Kittens to Cats in East Dulwich

[TimmyBaggins]

We're wanting to get a kitten for our lovely new home around the Crystal Palace Road area. Our only concern is the traffic on the road and various junctions. Has anyone had any similar fears or have any suggestions for cat safety in the area. Or is the general consensus that it would be too dangerous..

Thanks.

[Monkey]

This is the question that all cat owners would like an answer to. If you go through the RSPCA London South East branch (inundated with cats and kittens at the moment), they'll visit your home and will be able to advise you. It could be that your home is better suited for an indoor only cat. Crystal Palace Road is not too busy though so I think you'll be fine. There's always an element of risk, wherever you live.

[TarahC]

Hi, I foster for the RSPCA. We have 2 lovely 13 week old kittens at the moment, as well as several mums and kittens. Please give us a call and we can come and have a look at your house and advise you. Crystal Palace Road isn't too busy, and in London we'd never rehome any cat if we turned down everyone living on a road :) We always recommend you keep cats in for a while when you get them, let them know where the food and love is, then let them out. Most are pretty street-wise but, as always, accidents do happen. If it's something you're worried about and wouldn't be comfortable with then we do have 2 lovely indoor cats at the moment, but we would never recommend a kitten be kept indoors.

Give Iris a call on 0208 670 4992 and she/Debbie (who lives in ED) can come out and do a housecheck. Alternatively, see our link for the cats we have:

http://www.catchat.org/rspcalse/cgibin/prtoc.cgi

[Salsie]

Hi

I have a cat and live near there. I have a back garden which he goes in and as i am mid terrace he cant really get to the road. However he also goes out the front window but doesnt stray far. Although he is not a kitten I inherited him from a lady who lived in a quiet cul de sac and he has never bothered about the increase in traffic - though I am not on Crystal Palace Road which is far busier. I think you would just need to be careful about initially letting him out and hope for the best. I grew up in a very quiet, small village and poor old smudge met his fate under the wheels of a car...

[legalbeagle]

TarahC - we would love a cat but my husband is very allergic. Are there any types of cat that cause less allergies or are we doomed?!

[Asset]

I once met someone who had a breed of cat that was hairless, I would imagine that's good for people with cat allergy. It was pretty ugly though.

[TarahC]

To be honest, if he's very allergic, you're unlikely to have much luck. The obvious choice is to go for short-haired cats rather than long-haired ones... but they all moult and that'll be the major issue. I wish I could help, we have so many cats that need homes! You are welcome to bring him over to see the cats I have and see if he starts sneezing! But otherwise, I'm afraid, thatthere's nothing else to do :(

[Penguin68]

You will find reference to cats that don't cause allergies here - it's not just the fur actually, but the fur and skin cells which can cause reactions, so hairless cats could be as bad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5375900.stm

[legalbeagle]

Thanks for all the advice. I wish it was just a bit of sneezing, because he'd probably put up with that, but he actually gets very bad asthma......might have to wait and see whether the very expensive american allergy free cat ends up cheaper and over here!

[TarahC]

Hmm not sure we'd ever get one of those handed in to the RSPCA but you never know!! I'll keep my eyes open. Interesting to read about the allergies though, I've never known much about it. Thanks, Penguin.

[Gimme]

TimmyBaggins - if you get a girl cat and make a point of keeping the front door shut and never letting them out the front it shouldn't matter if you are near a road, particularly if you are in a terraced house like a lot of them on CP Road.

Girl cats are a lot less likely to head off and roam it would seem.

We've had 2 girl cats for years and only on about 2 occasions have they ever been out on the road side of the house. On both occasions we didn't see them sneaking out the open door while doing bins. On both occasions, they were so gobsmacked at the world outside the front door they just stood there and were easy to grab and put inside again.

[annaj]

Hhmmm...

