Seeking apartment-friendly pet suggestions

July 4, 2009 3:20 PM

Looking for suggestions for an apartment-friendly pet. Or: Is a cat right for me?

Years of dealing with roommates have left me stressed out and miserable. So, I finally decided on getting a place all of my own - the single best decision I've ever made. I'm very introverted and prefer solitary activities, so I won't get bored living on my own. However, I do love animals and would prefer to have another living thing there with me.

The apartment is a small one bedroom - I'd estimate 400 to 450 square feet - on the eighth floor. Pets ARE explicitly permitted in the lease, even though AFAIK landlords can't legally forbid you from having a pet where I live (Ontario). I'm out for about 8-9 hours every weekday, and the inside temperature probably fluctuates from 20ºC in the dead of winter to 27ºC in summer (no AC). I have experience with animals, so I know this is not something to take lightly.

Now, I'm a dog person - however, at this point in my life I have neither the space, the time nor the dedication needed for a dog. Many of my friends either have or have had cats, and are trying to convince me to get one. Their arguments are convincing: independent yet tame, doesn't need to be walked, poops in a box. Never having owned a cat, though, I do have a few concerns. First, I'm not sure if my apartment is even big enough for a cat. Second, I'm scared my cat will at some point somehow end up on the balcony. Finally, there's the whole "cat pee" thing.

If I were to get a cat, it would either be one of my friend's cats she can't keep or one from a shelter.

Originally, though, I was thinking of getting something smaller - rats, for instance. I know even less about smaller animals than I do about cats, so I'm not really sure where to start. The only thing I do know is that I do not want a bird - they are noisy, skittish and don't seem to like me for some reason.

So, hive mind, I need your help here. What would you recommend given my situation? Should I get a cat? Should I get something smaller? I really find all animals pleasant, so it's really hard to decide on just one!

posted by wsp to pets & animals (19 comments total)

I thought I was a dog person until I got my current cat. It just takes the right animal to turn you. :3

450 square feet is more than enough room for a cat so long as you provide it with plenty of vertical space.

I find that cats are much less maintenance than small animals. A caveat: a CAT, not a kitten. Kittens are unholy terrors that survive only on merit of their cuteness.

Overall, I think cats are the perfect apartment pet. Go to a shelter, just meet the cats to get a feel for them, they should have temperament cards on their kennels so you can read and learn about them. Or check http://petfinder.com. You can certainly find one that will fit your lifestyle (and not be likely to dash out onto your patio).
posted by srrh at 3:32 PM on July 4 [1 favorite has favorites]

Get some cats.

I have a similar apartment and have two cats, a mother and daughter. I think two is better than one, especially if you are gone most of the working week. It might be best to get cats who are young or have always been indoors. I keep the door to my 3rd floor balcony open and aside from unnerving me when they jump up onto the wood railing, there has never been a problem or escape attempt.
posted by pseudonick at 3:38 PM on July 4 [1 favorite has favorites]

Rats are lovely pets, but a lot of people hate them, so you might weird out friends or family. They need out of cage time, so you need to be sure to give them enough of that. They tend to chew on wires.

450 square feet is enough room for a cat or two. Cats mostly like having vertical choices, not horizontal. That temperature range is okay for a cat, though you need to leave windows open in the summer. Scoop often, and you've got no pee smell from the litter box.

Remember that even though you're a dog person, if you get a cat now, you're a cat person until the cat is probably about 15. Depending on the cat, this might mean you cannot get a dog for that length of time.

