Cat in an apartment

Muahahaha

I've been wanting to get a house cat for ages now but didnt as I had hoped to be moving from an apartment to a house and was holding off till I had a little more space. Now it turns out I'll be here for at least two more years and I don't want to wait that long.
So although the house rules say no pets I don't see it as being a problem with the management co. as a neighbour in another block already has a cat staying there three years now without any problems. My main concern is if the cat began to make noise like wailing out when I'm not there or something, then it could become a problem if people complained. So with that in mind Im trying to decide what would be best for me and my circumstances. I'd absolutely love to get a kitten but my worry is if it constantly mi-aows it could cause a disturbance. Im asking for advice if people think this usually would be the case with kittens, that sometimes they just like making mi-aowing constantly for the sake of attention or otherwise? Is it the case that cats normally quieten down a lot when they are adults and only really call out when they are hungry?

I'd be keen to hear from others who keep cats in apartments, I love animals and want to give a cat a good home but at the same time I don't want to get one and then have to be giving it back several weeks later. The walls in my apartment aren't paper thin or anything but if there was a cat wailing chances are other people would hear it and be disturbed by it. I work from home so would be here 80-90% of the time which would help a lot but I'd be worried about what can happen when I'm out.

maggiepip

Its a tough one really, obviously if you were considering a dog Id advise absolutely not as management would find out pretty quick. A cat is a bit different as it will just stay inside, however if your management company are very strict and spots the cat at the window or hears the cat they could make your life a misery. We had two cats in an apartment we lived in about 14 years ago when we shouldn't have , and management never found out, however I took a stray dog in to the apartment temporarily, while trying to find a home for her, and a member of the management company made my life a misery for the couple of weeks I had her, she constantly harrassed me until we found a place in rescue for the dog. Her nastiness was not something I would want to encounter again. So while a cat is less easy to detect than a dog, you are risking a lot of trouble and heartache on youself if found out.

Pumpkinseeds

It's really important to get permission from the Management company. As tempting as it is to risk it and just get a cat it would be a nightmare if you were trying to hide the cat and someone was complaining to the management company about the cat. If you were to adopt from a rescue most rescues would ask if as a renter you have permission to have a pet.

Rips

Echo what others have said, you should also consider the responsibility you take on when you take on a pet, it *should be* a commitment for life, at this stage you shouldn't be thinking about the alternatives!

If you don't own your own property then you do need to have the financial security to move or make other arrangements if something becomes an issue. Its quite difficult to rehome cats privately.

With that in mind, consider rehoming instead of looking for a kitten. With a young adult cat you will have much more knowledge, a kitten will be pot luck and you could end up with something very vocal, or very destructive. It can also be difficult for rescues to find indoor homes for cats who have always lived indoors.

We have lived in an apartment with a cat for years, even if its allowed by your management company or if you own the apartment, you can and will still get complaints from neighbours.

We lived in a place with very bad floor insulation, and our downstairs neighbour would come to the door visibly distressed about the noise of the 'cat running' .... now obviously, seeing that we are like 70kg+, we make more noise walking on the floor then the 3kg cat does... but people are as odd as feck, she was disturbed by the 'scampering' :rolleyes:
Our lights shook when upstairs walked anywhere, but when you have pets, non-pet people will use it as an excuse.
Even still, its not nice.

Where we are now we have good soundproofing, but the feral cats outside make far more noise in any case, and at all hours of the night!

miezekatze

I would recommend getting an older cat that is not that active anymore and mainly wants to relax. I used to live in an apartment and my cat is quite playful and active. She seemed happy enough at the time, but since we've moved into a house about a year ago she's been so much happier (she's still indoors only btw). I don't think living in the apartment was ideal for her. There just wasn't enough space to run around and it was quite high up so the view out of the windows wasn't as interesting to her. My apartment was quite well insulated so we didn't have any issues with noise, but again if you get an older/lazy cat you're not as likely to have any issues with this.

Definitely ask your landlord for permission first though, it wouldn't be fair on the cat to just adopt one and then be told to rehome it a few months later.

