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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
Seems a lot of people have kitties. I know a lot of people buy their pups. But how many people's cats have appeared out of nowhere and we take them in? Thanks Phillipa ps I think all of mine have been strays. My Sunny was thrown out of a car with his sisters at two weeks. The Vet hand and bottle fed them until they were found homes.
Posted by TexasChic on October 30, 2006, at 20:02:42
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
My 'Kitty' (that's his name) was a feral kitty; born in the wild. He hid under the couch for a long time before he would let me touch him. Now he thinks I'm the alpha female. He kills the bugs, which is very, very cool.
-T
Posted by madeline on October 30, 2006, at 20:14:27
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
who buys pets? Mine just walk up to the house.
Maddie
Posted by Poet on October 30, 2006, at 21:26:55
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
Oldest and middle kitties came from coworkers. Youngest kitty came from a pet store that took in strays. So I paid for one out of three.
Poet
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 31, 2006, at 7:56:26
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Poet on October 30, 2006, at 21:26:55
I got my cat from a no-kill shelter. She was about 4 or 5 years old. Had been in the shelter for over 2 months, in a 2foot cube :( She looked really rough, and was matted and dirty, but after we got her groomed, and vaccinated, and took her home, we discovered that she was perfectly housebroken. 60$ donation to shelter covered adoption fees and the shots/spaying/neutering, if necessary. God knows what would have happened if she had wound up in a regular shelter with no ID...
All she needed was love and regular brushing. never has done anything destructive in her whole life with us (4 years now) and she's still super-playful and kills buggies too.
(((((Fluffycat)))))
We used to feed an alleycat a couple of times a week. His name was "Hungry Kitty". Then one day he was gone. Now there's a new alleycat, but I think my neighbors are feeding him. Cats are so cool!
-Li
Posted by Meri-Tuuli on October 31, 2006, at 8:24:12
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them, posted by Lindenblüte on October 31, 2006, at 7:56:26
We got ours from a rescue shelter. Like other people, they are (were- one of them is dead) totally lovely and not a problem at all with anything ever.
We had to pay about 15$ for them. But that is just a donation or whatever, and they were neutred, vaccinated and microchipped etc etc for us.M
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 8:35:08
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
I'm afraid of cats (like I used to be afraid of dogs), and that fear was reinforced by my childhood Siamese cat.
Sometimes I think it would be healthy for my son to have a cat, so that he wouldn't be afraid.
But to minimize uncertainty, I'd almost certainly want to get a breed that was recognized for certain behavioral characteristics, and from a reputable breeder who raised the kittens in the home and with a family, and who knew the temperamental characteristics of each kitten.
It's the same reason I buy a dog, and one of a specific breed with characteristics taht would mesh well with my family, and from a breeder who knows the individual dog. I would and have "rescued" dogs, and ones with health problems or behavioral problems, or ones that are too old to be readily adoptable. But from individuals or breed rescue groups that can tell me an awful lot about the specific animal.
I imagine that's not as important if you're a flexible person, but in many ways I'm not. For example, I'm relatively tolerant of housebreaking issues and very tolerant of health problems, but I don't have the dominance to handle dominance. And aggressiveness or sharp shyness is something I can't work out in a multidog house with a child, and a lack of dominance in myself.
To each his own, I guess. And the important thing is that a pet ends up someplace it's loved and wanted and valued.
Posted by Racer on October 31, 2006, at 10:17:22
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 8:35:08
> I'm afraid of cats (like I used to be afraid of dogs), and that fear was reinforced by my childhood Siamese cat.
Siamese are different. They just are. Before this turns into an accidental haiku, let me just say that other cats are not like Siamese.
> But to minimize uncertainty, I'd almost certainly want to get a breed that was recognized for certain behavioral characteristics, and from a reputable breeder who raised the kittens in the home and with a family, and who knew the temperamental characteristics of each kitten.And cats aren't dogs. If you were getting a dog, I'd recommend exactly that. With cats, though, there's far less variation in terms of breeds, and so on. Unless you go for a breed bred specifically to be passive, like Maine C*on or Ragdoll, you're going to get a cat from the breeder or the shelter. Cats are barely domesticated, solitary carnivores. Unlike dogs, who can have a pretty varied diet, cats eat meat almost exclusively. Because cats are not as strongly domesticated as dogs are, breed characteristics are mostly related to color. There are a few body shapes, so you can have the lean body type, or a stockier body type, but there's not much variation, and there's not much more variation in temperament.
