Pedigrees
MJARTISIAN
I'll probably get all kinds of hate mail for this, but must say it
anyway. There are so many beautiful kittens, cats, puppies, dogs - in
desperate need of good homes. Why would anyone insist on only getting a
specific breed, why not a type of fur or color -at least that would
allow for more choices. For that matter, why not a beautiful new member
for your family regardless of breed, color, fur, etc.? Sorry, guys - I
just don't understand. All my pets were strays, who were & are the best
things that ever happened to me & to them. Melanie
Erin Miller
In article <32DBFB...@prodigy.net>,
There are lots of reasons why people might want a purebred. I tend to
agree that if someone just wants a "pretty" cat, they should go to their
nearest shelter. But some of the reasons people choose a purebred.
1. They have adopted a cat from a shelter/the street/a friend and had it
be very sick or have FeLV or FIV. My mom adopted a cat from a shelter and
was told it was FeLV/FIV negative. It wasn't. She did end up getting
another stray, but experiences like that make it not surprising that
someone is willing to pay extra for a cat that comes with a full health
guarantee and a record of the shots, etc. it has had since the day it was
born.
2. Prediectable personality. it is very hard to judge the personality of a
cat at the shelter. My friend adopted a cat that he was told was "very
active" by the shelter staff. The cat literally was a rock that never
moved. it even had to be lifted onto the shelf that his food was on at
mealtimes. He was probably this way from having sat in a shelter cage for
nearly a year. Now in this case, too, he got another cat, a kitten this
time, who was very playful and active. But you never really know what you
will get in an adult cat when you get a kitten. I recommend people who
want an adult cat to go to a shelter or rescue group that tries to use
foster homes, so the personality of the cat can be better judged than a
cat that is in a cage all day. But either way, if you *know* you want a
mellow cat, or you know you want an active cat, or a vocal cat (or a
NON-vocal cat), etc. then you take somehwat of a crapshoot of a cat of
mixed breeding. While there is individual variation within a breed as
well, chances are if you get an Aby, you will get an active cat; a Siamese
a vocal cat, a Persian a mellow cat, etc.
3. Looks. While *I* don't think this is the sole reason anyone should get
a cat, sometimes people want a pet to replace a pet they previously had.
Maybe a siamese they had as a child. Or a "maine coon mix" they got from a
shelter. They loved those cats, and want a cat with similar looks and
hopefully similar personality.
There is also a middle-way ground with Breed Rescue which is very common
in the dog fancy and only beginning to grow in the cat fancy. It allows
people to satisfy their desire for a cat with aparticular look or
personality, but also rescue a cat in need.
Personally, I have had both good luck and bad luck with strays/shelter
cats. if you'e always had good luck, then of course it will be surprising
why someone would not simply go to their nearest shelter. But for those
who've gotten cats that were NOT given up because their owner was moving
(despite what the card says) but because you later find out the cat sprays
and ruins your house; or you adopt a kitten who grows up to be a very nice
cat, but hates to be held or sit in your lap which is what you'd always
hoped for, or you spend $300 on vet bills because the kitten has worms,
URI, etc, then people begin to consider getting a cat with a little bit
more of a known quantity.
-erin
--
Breed Rescue: the best of both worlds!
SABRE: http://www.tezcat.com/~ermiller/somrescue.html
SHELTERS & RESCUE: http://pasture.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/Dogs/Rescue/
* * *
Erin Miller http://www.tezcat.com/~ermiller/erin.html
University of Chicago / Anthropology Department / ermi...@tezcat.com
Kelli Oliver
Melanie,
I whole heartedly agree with you. I have always gone through shelters or
friends. I have never had a cat with bad health and have only lost cats to
automobiles. I think a normal reaction for a person should be to OBSERVE
the animal for awhile, not merely trust the shelter employees. When I
picked out my cat , Alexandra, I had the fortune to be able to spend some
time with the entire litter. She was an obvious pick - active, vocal,
obnoxious - perfect.
MJARTISIAN <MJART...@prodigy.net> wrote in article
<32DBFB...@prodigy.net>...
