We need lots more photos of your two

Yep do join Catsey, lovely friendly knowledgeable folk there, I have learned a lot

You may well find the day-to-day "running costs" of a cat are more than a dog - I could feed a 25kg more cheaply than a 3kg cat. Quality cat food is very expensive compared to dog food - even less than quality cat food (Whiskas etc) is expensive. I could feed Merlin for under £3 a week but Cuba cost at least £5 a week.

I did manage to get my cat partially on raw food but it is notoriously difficult to get any form of bone into them. Then - cats being cats - she decided that she wouldn't eat raw any longer, so we were back to commercial food.

You will also need to spend more on flea control if your cat is free-roaming as they have a habit of bringing them in frequently, much more so than dogs, and of course passing them on. This means your worming for both cat & dogs must also be more regular and all done at the same time.

I have had indoor-only cats in the past (for about 20 years) but with my last cat I decided I wanted her to be free-roaming. There is no denying that she had a full and interesting life, and would often come on walks with me & Merlin. I trained her to be indoors every night, as statistically that's when most car accidents happen. She was also pure white (not deaf!) which I felt would help visibility for motorists.

But it was during the afternoon, on a quiet side street just 10 days ago that I lost her at 3 years old. She had spent most of her life in a busy city, but it was in a small town that she was hit by a car and knocked unconscious.

Because she wore a collar (at all times) with my mobile number on, someone at the scene called me and I was able to meet them at the vets, where they told me she was unlikely to ever regain consciousness so I decided to let her spirit run free, while stroking her.

I still keep expecting her to come in for her afternoon tea, or to be there every morning, or see her out on walks. But I will not have another cat unless I live somewhere I can build a run. I always lived with the knowledge that she might be run over at any time, I took that risk, but it's a terrible shock if it ever does happen.

Kittens are great fun. If you are not a cat fan, getting a kitten will convert you. Unfortunately though, the kitten stage doesn't last long and adult cats are not (generally) anywhere near as fun as dogs. However to be fair, comparing cats and dog is like apples and oranges so I won't go there.

As mentioned by MerlinsMum, don't fall into the trap of thinking that because they are smaller they will be less expensive to feed and care for. My cats cost equally as much as my dogs do in food and preventative treatments.

Whether to let them roam or not has always been a huge debate in the cat world and there is no right or wrong. Personally I would never ever keep indoor only cats because I don't believe it is fair. We have always had multiple cats (the most we had at one point, several years ago, was 5) and have to date lost one female who vanished one day when she was a year old. We never found out what happened to her. Apart from her all our other cats have lived until around 15.

from my experience if u want a lap cat id have a neutered male,think of lions and lioness's

torti's are normally tad highly strung with tempers lol(red heads)of course there are always exceptions to the rule like v.b's

i can vouch for that living with female cats when they go into season is a nightmare, with my youngest rescue girl, i had to wait till she was a year to be done (she is tiny and wasn't heavy enough for the anasthetic, by the time she was she was a year old she is now just over 2kgs and has just been spayed)

they drive you nuts and never shut up infact i find they are worse at night i was "lucky" in that i live in a flat so i have no choice at the minute but to keep my cats indoors and my males were already neutered before she came into season (one was done about a week after i got him, the other was done within 2 weeks of me getting her)

i have 2 dogs and 4 cats though and yes they are great to watch and pet and not all cats are going to want to sit on your knee.

Out of my 4:
Bella (7years ) will sit on your knee, but doesn't like being picked up

Trouble (2 years) has only just started coming up for cuddles more now but much prefers attacking your feet(he suits his name )

Strife (2 years, not related to trouble a few months younger) loves to cuddle in on your bed and sook at the quilt

and magic (1 year) was never one for cuddles and getting petted (well not by me anyway) then i got her spayed and all of a sudden im her best friend

they all have different personality's and as VB (i think, sorry if it was someone else) rescue's are over flowing right now with cats and kittens my last 2 came from a rescue as kittens and the one before that i "rescued" from a neighbour who who was struggling to cope

ETA: if my cats could go outside, they would be ( im forever cleaning out litter trays and its the only downside i can say about having indoor cats)

Don't forget also, if it is an indoor cat, you will be buying large heavy bags of cat litter and will be comitting yourself to cleaning trays twice a day for the next 15 years. Not only that but if you have dogs you'll need to find ways to prevent them eating the contents, as well as siting the trays where the cat feels secure enough to 'go'. Notice I said trays plural, it is recommended to give one tray per cat plus one over. Toilet issues are common in indoor cats if thwe facilities are not to their liking or they are stressed.
Less likely with a free roaming cat but factor in the added danger that someone advised how to poison cats who ruined their garden in a national newspaper a couple of years ago. People are doing it and 8 cats in one street in my town have died in the last year.

Cat ownership is no less stressfull than dog owning, and can be more so.

and bella and my gypsy (r.i.p) neither were highly strung and the cuddliest (in the sense of sitting on your knee) of cats

Thanks guys - of course I'll be taking everything into consideration but again - it might not be till after Christmas.. so I'll have plenty of time to sort everything out

My 2 will be going for their 1st vaccinations tomorrow at 3:40pm, and the cost is £15 per kitten