Your cat is not likely to escape from a balcony, especially the 8th floor.
posted by jeather at 3:39 PM on July 4

yep, two cats, not one... they will be happier when you are gone.....
posted by HuronBob at 3:46 PM on July 4 [1 favorite has favorites]

450 square is more than enough for two dogs, let alone just one, as i have learned living in nyc where 450 square feet can be the size of a two to three bedroom apartment. my current apartment is smaller than that, is a two bedroom, and i have both a dog and a roommate. we are happy! my dog is small-ish but i know people with big dogs in similar situations, and it's fine—it's not like your dog is going to be getting its exercise indoors, you're going to be taking it for walks, and it's not like a dog is going to be the equivalent of a human roommate that you will want to have private space from.

i've lived with cats in big and small apartments and man, if you think your place is small, wait until you're sharing it with a litter box. gross! my dog sleeps 22 hours a day, doesn't bark, and does all his business outside. if you get a cat now, you may not be able to get a dog for at least the next decade, maybe two. don't do it! get a dog!
posted by lia at 3:52 PM on July 4

srrh is right about kittens being unholy terrors. Everyone else is spot on about vertical space, and having two cats is better than one when you're out during the day (I have two cats that I've shared 3 different apartments with, one that was 500 sq ft.)

But two caveats/reiterations:

1. Cats are much more finicky with other cats they live with than dogs typically are. My two cats get along swimmingly, they've basically grown up together. But I've known other houses where the resident cats just barely tolerate each other.

2. Scoop. Every. Day. And get a good litter. And scoop. Every. Day. It's not like scooping takes a long time, maybe 5 minutes tops. But the frequency is the critical piece to keeping litter box smell down.

Other than that, yah cats are perfect pets for working adults in small apartments/condos. I'm a cat & a dog person, but cats are just way easier at this stage of my life.
posted by whycurious at 3:56 PM on July 4

I have two cats in about 400 square feet. One of them is a terror; I got the second one to help him with that. And me.

Two shedding animals in 450 sqare feet is a fair amount of hair and dust. Well, actually, it's a lot. That's fine if you are prepared for it, and if you are meticulous in keeping it at bay with a good Kitty-Hair Eradication Program. (KHEP, on my chore list.) The best possible food will help with that, but you still need a good KHEP. Prescription Feline r/d wet has been a miracle product in this regard.

Also, 450 sqare feet is not a lot of room for two cats to run and chase. They don't do it a lot, but still. And be very careful in the kitchen, even if you only end up with one cat. You lift a boiling pot from the burner, you step back, and there's little Fluffy, and then ...

If you decide to get two cats, get littermates. I cannot emphasize that enough, especially if you've never had cats before. And even litter mates are not necessarily companionable; it's just that you have a fighting chance that they are.

I would urge you to get not only an older cat, but an older fostered cat. The foster parent can provide insight into behavior, and if things don't work out, the pet typically goes back to the foster parent, not straight back to the shelter.

And as I said in another post, a cat or dog is about 15 years of your life, maybe more.

My deceased kitty was one of the best things that ever happened to me. My current girl is wonderful. The boy continues to be very, very difficult. He needs a behavioral expert. If he'd been my first pet (apart from childhood), there'd probably be no others after.

Have you thought of a bunny? They poop a lot, chew everything, and cool room temperatures are a must, but there are a lot of urban apartment bunnies out there.

Good luck with your choice!
posted by jgirl at 4:18 PM on July 4

Could you arrange to look after a friend's cat(s) while their owners are on vacation, to see how you like the experience? If you love cats (which I think you have to have one around for a while to confirm), then their little idiosyncrasies, and the less pleasant tasks associated with taking care of them, will not be a big deal. But if you don't like them all that much, then this stuff can generate a lot of resentment after a while.

Also, seconding the comments about lots of hair. I have two cats, in a house about twice the size of your apartment. It seems like they shed enough hair in a typical month to assemble and entire extra cat. But they are adorable little cartoon characters, so it doesn't matter.

The temperature range you mentioned doesn't sound like a problem, especially if there are cool spots and warm spots in the place. They'll probably want to hang out on a hard floor when it's at the hot end of that range, and they'll want to sit in the sun at the colder end.
posted by FishBike at 4:48 PM on July 4

folks who are saying you will never be able to get a dog are not necessarily correct.

We've got five cats from 4 to 17 years old... we added a puppy to the pack last year (puppy is a Husky, who are known to sometimes not get along with cats) she was smaller than the cats when she entered the house... cats were curious, but soon taught the puppy who was boss.

Even Whittie...the elder cat, learned to deal with the new addition.

