“There’s a lot of cat videos. Cats are just hilarious.”
Lil Peep, Musician
Advantages & Disadvantages of Owning a Cat
Cats are one of the most popular pets.
Millions of people all over the world own a cat.
Even though getting a cat can make your life much better, there are still some issues of owning a cat.
In this article, the pros and cons of owning a cat are examined in detail.
Audio Lesson
Contents
Advantages of Getting a Cat
- Cats can give you company
- Owning a cat can reduce your overall stress level
- Can help you to deal with emotional issues
- You can cuddle your cat
- Cats can keep themselves busy
- Getting a cat can help you overcome difficult times in your life
- Owning a cat can help you to become more responsible
- Cats can make you laugh
- Getting a cat can improve your overall quality of life
- Cats can be important for older people
- Getting a cat can be nice if you have children
- Also suitable for smaller homes
Cats can give you company
One advantage of owning a cat is that you will have company.
Quite often, if you move to a new city, you will not know too many people at the beginning.
In such a case, getting a cat can help you not to feel lonely and to have a friend around you.
Also if you don’t have a partner right now and live alone in your apartment, getting a cat may also help you to stay mentally healthy.
Hence, getting a cat can be a great way to get some company in case you feel lonely at home.
Owning a cat can reduce your overall stress level
Cats can also help you to reduce your stress level.
Many of us work in quite demanding jobs and are stressed on a regular basis.
Moreover, some people also have to take care of their families, which implies further stress.
Hence, if you are quite stressed now and search for a way to lower your stress level, getting a cat may be a great way to do so, especially if you love pets.
Many studies have shown that owning a cat can help us to relax and to put things into perspective. Cats can also have a calming nature.
Thus, getting a cat can be a great way to reduce our stress levels and therefore to greatly improve our daily life.
Can help you to deal with emotional issues
Cats can also help us to deal with mental problems.
If you are currently in a mentally fragile state and search for a way to become more emotionally stable, cats can also help you in this regard.
You will have a purpose in life since your cat relies on you to feed it and this may give you the strength to carry on in your life and to overcome your issues.
However, getting a cat may not be enough and you should still get the advice of a doctor in order to treat your mental problems.
You can cuddle your cat
Many people also really enjoy cuddling their cat.
By doing so, they often get a good feeling and can develop a deeper connection with their pet.
Moreover, your cat will also enjoy your company much more if you cuddle it once in a while.
Cats can keep themselves busy
Compared to other pets like dogs, cats can keep themselves busy and you will not have to spend too much time on making them happy.
In fact, this can be quite helpful especially on stressful days where you have quite a lot going on in your life.
In such times, you may not have time to take your dog for a walk and having a cat instead of a dog can help you quite a lot in this regard.
Getting a cat can help you overcome difficult times in your life
Many people also develop a quite deep relation with their cats.
This can also be quite helpful when it comes to difficult periods of your life.
Sooner or later, every one of us has to go through difficult times and the world seems to collapse over us.
However, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and your cat can help you overcome those difficult periods of your life since it will give you a purpose as well as hope in such times.
Owning a cat can help you to become more responsible
Another benefit of getting a cat is that you will become more responsible over time.
Especially if you are still young, chances are that you have not learned how to take care of things in a proper manner.
In such a case, owning a cat can be quite helpful since you will have to feed your cat on a regular basis since it will die otherwise.
Hence, you can learn that your actions really matter and this knowledge is quite important, not only to keep a cat but also to succeed in various other parts of your daily life.
Cats can make you laugh
From time to time, your cats will also really make you laugh.
Cats will always surprise you and you will not be able to forecast what will happen in the near future.
Hence, owning a cat also implies being exposed to some degree of uncertainty and this can be quite exciting since you will always look forward to the next day to see what your cat will do.
Getting a cat can improve your overall quality of life
In general, owning a cat can also improve our overall quality of life.
Cats can give you company, they can light up your mood when you are down and they can also reduce your stress level.
All of this can make your life much better.
Moreover, also your overall life expectancy will likely increase since your risk to suffer from serious diseases will likely be lower by owning a cat due to all the positive effects mentioned above.
Cats can be important for older people
Especially for our older generation, owning a cat can be quite important since those old people often have not too many friends left in life.
Quite often, at a certain age, most of the friends died and those people are often just waiting for death.
Hence, cats can be quite important to give those people company so that they regain a purpose in life and that they have a reason to get up in the morning.
