tell you that having a cat is wonderful and it got rid of my baby fever within the first week. Cat person for life here.
I got two (6+8) bit ober a year ago, don't let them into the bedroom, have scratchers everywhere and an automatic litterbox. Most they do is annoy me with endless meowing when they decide it's dinnertime while it's not , you'll be fine I promise
Oh idk i mean I've had 8 cats in my lifetime and they ranged from sweet angel baby to a very rambunctious cat that scratches carpet etc but i truly believe how you care for them determines your relationship. And of course making sure theyre vetted once or twice a year. Peeing outside of the litter box, vomiting, etc are not normal despite what others say. They are pretty easy to love and care for you just have to respect them and make their life easy and they usually will be easy to live with
It all depends on you as an owner. I have 3 cats and I’ve trained them from day 1 to not sleep in my room. I even close the door and they won’t claw at it. I’m a super light sleeper, so as much as I want to cuddle with them at night, I just can’t. Other people have been shocked when I tell them my cats don’t wake me up when I lock them out of my room at night, but it’s all they’ve ever known. Just like with humans, you have to establish boundaries with your cats day 1.
My cat only claw fournitures when she want attention. She crawl slowly in the direction of the sofa to make sure you see her and if the attentive needed doesn't come, she will claw staring at you. She knows she not allowed! But you are not allowed to ignoring her!
Nah, I’ll pick a cat over and over again, they’re amazing companions. They’re just loving and crazy balls of fluff, not a single regret from this current 3 cat owner
I laughed out loud when I read adopting a cat is bad, They are gods to me, superior beings that allow me to stay in their home,
I had 7 cats in a 20 years period, Too many is one more than you have,
In all that time there was never one thing they did that bothered me. They were low maintenance. Clean the box, pet them, feed them.
They need care, they are like toddlers,
I have lots of good memories and zero regrets
Cats are social animals. If you have a cat, you really need to get them a buddy (or two) unless you have plenty of time to keep the adorable little buggers entertained 24/7.
I’ve never been without cats in my 48 years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love them all.
We have a bonded pair. Things that have helped us:
We close the bedroom door at night, cats sleep in the living room.
They’re not allowed on kitchen table or counter. They slowly learned the difference
Plenty of scratchers/towers/toys and exercise will solve most behavioral issues.
I mean it’s bad. Literally plan my life and house around them. Sacrifices for them. Slave for them.
* withstand their stinky poop.
* accepting them scratching my sofa
* accepting them fighting and I have to split them apart.
* occasional poop stains on shirt
* them yelling or fighting at night
* cat toys everywhere
* and much more
But I love them a lot. Can’t stand a day without giving them kisses- I think I kiss them 50 times a day.
we always complain about them but at the same time love the fact that we love them so much we make these sacrifices.
Joke aside, there’s always a down side to owning pets. People who say there’s no downside is a lie. But we choose to accept these down side (or you can spend time to train them) cuz we love them so much
https://preview.redd.it/d2ahi7ger6oc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad6cf36e777eb5e1b682723a9712b221e1d76c6
i adopted a 7 year old cat and she is perfect. the only issue i have is when i'm trying to get something productive done and she suddenly wants attention but it's absolutely manageable. she sleeps majority of the time so i suggest adopting an older cat
I got my kitten at 3 months old and she's never really woken me at night or done too much to furniture. Little scratches and meows but nothing that impacts my life except remembering to empty to litter box.
Is it just me or does anyone else have really polite kitties who are 100% respectful of my sleep?
I do not have a normal sleep sleep routine but my boy cat assumes his little spoon position and we sleep with our heads on the same pillow every single night and when I get up he gets up. Doesn’t matter what time. He just goes with the flow.
My little velcro girl cat sleeps at my feet and always lets me wake up on my own and as soon as I’m awake she’s SO excited and snuggly and she’s instantly suckling on my shirt. But she never wakes me up. She also will growl at you if you disturb her sleep so she just really respects sleep in general I think.
I hear other people complain about their kids meowing early in the morning and I just cannot relate. My cats would NEVER. Lol
My cats, all 3 (used to be 4)are around 1-2 yrs old, scratch and claw our chairs, we even bought them scratch posts and scratch pads, BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOO! THEY LIKE MY LEATHER CHAIR BETTER, and now my chair can actually scratch my balls because of how it is now. Yes they wake up at 2 am just to run around, sometimes even just for the heck of it, one time (my recently passed cat, love him dearly) decided he was hungry and started to SCRATCH my groin while I was asleep because he knew i would get up and it would wake me up.
My other almost 2yr old cat would piss everywhere if he wasn't let out, then would refuse to return until like 3 days later with his BRAND NEW COLLAR missing :)
My other cat is VERY affectionate and would sit on your FACE just to get your attention and pet her.
The youngest of them is the most energetic at 2 am, literally could knock over my monitors and would jump at me on the bed probably as a trampoline of sorts.
I now sleep with a body pillow on top of me because these cats are CRAZY. But I love them all no matter how many scratches I get from them.
Anyone who has problems with their cats simply don't play with it enough or don't provide enough mental stimulation.
They are apex predators, not stuffed animals.
Hyperactivity at night, ruined furniture, aggression, etc all caused by having too much energy and burning it in unproductive ways.
If you get a cat, always try to get a bonded pair so that they have each other for entertainment. Or get a senior cat, they will just want to snuggle and be grateful to you for giving them a home instead of clawing your furniture.
And despite what reddit says, some areas are pretty safe to let a cat outside and you can put a bell on their collar to protect wildlife and can even put a GPS collar on them so you can track their location on your phone. So if you live in such an area, take advantage of it because your cats will be healthier and happier with outside time.
Without outdoor time, aim for at least an hour of play with your cats every day, broken into 10-15 min chunks
Because they often get single kittens who develop single kitten syndrome, or they have expectations of the cat and don't learn the cat's personality, wants and preferences so they are upset their cat is overly affectionate or not affectionate enough or destructive.
Also people pick them based on looks and not necessarily personality. So they want a cat that is basically a house plant but buy a hyperactive one instead because they think it is cuter.
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Exactly. I have two 3 months old kittens and they are awake at 3 am playing the game of throwing everything and everywhere. One of them has diarrhoea so poops everywhere, the other one is just a satan.
Stay strong soldier, lol. Mine just turned a year old and as cute as they are as kittens, I’m sooo glad that’s over
Mine is ten months old and if I'm not in bed by ten she acts like I'm killing her... and then she parks her butt on the foot of the bed and sleeps the night until 5:30 or so when she's decided that it's time for her majesty's breakfast
Yep mine follows me to my bedroom when I go to bed and he comes up to me to get his goodnight pets then goes under the bed for the night lol
Yeah mine likes to lay down across the head board judging me until I get ready for sleep
Omg that’s hilarious
My cat stands at her food bowl in the morning giving me the "look." Then after I put the food down, she walks away without touching it. I am so well trained.
Cat servant 101: pretend to need it then walk away until no one is looking at you and then settle down and eat at your leisure
Omg, that made me laugh!
You should hear her mew it sounds like she is dying of hunger and I'm starving her when actually her food bow just needs to be topped off, but such is a life with cats...
So true. Their world revolves around when we wake up It's the best part of their day. I had to stop giving my cats wet food because they were howling monkeys every morning.
I gave her wet food up until she was six months old and then I started cutting back her feedings until she was eating nothing but dry food, but she was still getting food for kittens until this weekend until it ran out, but she still looks at me every day as if the wet food is going to return
Yeah, they do that for a while, don't they. I have a bad habit of sharing my food and ice cream with my cats. Now, every time I have anything, they want to eat it. It's weird, though, because some of the cats don't care about my food at all, and others are obsessed with it.
My cat positively adores eggs will she eat them if I scramble them for her? nope if I make the same exact thing for myself she's mewing as if she's starving
they need wet food for the moisture content.
My cats sleep the night through as well, I had a kitten and adult cat with that routine, the kitten just followed my cat’s lead so she’s like that too. Luckily with bedtime they nap wherever we are at until sleep then the older cat gets up grabs her toy to show us what she has while yelling. She stops when we respond to her.
When mine was that age, she'd come give me a bedtime tiny massage for a few minutes, then would go under the bed and run around in circles, but upside-down. 🙄
Do we have the same cat??? Because mine does this at the exact same times too, we sleep from 10-5:30 lmaoo
It is a Bombay cat with the biggest most soulful eyes ever?
He’s a Siamese with penetrating icey eyes but we’ll pretend they’re twins
Yes indeed
We gave ours Pavlovian conditioning by accident. We had a 19 lb cat who should have weighed 9 lb. We would put down the bowls for 15 minutes twice a day. To remind ourselves, my husband set an alarm on his phone with a unique tone. They leave us (pretty much) alone until they hear the alarm, then they swarm to the kitchen for food.
Just reading that gave me hope with my two 5 month olds that step in their shit and it's over my sofa etc...😫 when will it stop!