Not so sure about that as a general rule. Our girl cat is out and about every day and often meets me at the front door despite always going out the back. She has come home covered in cobwebs, plaster, grit, mud and bright red gloss paint and bearing gifts including, but not limited to, a live toad the size of her head, a range of other cats' toys and once, embarrassingly, a croissant still in its bag.

In answer to the original question, if you have outdoor cats in a city or near a road, of course there is always a chance they'll get run over, but I tend not to worry too much about it.

[annaj]

Oh and ps cat allergies are provoked by enzymes in cat saliva transferred onto both hair and skin through grooming.

[Jeremy]

A cat who brings you croissants... I'll have one of those please.

Less of the toads, though.

[Gimme]

AnnaJ - not sure it's scientific but we've got 2 girl cats, our neighbour has a girl cat, and a previous neighbour had a girl cat and they are all much more limited in range than the boy cats in the neighbourhood. Maybe depends how they are brought up.

My mother-in-law's small cute grey girl cat (which lives in the country) disappears for days on end and kills anything in sight (with the exception of croissants, which she's very merciful to) but that environment is what she's used to.

[Muley]

Kittens to cats- is this a feline version of the '90s R&B act Boyz 2 Men?

[bignumber5]

Maybe depends how they are brought up

Award for the most Dulwich statement ever!

Still worries me that ours will get run over one day. But, to continue the Gimme cat parenting concept, if you love them then you have to let them go...

[annaj]

Maybe depends how they are brought up

Crikey, it had never occured to me that it might me my fault.

Am I a bad cat parent? I do work full time. Oh, the guilt.

[DeptfordDiva]

Legalbeagle, there is a product you can buy to help with cat allergies, its called Petal Cleanse, you rub it onto the cats fur and it stops the spores from shedding. A colleagues son is very allergic and he took a Persian home and used it. As far as i know he doesnt have to use it at all now and has no problem. Having said that, cats tend to be blamed for most allergies when in fact in most cases its nothing to do with them.

[legalbeagle]

Thanks DD that's really interesting and perhaps a more likely solution that the ?4,000 kitten, which my husband seemed to find rather pricey. SO unreasonable! We do know for certain that it is cats he is allergic to (and horses actually but I won't be keeping one of those in my small back garden...) so that product may be worth a go.

TarahC if we got one from you and the product didn't work would you take the cat back? Husband really does get very bad asthma so we just couldn't keep it if he stayed allergic. Also I have two chickens a dog and two children so we might need quite a brave but mellow cat. Is there such a thing?!

[TarahC]

Hi, you could foster it first maybe and see how you go but you'd need a spare room to let them settle in and that would hopefully then contain any reation he might get to just that room. We have some mellow cats in at the moment, you'd need a younger one as they're more likely to adjust to the children and dog. Unfortunately I have no idea if any of them are good with dogs as none of them had dogs at the homes they came from. I'm at the vets tomorrow and they have a dog that roams around freely there so I'll have a chat with them and see which one has no problem with it. The 2 boy tabby kittens we have have no problem with anything, it's all interesting to them! And they may adjust. But unfortunately they did just get brought back as the son turned out to be allergic to them... It's worth giving Iris a call on 0208 670 4992 to discuss your options

[bignumber5]

legalbeagle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks for all the advice. I wish it was just a

> bit of sneezing, because he'd probably put up with

> that, but he actually gets very bad

> asthma......might have to wait and see whether the

> very expensive american allergy free cat ends up

> cheaper and over here!

Asthma is a tad different to getting itchy eyes and a runny nose in hayfever season, in it's severe form it's a potentially life threatening condition, and it can be triggered by allergies. How much do you want that cat, really?

[legalbeagle]

Quite right BN5 and it's not as if we don't already have pets.....I too am asthmatic (though not with cats) so am sympathetic to his pleas not to inflict moggy on the household. I shall think about it!

TaraC thanks for all the advice, I'll get back to you if we decide to give it a go.

[pommie]

You can also try a product called petal cleanse which is for animal allergies. You wipe it on the cats fur and it stops the pores etc from coming off the cats which causes the allergies.