Cats in flats

EricTheWeary

ThePrettyDamned said:

Can anyone recommend other suitable indoor pets that live for more than a couple of years? Especially if available at rescue?

Gerbils live until about 6, relatively easy to look after and get used to being handled very quickly. They won’t curl up on your lap during an episode of Line of Duty though. 

The RSPCA  has a lot of birds, rodents and ferrets ( quite a lot of ferrets for some reason) as well as cats, dogs and horses so it might be about working out where there is a good rescue place and popping in from time to time. 

Snags

Giant House Rabbit. You know you want to.

ThePrettyDamned

I think we'll take a trip to a local rescue centre and see what's up there. I'd love a house rabbit! But they chew cables and we have quite a few cables that would be accessible because of a 50s style TV cabinet... Wouldn't want it to get a mains jolt

VimFuego

komodo dragon?

ewal

We've got a house cat and an outdoor cat. It depends on the cat and what they are used to.

Grangousier

Giant House Rabbit. You know you want to.

I think the larger they are, the more bred for size they are and their hearts aren't good at it. One rumour I heard from the set of Teletubbies (other than that Tinky Winky and Po were an item, though come to think of it it might not have been Tinky Winky) is that because of the congenital heart conditions, the rabbits (which had to be enormous to be the right scale for the Teletubbies) tended to expire. So there was some poor runner whose job was basically clearing rabbit corpses before a shot. 

Though that's a story I heard in a pub that doesn't stand up so well on a Sunday morning. 

Normal-sized rabbits are perfectly happy with the run of the house, I have that on very good authority, and live for... six or seven years? 

EricTheWeary

Grangousier said:

Giant House Rabbit. You know you want to.

I think the larger they are, the more bred for size they are and their hearts aren't good at it. One rumour I heard from the set of Teletubbies (other than that Tinky Winky and Po were an item, though come to think of it it might not have been Tinky Winky) is that because of the congenital heart conditions, the rabbits (which had to be enormous to be the right scale for the Teletubbies) tended to expire. So there was some poor runner whose job was basically clearing rabbit corpses before a shot. 

Though that's a story I heard in a pub that doesn't stand up so well on a Sunday morning. 

Normal-sized rabbits are perfectly happy with the run of the house, I have that on very good authority, and live for... six or seven years? 

I used to work with the original Dipsy’s sister ( it’s unlikely but hello Althea if you are reading this!). 

My mother’s next door neighbour has indoor rabbits and has a whole bedroom given over to them and has had to have it rabbit proofed. She is mad as a box of frogs though and it takes up a lot of space so this isn’t a recommendation ( it’s unlikely but hello Mrs Smith if you are reading this, you are a lovely person and I think you know you are a bit loopy). 

Grangousier

I think if Althea was reading this, she'd probably have already corrected me sharply on both my bits of misinformation. 

Electro_Ham

You can train the cat to use the toilet. It's pretty easy actually. There is a training device for it. Invented by an Australian I believe. 

Sassafras

Parrots live for ages, as long as they're fed and watered. 
Some fish can live for years but they tend to not like being cuddled.

EricTheWeary

Grangousier said:

I think if Althea was reading this, she'd probably have already corrected me sharply on both my bits of misinformation. 

I think it quickly went from hey it’s cool my brother is famous ( he’s a stand up comic when he wasn’t in a costume) to hey why doesn’t anyone ask me about anything other than my bloody brother. 

But gerbils are great. As long as you aren’t expecting Richard Gere as a regular visitor.