Seen your posts on kitty cats...
#86730 - 07/06/04 08:47 AM
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mindyj
Reged: 05/14/04
Posts: 494
Loc: Northern Virginia
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Hi all!
After looking at some of the adorable cat pictures, I thought I'd pose a question that I've been asking of some freinds recently. Hubby and I are looking to get a cat. I currently have a preference for a kitten that is fuzzy - that's about all the criteria I require - especially the fuzziness part. Here's the question - we are trying to decide whether to look at shelters to find the cat or to look in papers and other listings to find one that actually comes from a person. How did you get your cats? What would you recommend? It's important to me to find a cat that is freindly and not skiddish of people - I want a pet that loves me as much as I love it!  Let me know of any advice!
Thanks much!
Mindy
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Shelter cats
#86744 - 07/06/04 09:03 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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My mother has 3 absolutely wonderful cats, all of whom came from the Humane Society. They are all friendly, although one is admittedly very selective about who he chooses to be a lap-cat with, heh. All of them were previously owned by people, and often the HS or a rescue group will have background information on them (good with kids, not good with dogs, etc).
I'm also going to climb on a soapbox for a second and practically implore you to not be dead-set on a kitten. Cats under 1 year of age are the most easily-adopted cats at shelters, and older cats are often left to rot. All 3 of my mom's kitties were about 3-5 years old - old enough that a lot of people didn't want them, which I think is just horrible. *climbs off the soapbox*
That said, my two furbabies were a TOTAL rescue mission - they were stray kittens that I rescued personally from a DC-area museum. I would never, in a million years, recommend such a crazy thing. Haha. First of all, I've spent a bloody fortune on these 2, fixing what was wrong with them. Second, they love me, and my boyfriend, but that's it - they're antisocial, skittish, and still quite "wild". Definitely go the shelter route, and resist the temptation to rescue strays! 
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I've had three cats, all adopted as kittens from a shelter, all three of them the sweetest most adorable things. And all three of them clearly thought I was their mother!!
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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PS...
#86747 - 07/06/04 09:07 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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Most - if not all - cats will be skittish at first. I have a little experience with working with an animal rescue group, and the general advice they used to give is to seriously allow your new cat a couple MONTHS to get used to you and their new belongings. My little wild babies didn't take quite that long... I think they came out of hiding after 3 or 4 weeks... but it's not unusual to get a cat and have it NOT love you right from the start. It's a normal adjustment thing.
You don't say in your post if you've had cats before, so I thought I'd better throw that in... apologies if you already knew that, but I wanted to make sure you didn't have any unreasonable expectations from a new pet.
By the way, it isn't ALWAYS the case. Mom's cat #3 was sleeping in her lap by Day 4. But he's weird.
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Yeah, the best way to make sure you get a friendly well adjusted cat is to get an older one. Riley was three when we got him. We were looking to get a kitten as well, and we knew we wanted to get a Maine Coon. Well, the kittens that were available (www.petfinder.org) were all either timid, or practically feral. Meanwhile one of the ladies at a rescue place asked if we'd consider Riley. We figured his chances of getting adopted were much less than the kittens, and that kittens are kittens for such a little time. Now I'm not one bit sorry we passed on a kitten. Riley is truly an amazing cat.
All this said, if you want to make sure someone has observed their personality, I would recommend a shelter over someone who posts an ad. And, you can go to www.petfinder.org and see almost all of the animals available in your area. 
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I have one cat "mama's girl". My stepdaughter found her on her way to school about 4 years ago half frozen and starving. She brought her home and convinced her mother to let her keep her but she already had a cat and they didn't get along. So she called us and we took her in. The vet said she was probably about 2 years old then.
For the first six months she didn't trust anyone and would always be hand shy and bite you (I think she was abused and then tossed out). But I continued to give her love and now she is always with me and very affectionate.
I would definitely go the shelter route and rescue a cat who needs a little love.
Barbara
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Similar story... we had Riles off in a separate room from the dog to give him time to get adjusted. After 5 minutes he demanded to be let out. He strolled up to the 50 pound dogs and proceeded to start making out with them. Then he wandered over to me and yowled until I picked him up and put him on my lap. He's so bad at being a cat!
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I have never purchased a cat, and I've had cats all my life. (I'm 32) My most precious feline friend I got from a farm. I was visiting a friend and saw him sitting up against a barn in the freezing cold. I stepped out the door to go see him and he came running up to me. When I picked him up to cuddle he put his paws around my neck and held tight, almost as if to say, don't let me go. It's been almost 15 years, and we are inseperable. I posted his picture yesterday. His name is "Bubba Boy".
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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That is such a sweet story! I swear, with animals, it's a love at first sight kinda thing. For some reason you can just tell that that's the animal for you and vice versa!
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Re: PS...
#86784 - 07/06/04 10:07 AM
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RachelT
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2350
Loc: Minnesota
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LOL!! That's a funny story.
I can also tell you that I learned first hand never to adopt a kitten again. Bella is very cute, but sh'es lucky to still be alive. Kittens, especially calicos, are very rambunxious (spelled right??), and extremely jealous! Not to mention potty training, teething and so on... Good luck!
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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