Getting a cat can be nice if you have children
Another upside of having a cat is that cats can also be quite nice if you have children.
Many children want to have a pet and cats are quite good candidates since they will not be dangerous for your kids in most cases.
While a big dog could do serious harm to your kids, a cat will not hurt your kids too much, which may give you a better feeling, especially if you leave your kids alone with your pet at home.
Also suitable for smaller homes
Cats are also quite convenient pets since you don’t need to own a big home. In many cases, small flats are enough to keep a cat.
Thus, if you currently stay in an apartment and don’t have the space to get a bigger pet, cats will be a great alternative for you since they can also be kept in smaller flats.
However, make sure that your cat gets access to the outside world so that it has enough possibilities to exercise so that it can stay healthy.
Disadvantages of Owning a Cat
- You have to take care of your cat
- Many people underestimate the costs of having a cat
- Your cat may get lost
- You have to clean the litter box
- Your home may smell rather bad
- Potential allergies
- Your cat may get sick
- High costs for the veterinarian
- Cats may scratch your furniture
- Your cat may get involved in an accident
- Cats may not obey
- Saying goodbye to your cat can be hard
- Cats can lose plenty of hair
- Traveling is not easy with cats
- Cats can bite you
- Loud sounds from cats may be annoying
- Getting a cat is a long-term commitment
- Cats can negatively affect your quality of sleep
- Difficulties if you want to rent a flat
You have to take care of your cat
Although having a cat has many benefits, there are also some issues related to those pets.
For instance, one disadvantage of owning a cat is that you always have to take care of it.
This means that you have to provide your cat with food and also have to solve several other issues that might arise due to your dog ownership.
In some cases, your cat may even damage or destroy things on the property of your neighbor and you will be liable for this damage.
Hence, make sure that you are ready to take proper care of your cat.
Many people underestimate the costs of having a cat
Some people also greatly underestimate the real costs that are implied by owning a cat. You will have to spend significant amounts of money on cat food.
Especially if you want to get real quality food for your cat, this can become quite costly over time.
Moreover, you will have to get vaccinations and other things in order to fulfill the regulatory requirements for your cat.
All this can add up to significant costs and you should make sure that you are ready to spend those amounts of money on your cat.
Your cat may get lost
There is also the possibility that your cat will get lost sooner or later.
Even though cats usually have a quite good sense of direction, they can still get lost, especially if they are still young and don’t know the environment around your house in a sufficient manner.
Thus, in case your cat gets lost, you may have to take great efforts to get it back somehow.
You have to clean the litter box
Another unpleasant task related to owning a cat is that you will also have to clean the litter box on a regular basis.
Many people find this quite annoying and chances are that if you don’t really love your cat, you will become quite fed up and may give away your cat at one point in time since you simply do no longer want to do this cleanup work.
Your home may smell rather bad
In general, if you don’t take care of your cat too much and if you don’t clean the litter box on a regular basis, chances are that also your home will start to smell quite bad.
This will not only be quite bad for your own quality of life, but it may also greatly annoy your guests and your friends may no longer want to come over to your home due to that.
Potential allergies
Many people in our nowadays society are also quite sensitive to allergies.
In fact, cat allergies are quite common and you should definitely take a test to check out whether you are allergic to cat hair or not before you get one.
Otherwise, you may notice your allergy too late and your cat may end up in an animal shelter sooner or later since you will not be able to take proper care of it due to your allergy.
Your cat may get sick
From time to time, not only humans, but also cats get sick and in such a case, you will also have to take care of your cat in a more intense manner.
In severe cases, your cat may even die from those diseases, which can make you quite sad and helpless at the same time.
High costs for the veterinarian
In case your cat gets sick, you may also have to attend a veterinarian.
However, the treatment of veterinarians can be quite costly and you should definitely factor this into your calculations when it comes to the decision whether you want to get a cat or not.
Cats may scratch your furniture
Another downside of owning a cat is that cats often also scratch your furniture.
Thus, if you have precious belongings and don’t want to get any scratches on them, getting a cat may not be the right way to go for you since cats are unpredictable and you will not be able to protect your stuff in a proper manner most of the time.
Your cat may get involved in an accident
If you allow your cats to get outside, they may also become involved in accidents sooner or later.
In fact, any cats die each year since they get hit by a car.
Hence, if you want to offer your cat the opportunity to get outside, you also have to know that your cat may not come back one day.
Cats may not obey
Another big issue of owning a cat is that cats do not obey as dogs do.
