My Purrfect Pets Series focuses on different bloggers and their families – including their furry family of course! We all have different lives and I find it amazing to get a glimpse into other peoples homes and connect with them on all levels so I put them under the grill and ask them some questions. As a pet lover myself, I’m always keen to investigate how other people are doing it. This is a pet-positive series that any families with a pet of any kind can take part in, send me an email if you’re interested in being the next featured purrfect family!
Browse the previous posts in the Purrfect Pets Series.
Today we’re with Emma from Me and B Make Tea. You can follow Emma on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram!
Emma has previously written about How to Introduce your Newborn to your Pet, which folks may find very useful!
Can you tell us a little about the animals you have and your family?
Before we had b, we already had four cats. They’ve been part of our life since 2006 and i grew up with cats too. I knew that b coming along wouldn’t change that either. I find a lot of people have to rehome their cats once a baby joins the family but I swore this wouldn’t be us. I’ve volunteered in a cat shelter in the past and it’s so sad the amount that get taken in because people feel they can cope with cat and baby.
Do you think your children will benefit from growing up in a household with pets?
Yes absolutely. Having the cats around helps b to be patient – sometimes they need feeding before I can get a snack or drink out! They’ve taught him to be gentle and kind. And I read once that children who have pets have less illness. It may be a load of rubbish but on the whole b has a stomach of iron!
4 cats must lead to quite a busy household! How much extra work do you think is involved every day taking care of your pets?
4 cats is a lot and it can get a bit much sometimes. I found it tough when b was a baby. We were in a smaller house (we’ve since moved) and the female decided to poo in the lounge. This stressed me a lot as cleaning up cat poo on top of sorting your newborn just isn’t relaxing! We’ve since moved to a larger house and the cats have a lot more space to themselves. The whole of downstairs is hard floor so it makes it a lot easier to clean up any poo/wee/sick too!
Luckily they all go into the garden to poo so we don’t have to sort litter trays at home. My husband does clean the garden borders every other day though or it gets maxed out!
Do you find that your cats have very different personalities?
Yes! They are all so different. We have Oscar who we rescued in 2006 and we think he is around 14 years old. He doesn’t act old though. he likes to keep himself to himself and he is wary of my son. Then Niles and Daphne (yep we named them after our fave sitcom) joined us in 2007 as kittens. They are both quite shy too and wary of Bran. Niles loves a cuddle on an eve though and will come up on the sofa with us. And then there is Jerry. Jerry found us in 2011 – he literally turned up on our doorstep and we noticed he didn’t look good. He wasn’t chipped, he was under weight, dehydrated. We couldn’t find an owner so we took him in. And he is completely bonkers! He is the most loving and he will follow us around like a dog. He has to be near you, on you, with you all day. And he and Bran have been firm friends since we bought bran home from hospital.
What would you say is the most challenging thing about having your cats?
Jerry likes to spray up things. He has been neutered and we’ve spoken to the vet but it’s just his thing. If he feels stressed he will spray. he’s taken to spraying on the kitchen sideboard, up the main oven plug. It cost me £40 to get it repaired as it burnt inside! Also Jerry and Oscar hate each other. Jerry often bites Oscar’s tail and this costs a good £100 for antibiotics at the vet if it gets infected! Yep, they are expensive!
What would you say is the best thing about having your cats?
Hmm let me think…nothing lol! Not after all the stress! I’m joking. i really think they make the house a home. I love that Jerry loves us so much. He really does. Cats are great too if you want a pet but don’t have the time to commit to a dog. Cats get on with things themselves and they are happy to go do their own thing.
Do you have any advice for anyone who is thinking about adding cats to their family?
Take it slow, breathe and start preparations early if you need to. For examples all four cats used to sleep in our bedroom before Brandon came along. We had to transition them to being just in the lounge. We started a few months before he was born!
4 Comments
I’d love 4 cats, now to convince the husband. I’ll show him these posts to show him it’s doable! 😀
Hi Rose! Definitely show him. I’ve got a whole host of families lined up for this series with all sorts of pets proving that families with pets can be very happy and successful! Do you have any pets at the moment?
I have 5 cats and a newborn on the way so this is very helpful. I’m worried about keeping them out of the cot. Does anyone have any help on that?
Lovely post. I think it is so beneficial for children to grow up around animals. Well done for juggling it all!