A year later dawg has not eaten a cat... a couple of them said "stay away", Whittie smacks the dog once in a while, and the 8 pound Siamese plays chase with the dog....
posted by HuronBob at 5:24 PM on July 4

I second finding out some way to try owning a cat before actually owning one (fostering, or borrowing a friend's cat are good options). I love cats, but I think I could only live with a really big, mellow cat that doesn't get around much... And if I had a door to my kitchen so I could keep the cat out of it and off my counters. I grew up with outdoor cats and was not prepared for how different it is to live with an indoor cat. They are curious and they are independent and you can't really train them. Some people love this about cats. I really dislike this about them.

Fwiw, I also love dogs but am not ready to live with a dog either, and may never be.

I've heard great things about rats, and I think maybe you should give them a try. Right now I have a green cheek conure, and she's wonderful. I'm a big fan of birds (but I see you don't want them, and you have good reasons). I love my conure (I better! She'll be alive for a long, long time) but if I were to do it again I'd get a pair of semi-tame budgies or cockatiels, because I'm realizing that while I like interacting with my pets, a lot of the pleasure I get from them is the act of taking care of them and watching their antics (but fish and reptiles and most rodents don't quite do it for me. I like rats and gerbils. And guinea pigs, but they're not rodents).

I've also had experience with rabbits. They're great and get everywhere less than cats do, but they can be fairly destructive and chew everything, so you'll have to do a lot of constant bunny proofing.

So things to think about are how much you want your space to remain your space, and how much interaction you want with your pet. And also lifespan. Will getting this certain pet mean another pet you want is off limits for the next ten to twenty years?

Btw, what to do you mean by, "and there's the whole cat pee thing?"
posted by quirks at 5:38 PM on July 4

Everything srrh said. I am a dog person, but I'm crazy about my cat, whom I have had for 16 years and who is currently perched on the back of the couch where I'm sitting and is watching me type this.

But I also know that I really, REALLY lucked out when it came to Zach, because he's got a temperment that really suits what I needed in a cat -- he's always been pretty self-sufficient and self-entertaining. I adopted him when he was about a year old (I don't know for certain -- it's a long story). When he was younger he did play with me a lot -- one afternoon he even got me into a game of fetch (all I had to do was sit on the couch and keep throwing something for him to chase when he picked it up, brought it back to me, and stared at me). But these days he mostly naps, occasionally in my lap -- and occasionally on the couch (although, he's still spry enough for me to have caught him standing on top of the refrigerator one morning). He's always been good around other people -- trotting over to them curiously when they come in and checking them out, but not eagerly twining around anyone's ankles. He doesn't even set off people's allergies that bad.

So Zach as a single cat worked. Having only cat also cuts down on the "cat pee" thing -- if you're talking about odor. If you're talking about whether cats spray outside the litter box, I've never had a problem with that (I did get him fixed within a month after I adopted him, so that may be part of it).

Maybe spending some time volunteering at a shelter may be a good idea for you -- you can "meet" different kinds of animals and see if any of them click with you. The kind of animal is only part of it -- the personality of an individual animal is also a big part of it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:08 PM on July 4

Cats are ridiculously easy to housebreak. Most shelter kitties already know how to use the litterbox; otherwise it's literally just a matter of plopping kitty in the box immediately after eating/drinking.

My orange furball came pre-neutered, so I never had to deal with spraying, but Kestine has this thing about rubbing his face on EVERYTHING... including me. XD I find it adorable, I just have to make sure whatever he's rubbing on isn't too sharp or otherwise dangerous.

I'd suggest getting a bunch of lint rollers and stashing 'em around the apartment-- next to the door, next to the bed, within reach of the couch and wherever you happen to be. That said, you're more or less condemned to cat hair forever, but it helps to be able to minimize the amount of fuzz.