Bill & Judi Kaufman
U-m-m-m, do you really want an answer??? It's hard to tell with e-mail
whether someone is angry and lecturing or genuinely curious. I'll assume
that you are genuinely curious and respond. My first two cats were
"rescues" - one from a shelter and another from a terrible home where he
was dying from feline respiratory at 4 weeks of age. They were both
wonderful pets. Cat #3 was a shelter cat who never became a "people" cat -
preferring peaceful solitude so that she can contemplate the mysteries of
life, I suppose. #4 ran in the door behind the AVON lady and she was a
wonderful pet. #5 was a rescue from an alley, she has spent the last 12
years mostly under my bed. #6 was a pet store mixed-variety kitten, she
prefers the company of cats to that of people but she does come sit with us
for a few hours a couple of times a week.
We lost cat #1 to cancer back in 1988. We lost cat #2 (my lap cat) to
cancer in 1995 (at the age of 17.) Last year, cat #4 (my husband's lap
cat) died of a stroke (at age 15) - leaving my husband and I with empty
laps and broken hearts. We still had cats 3, 5 and 6 - none of whom wanted
to sit in our laps or snuggle. We were torn about getting another cat with
our three at ages 15, 12 and 12. We also didn't want to wind up with more
"don't touch me" cats when we longed for cuddle kitties.
While I was at a local Cat Show (they are a GREAT place to buy toys and the
fresh catnip that you can buy at shows is the best!), I saw a kitty who
looked just like my Sam (cat #4), I stood in front of the cage talking back
to the kitty (who was calling), with tears running down my face (Sam had
been dead for only 3 weeks.) When the breeder returned, we got talking
about kitties and it turned out that she had a queen she was retiring who
was a lap kitty. That was 7 months ago and we now have two retired queens
(both pedigreed ex-show cats) who lay on our laps and purr during the day
and sleep with us in bed at night.
For us, we wanted lap kitties and you can never tell whether a shelter cat
is going to be cuddly or stand-off'ish. A breeder knows the exact
temperament of each cat and can match your wants with a kitty personality.
There is a limit to the number of kitties who can live comfortably in our
house and we just couldn't take in more than two more right now...
Christina Mcmenemy
MJARTISIAN <MJART...@prodigy.net> writes:
>I'll probably get all kinds of hate mail for this, but must say it
>anyway. There are so many beautiful kittens, cats, puppies, dogs - in
>desperate need of good homes. Why would anyone insist on only getting a
>specific breed, why not a type of fur or color -at least that would
>allow for more choices. For that matter, why not a beautiful new member
>for your family regardless of breed, color, fur, etc.? Sorry, guys - I
>just don't understand. All my pets were strays, who were & are the best
>things that ever happened to me & to them. Melanie
I volunteer at a cat shelter, and we usually see one or two purebreds
a month. I own two purebred Himalayans, one I found on the street, and
the other is a 6mo. old flame-point that came into our shelter because
the woman who owned him couldn't care for him properly. Half-breeds
are great as well. I also adopted a half-Abby who has the body and
color of an Abby, but has tabby markings on her coat as well. It's
quite possible to get a beautiful purebred or non-purebred cat at a
shelter, and they won't cost the $100's that breeders charge!
Christina, who volunteers at Kitty Comfort Center in Hamilton, OH
Sharon Talbert
I also see purebreds in our shelters, some complete with papers. A few
are surrendered by irresponsible breeders, but most are given over by
their owners who are "moving" or "just got a burglar alarm" or some other
feeble excuse. We're not talking show quality here, but purebred Persians
and other breeds are not too hard to spot (and Persians are common in
shelters). I rescued a himmie (pet quality) and a Persian (declawed;
surrended because her owner was too lazy to scoop the pan and the cat was
pooping outside the box). I don't hang at the shelter anymore, but I
doubt things have changed much and doubt that Seattle is much different
from any other city shelter. Purebreds (and I assume pedigreed is a finer
distinction) are not at all uncommon in our shelters, unfortunately. I
expect dalmations will be the next purebred dog to be flooding our
shelters, as that fad wears quickly off.
Seattle works with CPR (Cat Purebred Rescue) to get some of these animals
out of the shelter and into safe haven, but I don't know how successful
that program is. Anyone have an update on CPRs efforts there? Their
e-mail, by the way, is ste...@pacific.telebyte.net.
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
On 17 Jan 1997, David A Thomas wrote:
> Christina Mcmenemy (chris...@delphi.com) wrote:
> > I have to say that it is possible to get the best of both worlds.
