questions about where to go next....

[momama]

Hi all.
I'm a cat lover who is desperate for a cat but not sure what to do and looking for advice!

We had two cats when we moved in to our house seven years ago. We live on a standard housing estate without particularly busy roads but both cats were run over within six months of each other as they were prolific mousers and crossed the main estate road to catch mice in the copse.

We were pretty devastated and decided next cat should be an indoor cat of some kind. Not really something I'd like to do with no reason. I had experience of fiv and we adopted an amazing character, a ginger Tom who was fiv positive and turned out to also be diabetic. He was a wonderful wonderful pet and Sadly died about 18 months ago. We then shipped a young cat, Ramone, who was great with our little boy-fun and gentle. He got hit by a car after sneaking out of an upstairs window at night only a year after we adopted him.

I hate having a home without a cat, but for obvious reasons don't feel we could have another outdoor cat. However, with a toddler, it would be hard to enforce an indoor only environment on an adventurous cat. Many local rescue centres won't place most or all their cats in homes with under six year old children and most or all seem to be outside cats.

I don't know what to do. Am I being selfish to want a cat in our (and our child's) lives? Should we get some kind of beautiful dopey pedigree (like my friend's British blue who hardly leaves the sofa) as an indoor cat? How do we go about finding the right cat?

Any advice welcome! Thank you!

[Kay]

have you looked into the possibility of enclosing part or all of your back garden, or if that isn't an option, buying or building an outdoor pen?

I live on a main road, and I had part of my garden catproofed 14 years after I lost a cat in an RTA, and it's been such a blessing - peace of mind for me, a choice of indoors or outdoors for them, and also no chance of other cats invading their space, which can upset even laid back mogs

I have over the years created an attractive outdoor patio space for me in the enclosure, and like the sense of privacy it gives me, so a big winner all round

[Mrs Kane]

I had a similar problem when looking for a cat. We live in an apartment and I was worried that it would be cruel to get a cat that was indoors only. (See this post for details: http://www.catchat.org/felineforum/view ... =13&t=2126" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

I did a lot of research into the subject. I even put my name down for "Disabled cats" on a local Barcelona shelter in case something came up. A couple did but they also came with other problems that myself and my OH could not possibly afford to insure.

My story ended happily as a co-worker was leaving the country and couldn't bring her house cat to her new place. However:

I would seriously recommend you do a ring round or a visit round the local rescue centres. There are lots of cats out there that need homes that probably are suited to being house bound. Older cats are better as they're generally a lot more docile and happy to be fed and laze around the house. If you explain to the receptionist that you have a young child I'm sure if they don't have a cat waiting for a home they'll be happy to put you on a waiting list for one.

As for recommendations: Long haired cats are typically great with kids! They do require a lot more work with the regular combing and bathing but their temper is generally much more related to a dogs where they'll take a lot more punishment from a child that hasn't quite learned yet.

I've heard that Sphynx cat's also make wonderful family pets if you can get past their baldness. Oddly, the same as the long haired Persians and Maine Coons you also need to bathe them fairly regularly. But other than that they're pretty easy to handle. Because they get cold easily they're very cuddly and you'll typically find them wanting to be on your lap or in the bed with you a lot. (They're not Allergy free though) Typically you won't find them in shelters because they are the Faberge egg of cat breeds. But if you find a breeder and can afford the extra cost I'd seriously recommend it as I've never heard a bad thing about this breed.

I suppose the only other route you could go is to research cat types and get a kitten from a breeder . If you go to your local pet stores they always have young pets for sale through the bulletin boards. I wouldn't recommend pet shop buys as they can be very iffy as to where the kittens have come from. As mentioned above I've found long haired cats to be very laid back, but Persians can also make terrific family pets.

As long as you get your family to make a routine of making sure there's no place for the cat to escape I see no reason why you couldn't have a perfectly wonderful house cat from any breed out there. I would recommend rescues as they need homes more than anything, but if you find a kitten that you click with then it's a good marker to start a journey with.

[bobbys girl]

Hi momama, and welcome to CC.

I would second Kay's ideas. I'm lucky, I live in the country on a fairly quiet road (though the few cars that use it all drive way too fast). We have a wide, low gate on our drive that is always closed. To stop our cats jumping it I tacked 2 garden canes across the top. They are quite wobbly and it is enough to stop the cats going that way. The little beggers find other ways, but they take some climbing through so it slows them down. So you really don't have to turn your garden into Fort Knox to keep your cat safe.

It is just my personal opinion, but I find my boys to be a lot more tolerant than the girls. I can play with the boys paws (this little piggy ) and they just look at me like I'm an idiot. I'd probably end up wearing the girls A neutered Tom might be better where children are concerned.

[Crewella]

Especially as this is a rescue forum, I just want to stress that pedigree cats also become homeless and there are many cat rescues devoted to the various breeds around the country. There are so many unwanted cats and kittens of all types desperate for homes, please don't encourage the pet trade and breeders by buying a cat - adopt, don't shop!

There are also lots of cats that need indoor homes, due to health, disability or temperament, and if you speak to your local rescues I'm sure you'll find a suitable match quite quickly. Good luck in your search, I'm sure the right cat is out there waiting for you.