Of Kitties and Leather Sofas

[slartibartfast]

IF/when we get to that point...I'd like to make an effort to choose a breed of cat that is naturally laid back and adaptable to changes, because we move quite often. Is there a way to look for such traits in a kitty?

Hehe. They're not quite kittens anymore...more like subadults. Did I mention two of them are polydactyl? They have the cutest little white mittens.

As far as temperament testing, it's much harder to tell with kittens than adults. Most kittens are naturally curious and playful, and it's hard to tell which ones will grow up to be mellow and outgoing and which will be freaky-deaks. I really like adults more because you already know what you're getting. Anybody that says "I want to raise a kitten so I can control how it turns out" is totally kidding themselves. :-P Environment has some influence but freaky cats come out of well-adjusted homes too.

Okay, nobody flame me for this one, but...in my experience, male cats are waaaay more mellow than females. Especially steer clear of calicos, torties, and torbies. There -are- nice cats in all of these colours (I've even met one or two)...but they're about as rare as getting a nice BP morph for free off of Craigslist, LOL.

Look at a cat who is at the front of the cage, banging his tin cup on the bars and hollering for attention, not crouched down hiding behind the litterbox. You want your cat to embrace the world with open paws. Ask if you can take him to an area he's unfamilar with. Confident cats will jump right down and start exploring everything, rubbing on the vertical objects, tail up, head up, eager. Freaky-deaks will crouch, frozen with fear, or bolt for cover...they skulk along the walls, seeking security and things to hide behind. That will pretty much tell you how your cat will react to new environments, like moving to a new house. Again, these behaviors are a -lot- easier to evaluate in a young adult cat than a kitten.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[joyful girl]

Okay, nobody flame me for this one, but...in my experience, male cats are waaaay more mellow than females. Especially steer clear of calicos, torties, and torbies. There -are- nice cats in all of these colours (I've even met one or two)...but they're about as rare as getting a nice BP morph for free off of Craigslist, LOL.

I agree

Most of the cats I've had in the past have been male and all were totally cool. I've never had a crazy male cat (mine have all be neutered though).

I've had a few females and they were sweet as pie until they were spayed. (specifically 1 calico and 1 tortie)
After being spayed they really didn't want anything to do with me and I love on everyone constantly so it was hard for me. They did however decide that my dad/boyfriend/whatever man was around was ok to be around.

I personally think that male cats prefer female humans and vice versa for female cats but that's only from what I've experienced.

[Ginevive]

My cat is weird; he loves us of course, and a select few people that visit.. but he HATES my mom and sister! They are both animal lovers who have pets.. maybe he smells their dogs and cat on them? Or maybe since they go out of their way to pet him, he feels threatened?

[recycling goddess]

i've had the total opposite experience. all my male cats have sprayed... even though they were fixed. my females have always been an absolute pleasure... which is why we won't even consider bringing males into our home anymore.

one of our cats... was a lovey girl before we moved here... as soon as we moved she became very skittish and has never recovered. the move was just too much for her perhaps??? i have no idea.

i think it's really a matter of the actual cat. some are great, loving, people-cats while others are more aloof and independant.

while you can't guarantee what a kitten will turn out like... if they are more loving as kittens i find them more loving as adults. whereas a skittish, non-loving kitten tends to stay that way. hope that helps somewhat???

[recycling goddess]

so jess... of all your foster cats... which one(s) would you think would make the pet for judy? perhaps you could post some pics so we could all "ooooh and ahhhhh" over them?

[joyful girl]

i've had the total opposite experience. all my male cats have sprayed... even though they were fixed.

that's weird, the only cat I've ever had spray was one I was watching for a friend that was not neutered (I told her if she took him in to get neutered I'd pay for it.. after that he never sprayed again)

[recycling goddess]

we get all our cats fixed at 5 months old... as soon as their canine teeth fall out and the new adult ones poke out... we take them in. and we've had horrible experiences with male cats. but female cats ROCK in my world thank goodness cause i can't imagine living my life without at least one cat!

i'll be that old crazy cat lady (snake/fish/bunny) sitting in her yard beside her pond - drinking too much coffee and complaining about the heat... and never leaving except to buy more cat food. long grey hair piled up on top of her head - and doing the occassional 'readings' on people.

yup... that's me!

[mlededee]

sometimes male cats that are fixed will spray when in the presence of or when sharing living quarters with other males.

[Ginevive]

My male cat never sprays; it is funny; he goes through the motion; a little tail flick, but absolutely nothing comes out.. he is fixed. A spraying cat would not last long in my house!
On a side note, our male cat has nipples; is this normal?

[JLC]

We got our first two kitties shortly after we married and moved to California. They were sub-adults. Definitely not kittens anymore, but still had a wee bit of growing to do. Rescued by a lady who took in abandoned cats...they'd been left behind by someone who moved out of her apt complex. We had only intended to get ONE kitty...but when we went to look at them...we couldn't decide between the two.


One was a gorgeous long-hair calico who sat on the back of the sofa totally prim and proper and looked at us as if trying to decide if we were good enough to be in her presence. The the other comes zipping into the room...a short hair, motley gray kitty with a tail about an inch too short....zooms across the room and dashes up to the top of a ceiling-tall cat-tree. And stares at us as if to say "HA! Let's see you do THAT!"

Beautiful and prim? Or homely and hyper? Who can choose??? So we took both. Named them Sugar and Spice. They were both actually very sweet, affectionate kitties. Sugar would sit up on her hind legs with her front paws hanging down over her belly to look out the screen-door window. I called her her Weasle Pose. Spice would stand on the bathtub fixtures and try to catch the drips and LOVED to drink water out of the faucet and would sleep in the bathroom sink.

At first they were indoor cats, but gradually became indoor/outdoor kitties. We moved to Tucson, AZ and lived there for many years...started having children...which neither cat appreciated, but Sugar in particular didn't care for the competition for affection. But we managed and everyone got along.

Just a couple months before we were scheduled to move again, Spice, the little gray one...was attacked and killed by a coyote. And then we moved to TX. And I think between the kids being born...her sister leaving her...and moving to a new house that was WAY bigger than anything she'd ever lived in before...was just too much for her. She was such a sad kitty after that. We'd had issues with her peeing on the baby's things in the past...but now she was peeing on everything. And shedding like never before, even in the desert summers.

And the rest of the story, I've already told.

I miss my kitties SO much.

I dunno why I typed all that out...'cept everyone was sharing cat stories and my heart is really getting into this thread, so I thought I'd share. I don't have any digitized photos of them, because we had them so long ago...everything is just regular pictures on paper. And all those are buried in a box somewhere right now. But one of these days, I'll find them and scan some and share some pics of my two beautiful, silly, goofball, wonderful kitties.