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Help?
So I can't even explain how crazy the past few weeks have been...it seems like every day something goes wrong in our new house. Looks like we need a new boiler already, we have some water coming into the basement when it rains, our disposal is broken, and then last night we found mice. We set up traps (not those evil sticky ones though) and tried sealing off any holes we could find, but now we have to get rid of our bunny 
I'm very upset about it, we've had him about a year in a half and he's the cutest thing ever...the poor thing has been going crazy and we've been told that the mice are probably terrorizing him (stealing his food and bedding), so giving him up is best for all of us. Emma's actually being very good about it, she's sad but we told her that he has to go so he can go be a grown up and fall in love and make his own bunny family.
That was long...anyways, I need some help because DH and I discussed it and we're going to get a cat for the dual purpose of keeping mice away and giving Emma a pet. Any advice on indoor vs outdoor? Is there any way to pick a "good" cat (one that scratches or goes crazy, esp with the new baby coming)? Male vs female?...also, I really want to avoid having everything smell like cat.
TIA
Re: Help?
I personally don't like outdoor cats. There's a lot more risk for disease, fleas, and they don't stay as clean. People do it, but I'm not a fan. My mom sort of had an in-between compromise, where she had a dog door and a fence. This makes it less likely for your cat to come into contact with other cats, but there are still other animals in your yard, that carry disease, and our one cat would jump the fence and get in fights, and all three would bring in dead animals from time to time. On the upside, they mostly used the bathroom outside so she didn't have to clean their litter box very often.
I prefer girl cats, because they are less likely to spray and mark territory. I have had four girl cats and none of them made the house smell. They also tend to be less aggressive, and are much less likely to get in fights with other cats.
I would stay away from feral/rescue cats if you're concerned about the cat going crazy, because they take a little while to become 'tame' and are less predictable. You can still get a cat from a shelter, but make sure it came from someone's home. Alternatively, people are often giving away kittens in the paper and on Craig's List. If you're truly worried about scratching, you can get covers for your cat's claws or get it declawed, but then it will be much less effective against mice. I hesitate to recommend getting a cat to catch mice, though, if you want it around your baby (again, mice carry disease!).
I also don't like outdoor cats. I would be too nervous having them outside, you never know what can happen. Along with what laura already said with fleas, disease ect.
Well, we're trying to get rid of the mice now, I don't really want a cat to catch mice, I've just been told by a few people that having a cat has kept mice away (we have a friend that lives near a graveyard and since he got his cat - indoor - they haven't seen anymore mice, but she hasn't brought any to them and they haven't found dead ones). Plus we'd really like Emma to still have a pet, and she loves cats.
Ah, I see. Maybe a cat would be a good deterrent, then!
Have you tried those things that plug into a wall socket and emit some kind of noise? I can't remember what they're called, but a friend of mine had a rat problem and they really helped.
We always had a cat growing up, but because my mom and I are both kind of allergic, they were mostly outdoor. I didn't realize people actually had litter boxes for a looooong time, and they gross me out. My uncle had some trick for feeding the cat like organ meat (like, get a whole chicken, and give the cat the organs from the bag) so they'll be interested in catching things like mice, but I have no idea if it works. Cats just either seem to be interested in it, or not.
We never had trouble with fleas or disease; we just always had a flea collar.
For a mostly outdoor cat, my one piece of advice is to only put their food inside, because ours was outside, and the raccoons would try to eat it, meaning our cat would get in fights with the raccoons.
I second this part. I have four cats - 2 are mousers and 2 are not. One of the non-mousers chases flies like nobody's business, though.
Indoor-only cats tend to have a longer lifespan as well, since they're not as exposed to predators & disease. If you live in a more rural space I think you could be okay having your cat at least partly outdoors but beware some people REALLY don't like cats and will shoot/trap if the cat wanders onto their property.
I can't imagine having an outdoor cat. H and I talked about it (we have a lot of annoying "critters", chipmunks, ground hogs, moles, voles that get into the garden and have absolutely destroyed our lawn). I would have to have like zero contact with it, otherwise it would end up being our second indoor cat. My best friend growing up had an outdoor cat and she would come home with all sorts of scratches and cuts all the time, all dirty. There were several times she came home with lacerations severe enough that they had to take her to the vet immediately. I would worry constantly about Kaycee if she were outside.
