Against my better judgement I have been persuaded to get a cat in the new year for my two boys. Having had and enjoyed pets in my own childhood it seems a reasonable thing to do. I am trying to work out the different considerations I need to think about and, given "cat" is too short to search previous threads, please forgive me if the following questions have been asked before:

1) A cat or a kitten - I am concerned a kitten will cause initial chaos, however I also understand that there are benefits of having a cat grow up in the same household from a kitten. Any thoughts on this?

2) Where to get one from - I am thinking the cats protection league as a first port of call, where else should I be thinking?

3) Insurance - What should I expect to pay and are there any considerations I need to think about when looking at insurance plans?

4) Holiday care - This is a big factor for us because we do tend to travel a few times each year. One of the influencing factors for getting a cat was the availability of services that come to the house a couple of times each day to sort out the cat. What is the going rate for this kind of service?

5) Other considerations and costs - Anything I should be thinking of that I have not mentioned?

Many thanks in advance of advice offered.