> > I volunteer at a cat shelter, and we usually see one or two purebreds
> > a month.
>
> I don't want to start an argument here, but--how do you know that
> they are purebred?
> --
> David Thomas (da...@micro.ti.com)
> Texas Instruments, Houston (713)-274-2347
>
>
Erin Miller
In article <Pine.A41.3.95b.97011...@homer25.u.washington.edu>,
Sharon Talbert <stal...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>from any other city shelter. Purebreds (and I assume pedigreed is a finer
>distinction) are not at all uncommon in our shelters, unfortunately. I
Actually, there is no such thing as "purebred", "pedigreed" is really the
proper term.
>Seattle works with CPR (Cat Purebred Rescue) to get some of these animals
>out of the shelter and into safe haven, but I don't know how successful
>that program is. Anyone have an update on CPRs efforts there? Their
>e-mail, by the way, is ste...@pacific.telebyte.net.
>> I don't want to start an argument here, but--how do you know that
>> they are purebred?
So far as I know, things with CPR are fine. I think Dave's point was that
just because a cat has longhair and colorpoints, does not make it a
Himalayan, nor is a longhaired tabby a Maine Coon. With some breeds (in
dogs thing like Dalmations are a good example, in cat something like a Rex
is a good one) IDing them as purebred is easy with our without papers.
Unfortunately there is a tendency to (sometimes consiously, sometimes not)
"purebredify" cats that come intoa shelter in order to make them more
appealing to the adoptive crowd. Afterall, most people WOULD rather adopt
a Melanistic Abyssinian than a black/brown domestic shorthair.
While this can have a positive effect (if it gets more pets adopted), it
leads to some serious problems. One of which is a grossly inflated
overestimate of the number of purebreds in shelters. If every colorpoint
that comes in is called a Siamese (if shorthair) or a Himi (if longhair),
and every long-ahired tabby is called a Maine Coon, it is not surprigising
that AR groups come up with ridiculous figures such as 25% of all animals
in shelters are purebred (especially when you consider that only ~THREE
percent of all cats in the country are purebred!).
Another problem is then hostiities arise. When I was taking forensic
pathology, one of the things we studied was cranial trauma. This can be
cauesd lots of ways, obviously someone cracking someone else over the
head, another way is by slipping and falling and hitting your head. The
doctor teaching the course, who works for the Cook County Medical Examiner
course told us that if soeone dies from a blow to the head, and as he's
being rushed into the emergency room, and one orderly, or nurse, or even
inexperienced doctor says "oh, it looks like he got hit over the head"
then the family will NEVER EVER believe the man slipped and fell. It could
be January, with 3 inches of ice on the ground, a banana peel found at the
scene, and the blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, and the
family will STILL think their beloved was murderd.
Point being, if someone is told their cat is a "maine coon mix" by a
friend, by the shelter, by a vet tech, or even a vet (and remember there
is NO class at vet school that teaches them to ID purebreds, they are
usually no more "taught" what the breeds look like than the average Joe),
they will never, ever believe anything else. And if you try to point out
to them that if they DID get the cat off the street that it is NOT a maine
coon, but a domestic longhair, they will get angry, they will get
defensive, and they will further impede all your efforts to try to make
people recognize where the problems with pet overpopulation lies. God
forbid you tell someone who WORKS at a shelter, someone whose "experience"
with purebreds includes attending a couple of dog shows and cat shows,
that even if they have been IDing cats and dogs for 10 years, if they
never had the experience and knowledge to KNOW what makes a Maine Coon
from a DLH, then all their experience does not add up to knowledge. I've
been working and attending shows actively for 3 years now, and *I*
probably could not ID more than a half dozen or so breeds properly in a
shelter, yet someone who'se attended two cats can tell a cat is a Bombay?
or a Turkish Angora? I don't think so.
I would be a VERY rich woman if I had a dollar for every "maine coon" that
was found in a shelter or on the street.
-erin
Erin Miller
In article <Pine.A41.3.95b.97011...@homer25.u.washington.edu>,
Sharon Talbert <stal...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>distinction between these terms by a retired breeder), purebreds do end up
>in shelters and alleyways, papers notwithstanding. And yes, rescuers and
Of course, SABRE gets a number of its cats from shelters. *and* breeds
like Persians, Himis and Siamese (tho I still don't think Maine Coons) ARE
going to end up in shelters a lot more than other breeds *because* so many
people irresponsibly breed them for money.
