Let me rephrase that: I want to cuddle something cute and soft, and we're not allowed to have dogs in the building, so I want a cat.
Which is possibly the worst idea I've ever had, and that's saying something because I've had a disproportionate number bad ideas in my lifetime (please refer to my ill-advised marriage, my very butch hair cut in high school, and the time I turned our kitchen floor into an "ice skating rink" by smearing the linoleum with congealed bacon grease)((that isn't easy to undo, by the way)).
Gray's only response is, "You don't even like cats." Which is so very true. I don't like cats. They're smelly and bitchy and they don't come when they're called. They get fur on the couch and on your clothes and, honestly, every damn thing in the house. You can't have people over who are allergic to cats. They try to sneak out the front door. They often succeed. They're smart enough to know how to evade you, but not smart enough to take a piss outdoors.
I don't want to change a litter box. Hell, I don't even have a room in which I'd feel comfortable PUTTING a litter box. Cats claw up carpet and furniture. They vomit up hairballs and piles of kitty food in the middle of the hallways for you to step in barefooted on your way to the bathroom. They must be fed and watered. They require trips to the vet and medications and grooming. We would have to pay an additional damage deposit on the apartment, and we'd have to pay an additional amount of money each month the cat lived with us.
Cats are a huge, bitchy pain in the ass.
And I want one.
I say don't do it, that's a twenty year commitment you'd be making. Get an electric blanket...
ReplyDeleteLOL. I love kittens, but once they grow up meh not so much. I suppose if I had the cat from when it was a kitten though... Good luck with the cat if you get one. :)
ReplyDeletedon't do it!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's like bangs-- you THINK they'll be a good idea, but they never are!
yeah, no cat is a good cat. Go visit the cats at the local shelter or pet store or something. Get one of those fake pets that has a battery and looks all cute and curled up and like it is breathing. No food, poop or shedding.
ReplyDeleteThe hairless cat is not attractive, but an option for allergic-guests?
no dont do it. i would get a stuffed cat first well not a stuffed cat that was alive once, but an animal stuffed cat. They are much easier to take care of!
ReplyDeleteI love cats! I think they are challenging, but fulfilling. I have never had a cat for twenty years. That would make me a responsible pet owner. I have also never been without a cat, or cats for this long.
ReplyDeleteWe lost our last cat in April to the coyote family that live here with us in So Cal. I told her there were coyotes outside, She had watched both her brothers the previous year get carried off by the pack, but she was a bitchy cat, and didn't listen to a word i said... and off she went.
But I miss her. The constant cuddle, the motor always going, the kitty nose in my face. I like them. I get what you are saying. Cat's are a stinky pain in the ass, but there is something to love about them. Wait a minute, this sounds like something else I live with...Wait, it's coming to me....Oh yeah, my husband and children. Yep, that's It! They are a stinky pain in the ass too, but I love them!
Do it! my cat is the shit! He comes when he calls, hes at the door when i get home, and he loves to snuggle! hes a dog, he just is little, the litterbox is in the bsmt, so no funk! Hes the SHIT theres pics of him on my blog!
ReplyDeleteMy cats come when called. They're not too much work and snuggly too. Long-haired cats (generally)tend to be more lap cats.
ReplyDeleteAh, but if you smeared the floor with bacon grease, you'd attract a lot of cats! Or me.
ReplyDeleteSo take your pick: I don't smell bad (mostly), I am smart enough to piss wherever I should, and I come when...oh,heh, you fill in that blank!
I'd send you my cats, but theys kinda dopey and they don't travel well. Sorry.
I would say don't do it, for all the reasons you listed.
ReplyDeleteBut you know, if you do it, you'll probably love it in spite of all those things.
Basically, I don't know crap, so don't listen to me.
My daughter called me just this morning to tell me that she got a cat. Your post came one day too late to stop it. But then again, you wrote all that crap and you still want one. I'm giving you hers.
ReplyDeleteMy husband keeps saying he wants a cat
ReplyDeletethen I say: but I'm allergic remember?
and he says: but they're so cute and cuddly and soft and warm
and I say: I'm having a baby in two months you dork. duh!
Okay, I have to tell you a few things. Here we go.
ReplyDelete1. I wanted a baby, lost a baby, and in the mix of all that got a Hero. He seemed like the perfect bandaid at first - like it was so fortuitous that we'd just adopted him. We all know how that turned out. Just puttin' that out there.
2. When debating about getting a dog, I actually tried to convince my husband that we should get a wedgehead Siamese cat - they are very dog like in their attitudes and their need for people love (whereas most cats don't seem to need people,um, at all). So maybe consider one of those? They are expensive though and very hard to find in MN. Plus, they're a little weird looking but I think they look cool!!!! (I heard that according to blog ettiquette you're never supposed to link to your own blog, but here is the post about the cats: http://sometimesagirlneedsablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/perfect-idea.html)
Keep us posted on what you decide! This could make for many good blog posts :)
Being a cat owner - I have to disagree with some of your statements.
ReplyDeleteMy cat has his claws and he does not claw furniture. He only claws his carpet cat house, and his cardboard cat thingys I got at the pet store.
He only sees the vet when he requires shots, which isn't even yearly now - or unless he gets sick - which is only one time in his 3 1/2 years here on earth.
He doesn't pee in the house.
Sadly his poop stinks but that, to me, is a small price to pay.
He is velvety soft and cuddly..
he does come when I call (although not all cats do).
He doesn't have hairballs because I buy Iams cat food for hairballs.
And he doesn't require grooming because he keeps himself clean.
I brush him because it's a bonding thing between us - not because he needs it.
As for the hair, it isn't always nice or fun - but I don't come to work with hair all over my clothes so it's not real bad.
