The general reality of owning a cat (vs dog possibly)

[mikeymikec]

I think my wife and I lucked out in a few ways with the cat we picked up from a rescue a couple of years ago. I'm generally allergic to pets but not this one (I did a fair few forearm tests on the cats' fur and waited for a reaction, in case people are wondering), the cat's temperament matches our own pretty well (he's pretty chilled out and he likes cuddles at times), but there are other things about him that AFAIK aren't common traits in cats, such as coming when he's called (which is really handy as I come home for lunch, let the cat out, call him back in before I leave), likes to follow us around, etc.

The only significant downside is the night-time. If he has the run of the house, 90% of the time he will settle on the bed with us, which is mostly fine except he tends to settle on my side of the bed, and I think I sleep lightly enough that every time I change position, I'm aware enough of the cat's proximity inhibiting my movement, so therefore I wake up, the cat wakes up, and the nearer we get to the cats' witching hour the more likely it is he'll start acting like an ass and wanting to be fed. Our workaround for this is to shut the cat in the living room (which is where his food/drink/litter box is), which makes my wife feel more guilty than it does me (though admittedly it does make me feel a smidgen guilty because it must be boring in there when he wakes up at silly o'clock). However, I don't sleep properly with him in the bedroom and it wears me out steadily before I have to lock him out for a while and get lots of early nights to maintain my sanity.

My brother was saying that the cats he's owned would have trashed the living room if he tried shutting them in there at night, so he put up with the silly o'clock behaviour.

Just how lucky are we with this cat's behaviour? I'm just wondering if we were to get an additional cat or another cat after this one eventually dies whether I could be in for a big surprise. I'm also wondering whether a dog might be a better choice in future. I realise that each cat/dog has their own personality quirks and problematic behaviours, but I'm sure that in general there are going to be aspects in common with their species, just like chances are if we had kids, there are long childhood phases in common such as the difficulty of trying to get sufficiently nutritious food in them on a regular basis, mealtime antics, "past their bedtime" hyper antics, etc.

 

[lxskllr]

Cats are all different, but I think they're more malleable over time than dogs. Dogs trash things when they're unhappy/bored. Cats just mope. Some cats scratch more than others, but they can usually be directed/diverted to appropriate surface.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

My cats do drumrolls on the doors. They HATE HATE HATE closed doors.

But I also sleep soundly enough that when I move around, I don't wake up, regardless of what the cat is doing. "My" cat (the other two happily sleep downstairs all night) will still hop up into my bed, every night, and snuggle my foot until long after I've gone to sleep. So it's probably not too bad.

I don't get woken up by cats except when they really want me to be up. Usually they signal this by jumping up and down on my chest, running between the bedroom and bathroom, and knocking things off my shelves/desk/dresser, etc.

 

[Thebobo]

Cat are cats lol they do what they want. They definitely have some interesting behaviors.

My cat doesn't like to sit on the left side of the couch if I am on the right side. If I move to the left f the couch he will sit on the right side.

I would love to own a black lab again just that I don't have the wherewithal to properly take care of one now. Maybe when I retire.

 

[nakedfrog]

The overall behavior doesn't sound that unusual to me.

 

[Tormac]

Your cat mostly sounds like my tom, who is very different in personality than his sister or their mom.

My tom is the stereotypical big fat cat, and the stereotypical curious cat. He will follow me around the house, or my wife when she is out gardening, always wanting to see what is going on. He will generally come when I call him (I tend to award them with treats or pets to reinforce coming when I call). He also likes to sleep in our bed sometimes, although he tends to do most of his sleeping in the daytime whenever there is a good ray of sunshine. I have gotten used to the big lump, and he is good insulation when it is cold. He actually likes to play fetch with me with his toy mice, although he has to be in the mood to do it.

His mom owns the house and the neighborhood as far as she is concerned. She is fierce, and will not back down from other animals, even when maybe she should. Sometimes she likes to snuggle with the humans in the house, and will still baby my tom and his sister, but only when mom feels like it. She is a a proud hunter, and had brought mice, rabbits, and birds home as presents for my wife (although Elsie cat will also sometimes just leave a dead rabbit on the back deck to munch on at her leisure). Elsie cat will hide in my wife’s vegetable garden, or under the sunflowers, waiting for birds and rodents to come by.

My tom’s little sister is a combination of a spoiled princess and a scaredy cat. She does not like to fight, and will always run if something tries to intimidate her. She is a sneaky huntress though, and will pounce on bugs and mice. Little Dilly cat is primarily a spoiled princess. She loves to snuggle with the humans in the house, and will be demanding at times, mewoing until somebody gets the brush out and brushes her fur. She loves to have her fur brushed, and will try to cut in and be brushed when we are brushing mom or big brother.

All my cast have different personalities. I do think that cats have more individual personalities, where dog breeds have different personalities, but individual dogs tend to be closer in temperament to others of their breed. But this may be because I have always adopted strays, and never had a cat of a particular breed.

