Let's Talk about Cats

[MicheleB]

Do you love them or hate them?

 

I confess, cats are my favorite pet animal. I love cats. However, I really am a *one* cat kind of person.

 

My 8yo ds has a cat we adopted from the SPCA. He named him Snowball (because he is, of course, all white :D ). However, Snowball has adopted *me*, much to ds' disappointment.

 

This cat is a total snug-bug, loves to be cradled and rocked like a baby, likes me to pat his "bottom" while I rock him and sing to him. He's a riot.

 

But, he is also a bit.... hmmm.... how shall I say it? Overbearing, perhaps? Neurotic, maybe? A black hole of emotional need? When he sees me, he comes running and jumps in one smooth motion from the floor to my arms. If I'm at the computer he has to throw himself over my shoulder (like you'd burp a baby) and dig his claws in and purr crazily. If I have to go away for a few days, he rips fur off his belly. Poor guy... he's so under-loved. (My kids say if it came down to them or the cat, I'd pick the cat....)

 

I love him though and would be sad if anything happened to him.

 

So all you cat lovers.... tell us about your felines!

[LisaKinVA]

I have always been a cat person -- but then I'm a "cat person" myself. I'm fine all on my own, except when I want to be petted, loved, and attended to, then MAN, you'd better pay attention :lol:

 

My current cat is the fine breeding of a feral cat -- and the temperment of a feral cat who has adjusted (somewhat slightly) to home life. Now that she's 17.5 years old she's finally willing to be around moving people. She's still pretty skittish, but she actually ate right next to me tonight, and allowed me to pet her at the same time!

 

This will probably be my last cat, as my dh detests the species (and also has bad allergies -- making it impossible for me to cuddle with my cat and my dh).

 

My fondest memory of my cat is with my dog Emily... Emily started off chasing Allie from the family room into the living room -- the next moment, Allie was chasing Emily from the living room back to the family room. It was a riot.

[Parrothead]

I've had a cat at one time or another for the last 30 years. It was the first thing I got when I moved out of my parents house.

 

The ones we have now are littermates. The boy is my buddy. He follows me if we go on walks outside.

[Catherine]

pet experiences we've had is the pregnant kitty we adopted a year ago. She had her 4 kittens just a few days later, in front of a large audience-LOL. My kids, three neighbor kids and their sitter, and me! And she didn't seem to mind at all. Very good biology lesson there-LOL.

 

After several weeks, we were able to send two of the four to the homes of friends, where we still get to see them occasionally, and then my mom and dad wanted to adopt the mother kitty. Now, we still have 2 of the kittens and they are such a hoot-they wash each other, play together, still sleep entwined. My 11 yo took more than 400 pictures of them when they were kittens!

[3lilreds in NC]

I *love* cats. I am most definitely a cat person! I have 4 right now, and I must confess that I find it a little overwhelming. Two are Persians, one is an exotic shorthair, and their coats are really, really hard to keep nice. In fact, they just are not kept nicely because I don't have the time. They are the sweetest cats, though. Never thought I'd have a purebred, but I had a friend who bred them give me my first two and I love them. They are so sweet. Not very bright, but very, very sweet.

 

Twink is my Siamese rescue cat. He is the best cat! If he weren't Siamese I would swear he was Italian. He's such a flirt.

 

They all have such unique personalities. When I was pregnant, I had visions of getting rid of ALL the animals because I could not stand the hair. But, when I would stop and picture the house without one of them, I would realize that their absence, any of them, would leave too big a hole.

 

What are pets without purring? :D

[*anj*]

Okay, you asked for it.

 

No, I do not like them in my house

I do not like them with a mouse

I do not like them on my lap

I do not like to see them nap.

I do not like to wear their hair

I do not like them anywhere.

 

I do not like cats, Michele B

I do not like them, can't you see?

 

How's that?

Kittens are cute but then they grow up. :glare:

[Paula in PA]

I guess that says how much I love cats. :001_smile: Our oldest is 15, a sweet little gray tabby. Next one is 12, he's my big orange boy and I don't mean fat. He's just huge, everybody who meets him has to comment on it. Then we have an almost 10 year old, a Manx (no tail), also larger than average, but so sweet-tempered. Next is the 8 year old large, fluffy, orange tabby stray we rescued. Last we have the twins, littermates, both almost pure black. They are just a little over a year and different as night and day in size and temperment. They were also strays. We have a dog, too, a lab/collie/shepard mix.

[Erica in PA]

We have two cats, that we love dearly. We got the first, a black kitten named Jasper, last May when we "temporarily" watched him while a friend looked for a home for him. We were delighted that our kids weren't allergic to him, as we suspected they might be, so we decided to keep him. A few weeks later, it was obvious that he needed a wrestling buddy other than dc's stuffed animals, so we got a tabby kitten named Hobbes to keep him company.