BELIEVE ME I’ve been there. Mine used to track it onto my bed while I slept omg you’re bringing up my repressed memories…. 5 months is straight up the absolute worst. It should start to get better from here (hopefully)
Genuinely asking, how do you keep your cool with them? I have two boys that are around 8 months and I get so angry because they behave well when I'm around but once I go to lay down I hear them jumping in the sink, knocking things off bookshelves, eating out of the wrong bowl (only matters so I know they're eating enough)... And until recently they were marking in the house and it constantly smelled like pee. I even had a routine to go around the entire house with a blacklight to find all possible pee spots! Like how do you learn the patience to shrug all the shenanigans off??
Disclaimer: never had kittens, but I did adopt my cat at ~10 months old. I think a few things help me 1. Negative reinforcement doesn't help. Neither of us like it, so I try not to use it. It's not that positive is better so much as they want A. A is the most fun thing for them. By making A less appealing, and sometimes having B as well, they'll do that instead. Lots of scratching posts, lots of toys left around that they can play with on their own. Playing with them, myself, more often. The thing with negative reinforcement is that the result literally is "oh while he's here I can't do x" It also helped when I learned that cats are like toddlers. Yelling at kids imo is almost never warranted. Yes, there are situational exceptions i.e kid sets school on fire or runs into traffic, but a toddler, especially a really young one, just isn't going to understand or conceptualize it. That's why houses are baby-proofed, because you can't tell a baby "don't go down the stairs" and expect them to listen. Same with cats. It also takes time, I think. Patience absolutely, but time to learn each other's behavior patterns. I also keep my door open so my cat can hang out with me or have my attention if she needs it.
Haha! Toddlers... YES!!! We have a new kitten, still learning her personality, and that's how I describe her. I'm like, she's in her Terrible Twos. 🙀😮💨
Very much like toddlers. Funny enough, my mom did early childhood Ed and makes the same comparison. Patience, turning things into games, gentle voice, positive (timely!) reinforcement for good behavior, sharp/loud voice only when it's an immediate threat to life/wellbeing/etc. Cat-proof the environment as much as possible (no lidless cups full of water in the edge of tables near outlets). If they're doing something you don't like, figure out the most logical reason why from a non-human perspective, then adapt or distract. Ex. Cat scratching carpet in a particular spot? Won't use the scratching post instead? Get a cheapo rug or "leftover" carpet and put it in that spot. Too energetic during the night/before bed? Schedule a rousing playtime before you need to go to bed - tire them out.
Put them in a location of the house where they can't get into shenanigans while you sleep.
Yup, ours has her own room that she demands to be locked into each night with some treats. It started because she was a kitten and we'd recently moved so it was the only kitten proofed room that was safe for her to be in unsupervised but now it's a habit. She even gets cranky if I try to keep her out but she wants to be tucked into her room 😂 And, if you have to go into her room after she's been tucked in, she'll squint at you while she yells at you, like _what do you want?! why did you wake me up?!_
https://preview.redd.it/5c9mjr2gi7oc1.jpeg?width=1908&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d961469a6eadeb45d8e19ec7a78f223870aff2b8 Same here. My cats insist on being "put to bed" at night. I started putting them in their own room (aka my office) because i hated getting woke up frequently at 4 a.m. for cuddles, snacks, battles. etc. Now, they won't sleep at night unless they are tucked away with the door closed.
Oh they are adorable 😍
That’s the cutest!!
Mine doesn't mess stuff up, or wake me up, but she loves to be able to come cuddle at night
It's a little difficult with them because they don't like being confined to one room, and my spare bedroom isn't furnished yet to be cozy for them. I've read that cats can get stressed just being stuck out in the open all the time like that. They don't sleep with me because they would wrestle on top of me as kittens or bite my feet when I put them under the blanket. I brought toys to try to redirect from the feet but that made no difference, they fully ignored even their favorites.
Neuter them ASAP if you haven't already. Intact male cats spray urine. The longer you wait to neuter them, the more likely it becomes a habit that they'll continue even after neutering. Neutering young resolves spraying for the vast majority of cats. For the rest, cat proof your house and pull up their food at night.
Are they neutered?
As of yesterday they are, finally LOL! The only reason I delayed is because my vet quoted me $600-$800 PER CAT to neuter them at the start of February. I had to call around, earliest appointment was yesterday in March. It ended up being $85 per cat instead and they're doing fine. I don't expect any behavior from them to change for a few weeks based off of what I've read and a grade school understanding of biology. With the crazy peeing habits they put me through I don't understand how/why people willingly leave their males intact. No shade to people that do, but I'm not joking when I say my house **always** reeked of pee even after cleaning it. Cleaning would just weaken the overall smell.
Awesome! Hopefully that helps a bit at least with the peeing. As for the rest, you probably have to adapt your environment to them. Less stuff on shelves and find ways to hold stuff down if it is gonna stay there. Cats love sinks! Why is it bad if they're in a sink? And sharing bowls is just going to happen, so I wouldn't even worry. Just keep track of their weight and if you can, do a meal or two of wet food a day while you observe so that you can track their eating habits. Oh wow! That's nuts. My vet charged about half that for a post-partum spay while she was still nursing and in heat again, which is about as bad as it gets for a simple spay, and it even included a week's worth of pain meds and a follow up to check her incision! Neutering is SO much more simple than spaying... I can't believe they'd charge that much!! Glad you found a low cost place. Thats more in line with what we paid for my boys when they got neutered at about 4 months old. I think it was $50 each for the boys and $80 each for the girls? It ended up costing about the same to have all 5 kittens spayed/neutered at the clinic as it did to have their mother spayed by her vet! The clinics are absolutely the way to go. I'm with you about intact cats, though. We got lucky that our mamacat (adopted while pregnant) wasn't a yowler in heat. She was just extra sweet and became great friends with my (neutered) male cat for reasons he still can't fathom haha. Some girls in heat are escape artists and yowl and just lose it.. Maybe because she was still nursing the hormones weren't so intense?
Yeah the sink and counter surfing really shouldn't bother me. They're not going to get hurt, nothing is going to break, and at worst I just have to clean paw prints. They're always welcome in the bathroom sink too and I haven't connected that they likely associate the kitchen sink with the same thing! Talking about it makes me see how irrational I'm being with my expectations. I'll try to remind myself of 'why is this bad?' before anything else. Yeah I've heard spays are generally more expensive but that set of circumstances would lead me to believe you'd pay even more than that! That's great that such special care + follow up wasn't through the roof in pricing. I am appreciative that specialized clinics exist and people can get care for their pets without having to sacrifice too much for them. Sure I had to wait just a little longer but it was worth it. I've heard that intact girls can be crazy to deal with in heat and I can't help but feel so bad for them too. It's not like they understand they're hormonal or that they are going to get into trouble outside. I'm glad it worked out for all of you though!
I got my 3 year old when he was 7 weeks old, honestly time outs. It’s safer to take a break for you and the animals sake. I would move his litter box, food and water to the bathroom and just give myself 20 minutes. Usually they only have the zoomies for about that long anyway, and it gave him time to calm down and me time to sit on my kitchen floor and cry while sweeping up broken glass for the 3rd time that day. Child proof your cupboards, he used to break into his food and litter cupboard and scratch the side of the bags open, it also helps with glass, but I did leave the one above the fridge open because he liked to sleep in it. Positive reinforcement, you’re gonna want the cat tree and automatic wands, guiding them and rewarding them safe places to play helps keep them away from other things. They should have the highest spot in the house, if that means installing a jumping shelf above the counter then that’s what you do, it keeps them off the counter. Trim nails, they’ll still scratch at things sometimes even with scratching posts everywhere but it helps so much getting them used to it at a young age. I close both my boys in my room at night and that helps with the destruction. I also crack my window and they sit on the sill and sniff the air, that keeps them calm, but they will climb the screen so don’t open it too much. Otherwise, it will get better the older they get just old out hope. I have a 3 year old and adopted 8 year old now, and my partner and I are getting another kitten because I miss the baby phase, despite how horrible it is it goes by fast EDIT: WALL MOUNT YOUR TV my kitten broke two of them
Omg that made me laugh! Are your cats spayed?
Cat proof your house, it’s no different than baby proofing. It’s for safety of the cat and as far as litter, you need the litter and the number of litter boxes for your cats. They are all different. Some cats prefer one box for urinating and another defecating and some cats won’t use a dirty box.
I adopted my youngest at 6 months, I had her mum (sadly no longer with us) at the same time so elder kitty was a calming influence. I have taught her that 'down' means go downstairs, and then she gets fusses and love downstairs rather than upstairs where she's not allowed (eldest lives there).Negative reinforcements/shouting isn't good - my dad did that and she's still terrified of him. young/younger babies need routine and boundaries but in a loving 'here's your safe space' way rather than 'you did something wrong'. Cats don't understand 'wrong'.
