Should Dane S get a kitten or two?

[Dane S]

I'm 21 years old and currently living in NYC and playing pro poker. The plan is to remain here until next fall when I will start at St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM. Right now I'm subletting a studio apartment in Manhattan, and in Jan I'm most likely moving to Brooklyn and sharing an apartment with a friend of mine for the duration of my time here.

I love cats, kittens especially, and I think that having one or two around would make my time spent holed up at home playing poker/reading 2+2 much more enjoyable and mentally healthier. My worry is that maybe I'm a little too nomadic and whimsical for this responsibility. I would have no problems with taking care of them, but I wouldn't want to feel held back from travelling or anything like that. I do have friends around who I'm pretty sure would take care of them happily for a month or two though if I asked, though I can't be positive of this. I know I'd pet sit in a second for any of them if they asked me, but I really really love animals.

Second concern is the future. I'm not really sure whether I'll live in a dorm at St. John's or what. Considering I'm going in as a freshman (they are a weird school and don't accept any transfer credits), I'll be about 4 years older than my average classmate which makes me think living off campus might be good. OTOH, I do enjoy many aspects of dorm life and I'm sure it will accelerate the process of making friends and all that (also higher PV for sure, but I don't really think I'll have any trouble on this front either way). Do I have to reach a decision about this before I can consider the kittens or can I wing it and decide later? The college rules say no pets in the dorms, but I've seen this go unenforced at many colleges I've visited, and I'm guessing St. John's will be on the liberal side of residential life as it has a pretty whacky and freethinking educational model. Also, I have good cash flow so having a dorm room AND an outside apartment for the cats is always an option though it wouldn't be very convenient... perhaps I could use it like an office or something though, might be cool.

Also there is the question of one or two kittens. Does it make a big difference in time/responsibility? I like watching animals interact with each other, especially cats, so that would be the reason for two. I also like the idea of them having a play partner for when I'm not around/not paying attention to them.

Thoughts?

Cliff notes: read the post, you lazy [censored]. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[4_2_it]

If you already know that you will be leaving for a month or two at a time, you should just wait. Your cat will get attached to you and leaving it for long periods isn't good for it.

Just wait until things settle down and you have a better idea of what your living arrangements will be for the next few years.

[Shajen]

If you plan on not being home a whole lot, and your future living arrangements are in doubt, I'd say wait on the cats.

However, if you feel like you must get a cat, get two. They'll have a lot more fun/be less lonely if there are two of them to play with each other, etc.

But, if I were you, I wouldn't do it til I knew what my living arrangements were gonna be. It's not fair to the animals.

PS:

NO ONE OWNS A CAT.

[Dane S]

[ QUOTE ]

PS:

NO ONE OWNS A CAT.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah I grew up with cats and definitely realize this... their independence and sometimes feisty personalities are a big part of why I like them so much.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I vote no cats.

[Dane S]

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[4 High]

Id say wait, and get two.

[tuq]

[ QUOTE ]
However, if you feel like you must get a cat, get two. They'll have a lot more fun/be less lonely if there are two of them to play with each other, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree with this. About five months ago I got a 4 month old kitten, he was great but I started to feel badly about leaving him at home alone for 12-14 hour stretches. So a couple of months later I picked up another kitten to keep the first one company. While they have two totally different demeanors - the first one was no doubt excess from someone's litter that was taken to the pound, the second one was found on the street and definitely has a little bit of gangsta in him - they get along great and definitely are happy to have each other around.

[Dane S]

You guys who say wait, are you saying I gotta decide between the cats and travel? It does make sense that it would be bad to leave them alone especially early in their lives and I wouldn't want to do anything remotely harmful. If I firmed up my plans a bit would you be more willing to suggest that I do it?

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
You guys who say wait, are you saying I gotta decide between the cats and travel? It does make sense that it would be bad to leave them alone especially early in their lives and I wouldn't want to do anything remotely harmful. If I firmed up my plans a bit would you be more willing to suggest that I do it?

[/ QUOTE ]

While the travel is something to consider, one month a year is fine, but 6 months a year you probably wait.

However, more importantly, I think the fact that in one year you might be living somewhere that does not permit pets is a much bigger issue to resolve.