Cat pawrent opens up about apparent "regret" of adopting a kitten, receives uplifting support from the their digital feline family: 'It's a normal feeling to have'

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Feb 25, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Howdy, y'all. If you're reading this as a feline fan, but not yet a pawrent, let us give you one quick piece of advice: adopting a cat is a lot of work. It changes your life, mostly for the better. But once you sign those adoption papers, you are now responsible for a living being other than yourself. It sounds obvious, but once you realize the weight of caring for something you love so much, you realize how much it can affect your day-to-day life. 

No more whisking yourself off to a vacation on a whim, you now have to make sure someone can take care of the cat. Working from home no longer becomes a full workday - you now have a fluffy feline to distract you, for better or for worse. After adopting a 9-month-old kitten, the pawrent in this post opens up about their "regret" after adopting. It's totally normal, and luckily, the digital feline family helped them understand that it will all be worth it in the end. Read the full post below!

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  • 01
    Feeling regret after adopting a cat
    via Hanna from Pexels

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I'm 25m years old and just got a cat. I've been living by myself for 3 years now and just adopted a 9 month old last week. I grew up with cats and dogs so I'm used to taking care of a pet. She's very affectionate and sweet and pretty well behaved.
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976
  • 03
    However, I do feel some regret. I live in a one bedroom apartment and I feel like there are some challenges. When I say she's affectionate, she really is. She always wants me to be paying attention to her or else she meows or swipes at me. I have beds and places she can relax
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976
  • 04
    by herself, but she wants to cuddle with/on me at all times. She also meows a lot if I close a door to shower or do something where I need her away for a bit. I just don't know how I'm gonna have friends or dates over with how much attention she wants.
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976
  • 05
    I always liked the independence I had when I lived alone. I feel like maybe I'm mourning my independence. Did anyone feel this before? Feels like it be easier if I lived in a bigger place.
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976

  • We also felt a little regret when we adopted our first cat. Would our lives ever be the same? Will we ever get our “social life” back? We put it in quotations because we were never especially social people, but we liked having the option to be. It's normal! Everything will even out once they get older.

  • 06
    Edit: Maybe I didn't express my feelings right. I really like my cat. I like that she's cuddly and affectionate. She is a great cat. I've bought a bunch of toys, scratching posts, and a cat tree. I have a hybrid work schedule and I play with her throughout the day. I also have automated toys for her to play with when I'm working. I'm doing my best to give her a good life.
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976
  • 07
    This post was to see if people also had these feelings because I feel guilty about having them. I was wondering if this was a normal feeling to have for your first pet in adulthood.
    via u/Tricky_Variation4976

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  • 08
    4 71-01
    via yacobchuk

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 09
    trashl3y 1d ago she's a kitten and she's probably bored. play with her and tire her out and give her stuff to climb. I would highly recommend a cat tree, I believe they're necessary for kittens and cats as cats love to climb and scratch and most have scratching posts attached.
    via u/trashl3y
  • 10
    honestly if you want to take a lot of that off of you and if you can afford it, I recommend adopting another kitten to play and teach boundaries with your current kitten. they always say two is better than one and I rescued two ferals abt two months ago and it makes my life a lot easier that they have each other when I'm busy.
    via u/trashl3y
  • 11
    Cartoonist No3755 • 1d ago The rule for cats is 3 months. You have to give them 3 months to adjust. She's probably spent her life so far being tossed home to home or in a shelter. You're the one that took a chance on her, took her out off loneliness and suffering and she knows that. So she's showering
    via u/CartoonistNo3755
  • 12
    you with love. She will calm down, she's just really thankful right now and you're all she knows. She's also a baby. Is she spayed? She has a lot of energy right now so try to get toys for her. Not necessarily hand toys that you have to play with her with, but electronic ones.
    via u/CartoonistNo3755
  • 13
    https://a.co/d/8Pwpb2g This is a hit for my 2 cats on Amazon. If you have a date over you can put her in a spare room or let her play with this before to get some excess energy out. A cat scratching post and cat tree will help also, something a little taller so she can be higher up
    via u/CartoonistNo3755
  • 14
    and have her own space. It's a big adjustment for the both of you, as well as your independence but in time you'll both learn each others schedules and routine and everyone will adjust and i know that regret will be gone. Thank you for adopting.
    via u/CartoonistNo3755
  • 15
    Cheezburger Image 10472105728
    via Placebo365

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • We didn't adopt a second cat until our kitten was much older, but now we kind of wish we had. Sure, it's 2x the amount of litter boxes and food, but watching our cat and the new kitten play together has been such a joy. If they had both been kittens, it would have been even cuter!

  • 16
    paisleycatperson • 1d ago . Regret is pretty normal early on. But... You should be playing with her every day at this age.
    via u/paisleycatperson
  • 17
    If that's not going to work for your lifestyle, that's ok, reach out to the adoption organization.
    via u/paisleycatperson
  • 18
    . urbanproject78 · 1d ago I think it's a normal feeling to have, especially as a first pet when you've enjoyed being independent and doing your own thing for a while.
    via u/urbanproject78
  • 19
    I also live in a 1 bed place and adopted an 8 month old domestic short hair almost 6 months ago, experienced massive adoption regret after a couple of weeks when she went from cuddly to skittish in a flash. I joined a few cat subs here, did
    via u/urbanproject78
  • 20
    some research and learned that I thought I'd provided cat friendly props it wasn't enough so invested in higher cat trees + a couple of window hammocks. Few weeks later she slowly became less skittish - she still gets startled a bit but not as much, she is cuddly on her terms
    via u/urbanproject78
  • 21
    on her terms and that's fine I reckon it's part of her personality. I can't think of my life without her now, she's a bit crazy but so loveable at the same time
    via u/urbanproject78
  • 22
    Kitty is still exploring her new surroundings too, she'll take her marks when she's ready. It's still early days, you're still getting to know each other, learning your routines and sharing your space/living together
    via u/urbanproject78
  • 23
    It will take a bit of time, hang in there it's definitely worth it!!
    via u/urbanproject78

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adoption kitten animal rescue adopted uplifting feline digital family support forever home Cats loving cute kittens regret animals
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