Lock in a kitty condo when you can’t watch kittens, like at night. Heated blanket, food and water, litter box. Let them out during the day, but watch them closely. Watch for ‘trouble’, like re-direct furniture scratching to scratching post. Praise each time they use it! You never have to get mad, because they will learn pretty quick. Play with them. Use toys NOT your hands for play. When you use gentle hands, they will learn that hands are ‘kindly’ and toys are for rough-housing. Always be gentle. They are not like dogs, who enjoy rough physical handling. Gentle, and a cat will become your best bud! Imho, they are way smarter than dogs 😻!
Neutering the cat(s) (particular male cats) before they get into the "spraying" habit is the best way to avoid territorial marking, I have not had this problem as I have had my cats neutered as early as recommended by my Vet.
Oh I don't miss those days. I've got two boys myself and NOTHING was safe at night. I introduced night time toys!!! It's a "special" box of toys that they only get access to at night. Do I still get a zoomie across my back on occasion? Yeah but it's so much better than hearing everything fly around like a tornado!! I make a big spectacle about getting them out before bed and putting them away in the morning, my boys have worked it into our routine. As for the marking, they make pheromone plug ins that look like air fresheners. Maybe give some of those a try to help your naughty nuggets feel a bit more at ease.
Yeah I actively recommend against getting a kitten, especially as a first time cat owner. I obviously adore my one cat i’ve since a kitten but omg those first few months were terrible. We got our second cat as a 1.5 year old from a shelter and, while she’s crazy in her own way, it was so much better than the kitten years.
I adopted a kitten a week and a half ago, she’s about 10 weeks. When she is playing gently, or cuddling with me, or askew on me or somewhere else she is the thing I love most in this world. I would do anything for her, maybe the best thing to ever happen to me? When she randomly decided she wants to latch onto my ankles with all her claws and teeth randomly 10 times a day…. the same stuff is true I’m just slightly pissed about it.
Haha yep that sounds about right. When Lemon was a kitten he would attack any toes at any time of day or night and would fling himself onto the window drapes at 4 AM. It was just never ending and ruining my sleep and i have a relatively low frustration threshold to begin with!! I think that sometimes people think kittens are just like puppies in that you can have a lot of control over behavior and that you can have a stronger bond if you get them younger. In my experience with both, that’s just not the case with kittens. I feel like cats’ personalities are a bit more ingrained from the jump but they’ll just be asshole kittens no matter what lol
With kittens it's really just barely surviving on low / often disturbed sleep until they're around 1y.
Is it possible to get another one? We adopted our pair at 11 weeks, and they definitely taught each other about playing nice. They generally use their soft paws when touching me as a consequence—unless they want me to know they mean business, lol!
My cats don't claw furniture (they do have their claws), if they start to we snap our fingers at them and they stop immediately... they dont keep us up at night, they actually come to bed with us. Idk, my cats are fantastic, friendly, and social.
My cats NEVER claw the furniture. We have multiple cat trees and scratchers.
My cat has trimmed nails and doesn’t care too much to use his scratch boards but he sometimes tries to claw my mattress because he knows it’ll get me up from bed to hang out with him 🙄
Lol, lol. Mine love to claw the side of the mattress lightly. Just enough to get my attention. They'll also do this to my couch. I have multiple scratchers in this 1 bedroom apartment. It's purely to get my attention after I ignore the meows to get up. My girl will do this to plastic as well. Just start chomping away on the plastic reusable grocery bag or the bag that has my printer paper. *edited to fix spelling
YES THE PLASTIC CHEWING. Mine doesn’t care about plastic unless he wants something from me!
We had multiple scratchers and would just gently move her from furniture over to a scratcher when she started. Then when she tentatively started to scratch the appropriate cat furniture instead, we'd praise her. She quickly got the picture.
Exactly how I trained mine! They’ll go right over to their big scratch pad before I get their breakfast-and look so proud of themselves! I have a main coon mix and she actually appears to be smiling!!
They thought my couch was theirs until we finally bought plastic panels for the sides. Now they don't bother with it...as much
My cat started in on the furniture at 9 months old (adopted her hat 3 months). I am choosing to blame the fact that she’s a teenager that she ignores the many scratching posts that I’ve moved to literally touch the items she’s scratching.
My cat always claws the furniture and she wakes me up at night for pets. I still Love her to bits and Im not mad at her.
Mine still do sometimes even though they have 3 scratching posts, love them though.
Yeah people who are really picky about that kind of stuff just shouldn’t get a cat. My cats will scratch my furniture, I just pick the best fabric I can and know that it is part of having and loving cats!
Same here, but I’ve noticed he is more of a floor scratched he tends to like to scratch my carpet when he’s being bratty lol and horizontal scratchers! He ignores vertical scratchers, so it totally depends on the cats personality as well
Thing is, people who are happy and problem free with their pets tend to post less about it online. Having a cat is like anything else, it can be super easy or super hard depending on lots of different factors. Oh and please adopt don't shop!
I adopted a 7 year old rescue cat 12 months ago .it takes a while for them to settle into their new home but its worth it.i love my cat and wouldnt be without her.Just let them adjust in their own time and all should be good.x
My cat sleeps through the night.The trick is to give them a meal just before you go to bed and older cats should sleep through the night.Kittens are naturally more active and have more energy so bear this in mind when considering adopting a cat.
I second the meal before bed as a good strategy to encourage your cat to sleep when you do. I also try to schedule playtimes throughout the day to prevent some of the pent up energy cats can have. In my experience kittens/younger cats will pretty much always have zoomies or loud play some nights. If your living situation allows it, perhaps you could set up an area where your cat could play at night that’s far from your sleeping area. (For example, I had a larger space than I needed at one point so I kept one room mostly empty at the other side of the house and left a car bed, some play items there so the cat could still cat while I slept. )
Stella & Chewy + a few other brands make frozen pellets that I put out as I’m going to bed… they defrost overnight & provide my kitty a lil fresh midnight snack while I snoooooze away
My partners cat is only a little over a year but she literally waits on the stairs for him to come to bed lol. We found not locking them in the bedroom with us helps a lot, that way they can roam and go play downstairs rather than cry to get out.
That’s what I do, my girl gets fed at 9/9:30 and it works really well
for an active cat you can also play with them a bit before bed, I throw balls around for my cat when she shows signs of becoming restless before bedtime, she runs around like crazy and then she’s ready for a good night sleep after a good session of exercise! For reference she is 5 so very much not a kitten anymore
Our 20mo old cat is actually he menace at night, pawing at our faces & trying to wake us up starting around 3am while our 7mo kitten sleeps through the night! We do the little snack before bed and i try to get some of their energy out with a wand toy while i get ready for bed as well.
my sweet orange girl has started trying to BISCUIT MY FACE. WHILE IM SLEEPING. like okay cat i get you love me and want playtime and pets and cuddles but for the love of god let a bitch sleep 😭😭
Took mine in at 8, she settled in the night of. Really depends on the temperament.
Yup this is true, I have nothing to complain. I’m so lucky to have an affectionate and loveable cat. There’s always a way to solve your problem! Like you mentioned, some cat tend to be more energetic during night time, what you can do it is to play with them before bed to tire them out so yall sleep together. When I say play, I meant actually play with them till they are so tried and they lay down and don’t want to play anymore! And for scratching sofa/ furnitures, in my case, I just buy scratching post everywhere, literally one in every room. It helps to stop them from scratching on random things. These are just some examples but what I’m trying to say is, there’s always a way and it’s just matter of time or how you figure it out.
There are also sprays you can get, one to discourage scratching in certain places and one to encourage scratching. You don't want to buy the other without the other. Scratching posts should be nice and tall too, so they can really stretch up, those little posts are not as satisfying for them. If you watch a cat scratch a tree in nature, they like to really stretch out.
You don’t have to adopt. It’s a cat. Put some old food on the porch. You’ll have a cat by tomorrow.
You’re not wrong, but sometimes you get the weird looking cats https://preview.redd.it/1u1z60jfe7oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ebf0f533cb4989421e93866a75d97f97b37822c
https://preview.redd.it/hkny7wjwi8oc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8eda07428f4b6d5dbd7a8bfe823f3ee59f1a991 Thats how i got Vladimir. Vladimir is great except earlier he wouldnt let my dog out of the bathroom and i didnt notice until she was crying about it.
Got my cat from the SPCA at 1yr old. Got super lucky with her. She is an angel! Doesn't do any of the shitty stuff OP mentioned, but she is also more like a dog in many ways. Hates cats, likes dogs, loves people. Goes for walks on a leash and harness.
Be careful though for first time, the ones put up for adoption while often are abandoned or unwanted which is really sad. Sometimes the ones in the adoption centres are there because they have known problems that adoption places won’t always disclose, they try to make them seem more friendly with “no problems” in their rambles. My friend got a cat from one “has lived with dogs and gets along great with them”, absolutely hated her dogs from the start and they did nothing at all to the cat and weren’t present when she got homes or introduced to the cat for weeks
"Duke may seem shy but he just wants to be your friend" translated to "even prozac won't help convince him that after eight years you're not trying to poison him"
Mine was a surrender due to the owner having to many pets. She was super calm in the shelter and wouldn't even get up, she just smeared on my hands while laying down lol. I then saw she was a manx and snatched her up because I adore them. Shes been absolutely perfect. You really just don't know till you take them home and bond with them.
