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Do you think it's an ok idea for me to get a cat in my scenario? (details inside) (crosspost) (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by dingus@lemmy.world to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

5 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33516635

Hi all. Hope this is allowed here. I've been toying with the idea of getting a cat for the past several months now. I've actually never really interacted with cats, though. I don't even know if I'm allergic to them. I visited my coworker a couple of times and one of her cats rubs up against my leg to either greet or mark me and then goes elsewhere.

Some info on me:

Early 30s, lives alone, works ~40 hours a week in a NON wfh job (so I will not be home for significant portions of the week)

I do not have much of a social life, so most of my time outside of work is spent at home

I am very comfortable financially to own a pet. I frequently pay vet bills for my mom's dog who has ailing health.

I own my own place, ~1200 sq ft (111 sq m), and do not plan to leave any time soon

I do not plan to move, have a partner, or have children

It is impossible for me to ever wfh with my career and I do not want to change my career

I am familiar with taking care of dogs, and took care of my mom's dog on my own temporarily for 1 year without issue

I am only interested in owning a single pet, not two (I know people frequently get 2 cats to keep each other company)

I am interested in an adult cat, not a kitten

I don't do lengthy traveling, however I frequently visit my mom (and vice versa) for a couple of days at a time

One big important thing to note is that my mother and I take turns visiting each other every couple of weeks. It involves us traveling a couple of hours by car and then one of us staying with the other (either my place or my mom's place) for 2 days. My mom has a dog who is quite old and has ailing health, so I'm not sure how much longer she will live. Her dog is a small dog ~15 lbs, but is not necessarily great with other animals. She is ok with other dogs if they do not antagonize her, but I don't know if she would fight with a cat or not as she has never met one. Her dog also has bad separation anxiety. I have enough rooms in my house that I could separate the cat and dog when my mom visits, but idk if that is a ok or not. It also means that I might leave a cat home alone for a couple of days when I visit my mom. I have read that people can do this with cats, but I don't know if it is a good idea. I would plan to purchase pet cams, auto feeders, etc.

I still haven't had the balls to go down to the local Human Society and ask them about cats and cat adoption, but I don't know. I am thinking about going there tomorrow. Is my situation too complicated for me to have a cat? I feel like mentally it would be nice to have a companion to come home to every day. One of the reasons why I've never bothered to look into getting a pet is because I live alone and don't work from home and because my mom and I visit each other. Although I have experience with dogs, it seems like a cat might be more doable for my life situation.

Would this be too poor of a life for a cat?

Thanks for your time, all.

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[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 1 points 17 minutes ago

I think it would be fine. Cats are a lot more independent than dogs, so as long as you can sort out food and litter, they’re fine to leave alone for a bit. I’ve had 4 cats in my life. The first two we had solo and the last 2 were a pair.

Having a second cat definitely makes them happier if you can’t be home often, but it’s not strictly necessary. It’s not AS much work as you’d think to take care of an extra cat, but that also depends on personality and how the cats get along. The pair of cats we had loved each other, but they’d occasionally get into some minor fights. For food we had to separate them because one would try to eat more than his share and the other cat wasn’t assertive enough to stop him. But otherwise it wasn’t that much worse than when we had a single cat.

I definitely recommend you go to a shelter and play around with the cats enough to get a sense of their personalities. All of our cats have been super friendly and didn’t scratch much. The cat from the pair that’s still alive (they’re old, so one passed last year.) is so tame I have never had to worry about him scratching me. I can safely rub his belly and stuff and the worst he’ll ever do is get up and leave. But that’s definitely not all cats. My uncle had some cats with some big behavioral issues and he used to be an animal trainer.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

Cats are good pets for people who work, they sleep a lot in the day. I agree with zonetrooper that in this situation 2 cats would be better than one, though.

Yes if you get the cats a water fountain and automatic feeder, and have plenty of litter box space, they can be left a couple of days, and they prefer that to traveling. (Unlike a dog, who would rather go with you).

Talk to the shelter, they may know which individual cats in their care would be good for your situation.

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 16 points 1 day ago

Check around where you live.

There are shelters that need cats boarded. I suggest you try caring for a few and see how it feels before you commit.

My opinion.

[–] Zonetrooper@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago

You're already asking good questions, which means you're doing a lot better than many of the people who adopt without thinking. You're also looking for an adult cat, which means you aren't going to have to deal with a kitten's destructive exploratory phase (although, fair warning, adult cats can still be destructive if you don't prepare properly).

One thing I would say is that you should consider two versus one cats. Some cats don't handle being alone for a long time well and can become unhappy, while others prefer not having feline company and would be just fine alone for ~48 hours. A good shelter or adoption agency may be able to tell you whether a cat prefers company or solitary.

Like some other commenters, I would strongly suggest going to local shelters and discussing with them. They should entirely understand if you aren't able to adopt immediately and be able to discuss particulars with you.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Sounds like you've thought it out more than most people who get cats. Visit your local shelter and see if you connect with any of them. If at the end you think "any would be fine" you haven't found your cat yet. 😉