kitten for apartment

ziggyman17

My wife and I are thinking of getting a kitten. We live in an apartment, our work hours are not too bad, leave the apartment at 6am and back home by 1pm, spend most of our weekends at home, would it be cruel to get a kitten if we are out of the apartment for the morning and is an apartment big enough for a kitten. we are looking into getting a British Shorthair...

the beer revolu

Get two kittens.
They'll be happy out.

Zapperzy

Cats in apartments work so long as you've permission from management and landlord. Are you ground floor or do you plan on keeping it indoors? Indoor cats are a little more work but are safe from cars and other cats. Cats generally sleep all day so are fine when your away at work just remember to feed little and often for kittens. Two littermates usually bond well. I had two cats in an apartment for 3 years with us both working during the day.

When you say your at home most weekends what do you plan on doing when your not both at home? I'd leave our two adult cats alone with extra food for one night but not until they're at least 7/8 months old.

Any reason for wanting a pedigree over a bog standard moggy?

muminpajamas

I think it depends on the kitten's personality. I have 3 cats, two of which would probably do well in an apartment as they are really sweet an cuddly while the other one, a boy, needs to roam free outside.

ziggyman17

When I said we are home most weekends, I meant sitting in not going the pub.. we spend a week at christmas with the in laws abroad and 2 weeks at the summer, other than that we never spend a night sleeping away from the apartment. The person we are getting the kitten from has a cat hotel, so we woud leave her there when abroad. Is it cruek to leave a kitten home alone for 6 hours ? Obviously we would make the apartment comfortable for her while at work..

Ms Doubtfire1

ziggyman17 wrote: »

When I said we are home most weekends, I meant sitting in not going the pub.. we spend a week at christmas with the in laws abroad and 2 weeks at the summer, other than that we never spend a night sleeping away from the apartment. The person we are getting the kitten from has a cat hotel, so we woud leave her there when abroad.  Is it cruek to leave a kitten home alone for 6 hours ? Obviously we would make the apartment comfortable for her while at work..

no. Make sure he/she has sunny places to snooze( or a high up spot) , some toys and you'll be just fine. I do think you'd have more fun with 2...:-)

DaDoRonRonRon

ziggyman17 wrote: »

When I said we are home most weekends, I meant sitting in not going the pub.. we spend a week at christmas with the in laws abroad and 2 weeks at the summer, other than that we never spend a night sleeping away from the apartment. The person we are getting the kitten from has a cat hotel, so we woud leave her there when abroad. Is it cruek to leave a kitten home alone for 6 hours ? Obviously we would make the apartment comfortable for her while at work..

Definitely not cruel to leave a kitten for 6 hours, they spend a large proportion of their day asleep and will adjust to save their energy for when you get home. A few others have advised to get 2 and I endorse this 100%. When your kitten is awake they will have boundless energy and the only thing that can really keep up with a kitten is another kitten. Add to that the companionship and re-assurance they can give each other and you can be guilt free when you're not home. Two really is better than one where kittens are concerned. Ideally this would be 2 littermates but this may not be affordable given that you seem to have decided on a pedigree. I have had great success with mixing two similar aged kittens from different litters and they have all gone on to be firm friends. The best of luck with the search:)

Wildcard7

DaDoRonRonRon wrote: »

A few others have advised to get 2 and I endorse this 100%.

We have 3 kittens (for the second time), and while they will eventually be outdoor cats, at the moment they're restricted to the house. With plenty of toys, scratching posts and beds, that's no problem. I work from home, but half the day I lock myself in the office, doesn't bother them in the slightest. They bounce off the walls regardless. If I open the door, usually they come in eventually and snooze on me or on the dogs bed.

But looking at how much and how intense they play with each other, I actually think that keeping only 1 kitten would border on cruelty. A kitten without another kitten misses out on a lot. And so do the people that don't get to witness the hilariousness.

Glen_Quagmire

Also considering a kitten for an apartment. Would like a pedigree breed like a Scottish fold, British shortair or Ragdoll.

I am living on the ground floor so concerned the cat will run out the door or window when they are open.

How do get indoor cats stay indoors and not run out?

Irish Stones

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Also considering a kitten for an apartment. Would like a pedigree breed like a Scottish fold, British shortair or Ragdoll.

I am living on the ground floor so concerned the cat will run out the door or window when they are open.

How do get indoor cats stay indoors and not run out?

I live on the ground floor and have a cat (I had two until a few months ago).
The best way to keep a cat indoors is to keep doors and windows shut. All the time, even in summertime. And if you need to keep a door open you could consider move the cat to another room. It's a big sacrifice, but I've accepted it for my cats' sake.
This is what I've been doing for years. For the windows you could use screens like a mosquito net or something of the kind, so you can keep the window open without letting the cat out.
I had also trained my cats on leash, so I was able to walk them outside without the risk of cars or dogs or other dangers. Now my cat is 16 yo, so she's much quieter and she doesn't roam anymore even if I leave the door open and let her out in the courtyard.

Glen_Quagmire

Irish Stones wrote:

I live on the ground floor and have a cat (I had two until a few months ago). The best way to keep a cat indoors is to keep doors and windows shut. All the time, even in summertime. And if you need to keep a door open you could consider move the cat to another room. It's a big sacrifice, but I've accepted it for my cats' sake. This is what I've been doing for years. For the windows you could use screens like a mosquito net or something of the kind, so you can keep the window open without letting the cat out. I had also trained my cats on leash, so I was able to walk them outside without the risk of cars or dogs or other dangers. Now my cat is 16 yo, so she's much quieter and she doesn't roam anymore even if I leave the door open and let her out in the courtyard.

Thanks for your reply.

Leaving doors and windows closed at all times seems a big sacrifice and doesn't look like a runner for me.

Is this the only way to do it? Surely there are other ways to keep the cat inside?

Irish Stones

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Irish Stones wrote:

I live on the ground floor and have a cat (I had two until a few months ago). The best way to keep a cat indoors is to keep doors and windows shut. All the time, even in summertime. And if you need to keep a door open you could consider move the cat to another room. It's a big sacrifice, but I've accepted it for my cats' sake. This is what I've been doing for years. For the windows you could use screens like a mosquito net or something of the kind, so you can keep the window open without letting the cat out. I had also trained my cats on leash, so I was able to walk them outside without the risk of cars or dogs or other dangers. Now my cat is 16 yo, so she's much quieter and she doesn't roam anymore even if I leave the door open and let her out in the courtyard.

Thanks for your reply.

Leaving doors and windows closed at all times seems a big sacrifice and doesn't look like a runner for me.

Is this the only way to do it? Surely there are other ways to keep the cat inside?

Unless you give them a room on their own where they can stay "segregated" while you have the run of the rest of the house, I don't see any more ways.
You could also make your courtyard and garden cat-proof, but I don't know whether your'e allowed if you live in an apartment.
I live in Italy (I'm Italian) and over here it could be quite easy to do that without hassles and interferences from neighbours. But I think that I've understood in Ireland things are different, stricter rules may apply.
I have put nets and low timber fences around my courtyard for my elderly cat. I'm quite happy with that. She can stay outside without me having to supervise her. Had she been much younger I should have done a higher fence, closed on top as well.

.......

This post has been deleted.