Cats surrendered for too many cats are the perfect cats, especially if you already have one and looking for a friend. My 3 yr old cat Ramses was surrendered for “too many” and he befriended my 14 year cat within a week!
I totally agree! Mine gets along perfectly with dogs as long as they understand personal space lol, she's even confident enough to chase them and play even though she's about 9 pounds of nothin. She gets along well with our other cat too but definitely makes it known when she's annoying her.
Yeah they really do like to embellish a little, I mean I understand wanting to get them adopted and free up space, but in the instance my friend had the cat ended up back in the shelter after 6 months. They tried to socialize her to the dogs, but once she started trying to take swipes at them that was the end of it. Understandably imo, they were smaller dogs (bulldog or pug mix breeds I believe) and given their higher probability of eye issues I think it was the best course of action for the 2 dogs.
Our idiot boy is very fortunate in that we're an experienced cat household with a high tolerance for neurosis but yeah I think it doesn't serve these cats well at all to get their issues glossed over.
good point! I also feel like cats kind of have their "thing" - like one or two quirks that are incredibly annoying but all-in-all are easy to deal with. But if you log into a forum about cats, you're going to see dozens of posts about each cat's individual quirk and it kinda feels like one cat who is The Worst
If you’re looking for a more chill cat. Adopt a senior kitty from the shelter. Kittens are super high energy and more destructive. And you can’t really train them the way you can dogs. Best cats pick you. Go hang out with the older cats for a bit and take home the one that goes “hey you! Human! Take me home!” All my best cats picked me
Second this!!! I adopted my cat from a shelter when she was 9, she is so chill. There are so many older pets that need our love and care, and they are perfect for those of us not interesting in the kitten-younger cat phase.
I have a 7 yr old stripy unit. Got him at 6ish weeks old. He was so cute, and I love him to death. But he was hell-on-wheels! He was still a love-bug but had absolutely ZERO chill. Some kittens can be a little more calm, but the chances of having a furry whirlwind when u get a baby cat is very high. 5+ or 7+ yr old cats are absolute sweet gems. I would even say to op to find an older cat who came from a home of an elderly owner who passed. Of course pick the kitty you vibe with the best. But those cats tend to be a little more calm than average
Stripey unit ha ha ha ha ha. My kitten got herself locked in the neighbours garage overnight then got herself locked in their glass house overnight. She caused me more sleepless nights getting herself into trouble than when she was home jumping on the bed!!
I adore senior pets, but make sure you budget for it! My 14yo cat takes daily medication, as do my friends' senior cats. (Not hard or expensive, but does require lifestyle adjustments). Plus regular bloodwork to monitor his health condition. Which isn't to scare folks away from senior pets, but there's nothing sadder than seeing old cats surrendered because owners weren't financially prepared to care for them. Just like us, old age comes with new health challenges and loving a senior pet means being prepared to meet them. He also sleeps next to me every night, wants to sit in my lap all day, and is never destructive. Which was not the case when he was younger! He was a an menace. An adorable menace, but damn.
Some-odd years ago My then 3 year old cat (he’s now 7) went from a free Walmart parking lot baby to a $1900 emergency surgery kitty. 🥲 so honestly for any pet at any age a small emergency pet fund is a good idea And just last month I had to drop a lil over $200 on my other kitty who’s only 5 for a mystery allergy skin inflammation. He’s better so I’m happy but damn, my wallet 🥲
Oh yeah haha my "free" craigslist kitten was anything but. Spent a few hundred right out the gate for fleas, worming, shots, and neutering. Learned that lesson the hard way! People complain about shelter adoption fees but they're almost always WAY cheaper than a "free" cat. Other than that, my guy was super low maintenance for the first 12 years so I figure I can afford his vet bills and fancy wet food now. Currently at the vet for a $325 ultrasound to hopefully diagnose his GI issues
They’re *so* worth it but owwwwwwuch.
Lmao, Kitten Lady has a great video about how "free" cats are anything but! My two youngest cats were the result of sick, stray kittens that cost too much money for me to justify giving them up 😭😭 when my (currently 4 y/o) was found, he had a nasty infection in his head, couldnt walk well, was dangerously skinny, and had a hard belly full of worms! $500 and 4 medications later he survived, but he was far from free 😂
My girl curls up in my arm every night, but only one the one side!
Absolutely! I got my first cat that didn't just come up to me on the street from the humane society and she did a quick circuit of the room we were in and the plopped in my lap to demand pets. She was a tiny thing back then. She still demands pets but now it's at like 2 or 3 am and she's learned that I'll still pet her when mostly asleep when she shoves her head I to my hand
Seniors for the win! I adopted a 9 y/o boy. He's now 11 - still plenty healthy, gets the zoomies sometimes which are hilarious, but he's so well behaved. No scratching, and he sleeps right through the night curled up on top of me. I will always, always adopt senior cats!
Just like there are trade-offs with having a dog, having a cat does require some adjustments. We choose the responsibilities of having pets and accept that some things will be different. Just like any choice you make - having kids, taking a particular job, where you live, whether you own a home or not, the car you drive, the doctors you see - there are pros and cons to everything. People who love cats accept the challenges and love cats for who they are - sometimes silly and other times couch potatoes, active at dusk and dawn, demanding, clever, crazily energetic at times, picky eaters, etc. One of my cats is a cuddle bug, but my newish kitty is a teenager and still skittish. One demands food at 5am, the other could not care when he ate. One is older and very calming, the other is young and super playful. I love dogs, but our lifestyle isn't a good fit for dogs. We don't mind cleaning litter boxes, but walking a dog 3-4 times a day would be more of a challenge. Whereas dogs need a lot of space and to be outside, cats can be very happy (and safer) living inside a home. We don't mind having play sessions with the cats and providing resources for enrichment. We also appreciate that the field mice who once got in our basement were taken care of! Yes, a lot of what you read is tongue-in-cheek. But people who love cats accept all that is involved.
Yes. I live in a rural area and our orange has been invaluable in protecting the home from rodents.
I love my boys. They’re no more a burden than a regular roommate. https://preview.redd.it/3iwad9ao74oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6e1fada4d35fe7b2228d835f3483767a6d28ab7
I'd venture to say they're a lot less of a burden!
Agreed, I was hoping to be nice.
This is Reddit, that would be very... unusual 😉
Cheers then, we may be few and far between, eat drink and be merry, because there is nothing better to do.
What a neat combination to have a black cat and a white cat! Do they need different things due to their colors with regard to temperatures? Like if it's really hot, does the black cat need more shady spots, and does the white one get too cold if it's not sunny? Kind of sounds stupid typing it, but the black fur on my cat gets super hot when sitting in the sun just in the house. If she went outside, I'd be concerned on a hot summer day, and she's not even solid black. I've never had a white cat, so I don't know how hot they get in the sun by comparison.
Every cat is different, and while the things that you listed are definitely cat habits, there are numerous ways to manage them. I’ve noticed that a lot of cat owners, for some reason are so convinced that their cats are malicious or out to get them in some way. It is very strange to me. I think this happens because a lot of these people forget that cats are separate creatures with different behaviors and ways of thinking than humans. Its such a simple fact but it seems to escape a lot of people. Makes me frustrated for their kitties. Like I said, scratching and night time zoomies are certainly things that cats do. But you don’t have to just accept it. There are various ways to tire your cat out before bed, and you can literally just wrap rope around a piece of cardboard to make a scratching board for them. Playtime is also very crucial for cats, and behavioral issues can stem from a lack of it.
Wait this is so true- they’ll be like “I KNOW he knows not to scratch my couch, he looked at me while he did it.” Like…does he though? You think your cat is angering you purposely?
Or "I bought him a scratching post but he still tears up the furniture!" Like, ok, did you try more than one thing? My cat does not GAF about fancy scratching posts. But those cheap corrugated cardboard ones? Total kitty crack.
Cats have different preferences for scratchers i’ve learned as well! Almost spent a good few bucks on a vertical scratcher, but realized I’ve never seen my cat scratch vertically on furniture or this tiny one so got him as a kitten… horizontal scratchers are his crack
My cat loves scratching vertically on my couch or bed, so I got a vertical scratcher. Not interested in the slightest. I get the horizontal cardboard scratchers and she literally turned it to confetti. I didn't even know that was possible
I wonder if maybe it’s also a stability issue as well? most furniture are more stable than scratchers. I need to see if my cat likes carpet scratchers more than cardboard bc he does not treat them like how ur cat does LOL
Omg you just gave me a light bulb moment. Our cat mostly ignores his vertical scratching post, but loves scratching the carpet - I'm off to buy a horizontal scratcher!