>better, which no doubt inflates the figures. I refer to oversized
>longhair tabbies as "Maine Coon lookalike," gunmetal shorthairs as
>"Russian Blue Wannabe" -- that sort of thing. I do not fob off a mixed
>breed or plain old puss as a purebred, but I do try to present an engaging
>picture of what the cat looks like or who at least one of its ancestors
>may have been. Whatever it takes within truth and reason to get what I
>know is a fine animal a loving home.
I think that is a great way of dealing with the situation.
>Purebreds, unfortunately, are just as disposable as hybrids. People dump
>them all the time, with the usual lame reasons, and then turn right around
>and get another purebred when the mood strikes them or the fashion shifts.
>I don't believe a day passes at our shelters in Seattle without at least
>one purebred brought in by the owner or picked up starving in the streets.
Too true. Sometimes people think because they paid a lot of mney for
something it should be "perfect". If it gets a cold 2 years after they've
bought it, they start screaming at the breeder for selling them a
defective cat. Unfortunately also, are pet stores who encourage the
impulse buy of cats especially like Persians and Himis which take a LOT of
grooming effort, much more than most people want to deal with down the
road.
>(Last year, we became involved in the rescue of a smoke Persian who was
>abandoned in her own back yard to starve.) I am only glad there is
>purebred dog and cat rescue in this area - and people like Erin out there
>doing large-scale purebred rescue and setting us straight from time to
>time.
Well, it just gets frustrating seeing the constant "I just got a 2 month
old maine coon from the shelter that was given up by its breeder because
its tail was too long" (yeah, right) on the one hand and "we need to stop
these awful breeders because they are filling our shelters with cats" on
the other.
Sharon Talbert
>
> Well, it just gets frustrating seeing the constant "I just got a 2 month
> old maine coon from the shelter that was given up by its breeder because
> its tail was too long" (yeah, right) on the one hand and "we need to stop
> these awful breeders because they are filling our shelters with cats" on
> the other.
>
> -erin
I share your frustration, Erin. I think professional breeders
(responsible breeders, not the puppymill scum or fluffy-breeders) are
taking the rap unfairly. It is easy for rescuers and others to blame
breeders when it is the general public who should be given a good shaking
for not sterilizing their pets. Not too long ago Seattle (or maybe it was
King County) went after breeders, attempting to slap on a breeding
moratorium rather than legislate pet sterilization. Of course it failed,
and the killing of unwanted kittens and puppies and their mothers goes on
in the streets and shelters.
Sharon Talbert
Purebred or pedigreed aside (and I have been corrected about a supposed
distinction between these terms by a retired breeder), purebreds do end up
in shelters and alleyways, papers notwithstanding. And yes, rescuers and
shelter personnel do stretch the truth sometimes or simply don't know
better, which no doubt inflates the figures. I refer to oversized
longhair tabbies as "Maine Coon lookalike," gunmetal shorthairs as
"Russian Blue Wannabe" -- that sort of thing. I do not fob off a mixed
breed or plain old puss as a purebred, but I do try to present an engaging
picture of what the cat looks like or who at least one of its ancestors
may have been. Whatever it takes within truth and reason to get what I
know is a fine animal a loving home.
Purebreds, unfortunately, are just as disposable as hybrids. People dump
them all the time, with the usual lame reasons, and then turn right around
and get another purebred when the mood strikes them or the fashion shifts.
I don't believe a day passes at our shelters in Seattle without at least
one purebred brought in by the owner or picked up starving in the streets.
(Last year, we became involved in the rescue of a smoke Persian who was
abandoned in her own back yard to starve.) I am only glad there is
purebred dog and cat rescue in this area - and people like Erin out there
doing large-scale purebred rescue and setting us straight from time to
time.
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
David A Thomas
Christina Mcmenemy (chris...@delphi.com) wrote:
> I have to say that it is possible to get the best of both worlds.
> I volunteer at a cat shelter, and we usually see one or two purebreds
> a month.
I don't want to start an argument here, but--how do you know that
they are purebred?
John Herold
>I'll probably get all kinds of hate mail for this, but must say it
There's no reason for you to receive hatemail; it's a good question
and one that many people might like to ask.
