Cats in Paris
After moving to Paris, I realized that it was the first time in my life that I hadn’t lived with a cat at home. After living in a couple of small apartments in Paris, I moved into a four-bedroom cohabitation with three other women from AUP. As it turned out, my roomate also wanted a cat in the apartment, so together, we decided to get two new fluffy roommates (with permission from our landlord, of course).
Before you get a cat in Paris, you might want to ask yourself a few questions. Is there a good place for a litter box in my apartment? Does my apartment have enough room for a cat to live comfortably? How would I resolve any damages the cat might cause (scratching furniture and, God forbid, peeing on it). When I travel or even go home for a break, do I have a support system that would help me?
We started getting together some basic things like a litter box, cat tree, food bowls, scratching mats, cat carriers, even a few toys that we got more excited about than our future cats. If I can recommend any specific product that will make your life with a cat in Paris any easier, it is the Litter Genie. It can be an inconvenience to go all the way to the trash room (depending on your building) every time you clean the litter box, so I cannot recommend the Litter Genie enough. It keeps the smell contained and the inconvenience eased. The basics of setting our apartment up for the cats cost us around €200.
Some students at AUP have adopted stray cats such as Aminelle Gill, who took in Solas.
If you do choose to adopt from a shelter, make sure you do your research. We adopted Tennessee and Stevie from an adoption center in the 13th arrondissement called Chat D’oc. We had a good experience with the center, and we had brought a native French-speaker with us just to be sure that everything went smoothly. I had initially chosen another cat, named Eric, but after picking him to adopt, the center let me know that he was actually unavailable and was to be adopted later in the week, but they showed me another orange-and-brown female cat with a disgruntled old-man face, and I knew she was mine. By French law, once you choose an animal, you must sign a Certificat d'engagement et de connaissance and wait 7 days to take your kitty home. The adoption fee cost €200 per cat and this included their vaccinations and sterilization.
After this seven-day period, we finally took Stevie and Tennessee home. It was definitely an adjustment period for both the cats and us, but after about 48 hours, my biggest nightmare came true.
Tennessee, or Tenny, and I were going to bed, and she lay on my chest and started deeply breathing out her mouth, obviously struggling to breathe in any comfortable way. I looked up a million things online, I have had cats my whole life, and never have seen this. I stayed up with her most of the night to make sure that she was OK and even put a humidifier next to her until I could get a vet appointment the next day for her. I brought her to the vet, and it turns out that she had a variation of the flu and pneumonia that she had most likely had for a while, without anyone noticing. They had even told me that she could have died if we hadn’t adopted her and noticed the extent of her illness. Her paperwork had even said that she was seen by the vet associated with the adoption center only a week before, and he had given her a completely clean bill of health. After combing through hundreds of reviews of this Veterinarian, this was, unfortunately, a trend. This vet trip set me back €350.
Chat D’oc is no longer associated with this veterinarian and now is affiliated with another that is well-accredited and pleasant to work with. They spayed Tennessee and Stevie a few months later and their surgeries went perfectly.
On a monthly average, for two cats, we spend about € 40 to € 60 a month. This includes cat food and cat litter, with a bit of wiggle room for replacing toys and treats. We buy about one bag of Purina One — Spécial Chat Stérilisé D'intérieur food a week, along with cans of tuna that the kitties snack on during the week. One of our biggest struggles was finding good cat litter. Particularly clumping litters like the ones that we were used to in the U.S. until we found this Amazon-brand litter that is a lifesaver. A 25L bag lasts us about two months. With Solas, Aminelle uses the “carbonite tranquille” brand of litter, which, while dusty, is another affordable option for clumping litter, which is in many grocery stores around Paris.
Leaving for trips and going back home is another part of cat ownership to consider. We didn't want to subject Tennessee and Stevie to the stress of multiple transatlantic flights, so they stay in Paris during breaks. However, we learned the hard way that Tennessee has a severe anxious attachment style. On my way back home from Christmas break, she dehydrated herself to the point where her back legs completely stopped working. This was another monstrous vet bill that I was not expecting—nor could I afford. Luckily, the vet had payment plans available, but after this, I sought out pet insurance.
Having a cat while in college is definitely a learning experience. I couldn't imagine a world without Tennessee and Stevie, but it's already difficult to navigate another country's healthcare system, let alone its pet healthcare system.