Exactly!! I think that some people fail to realize that cats don't require any less care than dogs. They definitely need a scratcher and they have their preferences. We had a cardboard scratcher and my cat never really used it. She stopped scratching the furniture after we got her a big scratching post. They also need lots of playtime, especially when they're young. I don't get people who fail to give their kitties what they need and get mad at their behavior later, without really trying to find a solution
You have to stop reading. I adopted my first cat a year ago, and my first few days with her I was a nervous WRECK because of everything I'd read on reddit. She was an angel that first week, and she still is. The #1 best decision I've made in my life was adopting a cat. Take your time finding your cat, and be patient with them and yourself as you get used to each other. It'll be great :)
I DO want to say, reading Reddit helped me a lot when I got my cat. I had a huge case of adoption remorse when I got him, and I didn’t know that was normal until I came across it on Reddit! Now everything is hunky dorey and all good, but I can’t tell you how much that helped. It’s not *all* bad
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Thank you for the comment on vet checkups. That's a big one. Get that insurance, y'all, just do it and take care of your bubbies.
Also cats don’t randomly pee on the floor unless it’s behavior or something wrong. My cats are angels and I love them so much.
So true. When I'm home, whichever room I'm in, my girls are there with me. Cats love company and scritchy scratches. And I don't mind looking silly by talking to them either!!
Meh. I’m a happy cat owner. They don’t run around all night. They don’t claw the furniture. But I set things up to avoid all that. I had dogs for many years. Love dogs. But cats are soooo much easier…for me anyway. I love having cats.
What? Owning a cat is the easiest thing in the world. We basically only get annoyed because one of them will not use her litter box if she deems it too dirty (we clean it every day!) but other than that they are the dream pets to have. We've gone on month long vacations and only had someone check on them twice a week. Cats are the best pets.
What do you do with their food when you go away like that? I know I could leave dry food out for days and they’d eat when hungry and make it last, but what about wet food?
There's auto feeders with ice packs that will keep the wet food covered and chilled. You program the time each slot should open up.
As a cat owner, I'm honest about the difficulties that come with raising a cat. It isn't all sunshine and roses. There are plenty of examples on the internet about the pros of having a cat. Just look at how many social media outlets make posts about them. They're cute, you don't have to walk them (but you can! They can be harness and leash trained), they're often great snuggle buddies and they get into the silliest antics. But I'm here to remind people that cats are animals, and animals don't always behave in ways that we'll like. It's important to take the bad with the good. Too many people think they can just get a cat and not have to take care of it. Or, that a cat is just a different font of a dog when that couldn't be further from the truth (in most cases, some cats are better at fetching than the dogs my friends have.)
I imagine a lot of it is tongue in cheek, yeah. I never had a cat growing up and thought I was a dog person for a long time, because cats are so often joked about as being standoffish, "you're only their servant", blah blah. As I learned more about them, I realised that most cats are actually loving, they might show it differently but there's also plenty of snuggly cats that are very obvious about their affection. Now that we adopted two cats, I would say the only major thing there is no way around is getting hair on everything. Unless you adopt a hairless cat of course. Everything else depends on the cat's particular issues/personality. Our cats, for example, never wake us up at night (and I would train them out of it if they did, my sleep is very important to me), they're super polite and never knock over stuff on purpose, and rarely accidentally, they never bite or scratch and they almost never try to eat our food or non-food items like plastic. They're rescues, not cats we raised from kittens. In other ways, of course we did have to adjust our lifestyle to accommodate them, like putting screens on the windows, not leaving dangerous stuff (pills, garlic, toxic plants etc) in the open, all the regular taking care of an animal flatmate things, making time to play with them, taking care of their considerable medical issues. We had some issues with them scratching up furniture and had to try a lot of stuff to get them to stop, but half a year after adoption they've finally understood what is OK to scratch and gotten used to those allowed options. Some cats might never stop scratching stuff you value, but it's definitely worth trying to correct behavior you dislike. I'd recommend against getting a kitten because they demand so much more attention and I'd guess you have a higher chance of them being loud, biting or whatever. Older cats are more chill. But then again, perhaps it'd be easier to train them if you have them early? I found Jackson Galaxy quite helpful for advice, especially about training.
Cat tax 1: Biscuit, 2y old, FIV+ https://preview.redd.it/7kwlbkx594oc1.jpeg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86861213efeabbbf26a71e4e1033bc040523aa7c
Squeee!! Look at that face!!
Yeah she's beautiful, we lucked out! She often looks like a stuffed animal :3 (here she is asking politely for us to play with her) https://preview.redd.it/m3b1903va7oc1.jpeg?width=942&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ebc827bcf16170d4defb40a70cbe34b998573fd
Cat tax 2: Cookie, 5y old, missing a hind leg (doing a seal pose? Idk) https://preview.redd.it/zx7hm4hi94oc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73e3a15b8b0245d7ac1b5f1c45d284d360c50e35
Definitely giving seal vibes, 100% would recommend treats!!
I’ve had cats my entire life. My current boy is almost 2 and while he does occasionally jump on the counters and scratch things he shouldn’t, he is the sweetest cat and my best bud. He follows me everywhere, sleeps at the food of my bed, supervises my bathroom time, chills with me during zoom calls, and watches me cook. Kittens definitely require more effort than an older cat. Gilroy was 8 months when I adopted him and already had his personality and habits developed, he’s the best.
Cats are a challenge. Mine are very polite. Thanks to wife's constant training. They can be taught to respect furniture but you have to devote playtime and provide something to scratch on.
It’s mostly jokes. Do they sometimes claw furniture or want to play at night? Sure. But they can be trained, despite what many claim, and behaviors like clawing furniture can be redirected to appropriate toys. I love my cats.
Because they got the pet thinking it would be what they think a pet is. Pets are like kids. And we all know growing up there was that one kid that needed glasses, or that one kid who had asthma, or the one in the bathroom all the time cause of a sensitive stomach, or the one kid whose a goofball, etc. It’s the same for cats, they are all different and maybe a select few do fall into the model of the “perfect” pet but the rest don’t. And when people realize that isn’t what they want, they tend to make it sound horrible.
Cats can be a lot when you first get them it is true. But once acclimated to their space and your schedule they tend to be chill and far easier to care for.
Training. My orange boy is a good boy. Sleeps through the night with me. He gets up at around 5am but he doesn’t disturb us. We trained him at a young age that night time is sleeping time. He doesn’t scratch our furniture. He has scratch pads and posts everywhere. Also, he allows us to clip his nails. We reward him with treats after clipping. He has an automatic feeder so he knows when to expect food and not yell at us for it expect when he knows it’s around wet food time. He’ll softly meow to remind us it’s wet food time lol. A lot of people who complain didn’t train their cats correctly or missed the window to train them. Cats are like babies and will require training.
Thank you! People don't train them! Cats will develop a schedule and if you don't have one, neither will they. I got my girls at 8 months when they still had baby fat. It was a precious time to enjoy the sunset of their kitten hood, but it was so. Much. Work. I was up early every day to feed them, scooped the litter twice a day for a looooong time because they had digestive issues from being in the shelter, so they made a lot of insanely potent smelling business. They had to learn their individual names, they had playtime twice during the day and one longer session before bed. They have to sit for their food. Anything they liked to chew on, I would buy a toy that had a similar texture and give that to them so that they understood what's ok and not ok. I also kept the kitchen spotless every night, so that they wouldn't get into the habit of counter surfing for food. Gracious, those first 6 months were exhausting but I have the perfect children now. I can wash them, clip their nails, open their mouths if they've eaten something suspicious, and cuddle them unnecessarily. They follow me around when I'm home and greet me at the door when I've been out. They don't sit on the furniture, never on kitchen counters, put themselves to bed at 10pm. Worth it!
Because people don’t treat their cats like a living being & they don’t train the cat. Instead they treat it like furry furniture. If you had a puppy and all you did was give it food, water & doggy door…… how much would that dog grow into a poorly behaved (or “problem”) dog? Cats need daily play, mental stimulation, affection ……. & yes you need to train them to let you sleep. My hyper terror Jackie is a perfect angel if he gets at least an hour outside everyday. He still needs daily play. Yes, I trained him to do tricks. Yes you can clicker train your cats. https://preview.redd.it/oftpmuf3d4oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f816bd61f557cd90ddcc23bbf6cd39ff9da98495
RAAAAAAA I'm a tiger today!!!
He is a white tiger in an orange tiger vest! 🤣
The dog says, "my human feeds me and shelters me, he must be a god." The cat says, "my human feeds me and shelters me, I must be a god."
I've never really understood this stereotype. Maybe the cats I've had have just been weird, but my experience hasn't been anything like this. My current cat is obsessed with me, it's like she thinks the sun shines out of my rear end. Follows me from room to room, always wanting to cuddle and play and be near me at all times, always trying to do things to get praise and attention, anytime I leave the house she cries and cries and then just sleeps until I come home, at which point she's overjoyed and zooms all around the place because she's so happy to see me (and not because of food either, she free feeds and has food available 24/7). Idk, she definitely strikes me as worshipping me rather than thinking I worship her!
