how do you choose just one cat??

[Maxxxie]

Badger,

Boo sounds like the perfect cat for you. You haven't been able to get him out of your mind.

But Yang sounds like she might be a better match for your parents. Super friendly, cuddly etc.

Either way, I think you're doing a great thing. Whichever kitty you pick will have a great life with your parents.

Max

[badger]

I have a question for all you cat rescuers. While I've grown up with cats, we've only ever had one pair that really liked each other. As in grooming and sleeping together.

If I were to choose a cat that has a friend, or is a sibling who grew up together, will they be affected by their separation?

[bmccasland]

Every individual is different. My only experience was with the death of one of a pair. Herald and Erin were best of buds, he was her "big" brother in may ways, including mass, easily twice her size. Erin was the runt of her litter, was sick much of her life, and despite efforts from me and her vet, had a shorter life, passing after 11 years. Anyway, for a while Herald moped and looked for her, but I think he knew she was dieing too. But we cuddled, and life went on. I gave him some extra treats, life's routine continued (cats like a stable routine too).

Younger cats go off and explore the world, making new friends along the way. Each of my cats were adopted as individuals, so who makes friends, or only tolerates the existance of the other is entirely up to them.

Any kitty you pick will be fine.

[jessmarimba]

Depends on the cat! Most will be fine. I had two that hated each other and one died of cancer - the other one was very depressed for a few weeks until I got her another friend. It wasn't so much the cat she was attached to as the company.

Slightly different situation, but my friend's cat had her only litter of kittens taken away too early (before she was adopted), and eleven years later she still mothers a litter of socks.

[PscyclePath]

While I'm not that much of a cat person, my cats have usually saved me the trouble by picking me, I guess. The neighbor way down the road apparently has a cat factory of some sort, and occasionally a kitten gets lost and turns up in the yard. I don't particularly care for cats, but I absolutely can't abide hungry cats, and so they get a square meal, and settle in for the duration. They officially have names, but generally answer to "Hey, Cat!"

[badger]

yeah, my two hate each other, too. When my younger one went in for his radioactive iodine treatment and was away for a week, the older one just LOVED having me and the place all to herself. You'd think after 10 years they'd reach some sort of peace, but they truly hate each other.

Last night I was very depressed, because I was looking through the pages looking for ones who have been there the longest (there are 91 available for adoption right now ) and they were all senior, black cats. One was turned in at the age of 15 because someone developed allergies. Call me callous, but you'd think that person could take allergy meds until the poor cat passed. I'm thinking of taking her in; no one should have to spend their last days in a chaotic shelter.

[badger]

Slightly different situation, but my friend's cat had her only litter of kittens taken away too early (before she was adopted), and eleven years later she still mothers a litter of socks.

that's really cute!!

****


I'm actually wondering about the separating of friends/siblings for the ones left behind. I guess I'm anthropomorphizing too much.

[zoom-zoom]

One was turned in at the age of 15 because someone developed allergies. Call me callous, but you'd think that person could take allergy meds until the poor cat passed. I'm thinking of taking her in; no one should have to spend their last days in a chaotic shelter.

My mom is allergic to cats. They have 3. I have pretty much carbon-copy allergies as my mom (have never been tested, but we're both sick at the same time of the year with the seasonal stuff). I take Zyrtec every day, year-round. I'd rather be a little sick, than to live without my furbabies (we have 4).

[badger]

you wouldn't believe how many cats are in there due to allergies. Another was in there because they had a baby. To me those just aren't valid enough reasons to give up a friend.

[Eden]

All the time I volunteered at the shelter I figured 99% of the reasons people turned in pets were bogus....

new baby? silliness - plain and simple
allergies - get some claratin (I test allergic to cats and I don't actually have any reaction unless the particular cat is *really* high in allergens. Then entire time I volunteered only a few cats ever made me react)
moving - sure right - I'd never move somewhere that would make me give up my babies....

The cats I sometimes felt the worst for were the elders whose owners had were also elderly and could no longer care for them or had passed away. That was the one of the few reasons I figured was probably true, rather than he's no longer a kitten and I'm tired of him.....

As far as getting along - my two are pretty good buddies. They sleep together and groom one another. They get irritated at one another and take a swat every once in a while, but mostly they are friends. Koji was a foundling. He was a tiny kitten (about 7-9 weeks) when I found him outside and I had an elderly guy already at that time. My old boy never did really like the kitten, but Koji wanted to be around him all the time. The old guy passed away when Koji was 3 and we didn't want him to be alone, so I went to the shelter to find him a new companion. Shio was about 6 months when I got her and the pair got along well from the beginning. We tried the keep them separated and introduce slowly plan - but both of them were so desperate to see each other that we ended up letting them be totally together about after 2 days.

[badger]

aww, that's nice they took to each other. Mine just hate each other, quite literally. The younger (bigger) one took a swipe at the older one a couple of years ago and got her in the leg - peeled her skin right back and needed surgery to fix it.

