I am thinking about getting a kitten as a companion. I have had cats throughout my childhood but we always kept them outside. Now that I am by myself most of the time(during the week), I am thinking of keeping one in the house. The other thing is that I work during the day, so would only give it attention in the evening and on weekends. I love animals but am concerned about cleanliness. Does anyone here keep a cat in the house? Does the fur get everywhere? On everything? I am afraid of leaving the kitten in the yard incase it strays. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thank you. smile
Get an iguana. Low maintenace, low interaction...just sits there and stares at you. I love things that stare at me.
Get a huge fish :D or a bird in a cage ofcourse
I personally dont like cats or dogs wandering around my house. My sister got a kitten and wanted to keep it for few days. I made her get rid of it within few 2 hrs and made her clean the house. I just think they are disgusting.
Cats are so cool, i want one but my mom is worried about cleanliness too 
Cats are quite clean animals, just teach it how to use a litter tray when it needs the toilet, it’ll take a while but it will learn and brush its fur regularly so that it doesn’t shed hair all over the place… 
Munni, I have a cat for the last 10 years or so now.. & I ablsolutely love cats, once you have a cat you cant get rid of it anymore..
And no there is no problem at all concerning cleanliness.. You do have to make sure that when you get a kitten, then leave that kitten atleast for 11-12 weeks with the mother. So that the kitten can learn to be clean. And also you can train a young cat easily, and teach her everything that you don’t like it to do.
You can buy some books about how and what to do to take care of the cat.. Also there are books about the different breeds of cats, where you can choose a certain breed of cat which also suits your mood
@ Nia for making her sis get rid of the cat…
Munni, what timing. I was also thinking of getting a kitten some weeks ago. I love cats and had some but we never kept them inside the house.
Now I might get one, don't know yet. I have the same problem, I am home only during evenings, so the kitten will be home alone all day. Maybe Gizzy can anwser me this; can cats stay alone all day or do they need a lot of attention ?
One thing I don't like is the smell. I have seen some homes where it really stinks because of cats...this is one big reason I decided not to get one. Otherwise I do love pets.
SaadiaB, There’s nothing wrong keeping a cat inside the house. Thats if the cat likes to keep itself and the house clean. But staying clean is learnt. So that is very essential.
Also before getting a cat at home, you have to consider if you will be able to keep the cat’s toilet clean. That needs to be done at least 2/3 times a week. But that should not be such a problem.. You can get many different types of easy to clean cat litters. And there are even self cleaning ones!
Apart from books as I mentioned above, you can also find many websites on the net, where you can learn more about keeping a cat..
And your question, if a can be left alone at home all day. Well this is not a problem as I know many people here in Holland and the cats are home alone all day. It all depends on how social the cat is. Some cats won’t care less, as long as they keep getting their feed on time, they will be happy being all alone at home. Others might get withdrawal symptoms. This is the reason I suggested you get some books or browse the net to see which breed of cats you can choose.
As for the homes where you said it stinked well such people shouldn’t be keeping a cat or any pet at all, if they cant keep the pets and their own homes clean and odour free.
You should have a suitable place to keep the cat litter and a place to give to feed them. The cat food can sometimes be very smelly. But there are also some which dont smell at all.
Best of luck in choosing a kitty :k:
If I left anything unanswered, just ask 
And once you get one, I’d like to see some pics
Gizzzy - thank you so much for answering and informing us. Just few more questions- if you can answer, if not its all right....people mentioned that we can teach the cats to use the cat's toilet, which normaly is sand or somthing like it in a box on the floor, so how can you teach the young cat to go and do the business over there. Secondly do cats sleep at night. Thirdly I know that cats love to scratch the furniture..does your cat do that ??
I haven't really decided that I will be getting a cat, as I feel that it will be quite a responsibilty for me.. but however if I do, I will certainly post the pics or send them over to you.
Thanks and regards :)
Munni go ahead and get one :k: i had the pleasure of keeping one few months ago. Some cat gave birth in our back yard and we didn’t realize it till the kitten ended up at front of our door itself. Khair, since we didn’t have any plans to keep a cat, but couldn’t resist it and end up keeping him for more than a month, then i had to give it up for adoption:crying: it was really hard to let go 
but my parents wouldn’t let us keep him. Since it was small kitty it needed lot of attention, food plus emotinal support and everyone at my house is not home till late night. I started noticing him becoming bored and lonely since he needed to play around stuff with someone. But i will definately keep a cat again when i am to stay at home more and able to take care of him better. As far as about training him, he was just wild 2 weeks old but learned about littering, food, and everything within few days. So get a small kitty it would be easier since they are quick learner :k:
I am gonna post his pics soon… do check them out
well Saadia this is really interesting.... this is what i did first two days when i got the kitty....after i fed him...i made sure i leave him on the sand few times a day to remind him that this is the place for him to use. And if i see him wandering and smelling around at the corner somewhere i will quickly take him to his spot for his business :) sometimes u just have to sense the feelings that he needs to go. This doesn't even take long, just two days and he will know where to go.
Second yes cats sleep at night. After we turn off all lights at night he used to find his own some place to sleep.
Thirdly, yes we did have big problem with scratching furniture...since kittens are very naughty and my kitty would always jump around on the sofas but this is only chaar din ki chandni. Usually after they reach 4 or 5 month of age they stop doing this stuff. Cats are definately a big reponsibility :)
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*Originally posted by SaadiaB: *
Gizzzy - thank you so much for answering and informing us. Just few more questions- if you can answer, if not its all right....people mentioned that we can teach the cats to use the cat's toilet, which normaly is sand or somthing like it in a box on the floor, so how can you teach the young cat to go and do the business over there. Secondly do cats sleep at night. Thirdly I know that cats love to scratch the furniture..does your cat do that ??
I haven't really decided that I will be getting a cat, as I feel that it will be quite a responsibilty for me.. but however if I do, I will certainly post the pics or send them over to you.
Thanks and regards :)
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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by SaadiaB: *
Gizzzy - thank you so much for answering and informing us. Just few more questions- if you can answer, if not its all right....
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SaadiaB, not a propblem at all. I will be glad to answer all your questions :)
- ) Well, little kittens are learnt by their mother to use the cat's toilet from the very beginning right after the birth. That is the reason I told you to get a kitten which is at least 11-12 weeks old and not before. At this age they have learnt to use the toilet and not to do the business anywhere else.
I have even heard of cats, who were taught to use the normal toilets at home, the only thing was that they couldn't flush. But they had a system for that too.
2.) Cats are related to the lions/ tigers. shair ki khala kehtay hain..
So, they are up till late night, sleep during the day a lot.. Even if they are not asleep, they just lie dozing away.. But domestic cats do sleep at night even.
3.) Furniture, this is a major issue when it comes to getting yourself a kitty. They need to scratch their nails/claws. But even for that perpose there are a special scratching thinigis.. Which you can also teach them and they will hopfully only scratch on that. :)
you don’t have to do much work…we have a billi here on GS…most of the times she’s in cafe 