Final tip: camera. Get one. Well, if you have a cameraphone, that's fine too.
For some reason, cat owners turn even the non-photographers into camera freaks. I'm guilty of being one of 'em. >_>;; My twitpic account is mostly pictures of Kestine being a lazy ball of sweet orange loving. ^_^
posted by Yoshi Ayarane at 7:13 PM on July 4

Definitely enough space for a cat, or two. I generally do recommend multiple cats, but there are cats who are happiest on their own - if you can get a cat who's been fostered with someone for a while, they'll have a good idea of his/her personality and you can specifically look for either one loner cat or two who you know get along well.

If you do decide to go with something smaller, have you thought about ferrets? Ferrets are fairly awesome. Though you might want to try to meet one in person first, as some people really don't like their musky smell. (Though when I lived with ferrets, weekly bathtime pretty much kept that in check, and watching two ferrets paddle happily around in a bathtub is a fun way to pass some time.)
posted by Stacey at 7:15 PM on July 4

Sugar gliders.
posted by hermitosis at 8:15 PM on July 4

For the cat pee issue, I highly recommend some sort of automated litter box. I own a Littermaid, which, despite there being two other non-automated boxes in the house, seems to be the only litterbox in use. The cats love it b'c they don't have to deal with the other's sh!t; I like it b'c I don't have to do litterbox maintenance every day nor do I have litterbox stink in the house. If I smell cat pee, then that means one of two things: 1. AJ has peed in a spot she shouldn't have (it's a way for her to get revenge on me for bringing another cat into the house); or 2. the Littermaid's dump tray is overflowing. (If you really don't want to deal with the litterbox at all and have room in the bathroom, check out the LitterGenie... or maybe it's called the CatGenie...)

A 450sqft apartment is more than enough room for a cat or two. My two lived with me in some really small, cramped places and, when we had bigger places, they put up with roommates and dogs and other cats.

Cats are a near perfect pet.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 11:25 PM on July 4

House rabbit. They are as loving and fun as a cat or a dog (I've owned many of all 3) They can be trained to use a litter box and for an added bonus, they are mainly active in the morning and the evening, they sleep in the daytime, the ideal pet for a busy young professional.
posted by Helga-woo at 3:40 AM on July 5

When I lived in apartments, I had all kinds of pets- lizards, box turtles, fish, salamanders, insects, gerbils... but finally I got a permanent job and felt I could have a cat. Now I have no interest in any other kind of pet- as LOLAttourney says, they are pretty swell. However, I have friends with other kinds of pets, and I need to be fair: my friends with rats rave about their rats, and my friends with ferrets love their ferrets. I have a friend whose cat and a guinea pig play together, and my opinion of guinea pigs has risen with acquaintance with him. I have a friend with parrots, but I'd have to say that parrots are extremely social and need a lot of attention- more than a cat does- for their mental health. I can veto pigs and hedgehogs, having a friend who has had both.

Yes, two cats are better than one- I got a kitten, and he needed more company than I was providing while working, so I got another kitten, and the two of them adored each other until they grew up, then they tolerated each other.

Good luck.
posted by acrasis at 9:18 AM on July 5

Nthing that a slightly older cat will be much easier. The difference between a kitten and a one-year old is that yes, kittens are ZOMG SO CUTE! but also, yes, unholy terrors. Especially in the "adolescent" months.

One-year-old cats often haven't grown quite to full size yet, and have some residual kitten-y ZOMG CUTEness. Plus, everyone wants a baby from the shelter, so you're more likely to be saving the animal's life (if that gives you an extra glow.)

Some cats are aloof, some want to play fetch for hours. Spend some time with the cat and pick one with which you feel like you have some affinity.

Don't let the cat on the balcony if it makes you nervous, but also remember that the cat has a powerful food-and-water-and-love motivation to not explore beyond the immediate balcony.

The cat pee thing is often as simple as keeping the litterbox and the area around it clean. If there is an incident with some revenge or illness peeing, just clean it up immediately.
posted by desuetude at 10:52 AM on July 5

Rule #1 with cats: You do not choose the cat, the cat chooses you. Just be open to the kitties you meet and the right one will melt your heart.
posted by ohyouknow at 10:11 PM on July 5 [1 favorite has favorites]