Thinking of getting a cat, mouse problem.

[paintman]

Louis catches mice, brings them into the house & releases them. He and his sister Lily then sit & watch the mouse scurrying about but take no further part in sorting out the 'live mouse in the house' problem. Apparently that's my job.
We normally check that he isn't in possession of a little friend when we let him in.
Last one we missed revealed itself by sitting under the TV. Took me half an hour to catch it.
We'd probably have done better with a Jack Russell!

[Mobile Chicane]

I just went to Cats Protection and got a ready-made cat I wasn't allergic to

Bob. Mouser Extraordinaire. (Blurry but you get the idea):

[croyde]

Nice

[HOGEPH]

Get a black cat. The all black cat in my household has the highest mouse count, and the rescue centres seem to have trouble homing black cats for some reason.

[croyde]

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/the-cutest-friendlie...

Going to see two kittens today. British Short Hair crosses. Fluffy tabbies to me.

Owner asking 320 for the girl and 220 for the boy. I don't want to split them but do these prices sound right. Private sale not a breeder.

The ginger one is already being looked at and the ad has only just come out.

Any advice guys and girls.

Cheers

[plasticpig]

If you want a mouser your best bet is to get a Heinz 57 moggy. The best hunter I ever had came from a litter on farm; cats learn to hunt from their mother so a farm cat is ideal as they will have learnt the skills.

[Mobile Chicane]

croyde said:

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/the-cutest-friendlie...

Going to see two kittens today. British Short Hair crosses. Fluffy tabbies to me.

Owner asking 320 for the girl and 220 for the boy. I don't want to split them but do these prices sound right. Private sale not a breeder.

The ginger one is already being looked at and the ad has only just come out.

Any advice guys and girls.

Cheers

8 weeks is far too young for kittens to leave their mother.

Plus I'm doubtful *all those* kittens (given their coat variations) came from that mother.

Unless of course she escaped and shagged all the neighbourhood tomcats, but I'm still doubtful.

Don't buy unless you see the mother.

In any case, I think adopt, and never buy.

[Sway]

Out of our three, the two girls who are half the size of my boy are the killers. Banksy just sits there getting fat on catfood!

Once got kept awake by the cat flap banging. In the morning we found a massive rabbit, far too big to get through the flap, in the living room.

Turned out my diddy little Whisper (absolutely tiny due to being abused as a kitten) wanted to give it to us so much she smashed it against the rim of the cat flap until enough bones had been broken to get it through...

It's a very rare morning we don't wake up to one or more presents or evidence of mealtime top up.

[croyde]

Thanks for all the input people, cheers.

We did go for the two that we saw today and they have been great. Seemed very happy to explore the lounge, play, eat, sleep and then do it all again. Not at all perturbed by my three over excited kids and quite happy to sit in laps, be stroked, sleep and then take off again.

Here they are on one of my boy's legs.



The lady we bought them off was very concerned that we do all the right stuff and that we had the right carrier and the food that they are used to. They are even using the litter tray. Lovely pungent smell until I whisk the little dump away

We did meet the mother who is a blue British Shorthair whilst it turns out that the dad was a neighbour's tabby. When we arrived at the cat's home there was already another family there choosing the ginger one and the phone kept ringing with more people wanting the kittens. Obviously very popular.

Personally I have never been a pet person but thanks to the kids we have fish, a hamster and now these two cuties. I never would have thought that I would say that about a cat.

No names yet and my suggestion of Boba and Fett was shouted down. Tomorrow I'm going to put forward Erica and Ernie

The male already loves chasing a toy rope mouse so hopefully we will eventually earn his keep.

Cheers and I'll be stopping by for more advice and I'll be taking them to our local vet on Monday for checks, flea and worm stuff and sort out vaccinations etc.

[otolith]

Females are definitely the best mousers, but our black one is useless. Our female tabby is a monster, though, and will kill quite large rats. Our ginger tom just can't be arsed.

[croyde]

Day one and there was me thinking that they were doing really well with the kitty litter. One 'accident' in the night on our old knackered sofa and the next morning they were good then they only seemed to be using it for a wee.

Yesterday evening the lounge was really starting to pong and this morning there were a couple of presents on the wooden floor but the pong was getting worse.

Ahh! nice and cosy under the telly and AV equipment. Loads of cables and a perfect place for a quiet dump.

That took a while to clear up but I did find that half the cables were scarts and no longer needed and the rest needed a sort and are now all off the floor.

Due at the vets next week for vaccinations and a general check up and she recommended that I put tin foil under the telly which might discourage them from going there.

Other than that they seem very happy and boisterous. Playing, fighting and sleeping. Happy to be petted and always seeking a lap for a snooze plus they found my ex wife asleep on the sofa last night and she awoke with one on her shoulder and the other under her chin.