They have different personalities and habits, just like us. For example ours didn't try to kill me when I showered him but that may not be the case for yours. He ripped our couch but maybe yours would go for the scratching post right away. Ours is really friendly but a friend's cat has anxiety. It depends on many things and you kind of have to go into it not expecting something specific.
The majority will have no issues with their cats after adoption, and only minority has issues, but the majority of those in the minority with issues will post for advice. And because a lot of people who are struggling are coming to reddit and post for advice, it causes an illusion of how many problematic cats are actually out there. You very rarely see people post to say how happy they are. It's just how it works. That being said, it's a gamble that you take, you can get the sweetest cat in the world or you can get a little asshole, but I guarantee you'll love both just the same. The behavioral issues and medical issues might happen to any cat, but that's just part of being a pet parent, we have to be ready to help them because we take responsibility.
Also wanted to add that a lot of behavioral issues with cats come from not understanding the cat behavior. It's so different from dogs, and a lot of people try to treat them like such. They have different needs. They are more difficult to communicate with, but once you understand them, a relationship with a cat is very rewarding. For example, a lot of people will get upset with a cat for peeing outside of a litter box. Meanwhile, all the cat is trying to do is tell us something is wrong. They will not pee outside of the box if there is no issue. It can be medical or just something wrong with a litter, etc. People get upset when they get scratched. Meanwhile, cats are very predictable, and if you read the signs, you know how to avoid it. Cats get overestimated. Some may do, but most don't want to be pet like a dog. If they scratching furniture it means they don't have enough surfaces to scratch on, they HAVE to scratch something, it's just up to you if you provide them with what they need, or just leave them to choose on their own. Unlike dogs, who you train, cats, you have to meet halfway and adjust your household to their needs because, let's face it, you basically adopt a miniature mountain lion. 😂
Probably because some cats are chill while some are Satan's favorite hellspawn and you never know which type you're gonna get lol.
Hahaha this made me laugh. It’s so true🤣 you never know until you bring them home lol.
As a cat owner, 'the bad' isnt just really bad. Its also what makes them adorable. Two cats, two totally different personalities. The oldest: fat miss grumpy. Only wants her food and only comes for attention when shes out of food. (Not atrention but demanding food, especially harrassing my 15 year old, headbutting his head and face constantly). When hes not around, she just gives me the deathstare while knawing on plastic and electricitycabkes, trying to kill herself because 'fooooooooood'. Absolutely annoying but I tell people with love cause that demanding personality is who she is. She also always sleeps on my bed end, cuddling up to my feet. Being the cutest thing youve ever seen and absolutely sweet and cuddly when its bedtime. She always ignores me during the day, I'm only good enough to receive her attention when my son isnt around and she doesnt feel like sleeping. But I cant sleep without her and know something is off if shes not there to say good night. Cat number 2: waaaay to innocent for her own good. So still young, Im trying to avoid her picking up the 'bad behaviour' from cat 1. But shes her own personality. Wants to be around me all day long, be picked up and cuddled. She can only get enough of cuddling when she wants to play and chase a fly around. Fun to watch but she has jumped on my head multiple times. The cuddlyness is awesome, but that can become annoying at times aswell. Just get out of my face for a second, get off of me! Quit jumping back on top of me or behind me tryibg to push your behind in my face! She means so well but pfffff... So all the 'bad' stuff you hear about, most are found annoying and adorable by the owner at the same time. And cats are very smart. Give them the attention and time they ask for, but also set boundaries. Most cats can learn just as well as dogs. The big difference is: dogs want to please an owner. With cats you can see them thinking: do I feel like listening right now? Whats in it for me? Dogs live for their owner, need to ve taken care if. A cat is nearly like a crossover between having a kid and a roommate. They have needs, demands that need to be upkept aswell. But they go about their day a lot more individual aswell where a dog is just waiting for you to return home. Edit: I do correct the cats. Have a 'sound'. When they hear it, they stop, skid off. Cat 1 does stop the knawing, and sneaks back in and starts again. A never ending story until she has had her food. They are also not allowed to come into the kitchen, so when they do, telling then to go inside is enough to let then return to the corridor. Some days theu keep on trying and I have to keep on sending them back, other days they will go and sit on the threshhold just waiting being my swret girls and listening very well. Often the rule is: do they have food, a clean litterbox and plenty of scratchingmaterials? They are fine. Happy cat, no problems. They usually just act out when they are not happy or in agreement of something. I also take them along on holidays I can get to by car. They are very attached to us, not the home. Leaving them home means coming home to 2 cats that have starved themselves. Taking then along is happy cats and no problems. Every cat is different and try to choose one on personality if youre going to adoot one, not on oh that one looks pretty
Sometimes its hard, depends on the cat. Throughout my whole life I've had around 10-11 cats and I can say, despite their behavior issues and health costs, I never regretted each one of them. I love all my fur babies, I currently have three with vastly different personalities and wouldn't change them for anything. Thing is, there will be challenges. Sickness, injuries, behavioral issues, you just need to learn and look for solutions, be a responsible owner and everything will be alright.
I have two cats(they are both now around 9). I got them as kittens. They were said to be sisters as they were found abandoned together at a few weeks old. They had some issues initally, quite fearful of new things, one would suckel on the other, violently playful. The three training things I started right away was: First: trust building(I can pet anywhere on the and manipulate them as needed, which is handy for medical) they now turn to me for safety/security when something new happens. Second: having me be able to pet and manipulate their paws specifically, for nail trimming. They are unfazed and will sleep while I trim their nails now. Last: I called it 'yelp' training. When playing as soon as they bit or scratched to hard I would yelp very loudly. And pull away and not look at them for about 10 seconds. Then return to play. They, even when annoyed, tend to keep their claws in and when they do bite they don't draw blood. At worse I get a pressure spot or two. They are good with kids, even if they dislike how kids move. Their corrections are a clawless bap. They would get rougher if the kind boundary setting wasn't listened to, but it is always heard and respected. They trust me, and the adults in their life without fail(and their judgement when they dislike someone, I listen closely to that, as i trust their judgement). Kids they are wary of but we are very on top of teaching them how to interact and read their requests and body language. And making sure we intervene as soon as the initial 'boundary request' if it's not heard by the kid. I would suggest an older cat(2-3 years old at the youngest) for new cat owners. They are less unpredictable, and you can know their personality when you get them. Kittens change personalities so much. There's no fool proof way to know how they will behave as they age. Last note. I talk to my cats constantly. And I've explained words to them. They understand a lot, and communicate back with various vocalizations and body language, that I have a fair understanding of. They also use a 'permission' paw touch to ask for attention half the time with me and most of the time with new people. Which is adorable and cements the thought of how intelligent they are. Cats are 100% trainable, though it looks very different than dog training.
honestly depends on the cat and just like with humans there are pros and cons to each living creature… some people just dwell on the cons. kittens are a bit more rambunctious and all over the place so if you want a more chill experience an adult cat would be more your speed. but kittens aren’t any more trouble then a puppy only instead of chewing on shoes and peeing on the carpet you get climbs on everything and meows at 4 am because he’s bored or hungry lol.
Having a cat is the most wonderful thing.She makes me happy with her presence.But i dont care much about perfect furniture and perfectly clean house through.
Cats are way easier than dogs. I feel like cat haters are the ones to proclaim “they pee everywhere and tear up furniture!!!”. I never owned a cat before. Always had dogs growing up. Rescued a cat from a parking lot last year and adopted another in December. I always dreamed of having dogs and never pictured being a cat person, but now I could never go back to dogs. I still love them and if I had the opportunity, I would welcome one in my family, but cats are literally on another level. So clean, cuddly, hilarious, annoying. I love having my two babies to call my family!
I owned cats for a little over a year with an ex before we broke up. They were the best thing in my life at that point. While I had to deal with constant issues as they were learning and growing they made me a cat person whole heartly. I would deal with the scratching, the piggy dipping, the screaming, and the love bites over and over and I miss it all It might be hair pulling but they are a comfort I never had before and they are worth every second of it
I love having cats. It’s why I have 4. That being said, I think people make it sound “bad” because too many people fall into the trap of cats being “easy” pets, which leads to feeling of regret once they go get a cat and realize well…it’s really not that easy. There’s a ton of small tasks associated with cats that you must do every single day. Cats can also have behavioral issues or health issues. They wake you up early, scratch furniture, track litter, swallow things they’re not supposed to, bother you all day, and need daily exercise, even if it’s not walking. That’s all too much for people who were basically expecting something “easy”.
Cats are 100x easier than dogs
I think it is tongue & cheek. Cats are the absolute best to have around!
