hi all,
i hope u can help me, i have had a cat ever since i lived in my home,over 20
years, my first cat died at age 17 and my second cat that i had for 14 years
left in may with my daughter so i have had no pets in the house since then.
i miss having a cat although i dont miss the scratching that was done to my
furntiure or the meowing at night when i am trying to sleep or the litter
box, you know the negative stuff but i do love kitties, this weekend i found
an enormous amount of damage done to my laundry room, thinking it was
squirrels because i didnt see any droppings, i threw out all the opened
foods (it's also a pantry area) and cleaned the area well. but since they
can get in i dont know how to keep them out without contacting a
professional. well tonite i saw the critters and they arent squirrels they
are rats, so it's the first time with no cat scent to scare them off, and i
dont want further damage, i have air conditioning vents that they can get
into and get access to the entire house, i have a telephone wires, computer
wires, washer/dryer etc in that room, it's not a good thing, my friend came
by to set traps and hopefully he can rid them for the next few days for me
but the future is my problem, i know they will keep coming since i dont know
where they are coming from and it's a huge room to try and find out, so
since i miss my cats so much i think i will adopt a cat this weekend, can
anyone make some suggestions, i am middle age and dont want to have to start
all over with all the damage to the furntire etc. there are no kids here
just me, can u recommend a breed that may be better, i like shorthairs
because of my allergies, i took 3 years of allergy shots so my daughter
could have cats, thanks so much in advance for any suggestions

thanks,
Lisa