If you’ve ever longed for a furry feline friend but your parents need some convincing, you’re in the right place.
We’ll help you navigate the path to purr-suasion and make your dream of having a cat a reality.
Let’s embark on this journey of how to convince your parents to get a cat.
What Are Your Parents Worried About?
Most parents aren’t too fond of allowing their kids to have a kitten or cat for one particular reason: responsibility.
In fact, I bet you’ve already heard your parents say, “We’ll just end up taking care of it.”
This extra responsibility is only one of the concerns that are running around in your parents’ heads when you ask them for a cat.
Your parents are also picturing scratched-up furniture, litter boxes, and added expenses. Each of these represents additional hassles in your already-frazzled parents’ lives.
A parent’s mind is being torn apart by an endless amount of new tasks and concerns every single day.
It’s no wonder most of them don’t react fondly to hearing their kid wants a pet. So, rule number one for how to convince parents to get a cat is to ease their fears.
How do you accomplish this monumental task? Our next section will guide you through the process.
How to Convince Your Parents to Get a Cat
Do you want a cat but are having trouble bringing up the idea to your parents?
It’s not an uncommon problem, as many of your kids have this same issue every single day. But convincing your parents isn’t as tricky as you may think!
You just need to understand their concerns and provide solid counterpoints. One little note, though: we are not telling you to pester your parents.
Now, you can use these as tips for how to convince your parents to get a cat after they said no. However, if they told you to drop it or let it go, please respect them.
Sometimes, parents have to say no to things they don’t want to for very good reasons that we don’t always understand until later.
We’re going to go over an 8-step plan that should help convince your parents to get a cat.
These steps will put them in a better frame of mind about whether you’re ready for this responsibility.
1. Make Sure You Truly Want a Cat
It’s essential to ensure you want a cat before getting one.
This decision needs to be absolute when approaching the idea with your parents. It’s not something to take lightly.
Many people fail to ask themselves whether they’re capable of caring for another living thing.
As a result, numerous adopted cats end up being returned because the kids weren’t ready or unwilling to take care of them.
Please do everything to ensure you aren’t one of these people. After all, shelters are already overrun with cats that nobody’s willing to take.
So, before you even step foot in the room to try to convince mom or dad to get you a cat, make sure you can answer this one question very, very well: why do you want one?
2. Do Extensive Research
Once you’ve decided owning a cat is the right move, it’s time to get into research mode.
You must look up everything about cats and kittens, including breeds, developmental traits, and nearby vets.
These pieces of information will provide preparation for your parents’ onslaught of questions.
In fact, your ability to answer these inquiries will be pivotal in easing their stress about getting a cat.
It’ll be an early indication that you’re more than prepared to have a cat in your life.
3. Plan and Save Money
Taking care of a cat isn’t cheap.
You’ll have to pay for several items to keep them in good condition, such as food, litter, toys, vet trips, and much more.
As a result, having some money saved up before talking with your parents would be a wise move.
This alone may just show them that you’re serious about being a responsible cat owner.
You can use this money to back up your arguments and form some tangible, concrete plans.
4. Prepare For the Talk
After getting everything from our previous discussions together, it’s time to introduce the idea casually.
It’s a smart idea to test the waters rather than diving headfirst. We’d suggest trying to time the conversation based on their moods.
You’ll want them in a calm, relaxed state where your reasonable arguments might have an impact.
But it’s pivotal to use a respectful tone and manner when bringing up this discussion.
At this moment, your primary purpose should be to find out how they feel about cats and their reasons for not having one.
Convincing them to get one will come in the following steps.
5. Create a Pros And Cons List
Develop an extensive list of the advantages and disadvantages that come from owning a cat.
It’s essential to keep the cons within your plan to ensure you don’t come off as biased.
Don’t be tempted to exclude or sugarcoat them!
The willingness to accept these cons will show them you’re more than willing to deal with the ugly realities of owning a cat.
It’s another way to show you have a handle on what cat ownership entails.
You can then present this list to your parents as a way of easing their concerns.
6. Develop a Compelling Counterargument
Your next step is turning those cons into positives.
In other words, you should develop a well-constructed counterargument to any aspect of cat ownership your parents view as a deal-breaker.
It’s all about combating these issues with insightful solutions capable of alleviating any parental roadblocks.
For instance, your parent doesn’t want to get a cat because their litter boxes are disgusting.
It’d be smart to research how to decrease their smell and show them an easy solution to this common issue.
7. Patience is Key
Rushing your parents for a final decision is never the right move.
Applying pressure on your parents will make them more likely to decide there will be no cats for you.
It’d be better to approach them carefully for anyone who wants to own a cat anytime soon.
It would be best if you found ways to bring up your feelings in a subtle way rather than talking about them 24/7.
I’d recommend commenting on it a couple of times a week or bribing them with good grades.
8. Become a Pet-sitter or Foster Parent
If the bribery and constant reminders didn’t convince them, try asking them to let your pet sit or foster a cat.
It’ll act as a trial period and provide even more evidence that you’re ready for cat ownership.
This method will take a bit more effort and time, but it’s a truly responsible way to decide whether your family’s cat is ready.
It’ll also provide more answers about what age, breed type, and feeding options work best for you.
Honestly, it’s the best way to prepare for what comes with being a cat owner.
Wrap-Up
If you have any more questions, let me know in the comment section. You can also let us know whether our tips helped convince your parents. Thanks for reading!
Do you have any other tips for how to convince your parents to get a cat? Share below!
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Ben is an animal lover, blogger, and all around geek. He divides his love equally between his family, his animals, and his video games. In his spare time he is attempting to get a blog off the ground. Boy, are they heavy!
Luckily my parents have a cat. I’m trying to get them to get a second though 🙂 They said they might after the holidays!
I agree that too many cats get returned because people are unwilling to take care of them. It’s important to be sure you really want a cat!
Oh no! Don’t let my daughter see this! I’ll have 20!
Cats are very low maintenance in my opinion, compared to dogs. They have much more independent personalities.
These are all wonderful points. It’s so important to know if you really want a cat.
This article is so cute. Haha. I also struggled in convincing my parents before in having a dog
These are all great tips! I think a cat is probably one of the easiest pets to train for inside of the house.
My kids have wanted to get a pet. We are thinking about whether to get a cat or dog.
My daughter has been talking about this recently and I have been avoiding this conversation because she isn’t coming at me correctly. I think if she followed these tips, I may cave. I better not show her this because I need fewer responsibilities not more!
I have two cats and they’re such wonderful pets. They really don’t take much to take care of themselves. They’re simple pets to care for.
I definitely wouldn’t have to convince my parents, my mom loves cats and my dad adopts all the random strays and spoils them rotten. My husband would be the one I would have to convince but he didn’t say anything when I suddenly told him I found a cat and wanted to go meet it. He’s also the one that adopted the stray he found in our storage building (and has spoiled rotten).
I think these tips are perfect for my kid. He wants a cat! 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful information you have shared! Having a pet in a house is a such a great thing because kids knowing their responsibilities for the cats/pet.
my parents are worried because we have a small house and we have a hamster. can someone tell me what to do on both or just one itll really help as i had a dream about one and i cant get over that it was a dream still
I tried to annoy my parents into getting a cat but that didn’t work, so I read this. Thanks for the tips! My parents are considering it. My dad’s allergic so we’re getting a Balinese cat because they’re hypoallergenic.
Thanks again!