Here's how to... live with cats

It’s fair to say cats are one of the most charismatic pet animals that you could own. I mean, the internet is full of them, from Grumpy Cat to LOLcats. And they seem to be the only pet to garner the obsessive cult of the cat-lady. I mean, you haven’t heard of a budgie-lady, or fish-man, right? So how can it be an animal the RSPCA cited as the most popular in the UK can be so difficult to live with?

Cats have always had a reputation as being easy to care for; they keep themselves company, take themselves for walks, and can feed themselves - although if you’re squeamish, you might want to ignore this fact. But, as any owner will tell you, it's far from easy. Sharing your house with a kitty is like living with a tiny diva. There’s a reason people say they own dogs, but are owned by cats.

I live with two cats at the moment. There's the enigmatic Jiji who seems to spend her days curled up asleep quietly, but leads a night-time double life as an indoor marathon-runner, pine cone-collector and ham addict. And then there’s Arthur, the parkour expert and treasure hunter who spends half of his life hiding in cupboards and opening doors to get to forbidden areas.
Despite their mischievous ways, there are benefits to sharing your home with a furry feline. A number of scientific journals, news websites and doctors have extolled the benefits to cat owners’ social lives, mental and physical health and empathy. It has been suggested that living with a cat can reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and your risk of a stroke, as well as some of the more obvious benefits like tackling loneliness and low moods.

So, this 'Here's how to…' can be summed up in one word if I’m honest, although hopefully you did enjoy the humorous asides. That one word is respect, with a side order of love. And of course a little knowledge.

Fabcats.org is a great resource for leaflets on how to care for your feline friend, from feeding to entertainment, vet visits to multicat households. And I would urge you to check local re-homing centres if you are looking at a furry addition to your household. It may be hard to remember your cat isn’t bringing you half-chewed dead animals out of spite, or vomming on the floor in protest because you washed their favourite toy. It’s pure and simple animal instinct, and they can no more help it than you can help cleaning the various smells they make, or taking away that 3-year-old crisp packet they have formed a weird attachment to.

And if your cat can live with your annoying habit of hogging the warmest spot on the sofa, then you can live with your cat meowing at the bedroom door for cuddles at 2am, right?

That said, there are a few issues that you shouldn’t tolerate: inappropriate toileting, aggression, misplaced scratching or destructive behaviour can be signs or poor physical or mental health, and should be checked out by a vet.

So, although hard work, there are many benefits to cat ownership and you should remember this at the less attractive moments of petdom. Like the daily litterbox clean, or dishing up the foul goop that passes for catfood. And hopefully you’ll be joining the ranks of cat-ladyship very soon.

Me? I’m already there. I can tell because as soon as I mentioned I would be writing an article my family and friends immediately asked me what cat-related subject I'd be writing about!

By Louise