[ali_kat]

Try getting another couple of litter trays, general rule is one per cat & a spare

Ensure their trays are not by their food/water

[croyde]

Thanks Ali.

Tin foil no good. Just found them playing with it and then peeing all over it before going back to their bed for another snooze.

[Pothole]

Forgive me if I'm being obtuse, but did you really just pay five hundred pounds for two cats?

[blindswelledrat]

Croyde- have you ever lived with a cat?
I am allergic to cats, but quickly become immune to the ones I live with
You could give it a go and then throw it away if you dont?

[croyde]

I am allergic but as long as they stay clear of my room I should be ok and as many have said, I might get used to it. One of them very lightly scratched me on the arm and it immediately went red and a wee bit swollen with lots of itching.

Pothole, yep crazy I know and being tight with cash, I still can't believe it myself. The woman refused to move on price, the other family were happy to pay the rate for the other kitten and her phone was going constantly with people wanting them.

This all convinced me that I was paying the correct price. I do feel done yet the family selling them were very open and helpful and I didn't feel like they were trying to rip me off.

I called the husband today just to get the exact birth dates for the vets and he didn't sound at all cagey on knowing who I was and the fact that I was phoning him. He wanted to know how they were and if everything was alright.

Unfortunately I know about cars and motorbikes but nothing about pet prices but on retro looking, I see that sort of money may be correct for a pedigree British Short Hair but not for a Short Hair Cross.

Maybe buying cats from Fulham is not a good idea and one should buy from up North.

[plasticpig]

Think the issue is that there are plenty of kittens available for free. Unless you want a full pedigree moggy then I really can't see paying money (other than a small
donation if from a rescue center) is necessary.

[anonymous-user]

croyde said:

I am allergic but as long as they stay clear of my room I should be ok and as many have said, I might get used to it. One of them very lightly scratched me on the arm and it immediately went red and a wee bit swollen with lots of itching.

Before we got our cat, Mrs 66, 66 major and 66 minor were all allergic. The first two had respiratory allergies and the last one a contact allergy (discovered by watching her eyeball swell up after she had been rubbing it).

When we got the kitten, he frankly stank of cat - as you might if you'd spent three weeks in a cattery being groomed by other cats. Within three-four weeks (with the aid of some wetwipe semi dry baths for him) the smell had abated. Better though, there was no sign of any allergy for any of the other 66s. They seem to have adapted. The big white welt reaction to a scratch took longer to recede, but now (two years on) they very rarely get that.

I had read that the allergic reaction is caused by a protein in the saliva of a cat. Some breeds, or perhaps more accurately some bloodlines within breeds, have lower levels of the protein and produce a lower level of reaction. The allergy-causing property doesn't seem linked to the length of fur, as we have a Maine Coon, and had previously looked at Siberians.

[jagracer]

croyde said:

I am allergic but as long as they stay clear of my room I should be ok and as many have said, I might get used to it. One of them very lightly scratched me on the arm and it immediately went red and a wee bit swollen with lots of itching.

Pothole, yep crazy I know and being tight with cash, I still can't believe it myself. The woman refused to move on price, the other family were happy to pay the rate for the other kitten and her phone was going constantly with people wanting them.

This all convinced me that I was paying the correct price. I do feel done yet the family selling them were very open and helpful and I didn't feel like they were trying to rip me off.

I called the husband today just to get the exact birth dates for the vets and he didn't sound at all cagey on knowing who I was and the fact that I was phoning him. He wanted to know how they were and if everything was alright.

Unfortunately I know about cars and motorbikes but nothing about pet prices but on retro looking, I see that sort of money may be correct for a pedigree British Short Hair but not for a Short Hair Cross.

Maybe buying cats from Fulham is not a good idea and one should buy from up North.

They look lovely, we paid £300 and £200 for our pair of British Shorthairs about 5 years ago although ours are purebreds. They are worth whatever you are willing to pay for them but I don't think you've been ripped off.
Good cat litter is Pettex or Pets at Home do a Fullers earth litter for £5 for a 15 litre (I think) bag, we also sprinkle deoderiser powder on the top which helps. The best thing to do is train them to crap in your neighbour's garden. For your allergy you could try Tesco hay fever tablets at about 70p-£1 a box of seven, they work as well as Benedril and are a quarter of the price.

Edited by jagracer on Monday 14th January 16:13

[ali_kat]

croyde said:

Thanks Ali.

Tin foil no good. Just found them playing with it and then peeing all over it before going back to their bed for another snooze.

What litter are you using? Try gradually changing over to CatSan - it's best for covering up smells which may also help

A lot of cats won't use a dirty tray