The best cats for first time cat owners? Post Reply

[Ontbivean]

I have always been a dog lover. But my daughter fell in love with a kitten (at a friends house). I am now thinking of possibly getting her one to "adopt". She was adopted at birth, and I would like her to be able to "adopt" a pet. She will be 7 years old in a couple of months, and my son is almost 13. I do have a senior 14 year old Boston Terrier (blind). I work from home. So I have the ability to bond and give the cat a lot of attention. I would love for the cat to have the following characteristics: Low maintenance Kid friendly Affectionate Non aggressive Thank you for your suggestions!!

[Cellojulia84]

I grew up with cats and ours were all bog-standard moggies, one adopted from a cattery and the others born in our garden to a stray mum. The last one only died 2 and half years ago at the ripe old age of 18.

By and large they tend to have far fewer health issues than pedigree cats and are very low maintenance.

There are so many lovely cats in rescue centres looking for a loving home. I my experience once you go there you’ll find that a kitty will choose you rather then the other way round. 😊

Good luck! 🐈

[Ramaboo]

Normally I would agree that rescues are the way to go. I've had pedigrees and rescues and also had rescued pedigrees (worst of both worlds!) However I recently had to choose my first cat for many years and I went with a Burmese. They are known for being affectionate, easy going, friendly and good with kids. Mine is turning out to be the ideal cat for my young son to handle.

OP there were lots of Burmese cross kittens around when I looked recently, that might be a good option? More likely to have the easy going temperament that way, but also have some moggie toughness built in?

Enjoy hunting!

[pie81]

Does it have to be a kitten?

Adopting an adult cat from a rescue has several advantages - kittens can be hard work and quite destructive sometimes, the litter training is already done, and most of all you get to see what the cat’s personality is like, whereas when they are a kitten it’s hard to know how friendly they will turn out. Plus of course, you are giving a home to an adult cat who has been given up. I would recommend Cats Protection Mitcham if you go this route.

If you’re set on a kitten however then I would agree that your best chance of guaranteeing a friendly cat is to go for a Burmese or Tonkinese or similar breed. There does tend to be a waiting list and some breeders require you to commit to keeping these cats indoors as they have little road sense. (We had 4 Burmese growing up and 2 were run over very young). They are super friendly but this does make them a bit more high maintenance as they are needy and will follow you round and miaow very loudly for attention! they also climbed into strangers’ cars on occasion...

We rescued an adult cat (moggy) who is very friendly but more chilled and less needy than a pedigree and we couldn’t be happier with her.

Hope that helps

[wasateacher]

Over the last 50years I have had a series of cats.  One of my current 2 was found as a kitten running around in Fulham High Street - he is still a bit of an outdoor cat (I have a cat flap).  The other one was adopted from a friend as an adult.  I have previously adopted cats from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and taken in other stray cats.  Each cat has a different personality, none have been problematic - other than one which developed health issues.  There has only been 1 cat which I didn't like - he was too clingy - and he is now very, very happily re-homed with a friend.

I have never had a pedigree - although used to look after 2 siamese when the owner was on holiday.   I have had a half siamese (noisy!!!)

If you adopt a kitten you will need a dirt box, etc.  If an adult and have a cat flap, you would need to keep the cat in for at least 2/3 weeks to acclimatise it.

The benefits of a cat are enormous - one kept me sane when having a horrifically bad time at work - it knew when I had had a bad day and would come and curl up on my lap - normally, it didn't.

Good Luck!!

[Lora_76]

I think that Burmese will be the best choice.They are very cute and affectionate, you will love this cat breed.