Whoops! Got lost there. This is a big discussion in my house, though. Both my monsters are from the no-kill shelter.
My old cat is losing ground pretty fast these days, and my husband and I have discussed what we'll do when he dies. Since the little cat has never been an only cat, I say we need to get new kittens right away, to help her adjust. My husband says one kitten, so that the new kitten will bond with the cat. I say, she's 13 now, one kitten will drive her to drink. He says a pure bred kitten. I say both of my beloved cats came from the pound. (He says that's proof never to get cats from the pound, since mine are "defective." That was several months ago. We're on speaking terms again.) Cats more or less are born housebroken. At least, close enough it's not as hard as with dogs. The only thing I've ever found really important with cats is socialization -- the more people they meet early on, the more personable they are. Second to that are some dominance things: don't let them swipe at you, don't let them crowd you away from the bowl when you feed them, little things.
Whoops! I'm trying to convert you again, aren't I?
>
> To each his own, I guess. And the important thing is that a pet ends up someplace it's loved and wanted and valued.Amen, Sista!
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 13:30:58
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » Dinah, posted by Racer on October 31, 2006, at 10:17:22
Chuckle.
Well, to speak the absolute truth, I've done my homework and am working on my husband to get a Ragdoll, precisely because they're bred to be passive. :) And I'd want the most laid back of the bunch, even then.
My vet swears to me that neutered ginger male tabbies are just as gentle. And after our siamese, we partially adopted a neutered ginger male tabby who was sweet as could be, but couldn't quite shake my fear. (He was also partly adopted by others, although in his final years he stayed inside in our house.) I was fine with that with a few exceptions. The vet wanted me to give him pills and I just couldn't. And I was afraid to actually have him on my lap, because once our siamese sat on our lap we were doomed. (Now, he did all the time, and we were doomed all the time.) If we tried to get up before he was ready, we'd get scratched. If we petted him after he was ready to get up, we'd get scratched. He rarely bit family members, although he'd make exceptions. Any adult was fair game for him to bite or scratch, although kids below twelve or so he would just hiss and threaten.
I'm so sorry about your cat. I know that's going to be such a difficult situation for you.
My two cents, which are more doggy than kitty, is get a pair. Maybe even siblings. Otherwise the age gap is just too great, and there'll be new issues when your 13 year old gets older.
But those are doggy, pack animal, suggestions. (Do sighthounds count as dogs? I have a long history with sighthounds.)
Posted by tootercat on October 31, 2006, at 13:44:44
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
Oh my..a subject near and dear to my heart. I have had cats in my life for as long as I can remember. I'm 49 so that's a long time.
The two girl kitties I have now are Lucy (17) and Kiki (16). They have a love/hate relationship. They LOVE to hate each other and compete for attention. Most of the time they "get along" but there are the occsional stand-offs and sneak attacks...but I digress from the actual subject....Lucy is my $200 "Roof Cat". she was living on the roof and traveled up and down a tree where I used to work. One day at lunch she came down the tree and into my arms with no question. I took her to the vet to have her checked/spayed/etc. Turns out she had a foxtail embedded in her stomach so $200 later she was officially mine. Kiki was originally my neighbor's cat, but she was rarely home and paid little attention to Kiki. Kiki began staying at my house most of the time and my neighbor never came looking for her to take her "home" Eventually it became time to spay and I took her and paid for it so I officially became Mommy.
Those two are my babies ....I never did have two legged children. I dread the day(s)when I will be parted from them. I have never had anything or anyone in my life as long and with such unconditional love.
Our animals come to us in many different ways. No way is "wrong" as long as we are loving and grateful and responsible for the gift they give.
I will say that I lean more towards "rescuing" than perpetuating profit for birth. But here again I digress...Better stop here!Hugs,
Tooter
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 14:28:28
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by tootercat on October 31, 2006, at 13:44:44
Well, I wouldn't want to have a disagreement about it or anything, but the very best breeders consider a litter a cost center, not a profit center. When I buy my pets, that's the sort of breeder I buy from.
