Cats and Appartments

Thumpette

Hi all,

I would really like to get a kitten and I've seen lots available to a good home.

I grew up in a house which always had a cat around and they always seemed to me to be fairly self sufficient. My parents both worked full time and the cats were either outside all the time, or some cats might have been allowed in the house when we were home and then put out while everyone was away from the house. Although this was in the country and I now live in Dublin, there are plently of grounds in my appartment for the cat to wander and I would have thought this was fine. My plan would be to feed the cat before i went to work in the morning and then let it wander and do cat things during the day and have it in in the evenings.

My boyfriend however, who gre up in Dublin reckons this wouldnt be good enough, and that we'd have to have a cat flap, and it would be a huge ammount of effort etc.

I was just wondering if anyone here has a cat in an appartment and how that works out for them? Maybe country cats are just tougher than city cats!

Thanks:D

waraf

Thumpette wrote: »

Hi all,

I would really like to get a kitten and I've seen lots available to a good home.

I grew up in a house which always had a cat around and they always seemed to me to be fairly self sufficient. My parents both worked full time and the cats were either outside all the time, or some cats might have been allowed in the house when we were home and then put out while everyone was away from the house. Although this was in the country and I now live in Dublin, there are plently of grounds in my appartment for the cat to wander and I would have thought this was fine. My plan would be to feed the cat before i went to work in the morning and then let it wander and do cat things during the day and have it in in the evenings.

My boyfriend however, who gre up in Dublin reckons this wouldnt be good enough, and that we'd have to have a cat flap, and it would be a huge ammount of effort etc.

I was just wondering if anyone here has a cat in an appartment and how that works out for them? Maybe country cats are just tougher than city cats!

Thanks:D

I have kittens in my apartment and it's fine. They're still too young to be going out yet but the last cat I had used to go outside and wander about during the day. I would say that a cat flap is essential as cats will come and go rather than staying out all day (cats like afternoon naps). However, if you're near any busy roads you might want to consider keeping the him/her as a purely indoor cat.

HereticPrincess

Well I live in an apartment & have a cat since we moved into apartments.

She's perfectly happy indoors, & loves lying around in the sun. Has plenty of lil toys to keep her busy during the day & she's always mad to play when we get home

Although I wouldn't let her out as we arent on the ground floor.

Hope that helps a little

cotton

If it helps your decision a little more, I've 10 cats, all indoors full time (big house!) I run a cat rescue that rehomes to indoor only homes & we have countless cats living the high life indoors, happy as larry.
If you want more info on this, pm me & I can go through it all with you.

anniehoo

I think cats are perfect for apartments, definitely get one if you think you'd be a responsible owner

The Sweeper

My own reservation about a cat in an apartment would be the part about allowing it out, unsupervised, in the communal apartment grounds.

Lots of apartments come with an annual maintenance fee covering upkeep of communal areas. If I was paying that fee, and someone let their cat out and it shat in the flowerbeds and started pissing to scent mark some feature of the garden, I'd start to feel extremely resentful that I was paying my annual maintenance fee to clean up after someone else's pet. The same way most people would feel about a dog crapping everywhere.

Cats live happily and safely as indoor-only animals. If you're not going to have it indoor-only, I'd think long and hard about owning one in a built-up urban area like an apartment complex.

peter1892

As an apartment dweller you'll need to figure out if owning a pet could land you in trouble with the management company. Check the terms of your lease (even if you own the apartment) as there may be a clause in there concerning pet ownership.

(personally I think a lot of the 'no pets' clauses in apartment blocks are nonsense but it's worth finding out!)

anniehoo

I think most if not all apartment blocks will have a "No pets" clause. To be honest, as long as your pet isnt making a nuisance of itself most mgt companies overlook this.

Thumpette

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I dont think the management company would be a problem, i have seen a few cats around other appartments too.

The one thing which is a problem though is the cat flap- we have glass patio doors to the outside so it wouldnt be possible to put a flap in.

We do live on the ground floor however which is a positive, and have a decent sized patio.

I think ill have to keep weighing up the possibilities!

anniehoo

Thumpette wrote: »

The one thing which is a problem though is the cat flap- we have glass patio doors to the outside so it wouldnt be possible to put a flap in.

Theres a solution for everything
http://www.catflaps.com/en-gb/dept_1.html