I'd also advise against de-clawing. There are a significant amount of cases where a declawed cat became aggressive because it didn't have a sufficient method of defending itself. I cut Kaycee's nails every week. The more often you do it, the more the quick recedes and the shorter you can cut them. And you can always try Soft Paws.
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im not sure where you live, but where i live in the country, everyone only has outdoor cats. my in laws have always had cats, the last 2 lived to be nearly 20. they slept either indoors or outdoors, ate indoors, had a kitty litter box, etc. but they would spend significant parts of their days outside. never any issues with fles or diseases. every now and then they would get in a fight with another animal, but that is normal.
i dont have cats, never have, but just making another point for an indoor-outdoor cat
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The Princess of Anything is Coming!
Had a dream I was queen.
Woke up. Still queen.
Laura, our cats were defintely less pets than animals that came around to be fed. They would come inside for a few hours, and overnight. They were plenty affectionate, but yes, much less a pet than our dog is now.
But they were great critter catchers!
Oh yeah, don't declaw outdoor cats.
We used the soft paws for a while on our cat (thanks to whoever said it, I forgot the actual name!). If you choose to do that, be sure to check your cat's feet regularly because they do come off. Our cat actually chewed hers off pretty frequently. Not all cats are really bad about scratching, so it might not be a really big deal, but even though ours didn't scratch us much, she wreaked havoc on our furniture. Since she'd still 'scratch' even with the softpaws on, if one came off it was enough to cause issues. Also, softpaws on a hardwood floor drove me batty! But if you're used to dogs, I guess they always make that clicky sound so it would be NBD.
I know a lot of people are against declawing, but I have never personally witnessed an issue with aggression in a declawed cat, and I have known lots.
Edit: I looked into it, because I'd never heard that aggression was supposedly a side effect of declawing, and everything I'm finding says it's not. I understand that people have issues with declawing, but it doesn't affect the cat's personality. Sometimes spaying/neutering does, though. And it's a good idea to do that as soon as it's appropriate to reduce the possibility of unwanted behavior (aggression, marking, etc)
I have two cats, but they live indoors. My MIL's cats are indoor/outdoor and because of where there house is, they are okay being indoor/outdoor. I would keep tabs on flea meds monthly (Advantage or Frontline) since they could bring in fleas (even humans bring in fleas on clothing & shoes w/out knowing it); flea collars these days are actually poisonous so I personally wouldn't put one on my cats.
Also if you want a cat, I would try to find a reputable rescue w/a cat that's been socialized, maybe even try fostering before adopting one. that way you can figure out if you're a cat family or not.
Laura - I recommended the Soft Claws
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While running the risk of sounding like a ***. Any animal you adopt is a crap shoot. Even getting a kitten, you have zero clue what their adult personality will be like. If you're looking to get a cat on the off chance it may be a mouser, then you are getting one for the wrong reason. Also I am not a believer in declawing (read what the procedure actually is) or outdoor cats (you're running many risks having an outdoor cat including disease and death). If you clean the litter box regularly then you shouldn't have issues with cat smell. All of this aside, you should buy a rat zapper for the mice, and not get rid of your rabbit to begin with. Cats scratch for many reasons, and if it does scratch one of the girls, you need to think about how you will handle that situation *before* you bring one into your home.
www.ratzapper.com
Growing up we always had indoor/outdoor cats but there was always a litter box. Most of the cats were definitely pets. There were a few who were more animals than pets but most of them wanted the attention and whatnot.
The cat that found me in college (yes, he showed up at the backdoor after a night out and meowed til we brought him in) is probably a rare case. I tried keeping him inside and it worked for about 3-4 months but then he got out one and came back when he wanted. He was litter box trained and everything. This cat lets you know when he wants attention and wants to be loved on. I finally stopped fighting with him and let him come and go as he wanted. This cat is also the cleanest cat. He bathes himself and the dogs at my parents house. He's also a hunter. We finally figured it's just his personality.
Basically, you have to figure out what's best for your family. Look at shelters and see if they have an adult cat that's good around children. Either way, good luck!