 

Jasper is a typical cat... aloof, but friendly when he wants to be, very curious and playful, great hunter, wants *everything* on his terms, doesn't like to have anything suggested to him.

 

Hobbes is a sweetie pie, though a bit spastic. You can pick him up and he'll stay with you for a long time, rubbing his face against your face and closing his eyes in bliss. But other times if you even set foot in the same room he dashes away like you're his worst enemy.

 

Our cats are a huge part of our family, and we are so glad to be able to have them, after years of thinking we couldn't have any due to allergies. They add so much to our life!

 

Erica

[tibbyl]

Cats are my preferred companion because they mostly live life on their own terms. Besides having a great deal of respect for them, I adore their don't-call-me-I'll-call-you attitude. However, they do tend to be neurotic critters, especially the females.

 

Our most recent live-in cat is a big, bold but easygoing, orange male stray, now neutered. We keep our garage door open about a foot so our cats can come and go; their litter boxes are kept in garage. Leading from garage to kitchen is a cat door. Sometimes we keep catfood in the garage. On a few occasions, we had spied the big orange stray tom helping himself to cat chow.

 

Early one morning, I was roused out of sound sleep with the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching me. Adrenaline pumped as I opened my eyes to see the orange tom resting on my bed a few inches from my face. Apparently he had entered through garage door, then cat door, and made his way to master bedroom without alerting our three dogs sleeping throughout the house.

[Heather in Neverland]

I have two beautiful little princess cats named Lexi and Ginger. Lexi is a blue russian and she has six toes on each of her front paws! Ginger is a long-haired calico and has the coloring of a tiger.

 

If dh and I got divorced there would be a serious custody battle over the cats!!!:D

[Paula in PA]

Twink is my Siamese rescue cat. He is the best cat! If he weren't Siamese I would swear he was Italian. He's such a flirt.

 

I had a siamese who was a huge flirt. He used to charm the vet techs even when he was almost 18 and fighting kidney failure. Now I have this huge orange tabby who's an even bigger flirt. He even manages to get people who don't like cats to pet him.

[Plucky]

I loooooove cats. I'm down to 2 and would like to get another 1 or 2 but need to save up for the cost to fix them. I love my dog, too and my frog. I used to adore a hamster I used to have. He always came to me and was a sweetie. But he died.

 

Animals are great but they are a lot of work. Like kids aren't enough work.

[Jenny in Florida]

I grew up with dogs, bunches of them at a time that were not well trained and who made life really complicated and often unpleasant. I could tell you stories . . .

 

So, when I moved out into my first apartment, the first thing I did was adopt a kitten. When it turned out she was lonely during the day while I was at work, I adopted another. And those two were with me until they died. I loved having them be a part of my life.

 

When the second one died, my husband and I agreed to go pet-free for a while, just to make life easier. By then, we had the two kids, and having pets, too, just made things kind of overwhelming, especially when the cats got older and needed more care. The second one, my sweet but not-terribly-bright Tybalt, had a rough time with his final illness, and it was very wrenching making decisions about his treatment. And I felt ready for a break.

 

But then . . . but then . . . I found myself wandering up and down the pet food aisle in the grocery store and crying because I didn't need to buy anything.

 

At this point, my son was about 5, and I knew in my heart and soul that what that kid needed was a dog. And I really, really wanted an animal that would be more of a companion, someone I could put on a leash and take to the park. So, I started quietly researching breeds of dogs that could live well in apartments.

 

Instead, my husband talked me into guinea pigs. We acquired a pair of them, which we love (especially my daughter). They're very cute and sweet in a lumpy kind of way and not much trouble, but I still wanted that dog. And, by that time, we'd moved into a rental house with a fenced yard (and a no-pets clause in the lease, but I figured we'd work around it).

 

Instead, my husband talked our landlord into approving a cat. And then went out and adopted one as a surprise for me.

 

Only, it turns out the cat hates me. He's neurotically, frantically attached to my husband, whom he adores beyond reason. He is moderately fond of my son, whom he accepts as a just-barely-tolerable substitute when my husband isn't home. He is indifferent to my daughter. And he actively dislikes me.

 

We've tried various things, including having me be the one to give him the treats every night. But he still hates me.

 

So, on the theory that two cats are not much more trouble than one, we adopted a second kitten a year or so later. This one because my daughter fell in love with her and begged. My husband consciously stayed out of the way, refusing to have anything to do with the new kitten and ignoring her whenever possible.

 

I'll bet you can guess who her favorite is, right?

