Hello from Scotland

[Yvonne]

Hello Pam and     to Purrs

Good luck with your new kitty

[nutzy]

Thanks to you all.  I feel so    I am so looking forward to our kitten arriving.  One of my colleagues at work gave me a beautiful cat box in anticipation of our new arrival, and we are absolutely thrilled with it.  At the moment I wouldn't consider 2 kittens because firstly I have to consider the cost of everything, especially vets bills,  and besides, my husband is always at home - we live and work in a beautiful boarding school in rural Perthshire, and his office is (sadly) in our lounge, so he'll be there nearly 90% of the time, so kitty will very rarely be lonely.  I can almost guarantee that he'll probably spend more time playing with it (I'm not sure of the sex just now) than working. 

I have always preferred to have 2 cats, dogs, rats, etc so they have company, but I don't want to overextend ourselves (or our daughter's) finances especially now when everything is so uncertain economically.

Regarding the speying of mummy cat, I have not asked to be honest.  Surprisingly they have had Xena for 3 years and this is the first time she's been caught  .  Some people can be a little naive to be honest, and i think they thought that because their Tom had been neutered, that she was safe.     

Anyway, I am really looking forward to meeting everyone and reading about all your kitties.  I do have some questions which I'll start posting soon.

[MrsR]

  to Purrs x

[Janeyk]

  Pam, looking forward to photos of your resident rats 

[Bazsmum]

  to Purrs.....

[Tiggy's Mum]

  to Purrs   

Glad you've found us, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here.  It really is a very friendly forum with lots of friendly helpful advice, if ever needed, and of course lots of fun.

I do feel it my public duty to warn you though that it can be a teensy bit addictive  You have been warned 

If your friends cat has only just given birth you'll have plenty of time to prepare for his/her arrival.  Might you consider getting two kittens?  Twice the fun and they will keep each other company and entertained so actually less work    Is your friend getting Mum cat speyed soon, that really would be best for her - lots of advise here on that too if needed 

[Topsy Turvey]

  to Purrs x

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Hi Pam,

  to Purrs.  As you are no doubt discovering this site is a mine of information please all the members are incredably friendly and helpful so feel free to ask any questions and we will be more than happy to answer where we can.

BTW ... even though we are a feline forum we like all "furries" so if you have any pics of your boys we would love to see them.

Sam, Foxy, Zephyr and Rossi xxx

[Christine (Blip)]

  to Purrs, Pam, glad you found us and decided to join 

We have a number of rat-lovers on here (and I'm not talking about their menfolk  ) so you're in good company.  I'm sure you'll get plenty of good advice about an indoor cat too.

[nutzy]

Hi, my name is Pam and I am a South African living in Scotland (5 years now).  For the past 5 years we have kept rats, (yes, you read right - rats  ) which have proven to be wonderful, intelligent animals, and we have thoroughly enjoyed them.  Our current 2 boys are in their autumn years and starting to slow down quite substantially and don't get out much anymore.  My 16 year old daughter is now looking at getting a kitten.  We have a friend whose cat has just given birth this weekend, and Ashlee is very keen to give a home to one of them. 

In South Africa we had cats for many years, and when we left for the UK, my parents took ownership of them.  They are much loved babies to my father since my mother passed away 18 months ago, and have been his most attentive and constant companions, for which I am very grateful.  It would be lovely to have a cat again as I feel that a cat makes a house a home, and although this little one will unfortunately be an indoor cat as we live in a flat, we would certainly give it the best attention.

Because we have not had an indoor cat before, I will probably be asking a few questions regarding housetraining, etc so be forewarned  .  I am currently a regular member of the fancy rat forum, which I have found an invaluable help for all my ratty needs.