>anyway. There are so many beautiful kittens, cats, puppies, dogs - in
>desperate need of good homes. Why would anyone insist on only getting a
>specific breed, why not a type of fur or color -at least that would
>allow for more choices. For that matter, why not a beautiful new member
>for your family regardless of breed, color, fur, etc.? Sorry, guys - I
>just don't understand. All my pets were strays, who were & are the best
>things that ever happened to me & to them. Melanie
May poeple who want a purebred - my cats, for example - do so because
a pedigreed cat from a good breeder is likely to exhibit certain
behaviors and perosnality traits that the person has found pleasing
int he past, or that they believe they'd like to have in their feline
companion(s); and of course, for the particular look, as well.
Particularly regarding the latter, a person may have grown up with a
cat and wants one very similer to, if not "just like" their former
friend. Having a cat with a similar perosnality or behavior also
gives some people confidence that they can get along with the cat.
(I should add here that every cat is of course different; but there's
more similarity among purebreds than non-purebreds.)
Now, you may not have any of the attitudes I've described above, but
many people do feel that way and they love their cats as much as you
love the non-purebreds (and who's to say either love is "better" or
even mutually exclusive?). (I think) there's room enough in the cat
fancy for both types,a nd I think it's wrong to "slam" either.
-John Herold, THC Cattery (Traditonal Siamese), Baltimore MD
Mary Kolencik
> > desperate need of good homes. Why would anyone insist on only getting a
> > specific breed, why not a type of fur or color -at least that would
> > allow for more choices. For that matter, why not a beautiful new member
> > for your family regardless of breed, color, fur, etc.? Sorry, guys - I
> > just don't understand. All my pets were strays, who were & are the best
> > things that ever happened to me & to them. Melanie
Three reasons -- predictable health, predictable personality, love of the
breed. And if there were no specific breeds, almost all cats would be shorthair
brown mackeral tabbies (not that they aren't beautiful, but a world without
torties, solids, pointeds, red tabbies, bullseye tabbies, spots, longhair and
shorthair versions of each, etc... would be kind of boring). Melanie, I think
it's wonderful that you have pets that you love, no matter where you got them.
But do you really think that there should be no Siamese in the world? No
Abys, no Somalis, no Maine Coons, no Persians, no anything but Moggies????
And do you really think that if the people who want a particular breed
couldn't get that breed that they would instead adopt a cat from the shelter???
And do you really think that the breeds are the cause of the shelter problems?
To that last question, if you answered yes, you are dead wrong. If there were
no breeds and no breeding of pedigree cats, the shelters would still overflow
because of the random bred and feral cats. Pedigree cats are NOT the cause
of the shelter problems, and are NOT even a major contributor.
When I got involved with show cats and breeding a few years ago, I struggled
over exactly what you asked. Heck, I think about it EVERY day. The answer
is that I don't want a cat, I want a Siamese. If I didn't have a house full
of Siamese cats, I wouldn't have more than one or two cats at all. They are
a distinct breed to me. Their personalities are unmatched by any other
cats, and I do believe they are worth having in this world as a unique
breed. And to have them in the world means someone has to breed them. I work
to breed only healthy happy cats, and I breed only enough cats to keep the
lines I'm working with healthy. I don't make a profit, in fact am in the
hole several thousand dollars over these cats, as are most of the breeders
I know. I do what I do because I love and adore *Siamese* cats.
The people who buy pedigree kittens from reputable responsible breeders
may be paying a few hundred dollars, but that's nothing compared to the
vet bills that often accompany a cat from the shelter. I offered a coworker
a Siamese kitten for free when they lost their cat, but they wanted to
"save a life". They adopted an 8 week old kitten from a shelter, and
immediately had to treat the kitten for ear mites, worms, fleas, and
an upper respiratory infection. That plus the adoption fee, plus
isolating the kitten from the other cat in their home, meant several
hundred dollars and a lot of work. Kittens from shelters are not free.
This kitten, now almost a year old, had a genetic problem that required
several thousand dollars worth of expensive neuro surgery. Same coworker
had another adopted cat that had lymphosarcoma to the tune of several
thousand dollars (the one that died that I offered to give them a kitten
for free over). I guarentee the health of the kittens I sell. If anyone
buys a kitten from me that has a genetic health problem a few years
down the road, they can return the kitten to me and I will foot the bill
for treatment. That's how certain I am of the health of my kittens.