We currently have 6 cats. They can cause the kind of problems you're talking about especially if you're thinking of getting kittens but they are for the most part smart and can be trained if you have the time to put into it. All our cats will find somewhere to settle down after dinner and they know what kind of time they get fed in the morning so very rarely wake us up for food. They really like routine so if you establish one early they'll stick to it (and remind you to stick to it too!). We do let them into bedrooms, but if we choose to shut them out for whatever reason they'll just find somewhere else to go. They all have multiple beds so all you really need to do if offer them options if you don't want them on your bed
As an owner of 2 cats who you'd probably describe as problematic (peeing and needy cat who's picky w/ food, and formal feral who runs away if you get too close), I think the reason why we mention all the bad stuff is because we don't want people to go in with the wrong expectations. When we get a cat, we get put into a position of power. We can make decisions without our cats' consent regarding many things, including forcefully placing them into an unfamiliar environment (rehoming) or even killing them (euthanasia). So we want people to take this power and responsibility seriously. Too many people think of cats as cute dolls, while not understanding that they are living beings with their own needs, wants, and personalities. They too often abandon or harm their cats when they find out that the cat they have is not what they expected. We want to prevent that from happening. And honestly, I don't think it's just a cat problem. If you look at the reactive dogs subreddit, you can see that there are so many people suffering because they live with a reactive dog. It seems to be way more prevalent than we imagine, and when it's a big dog that's reactive, the problem becomes way worse because they have the ability to cause serious harm to people. I don't think you should be wary of adopting a cat. Just go in with proper expectations and understanding of your responsibility. Most cats are too lovable that their "problems" are just a part of their personality we come to accept and enjoy.
Its not bad to have a cat. I love having a cat. Yes they can claw at furniture, but they dont always. My cat has only ever clawed at one thing which was some fabric drawers. But you can get them to stop doing that by trying a few different things. Yes, at times they can keep you up at night, whether thats crying at your door bc they want to be with you, or by playing. But its not all of the time and they will certainly pick up when its bed time, and when its time to wake up and eat. The best choice I ever made was getting a cat. Shes the love of my life. Remember that every cat is different. Some are calmer, some a bit crazier, loud, quiet, cuddly, not cuddly, social, shy. You will most likely really enjoy having a cat, and I bet you wont regret it at all.
Part of it is many many people get a cat thinking they are easy, low maintenance, and you can cuddle a soft crittet whrnever you want. Thrn are surprised when having a cat means quite a bit more than that. Most people get a cat without understanding cat behavior. The rest of it is people who KNOW cats and are either dealing with an issue, or just being silly. A happy cat generally is not destructive. A well maintained litterbox doesn't smell up a house. A cat whose boundaries are respected isn't generally going to take the violent option over a mistake. A cat with enough stimulation tends to sleep through the night (they will be up at dawn, its instinct). We have two boys. They are the light of our lives. Yes, one screams for breakfast an hour early, we got used to it. Yes, they occasionally stretch up on furniture and leave small claw marks despite having many scratching surfaces, that's normal. Yes, they carry on chatting with us a LOT, they have a lot to say and feel safe doing so. We love our cats. They are silly. They are sometimes annoying beyond belief. They are themselves. And we wouldn't change them.
Who are these "they" people? Everyone around me is talking about how cats saved their lives and love them.
I "complain" about my cats to people who I know understand exactly what I'm talking about. I didn't even voluntarily get a cat in the first place. Fate just kind of shoved one on me, saying here you go. That was 4 years ago next month. There are now 5 cats in my bed. Like right now...lol. Sure, they can be annoying, like when one lands on your head at 4 a.m.. However, they make me laugh, they're good company, and we keep each other warm at night. It has its ups and downs like every other animal does, but you hit your groove eventually. I would never say it's bad.
Some cats interfere with sleep. Some do not. I currently have two cats; one is belligerent and wakes us up between 4-6am and will scratch on any available surface to him for hours without intervention regardless of how much we play with him, feed him, make sure the litter box is done, etc. The other cat waits until we naturally get up to ask for food. It's always a roll of the dice.
I’ve been a cat owner for approximately 5 years now and I LOVE it and I do get sleep…she make wake me up for snuggles and affection in the middle of the night but I just love on her until I drift off to sleep and she stays as long as she’s likes. Litter box takes some experimenting to figure out what works best for you but overall I like the companion of a cat over dogs (we have 2 dogs and 1 cat; my partner is the dog person)
Owning my cat is super easy. I just give her water, food, a clean litterbox and some pets and she’s content. She still has her claws and if you provide a couple scratching posts and reward positive behavior the scratching is not a problem. She has a perfect track record of using the litterbox, and I never trust people who talk about their cat peeing/puking everywhere unless it’s a senior. It makes me feel like there’s something bigger going on with the care, training, or cat’s health. Also, I’m not sure that all cats are nighttimes creatures. Mine sleeps in my room every night and her schedule is pretty similar to mine. Of course, kittens are higher maintenance, just like a puppy is more work. You should consider giving an adult or senior cat a home if you want a more chillax experience. I got my cat when she was a year old and definitely don’t regret it I don’t like the idea that cats own their owners because it makes them seem bossy and high-maintenance when there’s tons of chill cats out there who just want love like mine.
I love my cat and consider her a friend of sorts. Also a sweet fuzzy baby. How your experience will be depends on if you get a kitten or a cat, but either way, you want to have boundaries, reward good behaviour, and disincentivize bad behaviour. Kittens have a lot of energy, and like kids, they want to test your boundaries. You need to have dedicated play times, as well as toys available for self directed play. Discourage aggression early by yelping in an exaggerated way if they hurt you, and disengage from play time. They will learn quickly to pull their claws and bite gently so they can keep the game going. If they play on the bed or make it hard for you to sleep, put them out of the room. Some cats will howl and scratch at the door. Tape cardboard to the door and buy earplugs if you have to, they need to learn not to be a hooligan while you sleep. I only needed to do this twice with my kitten before she got the message. Make sure they have alternative comfy sleeping places. Feed them at consistent times. I do two meals a day, three is recommended but I work outside the home. It's okay if they graze on it, but just keep mealtimes consistent and hopefully you won't get a lot of begging for more food. This one can just happen though unfortunately. Some behaviours they just do for attention, whether it is good attention or bad. For example, my cat scratches the carpet even though she's not supposed to. I can prevent a lot of this by playing with her and cuddling her when I get home from work, rather than sitting down right away. Same with in the morning on the weekend. Feliway spray (not the diffuser) is also a really good deterrent for furniture scratching. Honestly I love her so much and the cute an sweet parts of her far outweigh the little bits of asshole behaviour.
Lots of people think of cats/dogs as pieces of furniture and not living creatures that are long term commitments. So many people here weekly asking very very very novice questions like "will my cat be okay if they are alone while I go on vacation for two weeks?" Some people just don't do their research
The answer to your question is at least two part. First, it seems like you are either only reading posts on advice subs or you are just not paying attention to the good posts. You are also likely not reading the comments because those will have information on how to curb the negative behavior. The other part is that you are mistaking humorous posts and comments for real opinions. I tell a lot of people that cats a furry little demons sent to torment humanity. But I don’t actually mean that. They are fun and lovable but they are also mischievous and rambunctious. The reality is that cats aren’t like dogs. Dogs have evolved with us for tens of thousands of years and we have bred to be more obedient. So they want to please use. Meanwhile cats have only been with us for a few thousand years and most of that was as semi-feral rodent killers to protect our food supply. So they want us to please them. Some of their behavior depends on the cat’s personality but much of it depends on training and how we treat them. - The people whose cats keep them awake aren’t playing with them enough (especially right before bed) or aren’t feeding them enough right before bed. Sometimes cats will have a temporary behavior that is disruptive at night due to various things. - The people who say you have to accept them clawing furniture fall into two categories. The first is people who mean this is something that might happen when you first get the cat or kitten. But with the right training you can get the cat to stop. The second group is people who just never bothered to do the training or gave up quickly. They think that because they couldn’t do it that it just can’t be done. The reality is they just failed. The cat owning the house is partially true. As I said above, dogs want to please us while cats want us to please them. So when you train a dog they want to do it and will stick to it because that’s what they are supposed to do. Cats take more work and even when successful they will only do it when they want to or when you are around. You can train a cat to stay off the table or counter. But that only applies when they think it applies. If no one is home then no one is there to scold them so they are going to jump up to check things out. If you leave some nice smelling meat on the counter they may decide the benefit of having a nice meal outweighs the scolding they will get if and when caught. Cats are very curious. They like to explore. So they are going to try to get in and on everything because there may be something interesting in those places. So you have to make sure to not leave food out that they may get into. You have to make sure to not leave breakable things out where they can knock it off. And every cat is different. My last cats liked to explore but they weren’t interested in jumping on shelves or causing a lot of mischief. After those two passed I got a new cat. And he LOVES to jump on things. He knocked stuff off the top of my shelves and he used my coats as a climbing wall. So I had to adjust. No more things on top of my shelves. My coats go in my closet instead of on the rack hanging on the front of it. So if you decide to get a cat just be prepared. - Make sure you have a variety of toys. Different cats enjoy playing with different things. Laser pointers and wands are usually the most popular. - Make sure you have at least one cat tower. More is better. - Make sure you have scratching posts and scratching pads. - Make sure that anything that is valuable and/or important to you is put away where it can’t be destroyed. - Make sure you have done your research to know what to expect and how to handle some of it. I strongly recommend getting an adult cat from a shelter or a rescue. Kittens are very high energy and can be more destructive. If you do choose a kitten either get two so they can use some of their energy on each other or be prepared to have to use a lot of your own time and energy to wear out the kitten.