Mine are generally easy on the furniture, although I have had to yell at little sister for climbing the curtains. But I make sure that they have an indoor scratching post, toys, and they spend a lot of time outside climbing around the back deck, fences, the picnic table, and trees. The only bad habit my cats have is the big fat tomcat will meow at me early in the morning if I do not wake up and feed them breakfast.

 

[vi edit]

Dogs can be crate trained and will be happy sleeping in their crates at night from a very early age. Some breeds are much more willing to train than others. I don't agree that cats are more malleable than dogs. Bad dog owners end up with bad dogs. If you get a dog when it's young and train them well they are as predictable as an alarm clock.

That being said, dogs are much higher maintenance than cats. Walks, training, outdoor bathroom duties, keeping them interested and active, and just generally needing to work on a pretty rigid schedule to tend to them puts you in more of a time crunch with them.

I loved my dog, but it's been rather liberating knowing that after 8-10 hours I don't have to rush home and let a dog out (we didn't do doggie door or fencing) or take them outside when it's pouring down rain or blistering cold. Cats on the other hand. Meh. You can leave for a weekend and so long as they have ample food and water and a clean litter box, no biggie. A few days and you can have someone stop in for a few minutes and change things out. No way you can do that with a dog and boarding is very expensive.

 

[clamum]

My cat jumps up on my bed and usually settles near my feet when I'm laying there reading at night. He'll sometimes try and come up by my face or walk on the pillow but I just bar him from doing that and after a few nuzzles he'll walk over and lay down by my feet. About half of the time he'll stay there until I get up and the other half he'll get up before I do and jump from the bed to the cat furniture thing I have by the window, cause he loves staring out the window and watching birds and whatnot. But if he walks over my legs and not on them odds are I won't even feel him jump off the bed cause it's a queen memory foam and I'm on the left side (he jumps from the right). The memory foam definitely doesn't transfer much motion.

Thank God he doesn't go nutso and tear ass around while I'm sleeping. Sometimes he'll push his feeder ball around before laying by my feet (or he'll lay by my feet for awhile and then jump down and go in the living room to push the feeder ball around a few minutes, and then jump back up) but that's all he'll do and it's only for a few minutes. I <3 YOU KITTEH

Also about 3/4 or more of the time he's waiting for me by the door when I come home. Well, more precisely, he'll come running when he hears me unlocking the door. He'll then proceed to do his "rear up" maneuver where he rears up on his hind legs and nuzzles my hand if I put it down. It's hilarious and cute. GOOD KITTY

And like Tormac's cat, mine's very good about not scratching furniture. But I have a dedicated scratching post, that furniture piece from Meijer (similar to this one) by the window (which has a couple scratching posts on it), and a cheap cat tree thing that goes from ceiling to floor and allows him to climb and scratch. He also has one of those Turbo Scratchers. He did sometimes scratch where the carpet meets the wall after I first brought him home but it wasn't a ton and I got a couple sisal scratching mats, kind of like these and put them on end so they cover the corner where the carpeting meets the wall. He'd typically do this at a particular place in the bedroom and I could probably remove them now since it's been so long. He'll occasionally scratch/rip at the carpeting but it's just a little bit and I tell him to stop and he does. The carpeting is shit anyway (apartment).

 

[Iron Woode]

cats can develop habits pretty quickly.

My cat got used to my dad getting up at 5:00AM to go to work and therefore he would feed her. From then on she expected to be fed at that time. That drove me nuts as I was sleeping at that time. To deal with that habit I put out some kibble for her and water. This way she could nibble and not bother anyone.

She had the run of the house and slept wherever she wanted. Sometimes she would sleep in my bed. She had this habit of putting her back against mine and pushing with her feet. I would wake up and find out she has 3/4 of the bed to herself.

I would put fresh water out for her all the time. So where did I find her? In the bathroom near the sink licking water from a dripping faucet.

Cats do odd things just like any other pet.

 

[Newbian]

I would put fresh water out for her all the time. So where did I find her? In the bathroom near the sink licking water from a dripping faucet.

Cats do odd things just like any other pet.

Running water is a sign of fresher water usually thus it's a habit a lot of animals will do.

 

[BudAshes]

Cats are not pets. If you get a cat you are really going to be the cats pet, you are just too dumb to realize it.

 

[Geekbabe]

Leave the bedroom door slightly ajar, the cat will come & go as he pleases at night. Don’t feel guilty about shifting position in the night, our 17 pounder sleeps with us & he is quite used to having to move to accommodate the humans.

Nothing is better than waking up in the morning to find a soft, purring cat tucked up next to you

 

[HeXen]

Leave the bedroom door slightly ajar, the cat will come & go as he pleases at night. Don’t feel guilty about shifting position in the night, our 17 pounder sleeps with us & he is quite used to having to move to accommodate the humans.

Nothing is better than waking up in the morning to find a soft, wet pile of puke or hairball right next to you

Fixed.

 

[Darwin333]

If I wanted another animal that I had to provide for who would give me attitude I'd just get multiple wives, might have to join a religion though.

 

[lxskllr]

Leave the bedroom door slightly ajar, the cat will come & go as he pleases at night. Don’t feel guilty about shifting position in the night, our 17 pounder sleeps with us & he is quite used to having to move to accommodate the humans.