Quite often, if you have a dog and you trained him properly, your dog will follow your commands, which can be quite convenient to keep him under control.
However, this is not true for cats at all.
Cats come and go whenever they like and if you make efforts to call them, chances are that they will simply not obey and will hide instead.
Hence, if you search for a pet that obeys your commands, chances are that you will be better off with a dog instead of a cat.
Saying goodbye to your cat can be hard
Sooner or later, it will also be time to say goodbye to your cat.
This is probably the hardest part of owning a cat.
Over time, your cat will become a valued family member and if your cat dies, chances are that you will cry a lot and may also feel quite depressed.
Consequently, make sure that you are able to deal with those things in an emotionally healthy way before you get a cat in order to protect yourself from too much emotional pain.
Cats can lose plenty of hair
Before getting a cat, you should also know that those pets also use plenty of hair on a regular basis.
Hence, if you own a cat, you will also have to clean your home more often and if you hate cleaning your home in general, chances are that getting a cat will not be the way to go for you.
Traveling is not easy with cats
Another problem of having a cat is that it makes it also harder for you when it comes to traveling.
Quite often, your cat will not be able to come with you on your travels. In such a case, you will need a cat sitter who takes care of your cat.
However, those cat sitters can be quite costly and if you go on vacation for a significant period of time, the costs for a cat sitter can really add up.
Thus, make sure that you are ready to pay this kind of money for a cat sitter in case you want to go on vacation on a regular basis.
Cats can bite you
Even though this is rather rare, cats can also bite you.
While this will not be a big deal in most cases, you may also suffer from serious infections if you are quite unlucky.
Hence, always remember that cats are still animals with wild instincts and in order to avoid getting bitten by your cat, you may want to make sure that you treat your cat with respect.
Loud sounds from cats may be annoying
Owning a cat also implies that you will be exposed to loud sounds from time to time.
While this will not bother you too much in many cases, it can be quite annoying if you have to focus for some reason.
For instance, imagine you work from home and have plenty of complex work to do.
In such a case, you don’t want to be bothered by the sounds of your cat so that you can focus on your work and get as much work done as possible.
Getting a cat is a long-term commitment
You should also be aware of the fact that getting a cat is a long-term commitment.
Once you get a cat, you will have to take care of it for many years to come.
Sure, you could give it away to an animal shelter, yet this should be the last option you want to take since the living conditions of animals are often quite poor in those shelters.
Thus, make sure that you really want to take care of your cat for a longer period of time before you get one.
Cats can negatively affect your quality of sleep
Cats can also be quite annoying at nighttime.
If you are tired and you need to get good sleep in order to recharge your batteries for the next day, the last thing you need is the meowing of your cat which keeps you awake.
Hence, make sure that you close the door behind you in order to avoid that your cat wakes you up in the middle of the night.
Difficulties if you want to rent a flat
Also, in case you have to move out for some reason and have to search for a new home to rent, you may have a harder time finding a new home compared to someone who doesn’t own a pet.
Many landlords are rather skeptical when it comes to animals and therefore, you may have some difficulties when it comes to finding a place to rent.
Top 10 Cats Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Cats Pros | Cats Cons |
|---|---|
| Owning a cat can help against loneliness | You have to take care of your cat |
| Good if you have kids | Owning a cat can be time-consuming |
| Cats can be important for older people | May prevent you from going on vacation |
| Cats can help us to deal with our emotions | Owning a cat can be costly |
| You have a companion in life | You will have to clean the litter box |
| Cats can keep you busy | Some people are allergic to cats |
| Having a cat will make you laugh | Cats may scratch your furniture |
| You learn responsibility | Cats do not obey quite often |
| Cats can also be kept in smaller flats | Hard to say goodbye when the time has come |
| Cats can help you to overcome difficult times | Cats lose quite a lot of hair over time |
Should You Get A Cat?
We can conclude from the previous analysis that there are many pros and cons of getting a cat.
In the end, you have to decide whether you want to get a cat or not.
However, make sure that you evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of owning a cat so that you can make your decision in a profound manner.
If you want to get a cat, also make sure to provide a good home for it.
This includes offering your cat a nice cat tree which you can get here!
Sources
https://www.rover.com/blog/10-tips-help-become-best-cat-owner/
https://pethelpful.com/cats/cat-care-101
https://www.petfinder.com/cats/bringing-a-cat-home/tips-for-first-30-days-cat/
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
Wanna make a contribution to save our environment? Share it!