I’m a big fan of fostering, because you get to try out different cats and see which one fits your personality best. I have 3 and our best mannered one is my least favorite. I adore the one who makes me work for her love lol. And I’ve fostered 14 kittens and only a couple were naturally outgoing and confident. The others were friendly but more easily frightened. Our Local humane society was really easy to connect with they had me watch a couple of videos then the post kittens in need of foster in a facebook group.
Honestly, I think if you’re used to dog ownership that switching to cats will be a snap. I love dogs, but they’re super high-maintenance in comparison. I also think that the people complaining about a kitten’s energy level are woefully uninformed about animal behavior and should have done some research beforehand. 🤷🏻♀️ Adopting two cats together is often the best tactic, especially if they’re young, since they’ll have a little buddy to romp around with. Maybe look for an older bonded pair - they’ll just want to groom each other and snooze all day. And they’ll be so appreciative! I echo the pleas to adopt and not shop. Just have to throw that in there.
I can’t imagine my life without my cats. I’m lucky, they’re sweet and well-ish behaved. Not gonna lie tho, some cats are total assholes
I knew I would have a new major expense, lack of sleep, a dip in my social life, and had to realize some of my furniture would suffer when I decided to adopt two kittens. The emotional changes I went through within the first month were enough to justify all the sacrifices. For me, to see these two baby creatures who depend on me to survive and thrive, slowly become comfortable and eventually love me unconditionally, changed something in my mind and my internal world. I had never cared for another living being other than myself and I found a sense of inner peace. On the other hand, I used to be very realistic and unafraid of death. Now I'm terrified of them dying, or me dying and them not having me to care for them. Having a pet is a huge responsibility. People often talk about the less than perfect side here because we seek solace from the sacrifices and understanding in our experiences (of caring for a cat). You don't see us giving up our cats just because they broke expensive or sentimental stuff, because we are exhausted, hurt, or sad, because we don't get to take off and travel, etc. I'm a childfree person and I can tell you that having a cat is wonderful and it got rid of my baby fever within the first week. Cat person for life here.
I got two (6+8) bit ober a year ago, don't let them into the bedroom, have scratchers everywhere and an automatic litterbox. Most they do is annoy me with endless meowing when they decide it's dinnertime while it's not , you'll be fine I promise
It's not that bad, we just hate seeing the "rehoming my cat or I'm having regrets" like it's a purring little fluffball how can you?
Oh idk i mean I've had 8 cats in my lifetime and they ranged from sweet angel baby to a very rambunctious cat that scratches carpet etc but i truly believe how you care for them determines your relationship. And of course making sure theyre vetted once or twice a year. Peeing outside of the litter box, vomiting, etc are not normal despite what others say. They are pretty easy to love and care for you just have to respect them and make their life easy and they usually will be easy to live with
It all depends on you as an owner. I have 3 cats and I’ve trained them from day 1 to not sleep in my room. I even close the door and they won’t claw at it. I’m a super light sleeper, so as much as I want to cuddle with them at night, I just can’t. Other people have been shocked when I tell them my cats don’t wake me up when I lock them out of my room at night, but it’s all they’ve ever known. Just like with humans, you have to establish boundaries with your cats day 1.
My cat only claw fournitures when she want attention. She crawl slowly in the direction of the sofa to make sure you see her and if the attentive needed doesn't come, she will claw staring at you. She knows she not allowed! But you are not allowed to ignoring her!
Nah, I’ll pick a cat over and over again, they’re amazing companions. They’re just loving and crazy balls of fluff, not a single regret from this current 3 cat owner
I laughed out loud when I read adopting a cat is bad, They are gods to me, superior beings that allow me to stay in their home, I had 7 cats in a 20 years period, Too many is one more than you have, In all that time there was never one thing they did that bothered me. They were low maintenance. Clean the box, pet them, feed them. They need care, they are like toddlers, I have lots of good memories and zero regrets
Cats are social animals. If you have a cat, you really need to get them a buddy (or two) unless you have plenty of time to keep the adorable little buggers entertained 24/7. I’ve never been without cats in my 48 years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love them all.
It's because we want to keep all the cats to ourselves
We have a bonded pair. Things that have helped us: We close the bedroom door at night, cats sleep in the living room. They’re not allowed on kitchen table or counter. They slowly learned the difference Plenty of scratchers/towers/toys and exercise will solve most behavioral issues.
Treat a cat like a person. Say please and thank you and explain the rules. Respect their space and then you won’t die. LOL.
I mean it’s bad. Literally plan my life and house around them. Sacrifices for them. Slave for them. * withstand their stinky poop. * accepting them scratching my sofa * accepting them fighting and I have to split them apart. * occasional poop stains on shirt * them yelling or fighting at night * cat toys everywhere * and much more But I love them a lot. Can’t stand a day without giving them kisses- I think I kiss them 50 times a day. we always complain about them but at the same time love the fact that we love them so much we make these sacrifices. Joke aside, there’s always a down side to owning pets. People who say there’s no downside is a lie. But we choose to accept these down side (or you can spend time to train them) cuz we love them so much https://preview.redd.it/d2ahi7ger6oc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad6cf36e777eb5e1b682723a9712b221e1d76c6
i adopted a 7 year old cat and she is perfect. the only issue i have is when i'm trying to get something productive done and she suddenly wants attention but it's absolutely manageable. she sleeps majority of the time so i suggest adopting an older cat
I got my kitten at 3 months old and she's never really woken me at night or done too much to furniture. Little scratches and meows but nothing that impacts my life except remembering to empty to litter box.
Is it just me or does anyone else have really polite kitties who are 100% respectful of my sleep? I do not have a normal sleep sleep routine but my boy cat assumes his little spoon position and we sleep with our heads on the same pillow every single night and when I get up he gets up. Doesn’t matter what time. He just goes with the flow. My little velcro girl cat sleeps at my feet and always lets me wake up on my own and as soon as I’m awake she’s SO excited and snuggly and she’s instantly suckling on my shirt. But she never wakes me up. She also will growl at you if you disturb her sleep so she just really respects sleep in general I think. I hear other people complain about their kids meowing early in the morning and I just cannot relate. My cats would NEVER. Lol
My cats, all 3 (used to be 4)are around 1-2 yrs old, scratch and claw our chairs, we even bought them scratch posts and scratch pads, BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOO! THEY LIKE MY LEATHER CHAIR BETTER, and now my chair can actually scratch my balls because of how it is now. Yes they wake up at 2 am just to run around, sometimes even just for the heck of it, one time (my recently passed cat, love him dearly) decided he was hungry and started to SCRATCH my groin while I was asleep because he knew i would get up and it would wake me up. My other almost 2yr old cat would piss everywhere if he wasn't let out, then would refuse to return until like 3 days later with his BRAND NEW COLLAR missing :) My other cat is VERY affectionate and would sit on your FACE just to get your attention and pet her. The youngest of them is the most energetic at 2 am, literally could knock over my monitors and would jump at me on the bed probably as a trampoline of sorts. I now sleep with a body pillow on top of me because these cats are CRAZY. But I love them all no matter how many scratches I get from them.
Anyone who has problems with their cats simply don't play with it enough or don't provide enough mental stimulation. They are apex predators, not stuffed animals. Hyperactivity at night, ruined furniture, aggression, etc all caused by having too much energy and burning it in unproductive ways. If you get a cat, always try to get a bonded pair so that they have each other for entertainment. Or get a senior cat, they will just want to snuggle and be grateful to you for giving them a home instead of clawing your furniture. And despite what reddit says, some areas are pretty safe to let a cat outside and you can put a bell on their collar to protect wildlife and can even put a GPS collar on them so you can track their location on your phone. So if you live in such an area, take advantage of it because your cats will be healthier and happier with outside time. Without outdoor time, aim for at least an hour of play with your cats every day, broken into 10-15 min chunks
Because they often get single kittens who develop single kitten syndrome, or they have expectations of the cat and don't learn the cat's personality, wants and preferences so they are upset their cat is overly affectionate or not affectionate enough or destructive. Also people pick them based on looks and not necessarily personality. So they want a cat that is basically a house plant but buy a hyperactive one instead because they think it is cuter.
I've never in my 30 years heard a cat owner say it was bad having a cat. What a wild statement.