Nothing is better than waking up in the morning to find a soft, purring cat tucked up next to you

The cat's my favorite part of going to bed, especially in the winter.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I would put fresh water out for her all the time. So where did I find her? In the bathroom near the sink licking water from a dripping faucet.

Cats do odd things just like any other pet.

That's not odd. In nature, moving water = fresh water, standing water = disease. Most animals will go for the dripping faucet and you should too. (If you found a glass of water sitting out and didn't know who'd done what to it, would you drink it or dump it and pour a fresh glass?)

 

[Iron Woode]

That's not odd. In nature, moving water = fresh water, standing water = disease. Most animals will go for the dripping faucet and you should too. (If you found a glass of water sitting out and didn't know who'd done what to it, would you drink it or dump it and pour a fresh glass?)

don't get me wrong. She would drink from her bowl of fresh water. She just liked roaming around and checking things out.

I once found her sleeping in a bathroom sink.

Cats do weird stuff.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Fixed.

Try finding half a moth or mouse in your slipper when you step out of bed. One of our cats kept bringing my brother 'presents'. When he at one point got tired of it and told her to go catch the mole that was messing up the garden instead she brought him the mole the next morning.

 

[bguile]

That's not odd. In nature, moving water = fresh water, standing water = disease. Most animals will go for the dripping faucet and you should too. (If you found a glass of water sitting out and didn't know who'd done what to it, would you drink it or dump it and pour a fresh glass?)

We have been using an electronic water bowl for our cat, and he seems content with it. I see him drink from it, from time to time. It's just a plastic bowl with a small water pump in the bottom, so it's always moving water. Before he would drink out of the faucet, or drink out of your water glass, etc.

The dog also drinks out of it, so we are constantly having to fill it though.

From what I understand, wild cats naturally get most of their water from the meals (small birds, mice), so it's important to keep an indoor cat hydrated.

 

[Fenixgoon]

dogs have way more character IMO, but they're a lot more dependent. they're almost like a kid. cats can survive pretty well left alone.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Our cats are pretty mellow. They dont really destroy anything even when upset. We have one that is the traditional "fat cat" and he just sleeps. The other one is more hyper and will meow and claw the door relentlessly if she wants into a room, or if we dont get up at the usual time to feed her. The worst thing about them is that they are both very skittish, especially of strangers, and will hide and not come out for hours if a stranger enters the house. The larger cat also has diabetes. We love him dearly, and he is a cuddler, but we have to give him 2 shots a day, and it makes it very hard to take a trip, since if we ask someone to take care of him, he will hide and make it very difficult to give him his shots.

 

[Geekbabe]

dogs have way more character IMO, but they're a lot more dependent. they're almost like a kid. cats can survive pretty well left alone.

Dogs are wonderful! I have to say though that cats each have their own unique
Purrsonalities. I have never had two that were exactly the same! Even now, Resident Evil
is rather paranoid, hides when strangers enter the house,she is very vocal & a picky eater. She
prefers to sleep in the living room. She prefers men & hates me. Grayson otoh, eats everything
in sight, loves people, particularly women & performs for guests with the funniest poses.
Grayson loves sleeping with us, he sleeps in his Amazon box while I am on my computer
& will come out & sit in front of me,giving the look that means “ it’s bedtime Mom” he
follows me into bed, waits till I settle in & hops up, snuggling between my husband
& I. He also loves drinking from the faucet. He has a tiny voice for such a big cat, so
tiny,it astonishes me when he meows.

 

[Geekbabe]

don't get me wrong. She would drink from her bowl of fresh water. She just liked roaming around and checking things out.

I once found her sleeping in a bathroom sink.

Cats do weird stuff.

The sink is a small place, most cats love small places, that’s why most of them
will sit in any box

 

[lxskllr]

dogs have way more character IMO, but they're a lot more dependent. they're almost like a kid. cats can survive pretty well left alone.

Cats are subtle. They have lots of character if you care to pay attention. They just aren't in your face about it. You get out of them what you put in, and their love isn't unconditional. You can kick a dog every time you come home, and it'll still greet you at the door every day. Do that with a cat a couple times, and you've made a new enemy. I appreciate when the friendship's earned.

 

[Iron Woode]

The sink is a small place, most cats love small places, that’s why most of them
will sit in any box

she liked boxes and big paper grocery bags. The latter used to make me laugh. When we were unpacking groceries we would just toss the bags on the floor. My cat, curious of all the action going on, would check out the bags and then crawl inside one. Of course we didn't notice that at first. Imagine the fun of trying to pick up a bag and having your cat try to attack you. She got very playful inside the bag. It was pretty funny.

In the winter time, I would build snow forts and caves in the snowbanks. My cat would go outside and explore the snow. She would find my snow constructs and hide in them. I didn't like her doing that so I eventually stopped making them. One day, as she was hiding in one, I walked by and she jumped out and attacked my boot. I looked down at her and then she jumped up and ran away to our backyard. I laughed because she loved to play and was always full of energy.