Some people would like to have that guarentee and so come to breeders
like me instead of taking a health risk with a shelter cat. The genetic
problems are not frequent with the shelter cats, but the parasites and
URs are frequent. You will not find fleas, worms, ear mites, or any
health problems with a kitten from my house -- I guarentee it.
As for predictable personality, some people want an active cat, some
people want a lap cat, some people want a cat that doesn't talk a lot,
some people want a constant devoted companion cat. A breeder can help
them find just the cat to suit their personality. If someone tells
me they want a quiet cat, I do not sell them a Siamese. If someone
has 4 kids, I make sure they don't get the most timid kitten in the
litter. I can't guarentee the personality of my kittens, but in the
three months that I have them I handle them daily, they sleep with me,
and I get to know their individualness as best I can. I can predict
with some degree of certainty what the kittens will be like as adults.
No one can do that with strays or shelter cats. To some people, that
predicatability is why they go to a breeder rather than adopt a cat.
There are a lot of people like Melanie who are totally happy with
their cats no matter where they came from. I have a few strays too, and
I love them terribly. I encourage anyone who has any misgivings about
*buying* a pedigree cat to NOT buy the cat. If you can't tell me *why*
exactly you want a Siamese kitten, you don't get one from me. Pedigree
cats have a place in our world, and someone who wants predicatable health
and predictable personality, or someone who is fascinated and in love with
the traits of a particular breed should have a pedigree cat in their chosen
breed.
Mary
Sibercats Siamese
Loretta L. Pioch
In article <32E4E3...@ns.xensei.com>, A.D.P. <tri...@ns.xensei.com> wrote:
>John Herold wrote:
>> May poeple who want a purebred - my cats, for example - do so because
>> a pedigreed cat from a good breeder is likely to exhibit certain
>> behaviors and perosnality traits that the person has found pleasing
>> int he past, or that they believe they'd like to have in their feline
>> companion(s); and of course, for the particular look, as well.
>> Particularly regarding the latter, a person may have grown up with a
>> cat and wants one very similer to, if not "just like" their former
>> friend. Having a cat with a similar perosnality or behavior also
>> gives some people confidence that they can get along with the cat.
>> (I should add here that every cat is of course different; but there's
>> more similarity among purebreds than non-purebreds.)
>> Now, you may not have any of the attitudes I've described above, but
>> many people do feel that way and they love their cats as much as you
>> love the non-purebreds (and who's to say either love is "better" or
>> even mutually exclusive?). (I think) there's room enough in the cat
>> fancy for both types,a nd I think it's wrong to "slam" either.
>Yay John! <<clapping and cheering>>
>I've got three, one rather well bred manx female, one domestic shorthair
>male and one domestic long hair male.
>The manx came from a good breeder in Texas and her personality could
>have come straight from Marge Swanjek's book on Manx.
>The point I'm trying to make is that when cats breed indiscrimantly
>sometimes you end up with characteristics of personality or health that
>are not easy to live with in a companion animal.
>The two other cats I have come from similar, well cared for backgrounds,
>were adopted by myself as kittens, but one of them went insane at
>adulthood and takes some work to live with, much more then the other two
>and many cat owners would not choose to care for a difficult animal like
>that. I had no idea that life with Murray would be the way it is and
>sometimes I wish I had not taken him, but held out for a kitten from a
>good breeder with a known personality. Murray is 9 and as healthy as a
>horse. I suspect I'll be indulging him for another 10 years, perhaps
>longer!
Agreed!
I had a cat for most of my childhood. Most of them were outdoor kitties
(I know...that's a whole 'nuther subject!), but the last one I got my mom
let me keep her indoors. (I was so happy)
Then I went off to college...got married, and I have my own place.
And I want a kitty so badly. (my last kitty was adopted by my little neice...
there's no way I could get her back!)
My husband, on the other hand, has never lived with a cat, and therefore
doesn't know them too well. The only real experience he's ever had with
cats was with the 3 kitties I lived with before we got married.
(My housemate had 3 cats, and I roomed at that place for about 9 months).
2 of the cats were the cute black and white kitties, and were nice enough,
but never hung around me or my fiance (at that time), so he didn't get to
know them very well. The third cat was a BEAUTIFUL long-hair grey kitty.
