The Pets Thread

Congratulations on your void. Had a cat who was just like it for many years. Lived inside the sofa for a few weeks, behind the oven for a bit, didn’t see the thing for days at a time but food was eaten, etc.
Domino didn’t become “friendly” for a long time and even when years older would do everything on her terms. Eg, no stroking unless you were in a slightly uncomfortable position (she would sit behind you, etc) and with no threat of suddenly grabbing her.
Would turn into a whirling ball of teeth and razor blades when trying to get her to the vets. Once jumped up the chimney to avoid being put in her carrier.
Calmed down eventually and, while never a lap cat, she became extremely sweet. Until my daughter was born and Domino wanted nothing to do with that, thank you very much.

Jim, living in a built up area you now have 2 choices.

1: An inside cat and your house stinks of shit/piss. This will happen regardless of cleanliness. You will just become immune to it like all cat owners do.

But your house will stink of shit and piss. Ignore the claims on the boxes of kitty litter or the claims of the folk that think their house doesn’t stink, because it does.

It stinks of shit and piss.

2: An outside cat. Your house won’t stink, but there’s
a not insignificant risk that you get a dead cat due to cars, mopeds, dogs, foxes etc.

We also have an indoor cat. She is mental.

The house doesn't smell of shit and piss but that's mainly because Mrs. Seán is at home during the day and obsessively cleans the tray (which lives in the downstairs shitter anyway) as soon as she's dropped a wad. The cat I mean. Mrs. Seán does not shit in a tray.

Anyway I was ambivalent at first (the cat was with Mrs. Seán when we met 5 years ago), but she has won me over. Again, the cat I mean, not Mrs. Seán. I quite liked Mrs. Seán from the start.

Heads up Jim: Sean smells of cat.

We had 2.

Berry (named before the creation of this site), friendly from day one, lovely cat, wondered off one day and never came back.
Fizz, angry skittish thing, mellowed with age but if you tried to stroke her for more than 15 seconds she'd try and have your arm off.

My take home from Jim's opening tirade here is that his house has lots of holes in it and may have a few more when comet gets stuck whilst playing hide and seek.

Have you tried rubbing her nose in it?

Our apartment never stunk of piss and shit even with two cats.. one of whom was a prodigious pisser and shitter.

The cat’s diet will influence this. The remaining cat is now on a wet food diet and her poo has a punch it never had when she was on dry stuff. Fortunately we now have a bigger house and a laundry where the shit’n’piss box can be kept safely away from everywhere else.

Yep, I think you have to price in a certain amount of hum, particularly with an indoor cat.

Our rescue cat was named after such hum, when she used her litter tray indoors for a few weeks before being let out in the garden. Quite pungent

Mind you, Ming the Merciless was fine after she went out and we had her for another 12 years

I lost my sense of smell completely for a number of years which meant I couldn’t smell dog shit or cat piss no matter how substantial the offering. It was probably heavenly although i don’t notice.
I still didn’t get a pet.
My sense of smell returned a year or so ago since you’re asking.
Truth.

Have a cat and outsource the shit pick up to me. 6 dog poo bags full from the side of our drive the other week. It's great.

Grew up in a house with a cat. Didn’t really like or dislike them. Didn’t really like dogs due to some bad experiences with them when a child.

The now wife had a 6 month old cocker when we got together. She was great and died last March. Still miss her and think about her a lot.

Not saying it’s the same for everyone but I found so much more in a dog than a cat.