I'm leaning very much towards Boo at this point. I called them and asked what happens if they're caught with two cats (their condo allows only one pet).

My dad was saying it's all cow poopie, and he was very open to two cats. Which made me so happy, because then I could bring Boo's friend with him. But my mother said it would be too much to start with two, especially when my dad's sick and she'll be away for a month in a few weeks. I'm hoping that if he's still around when she gets back, Boo would've settled in and they might be open to a friend for him.

As for people turning animals in for the lamest reasons, I guess what I have to tell myself is that while the shelter isn't the best place, it's a better place than they were in! Quite a number of them were left in the apartment when their owners moved - they can't even be bothered to surrender them to the spca! people like that should never have animals to begin with.

[Crankin]

I am probably going to get flamed here, but I think allergies are a very valid reason to have to give up a cat. I don't have cat allergies, but I have friends who do. Even with taking a Claritin, etc. they would be miserable if they came to my house when my cat was alive. And maybe those people with the baby had a cat that was jumping on and clawing the baby. Our first cat used to attack women (not kidding here). The night we came home and our teenage babysitter (who had many animals) had a bleeding cut on her face from the cat, and she finally had to lock the cat in the bathroom was the night we decided to find it another home.
I have other allergies and I cannot take Claritin for more than a day or two, without it making me unable to sleep and giving me palpitations. Other stuff just makes me sleepy (Zyrtec, etc).
Obviously, you shouldn't get a cat if you *know* you are allergic to them, but almost all of my allergies developed when i was well into my thirties, so it's not a bogus thing.
I guess I am the weird one here, but not everyone has the same degree of "love" for animals.

[Eden]

Maybe once in a blue moon the baby or allergy excuse is valid (I know of one case where the guys cat died and he got a new one - went from long haired to short and was ironically very allergic to the new cat when he'd been fine with the old one....)- but nearly every cat who comes through has one of the following

moving (probably #1)
allergies
baby
too many (I'll accept this one - better the shelter than a hoarder...)
can't afford (sometimes this is valid too- we did get cats with health problems that were better off at the shelter where they could get good care)

Still, 99.99% of them are really - I just don't want this animal anymore, its no longer young and no longer cute and just a pain to take care of, from people who should probably have never had a pet in the first place. No one will actually say this of course, so they have to have something that sounds more valid than I'm tired of this animal.

[indysteel]

I am probably going to get flamed here, but I think allergies are a very valid reason to have to give up a cat. I don't have cat allergies, but I have friends who do. Even with taking a Claritin, etc. they would be miserable if they came to my house when my cat was alive. And maybe those people with the baby had a cat that was jumping on and clawing the baby. Our first cat used to attack women (not kidding here). The night we came home and our teenage babysitter (who had many animals) had a bleeding cut on her face from the cat, and she finally had to lock the cat in the bathroom was the night we decided to find it another home.
I have other allergies and I cannot take Claritin for more than a day or two, without it making me unable to sleep and giving me palpitations. Other stuff just makes me sleepy (Zyrtec, etc).
Obviously, you shouldn't get a cat if you *know* you are allergic to them, but almost all of my allergies developed when i was well into my thirties, so it's not a bogus thing.
I guess I am the weird one here, but not everyone has the same degree of "love" for animals.

I agree with you, Crankin. I absolutely love my cats, but if they were truly making me or a loved one sick, then I would consider rehoming them. I suffer from seasonal allergies. Even with daily meds, I still have really bad days/weeks. It's not just that I have a runny nose or itchy eyes. I just feel like poo and have almost zero energy. I've tried different drugs; I still get breakthrough allergies. I also get sinus infections from them, so it's no small problem.

IMO, allergies can pose some serious medical conditions, especially for those with asthma or other autoimmune issues. Granted, I'm sure some people who give up their pets use "allergies" as a pretextual reason, but for those who truly suffer from them, I don't think it's my place to minimize or dismiss how they feel.

[tulip]

Crankin, I agree with you. I grew up with cats. At one point we had 26, mostly barn cats and strays that stuck around. I had one favorite cat that I got when I was 10 and that died when I was 31 (okay so I had moved out way before then, but the cat stayed at my parents house and became my younger brother's cat). I loved cats; they slept on my head. We always seemed to attract pregnant strays that ended up having kittens in my closet.

I had a terrible time with what turned out to be allergies, although on one thought to actually take me to a doctor even after years of chronic bronchitis, chronic sinus problems, and trouble breathing (yes, it turned out to be allergy-related asthma diagnosed YEARS after I had moved away from home). I even lost sight in one eye due to no-one-knows-what. One theory is histoplasmosis or something similar, which can be related to cats.

If you have a baby, or if your child develops allergies, or if you end up having to care for an elderly relative who is allergic to cats, then yeah--the cat does not come first. I don't advocate abandoning the cat, but finding it a good home is perfectly reasonable.