Question about getting a cat
 

So I have decided to get a cat and I have a few questions.

1. I work full time so with travel time I won't be home from 8am to 5:30pm so will it be ok to leave the cat alone for this long?

2. Is it easy to teach cats to do stuff? Like not to chew on cables, use the litter box etc etc......

3. What type of cat I should look for as a first time pet owner? I more of a playful cat, short fur and easy to take care of.

4. Do I have to bring the cat the vet regularly and do checks up? What about haircuts and do I have to bring it to a vet to have the nail clip? What shots should I get the cat to take?

5. Should I get insurance for the cat? What type/kind of insurance should I get?

6. I am looking to spend around $500 to $800 for a cat is that enough? What's a good place to buy a cat?

Thank you all :D

1. Should be fine, but never ideal and you would want to take a few days off to bond with the cat initially.
2. Not chew on cable yes, litter box should be fine as long as the cat doesn't leave mom early.
3. http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/ the key is to spend time observing the kittens interaction with mom.. or just get an older cat.
4. Annually.. cats are pretty much self groom especially short hair. Typical shots, feline leukemia, flu, it varies depending on age and if they go out of not.
5. It depends on the age of the cat, if it is pure breed perhaps.
6. You usually don't buy cats.. you adopt them.. unless you want pure bred.

If you are looking at getting a cat I would definetly lean towards adopting. There is the orphan kitten rescue as stated above, and also PetSmart houses the cats from C.A.R.E.S which is another local adoption organization. An mature cat should be litter trained, a kitten can sometimes need a day locked in a room with the litter box and their water just to solidfy that the litter box is indeed where they are still supposed to go in this new house. The time you are at work is fine, cats are more independent and can handle the alone time. They will usually be waiting for you when you get home to entertain them though. Insurance is a personal decision and it's best to shop around. Annual vet checks are not always neccessary but it is good to bring the kitten or cat in once while they are healthy so that a file can be started, this way too the vet has a reference of how they are so that if they are sick they can see what symptoms are showing. With an indoor cat I would just make sure that all the kitten booster shots were done, there is three seperate shots. Nail clipping is going to depend on your persistence. You can clip them yourself if you are comfortable. cats are pretty easy to do, just take off the clear tips. regular brushing at least every two weeks is required of short or long haired cats. The nice thing with the short haired cats is a rubber 'zoom groom' brush will work great to get out all the dead hair and dander and most cats love this as it is like a massage.
Well good luck to you in getting your new friend.

Just wanted to add to this informative post by saying that when the vaccinations are given when the kittens are very young (~8 weeks old), then there are 3 kitten vaccinations. However, some breeders/owners choose to wait until the mother cat's antibodies have worn off (aka kitten is weaned off the mother's milk), so in that case, only 2 vaccinations are needed.

You will probably get different answers regarding vaccinations depending on who you talk to, but as far as I know, several vets I know follow this "rule" as well as many breeders. :)

Thx for the input I will take a look at it.

There are several vets i've seen around richmond that has kitten/cat adoptions, i wouldn't suggest buying from petstore. You can always look at SPCA website, they have a whole list of adoption kitten/cats

Tabby's are my fav : D

if u are looking for a cat, my friend recently moved into a place and the old tenants left a little kitty behind.

the friend cant take it because her and her sister are allergic.

so my sister and i have been feeding it and giving it water, we also gave it a pill for fleas. the kitten is all black and most likely will be a lapcat, loves being around people and when we leave.. follows us to the car and part way down the alley :(

we cant take it because we already have two cats and two dogs.


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