CATS-off Broadway and in your house

I’m a stay at home dad now. My wife said that she knew that I loved our son because when he was born I rubbed noses with him like I do with our cats.  For the first couple years of our marriage she would occasionally (sarcastically?) accuse me of liking the cats more than her.  Now we’re deeper into our marriage and I know that she was being sarcastic. 

Cats are great pets, but they sometimes get a bum rap.  Having worked at PAWS Atlanta, a large, cage-free cat shelter for a number of years I learned why they may, or may not be great pets for your specific situation.

The Good

Cats are low maintenance. The problems and expenses that your dog friends have in finding a boarder don’t exist with a cat.  Pour a large bowl of food, fill the water, pay a neighborhood kid $8 to check on the cat once or twice and you can head out for the weekend without a worry. 

There’s no walking the cat.  Yeah, I’ve seen that person that walks their cat on a leash, but that’s just weird isn’t it?  Cats can get all their needed exercise inside, running up the stairs, playing on the floor or just walking around. 

Cats are funny.  I’m amazed at the positions and places that our cats can sleep.  You’ll find yourself taking pictures of sleeping cats, it’s addictive and relaxing.

Cats are packed with personality.  Sometimes it takes a while to see that personality, but it’s there I promise.  They’ll nuzzle against any solid surface to massage their mouth or find the sunniest place in the house to sleep or jump in your lap while you’re watching television.

Cats can be inside or outside.  Of course if your cat goes outside be certain that they are fixed.  All pets should be fixed, but especially if your Johnny cat is on the prowl. 

The Bad

Cats can scratch.  That is true; we’ve had one sofa shredded by the boy cat.  This happened, despite the fact that we have a scratching tree and odd cardboard box that they also love the scratch.  The best ways to deal with a scratcher is a bottle of water near the thing they like to scratch.  Will they like to scratch something more than they hate the water?  No, the water will win every time.

You can also spray stuff on furniture that will supposedly keep your cat away from that object.  We tried that product and didn’t have any luck with it.  However, other people I know swear by that stuff.  If you’re going that route test an area to see if it keeps away your cat before you rely on it 100%.

Some cat owners put coverings on the cats’ claws.  I can’t do that.  To me that’s one step away from painting their nails and that is never happening.

What about declawing the cat?  Declawing a cat is a painful experience and renders them defenseless if they need to protect themselves.  I would never recommend declawing a cat.  I understand if you have nice leather furniture, but if that’s the case then adopt a cat that is already declawed.  If you use Petfinder.com then that can be one of your search criteria.

 The bite

Sometimes a cat will play bite, like when they’re feeling shy or a little grumpy.  This play bite is them opening their jaws and closing teeth on whatever it is that’s annoying them, usually a finger. 

Unfortunately, some cats have the defense mechanism of bite first; then see if they’re friendly later.  Because of their front incisor teeth a cat bite is almost guaranteed to get infected too. 

At the shelter I worked at there were more cat than dog bites.  This was mainly due to parents not watching their children.  If a cat is hiding, let the cat hide, the social cats will present themselves for all the attention they can handle. 

The good news here is that cats that bite first and ask questions later have a habit of doing this.  Wait, they bite all the time and that’s the good news?  Yes, because they bite and the shelter/rescue staff will know this then it’ll be disclosed and you’ll know their history.  Some people like to adopt the barn cats or the cats with personality.  Obviously, if you’re up for this type of a challenge, i.e., a cat who may bite, keep them away from visitors, as well as, other social cats. 

The bottom line

Cats are great pets that are sometimes grouped as a good pet if you can’t have a dog.  They have much more personality then you would think and make a nice addition to the house.  In the Mojo house we’ve got two cats and two dogs and they all get along great.