I want to get a cat

[billyjex]

I need a little buddy to kick it with while I sloth away in my one bedroom apartment playing a card game and watching TV. My place isn't that big, but I think it's got enough room for a house cat. How much can I expect to spend getting one? Any reccomendations, warnings? Should I spend the money for a pet store cat or pick up a free one that is offered in a classified?

[Los Feliz Slim]

You can very easily get a cat for free or for a small donation from an animal rescue or shelter. You will need to spend some money at the vet for spaying/neutering, shots, etc. IIRC it's in the $200-$400 neighborhood for everything, and that was from a very fancy vet.

Get a girl cat, boys piss on everything to mark their territory. If you think you can handle two cats I recommend it, and you could get siblings.

[cdxx]

get a 1-year old from a shelter if you can. they usually have all their shots and are spayed/neutered, but noone wants them since they are too old.

also get used to the smell of cat piss.

[hyde]

cats are excellent. and easy. low maintenence. unlike dogs they will not tear up valuable stuff when you decide to stop for a beer after work.
dry food only. the wet stuff stinks. and you need to feed them more often as it gets disgusting after being out for a while.
you can go away for days if you leave them a mound of dry food.
and with a good litter box there isn't any smell at all.

and if things get tough, they taste like chicken....

[cdxx]

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cats are excellent. and easy. low maintenence.

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for the most part. my gf just got one a couple of months ago. he still stinks. we have a closed litter box with filters, but it doesn't get rid of everything.

also, kittens get diarhea from everything. any sort of stress (car trips, shots, another cat, a change in their diet, skin conditions) causes it. then they sh*t the wet stuff onto their tails and run around like it's nothing. it's f'ing disgusting.

[jakethebake]

I didn't know you were a girl? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[billyjex]

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I didn't know you were a girl? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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I do like dogs more, however, there's no way my apartment could support one.

But they're so cute#$#@

[lu_hawk]

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I didn't know you were a girl? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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I do like dogs more, however, there's no way my apartment could support one.

But they're so cute#$#

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95% of dogs will sleep all day and run around when you take them out. so if you want a dog just get one.

[Blarg]

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I didn't know you were a girl? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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I do like dogs more, however, there's no way my apartment could support one.

But they're so cute#$#

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95% of dogs will sleep all day and run around when you take them out. so if you want a dog just get one.

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I disagree.

Dogs are born to run and made to run. Their genetic heritage is being able to literally run their prey to death. Unlike cats, they are very high energy animals whose nature it is to be very active for significant parts of the day.

They sleep indoors because what else do they have to do? It's not like they can crack a book, chat on the phone, or choose the t.v. channel. They sleep indoors because they have no choice and because their owners don't give them stimulation. A lot of them are miserable. They'd much rather be outside running, with or without you. Keeping any dog in an apartment is not the way to go, especially if you aren't among the most active people on earth and willing to take them all over the place.

As someone who loves both dogs and cats, I'd never get a dog in an apartment. I'm not enough of a saint to keep it from being sensorily deprived. (And a short walk every day is not a lot of stimulation.) A lap dog is a bizarre abberation of nature, but many breeds of cats make pretty contented lap cats. To a dog, that's just cruel.

People who get dogs for apartments often get them the way many people have kids -- as ornamentation and a talking point, without really thinking it through or caring too much.

Get a dog when you get a house. An apartment is like a jail to them.

[gorie]

have you looked at petfinder.com ?