And she was an absolute psycho.
The old "pet me and I'll pretend to like it for awhile, then I will literally
bite your hand off for no reason" cat. She never got her claws clipped because
she could bite through the tough, leather gardening gloves her owner had. It
was literally too painful.
She'd come and swipe you in the face in the middle of the night...to the point
of bleeding.
She'd chase after your legs when you walk from room to room and literally
bite into your ach. heel and draw blood.
And then sometimes she'd be as sweet as can be.
Oh yeah...and lucky us...she hung around me mostly.
Now, I can guess as to why she had such a disposition. Her previous owner was
an old man with arthritis, so she probably didn't get held much (and still
doesn't!). When he died, she made her way somehow to my roommate.
Whatever caused it, she is still a psycho kitty, and something that I would
never want permanently around ME much less my kids (in the future)!
And she wasn't the best cat for my husband to become acquainted with cats!
So the only way (and I agreed) that we would get a cat of our own is if we
*knew* that it wouldn't be psychotic! And going to the shelters, there was
no way on earth that I'd ever be able to convince my husband that I for certain
got a sweet, loving cat.
In my mind, I know that once he has seen how wonderful cats can be, and that
maybe psycho-kitty was an exception (which I believe she was), then MAYBE we
would in the future get a cat from the shelter.
But the first kitty had to be a purebreed -- one that is bred for its
disposition. Didn't take long for us to find that breed ... the Ragdoll.
Now, I also felt a little stupid paying $500 for a kitten, so I called a few
places, and asked them if they had any older cats they wanted to sell. I
found one place that was retiring a female kitty from breeding, and they'd
sell her to me for the cost of having her fixed -- which we'd have to do with
a kitten ANYWAY!
So what happened?
We adopted a purebreed cat that has the disposition EXACTLY like we wanted.
She definitely is not a psycho.
She's teaching my husband (and me!) how wonderful and loving a cat can be.
For now, we only want 1 cat, but when she's gone (she's 9 right now),
we might consider adopting from a local shelter...now that the image of
psycho-kitty is far from our minds (mostly).
Why would anyone want a purebreed? I'm sure there are thousands of different
reasons. I don't think it is heartless. And I think that quite often people
have very good reasons why.
i think, in my case, it was well worth it, and I do not regret the decision
in the least.
-- Loretta Pioch
rus...@mit.edu
A.D.P.
John Herold wrote:
>
> May poeple who want a purebred - my cats, for example - do so because
> a pedigreed cat from a good breeder is likely to exhibit certain
> behaviors and perosnality traits that the person has found pleasing
> int he past, or that they believe they'd like to have in their feline
> companion(s); and of course, for the particular look, as well.
> Particularly regarding the latter, a person may have grown up with a
> cat and wants one very similer to, if not "just like" their former
> friend. Having a cat with a similar perosnality or behavior also
> gives some people confidence that they can get along with the cat.
>
> (I should add here that every cat is of course different; but there's
> more similarity among purebreds than non-purebreds.)
>
> Now, you may not have any of the attitudes I've described above, but
> many people do feel that way and they love their cats as much as you
> love the non-purebreds (and who's to say either love is "better" or
> even mutually exclusive?). (I think) there's room enough in the cat
> fancy for both types,a nd I think it's wrong to "slam" either.
>
> -John Herold, THC Cattery (Traditonal Siamese), Baltimore MD
Yay John! <<clapping and cheering>>
I've got three, one rather well bred manx female, one domestic shorthair
male and one domestic long hair male.
The manx came from a good breeder in Texas and her personality could
have come straight from Marge Swanjek's book on Manx.
The point I'm trying to make is that when cats breed indiscrimantly
sometimes you end up with characteristics of personality or health that
are not easy to live with in a companion animal.
The two other cats I have come from similar, well cared for backgrounds,
were adopted by myself as kittens, but one of them went insane at
adulthood and takes some work to live with, much more then the other two
and many cat owners would not choose to care for a difficult animal like
that. I had no idea that life with Murray would be the way it is and
sometimes I wish I had not taken him, but held out for a kitten from a
good breeder with a known personality. Murray is 9 and as healthy as a
horse. I suspect I'll be indulging him for another 10 years, perhaps
longer!
ADP