And you are right - people who are allergic can't visit. But see I don't want my mom visiting me. :op
Hope you make a decision you are happy with.
Truly I think it depends on what kind of cat you get - as to what their behaviour is like.
It is a fact that people with cats and dogs both live longer and are happier in general despite the extra care they consume. I think it has do with the fact that the interaction with the pet gives the owner a peaceful and relaxing feeling causing you to be happier and live longer. At least this what my 3 year old daughter told me. :)
ReplyDeletePetras Husband
I agree with Diane...she doesn't know crap!! I kid, geez.
ReplyDeleteCan you borrow a cat from a friend or something? You know, catsit? That way you can send the little bastard home after a day worth or shitting and puking.
I actually do like cats, just not mine. It's my wife's cat and it has the personality of a slipper. Maybe that's because I keep stepping on it.
I used to have a cool ass cat named Xena, like the warrior princess. That cat didn't give a shit about anything. Plus it would play fetch. I would throw a little rubber bouncy ball, it would get it, take it to the tub, play with it in there for a bit, then bring it back to me. Expecially at 4 in the morning when I'm trying to sleep.
I know you've considered a ferret, which can be pretty soft and lots of fun, but they can be smelly also and are worse about using a box than cats. They are also little escape artists. Maybe a rabbit would do you good? I don't think they come when called, but they can be box-trained. I'm not sure how they are on the shedding.
ReplyDeleteYou are cracked. I have seen you around cats. Get a hamster. Cats don't even cuddle. What is wrong with you?
ReplyDeleteSee, I love my cat. She hides in the basement, doesn't try to sleep in my bed, only uses her litter box and let's me pet her when I need the cat cuddle. It's perfect. That said, I lucked out with her. My last cat was a shit and I had to get rid of her.
ReplyDeleteI think the cat is a bad idea, but if you do get one and then change your mind, The Blogess has some nifty ideas on how to turn them into gloves.
ReplyDeleteI love cats. I love them so much I own one even though I'm ridiculously allergic to him. You should get a cat. Definitely.
ReplyDeleteI like dogs 'cause they're dumberer than me.
ReplyDeleteThere are many downsides to my argument however.
IB
Oh get yourself a cat. They aren't THAT bad. I mean I even love the little bastard that I brought home from the WalMart parking lot...even though he likes to run out of the house at 6am, which in turn makes my husband wake me up because he can't catch the cat. Anyways sorry for the tangent..really they aren't that bad..and they have really soft bellies to pet on..if they don't claw you when you try to pet them there.
ReplyDeleteStep away from the cats, um, Cat. You do not want one of those things.
ReplyDelete(Don't have a cat, never have. We are dog people all the way. Although I could do with an animal that doesn't bark like a maniac every time anything in the world moves. Or breathes. Or exists.)
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteI am also going through a wanting a cat phase. I love dogs and cats but I have always had a cat. I think that if you do get a cat you will love him and never regret it. If you dont get a cat you will never know the difference. Right now I am missing a little buddy. Warm, cuddly, and follows you around everywhere. Cute. But I am a full-time student and when you have problems feeding yourself it may not be good to try to feed someone else also. If you have the money-do it. If you dont wait and see how you feel in a month.
One Cat in the house is enough, honey.
ReplyDeleteTwo words. Dwarf Rabbit. Less work, put it your pocket and go.
ReplyDeletei have four so of course i say go for it. cats are a constant source of amusement, and that is worth price of admission.
ReplyDeleteJR loves kitties, me not so much. I say don't get one if you only want something to cuddle. Try a cushy blanket first.
ReplyDeleteCats are horrible. They think they know everything. They will shit in your closet, in the back, and you won't find it until it looks like petrified wood and will have stuck to your favorite blouse that they pulled off the hanger after slicing a hole in it first. The poo stain will be permanent if you can bring yourself to actually try and pry that rock shit off.
ReplyDeleteEverything is a cat toy. Like the carbon fiber brake handles on my husband's $$$ bike. That became a chew toy (ok, the family room isn't the place for the bike, but you can't expect him to put it in the garage where it is cold?) You are a cat toy, your hand when you pet him and he decides he's had enough and slices your wrist open. Your cat will steal your last bit of foil wrapped hash and use it as a ball which they bat under the stove and you don't find for a year.(true story about 30 yrs ago)
Cats are bad news. Thats why we have THREE of them. They rule us, we are just pawns in their evil game. I think you should get 2!
Cat's are fucking evil. And that's all I have to say about that...
ReplyDeleteCats are totally worth it...since after awhile they start to mimic whatever personality you have they yoda it into their brains so its almost like a lil mini-me running around the house...then again that can turn against you hah...cats are a great way to tease and find pleasure from watching the cat chase its tail around and around and around ..and around...and around...
ReplyDeletebut aside from the cuteness factor, just a little training on where litter box is and *what* goes in it etc, cats catch on quick...
cats smell muuuuch better than dogs!~
get one so you can name it.."Dog" !
I hate and want a cat, too. I know JUST how you feel.
ReplyDeleteget a boy kitten. boys are more friendly & affectionate usually. and have him declawed as early as possible. trust me on this one. just hide your betta fish . . . i've lost 2 so far to cat attacks.
ReplyDeleteAh, there's nothing like a warm, purring cat to keep you cozy on a winter day. Or having a little face (or four) watching out the door when you come home from work. But then there's the litter, the fur, the poop. The running across your belly in the middle of the night, the walking over your keyboard when you're trying to work...totally worth it, as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for treating pets as a life-long commitment, and I'm totally against declawing. I'm just sayin'.
My advice is to spend a little time at a shelter (preferably one with free-roaming cats) and see if one of them chooses you. You'll either fall hopelessly in love or you'll get the urge out of your system.