My new family members

[crandc]

Since Orlando used up his 9th life it has been lonely in my house. Rudy and Margot were Orlando's cats, not mine, and since his death have gone full on feral, coming in only to eat, usually at night.

Since we have a 2 week holiday break, on Dec. 21 I went to SPCA to see if any cats would speak to me. I wanted a female because Rudy fights males. Margot hisses at females but doesn't fight. I thought two would be OK if they came together, but not two strangers.

The first cage, I was on the ground trying to get the attention of a female who showed no interest in me when a large male cat climbed onto me, put his paws on my shoulders and purred. He was so much like Orlando in personality, and beautiful, all black and long haired, I was tempted but just don't want cat fights. So I proceeded to the second room where a pair of calico sisters first played with my backpack then with me.

They are Sophie and Zoey, just over a year old. As adult cats, they should be past the age of tearing the place apart, but no one gave them the memo. They both have mutations in their tails. Sophie has a kink, but Zoey's tail doubles back on itself. I was afraid this might affect their balance. So they jumped to the top of a 6 foot high cabinet, then jumped to the valence that holds up the draperies, and chased each other back and forth on this 3" ledge. So much for balance problems.

They have figured out my place in the universe; I get home from work and they immediately run to the cabinet where their food is stored.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Cute kitties. Pet overpopulation drives me crazy but good for you for giving them a good home. I truly believe they will now have the perfect life going forward.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Hey Crandc, do you grow cat nip? My mom has a patch of it in her garden. During the summer different cats from the neighborhood take turns rolling and laying in it. High as hell out of their little kitty minds. It's really funny to see. They never get territorial over it, just seem to take turns.

 

[crandc]

I grew catnip once, but every cat in the neighborhood was in my yard, the catnip didn't last. I just get dried. Oddly, Sophie & Zoey do not seem very susceptible, about 1/3 of cats are not.

And they are spayed.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I didn't mean to infer responsibility. I'm glad you got them. Sad it is so easy.

 

[crandc]

I didn't mean to infer responsibility. I'm glad you got them. Sad it is so easy.

Not so easy. I had to pay $50 per cat to SPCA, pledge to take them to vet within 30 days, show I was over 21 (easy), they asked about past pets. It's easy to get an animal off the street, but SPCA does make an effort to be sure the humans are responsible.

 

[Further]

Congrats, those are some supercute kitties.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Not so easy. I had to pay $50 per cat to SPCA, pledge to take them to vet within 30 days, show I was over 21 (easy), they asked about past pets. It's easy to get an animal off the street, but SPCA does make an effort to be sure the humans are responsible.

It makes them feel better but I doubt it does much. In fact I suppose it does more harm than good. Poor people with little money or education may make the best pet owners. I have three dogs and one I got from a small organization that does home inspections. I told her my zip code and she waived it. The benefits of being a white couple who own a home in one of the few decent burbs in the Vegas area.

That doesn't make us good pet owners. The fact that you won't find a safer happier dog in this country does.

I could find you three cats tonight runn..........wait. My point was that there are millions of homeless animals because our society can't get their dogs and cats fixed. That says something about us and it isn't good.

 

[Strenuus]

Love seeing that! Awesome you did that.

Yeah, agencies and humane societies have a pretty thorough "intake" process to make sure people are suited to take them.

 

[crandc]

I agree no "vetting" process is perfect. But if someone has had pets before, and the pets lived long lives, that generally means the human is responsible.

The $100 didn't pay for the cats, it paid for their rabies and distemper shots and spaying, less actually than all that would cost at a private vet. I absolutely agree poor people are good cat people, but there are degrees of poverty - a person has to at least be able to feed the cat and take him/her to at least the low cost clinic. In fact this is the first time I've gotten cats from a shelter. The others just arrived. And some ended up costing a lot more.

Also agree there are way too many cats breeding. Even Sophie and Zoey - the vet said their spaying was recent and they are a year old. Cats need to be "fixed" at 5 months, before they can reproduce. I have supported "fix our ferals" programs. Uncontrolled breeding is bad for cats, they become a nuisance to humans, and devastate wildlife; not their fault, they have to eat. At any rate, the line ends with these two cats, they are not producing more kittens. Hairballs, yes, kittens, no.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Very cute!

 

[Sedatedfork]

Good looking cats! I remember your post about Orlando. Such a cool dude.

New furry family members are fun. We just got a new dog in September after having to put down our Red Doberman. He is a mix between Greyhound/German Shepard/Doberman. To say the least, he is an energetic guy.

 

[jlprk]

Bad cat. I'm on the mouse's side.

 

[crandc]

These are the most acrobatic and curious cats I've ever lived with. I know those are characteristics of all cats but Sophie & Zoey are exceptional. Not only do they chase each other along the valence, they jumped to the top of the washing machine to explore it, then climbed all the shelves in the laundry room. All my stuff is nontoxic, but still don't want them in soap.

They can't figure out why their human would put tasty plants in the home and then tell them not to eat said plants. Last night I could see the CATastrophe coming but was too far away to prevent. Sophie jumped into the pot holding the palm. The pot teetered in one direction, the table tottered in the other direction, and plant, table and cat came crashing down. The cat is fine, so is table, but the clay pot shattered and potting soil spilled everywhere. Not only had I JUST washed the floor. Some of the soil fell into the heating vents. This was ONE DAY after I paid $175 to get all the vents cleaned and sanitized. I tried spraying plants with bitter apple, and vinegar, and putting aluminum foil over the potting soil, all of which are supposed to repel cats. These two did not get the memo.

The curiousity is sometimes dangerous, like when I was boiling water for pasta and the two tried to jump onto the stove to inspect the moving steam.

In 2 weeks they get their second leukemia shot and then I can let them run in the yard. I've carried them around the yard and showed them how to get in through kitty door but can't let them out until vaccination is complete. Leukemia can be spread just through contact with body fluids, no bite or scratch needed.

 

[santeesioux]

Cute cats.

 

[Further]

Good looking cats! I remember your post about Orlando. Such a cool dude.

New furry family members are fun. We just got a new dog in September after having to put down our Red Doberman. He is a mix between Greyhound/German Shepard/Doberman. To say the least, he is an energetic guy.

That sounds like a fun mix. Both Shepherds and Dobermans are known as real intelligent dogs, Dobermans and especially Greyhounds are known for boundless energy. You should be in for a wild and smart dog. And one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known was a German Shepherd. I'm envious, that's a hell of a mix.