Gosh_idiots

I think you should def get permission from your management company first. I'm not sure what the set-up is like where you live, but where I live, all the apartments are owned by different landlords and we have a management company who just takes over the running of the place etc. It's worth checking out if it's the same for you. Maybe your neighbours are allowed but you may not be? Some people will complain about anything too so at least if you have permission from them there'd be less chance of having bother if an unfriendly neighbour got involved!!
Imo kittens can be extremely noisy at times. We used to have one that miaowed crazy loud for EVERYTHING. She was high energy and the only time you'd get a bit of peace is late in the evening when she'd curl up for a little while to sleep... but if we got up to leave the room to go to bed she would whine and whine. :P While you can train them .. it's harder to do in an apartment when you have neighbours about! I'd say unless you have permission from the landlord/management company then you'd be safer holding off getting one until you have the right space etc. Last thing you want is to have a lovely little kitten and end up having to rehome her or have the stress of looking for somewhere else that accepts pets. I've been there and it's NOT fun
In saying all that, if you're still going to get one, I'd say go for an older cat that's more settled! Good luck!

Muahahaha

thanks for all the very helpful replies. I take on board what others say about kittens tending to be more noisy, I already knew it really but just needed to be told. As far as permissions go I know my landlord doesnt have a problem but I'm unsure about the management company. I do see a cat in the window of another apartment in a block nearby my own one but I don't know are the mgmt co aware of it and not bothered or that they don't yet know of it. I know I should just ring them and ask but from previous experience with them the answer will be no because once they hear you are a tenant they dont want to deal with you. I know myself that I could get an older lazy indoor cat and not have any problems at all but at the same time I'm unsure of taking the risk, on one hand its not fair by me to adopt a cat if a neighbour does complain; on the other I really want to have a cat as company and know I'd give it a great home in its senior years. I plan to be here another 18-24 months max and am then buying my own place, I know thats not too far away but I've wanted a cat for 5+ years at this stage so its just driving me mad that I can't without the feeling that I'm always looking over my shoulder and uneasy about it=(

Pumpkinseeds

Maybe fostering would be the right option for you? As long as you can show a rescue that you're landlord is OK with you having a cat then they might be happy to let you foster a cat. You never know, you might find the perfect cat for you and it would allow you to see what having a cat in the apartment will be like without having the long-term commitment of adopting.

Shivi111

Wanted to echo what others said about an older cat, we had our first kitten when we were living in an apartment and thought all was fine... until he got bigger. We were determined he was going to be an indoor cat so apartment living would suit him, but (even though he is nuetered) he had a very, very different idea. He wailed constantly to get outside, attempted to launch himself from forth floor windows and was generally miserable. We had evey cat tree and toy but he is just a boy born to be outside.
Living in a house now where he has access to a garden and he is so much happier.
You could be lucky and get a kitten happy to stay inside (our other cat doesn't mind) but at least with an older cat you have an idea of preferences when you get him!

Muahahaha

OP here, just wanted to update this thread. In the end I got a 5 yr old cat who was indoor only. Have him nearly a year now without problems. He is very happy and makes me happy too. My landlady is cool with it but the MC don't know. It's not really a problem as he doesn't sit in windows or anything. It's worked out well so far and hopefully this year I'll be moving to my own place where he'll have more space.

Shenshen

Muahahaha wrote: »

OP here, just wanted to update this thread. In the end I got a 5 yr old cat who was indoor only. Have him nearly a year now without problems. He is very happy and makes me happy too. My landlady is cool with it but the MC don't know. It's not really a problem as he doesn't sit in windows or anything. It's worked out well so far and hopefully this year I'll be moving to my own place where he'll have more space.

Glad to hear that! And thank you for giving an older cat a home!

Muahahaha

Yeah I have him nearly a year now and am still over the moon with him, he's such a dote! The first few months were tricky as he is only one generation removed from a wild cat and also the previous owner was in semi retirement and bought a holiday home abroad where they'd spend a month at a time away from home which meant he was being put into their friends houses or to a cattery. In fairness to them they realised this wasn't good for him as he needed stability of location and familiarity of people around him due to his semi wild nature.

When i got him at first he was very scared, in fact the first morning I got up out of bed he had somehow made it all the way to the top of the kitchen presses (which was some jump in the pitch dark at night) and was hiding way up there near the ceiling and behind a plant scared out of his wits! Slowly but surely though he built up trust in me and now he spends his evenings curled up on the sofa beside me purring and looking for rubs. He is a long haired cat too and I think me grooming him gently (which he loves surprisingly!) also helped him to trust me more. Nowadays 10 months on he's the king of the household, he knows how to open doors and he certainly knows how to wake me up in bed by jumping on top of me and kneading his paws on me so he can get fed! I love the little rascal

Gunslinger92

Picture?

Muahahaha

Here he is:)

Gunslinger92

Ahh he's only gorgeous!!