Posted by tootercat on October 31, 2006, at 14:56:18
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » tootercat, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 14:28:28
Sorry Dinah....I know that there are some very good breeders out there...didn't mean to step on toes.....I've just seen and heard about too much of the "bad".
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 14:58:57
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » Dinah, posted by tootercat on October 31, 2006, at 14:56:18
It's ok. I know all too much about the bad, and it all makes me enormously sad and angry.
Posted by madeline on October 31, 2006, at 16:00:33
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 8:35:08
I have had siamese cats on and off through my life.
They wereTomasina
Spitfire
Elmo
Pearson (currently my parent's cat)Right now I am siamese free.
Spitfire was very aptly named, whereas elmo was just psychotic.
Pearson is just a big teddybear. He coos when you pet him.
But far and away the meanest cat I have EVER known was my brother's cat Chigger (also aptly named). Just a run of the mill domestic shorthair.
She put my mother in the hospital TWICE and nearly put me in one time over christmas break. She was as aggresive as any animal I have ever known - and remember I work with tigers, leopards and jaguars.
I've known some wild ones believe me.
Cats ARE solitary predators, whereas dogs are these lovely social creatures that adapt well to hierarchy (well, usually).
I like them both, but each merits respect.
maddie
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 16:31:29
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » Dinah, posted by madeline on October 31, 2006, at 16:00:33
Hmmm...
Maybe I ought to stick to being a dog person...
Maybe cats see me as a great big mouse.
Posted by tootercat on October 31, 2006, at 16:55:32
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » madeline, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 16:31:29
Oh Dinah....not all kitties are the same...there are some psycho ones but there are also some very delightful ones....Lucy loves me to hold her and carry her and she turns the top of her head to be kissed by me.....Kiki doesn't like to be picked up when it's not her idea but when she gives me the signals which I fully recognize as "i want to be held" she loves for me to hold her and she "hugs" my neck and buries her face in my hair.....AND they have a boy parakeet (BB) who adores them and rides on them and they do not think of the bird as a food source but mostly a pest because the bird wants to talk to them incessantly. Strange but true.
Pam (tooter)
Posted by madeline on October 31, 2006, at 17:02:39
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » madeline, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 16:31:29
you guys should meet my big white fluffy persian. I won't tell you his name, but he is named after a telly tubby.
Such a love rag. He has a serious purring addiction.
I think my point was (if, in fact, I had one) each cat is different.
Now, my dog on the other hand...
Maddie
Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 17:08:40
In reply to Tootercat and Dinah, posted by madeline on October 31, 2006, at 17:02:39
:)
Those all sound sweet.
I don't know why, but I have always been afraid of all animals (including human, I guess). I got over it with my dogs with tons of good experiences. I just need some good cat experiences and I'm sure I could get over that.
Hopefully more easily than I did with dogs. My mother would put my poor sainted spaniel puppy on a lead and sit and read while I crept closer and closer to venture to pet it then run screaming around the room for a bit before creeping up again. :) It's surprising that poor puppy didn't develop a fear of human beings with that bizarre behavior going on.
Then I'd just need to get over my fear of hamsters, gerbils, birds, horses, and just about everything else.
Posted by Lindenblüte on October 31, 2006, at 18:15:21
In reply to Re: Tootercat and Dinah, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 17:08:40
Hey Dinah,
My cat would be purrrrrfect for you. She's front-declawed (got her from the shelter that way) and is neither a lap-cat nor a scaredy cat. You can play with her, brush her, give her treats, but she wouldn't bother you all the time by climbing into your lap. She'll sleep at your toes.She'll even crawl under the covers if you let her. Somehow she can stay under all night long dodging my crazy-kicking husband.
purrrrRRRRRrrrrrRRRRR
-Li
p.s. I rent her out for $1000 a day + $2,500 for travel expenses. lol
:)
Posted by Racer on October 31, 2006, at 22:46:16
In reply to Re: Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them » madeline, posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 16:31:29
>
>
> Maybe cats see me as a great big mouse.I'm sure they do, Dinah. That's how I see you, and my husband assures me I'm part cat...
This is the end of the thread.
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