If you’re thinking of getting a cat, and have kids, or are thinking about kids soon, I’m going to share an honest review of cats and kids.
Should you get a cat with a baby? Or with grown up kids. Should it be a kitten or a second hand cat? (Second hand cat? Felt right, but maybe the better term is rehoused, re homed? Ex stray? Street cat?)
What’s it like having a cat when you have kids?
A little about my cat.
First, let me tell you a little about my cat. He’s called Mike. He was a street cat from Southend and he moved in with my sister. She couldn’t keep him so having just had our cat put to sleep, we took him in.
She promised he was cuddly, kind, soft and quiet.
And you know what, he is.
But this cat is Jekyll and Hyde.
He’s all those things, and more. But he’s also a food snatcher, a random attacker, an ankle biter.
We had Mike for a few years before we had the girls. When Ida came along everyone warned me about cats sleeping in the cots, and I learned about cat nets.
This is actually a real issue, I guess the reason why cat nets exist.
Before we had Ida, he slept in her cot, in the sleepy head, and in the baby bouncer.
When Ida was here, he did the same, though never when she was in it!
Today, we find Mike tucked up with her, on her pillow, or in bed with Martha. He loves them.
Should you get a cat when you have kids?
Cats require attention, and cuddles. And if by the end of the day you are checked out and touched out, the thought of having a furry feline on your lap might just be too much.
It’s said stroking a pet is meant to help calm you down, but when you’ve had a child attached to you all day, your hair pulled, yoghurt thrown at you, been a human napkin, and carried two kids and a scooter back from the park, the last thing you want is the cat slinking towards you with cuddle eyes.
Trust me.
The cost of having a cat when you have kids
Cats are also hungry. So it’s another mouth to feed.
Mike used to eat out of bins, and he still eats birds. He probably still eats out of bins. He’s got a strong stomach and can tolerate any food. There’s nothing he won’t eat.
But, if you get a fancy cat, you need to keep in mind that their diet may be more expensive. Tiger food from Asda might not cut it for them.
Here’s what we spend on Mike each month, and we don’t get the premium food, or fancy “soups”. He once had cat milk but that was my husband misreading “oat milk” on the shopping list.
- Food (Wet and Dry) £20
- Insurance £10
Then you have annual booster jabs which are about £50.
And other health concerns. Mike loves a fight. So an abscess can set you back £70-£100
A bladder infection once cost about the same.
The pros and cons of a rehomed cat
There are so many cats in need of homes. Owners die, move or just can’t look after them anymore. All of this adds up to places like Cats Protection full of cats that need a little love.
We’ve had a kitten, and a second hand cat.
Kittens are great. They climb and play and sleep in cute positions and their ears are unnaturally large for their heads.
They’re also a pain in the arse. Climbing curtains. Climbing your legs. Eating your toes. Chewing wires. Attacking your pen when you’re trying to write. They scratch everything.
Second hand cats, or rehomed cats, can be kittens or grown cats. Let’s imagine you get an older cat.
Here’s the pros
- It’s already toilet trained.
- It understands scratching posts (mostly)
- It won’t climb your limbs when you’re trying to feed it.
- Cheaper than buying a kitten
- You know their temperament (if you get from a shelter, and not find on the street like we did!)
- Require less attention and supervision than a kitten! If you’ve got your hands full with kids, and older cat out of kitten years might be best!
Cons.
- They can come with baggage. Mike is clearly food obsessed because of his past.
- Often you don’t know their age. Mike was between 1 and 7 when we got him.
What’s it like to have a cat, with kids?
My kids love, love, love the cat.
Mike is so tolerant of them both. In return all he asks for is a head scratch or a nose kiss. Sometimes he tells them off with a hiss or a nibble, but gently enough…
He is so food obsessed that we have to watch him like a hawk when the girls are eating. He’ll literally take food out of their hands.
He’ll eat anything too. Once I saw him eat an avocado and a banana skin.
I grew up with a cat and I loved having him sleep on my bed and sit on my lap. It’s great to get the kids involved in feeding and looking after the pets.
So while Mike drives me, and more so my husband, crazy sometimes, I would say kids and cats go quite nicely together.
If you are rehoming a cat, make sure you learn about the personality of the cat and check if it’s a cat that would be good to live with children. Some cats just need a lap to sit on without unpredictable toddlers.
Having a cat with kids, 7/10 stars.
Would recommend. He drives me insane. He always interrupts bedtime. He once jumped in the kitchen window, stole a burger from a pan and ran out the back door. He’s a pain.
But he’s teaching the kids to be kind to animals. To nurture them. To love them. And that is pretty special.
Fromthemotherside 
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