 

She's not as unpleasant as her big brother, and will come say hello to any of us now and then, especially if we happen to have food. But the only one she actively seeks out to spend significant cuddle time with is my husband. It's not at all uncommon for him to spend entire evenings sitting in his recliner with both cats draped over him.

 

And, meanwhile, I get all teary everytime I see a cute dog.

 

So, I have to say, I'm just not all that crazy about cats these days.

[nmoira]

I cannot imagine life without cats. Men yes, cats no. We have a 12 year old tuxedo cat and two new ones from the shelter. One is a 3 year old blue and the other a tiny classic tabby (6 lbs... I didn't know they made cats that small). We had to euthanize my most beloved of all cats about 2 months ago, and I wouldn't have got the new cats so soon if it hadn't been for the kids. They're wonderful, but I still miss my Oz.

[Mama Lynx]

I love cats. Dearly.

 

Right now we have two: Merlin, nearly 17; and Morwen (Wenna), 14. They're both in great health.

 

Merlin is long-haired and black, a stray who followed us home when he was about a year old. He is just now becoming affectionate to people other than my DH, and is actually affectionate with the children. This is very, very new. He likes to go outside to do his business - he pretty much refuses the litter box. We've learned that to refuse to let him out when he asks is a bad, bad thing. If we can keep a box of dirt - NOT litter - in the house, so much the better.

 

Wenna is "my" kitty. She's neurotic, and odd. She licks lightswitches and pictures. I think she was taken from her mother too young. She has no idea how to keep her claws in (neither cat is declawed). She's a shorthair, and looks remarkably like a Russian blue.

 

My internet name always has "lynx" in it.

 

My kids are desperate for a kitten. I'm torn between my love of cats, and my tireness of cats peeing in inappropriate places, and vet bills. :glare:

[VaKim]

Love them. We have six right now. And three dogs. :)

The cats are the bosses of the house though, and the dogs pretty much know it.:D

[mamapjama]

I love cats. My last two were both 17 when they passed.

 

But they were both prone to throwing up for no reason and in the worst locations possible. And dh has said that he will not commit to another 17 years of cleaning litter boxes. So I can't forsee a sweet snuggly cat in my home anytime soon :(

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Oh yes, let's! (I am annoyed with one of mine right now) My sweet dear old girl Mabel is blind. She is 98% perfect in every other way, except for last night. She, on occasion, will come across a toy mouse or small sock upon the floor. She puts said item in her mouth, walks across the house to ME howling all the while. She deposits item in the room, whichever I happen to be in, and continues to let me know about it until I praise, thank, and love on her appropriately. Last night, she did this 3 separate times during the night. Unusual for her to do that so much. And I did not praise her the 3rd time! She got booted out of the bedroom with the door shut behind her. So, it felt like I had a newborn last night with getting up 3 times with her, once or twice hearing kids go to the restroom, and once myself. :glare:

[momofkhm]

My current cat, well I'm the only one she loves. Really. She detests everyone else. Unless I am not here for a while. In a couple week when I take the kids for a week at my folks' house, she will go up to dh for love and he'll give it to her. But when I am around, it's all me. She hates the dog. Of course he's 2 and just wants to play play play. And since he's about 10 times her size, well you get the picture.

 

I wish we had a cat that everyone could love and that loved everyone.

[Carrie12345]

I think my cats are the most incredible cats in the world.:D

 

Phil and Lil are both males, but we didn't realize that at first. Oops! Poor Lil has been stuck with the name.

We took them home when a woman brought them to an outdoor event at about 5 weeks old. She had them in a large box with no blankets on a very chilly September day, letting random children handle them out in the cold air. They were the last two of the eight (from 2 litters) that she was trying to get rid of.

I couldn't watch it anymore, so I grabbed some sweatshirts out of the give-away bag in my minivan and asked dh to pack them up and take them home.

 

Phil and Lil aren't clingy. They don't sit on people's laps or anything like that. I think they're trying to kill me by running under my feet on the stairs. But they ADORE my children.

 

The girls carry the cats around like babies. They try to play dress up with them. The baby tries to discover what cat eyeballs feel like, and he can often be found completely stretched out on top of one of the cats, giving his version of a hug.

 

Not only do the cats tolerate this, but they sleep with the kids almost every night. I have numerous pictures of my girls sharing pillows with the cats.

 

Even our dogs think our cats are pretty cool. I'm impressed, considering the dogs were here first.

[JFSinIL]

I have had cats since before I was born. There is a photo of my mom with a cat draped over her big tummy.... now we have four, one of which, our white one, too, is in our faces for attention all the time. He like to jump of the table during school and stick his furry butt in dd's face while nuzzling me, prior to plopping down on the schoolwork. Sigh.

[Guest 4boys]

I used to love cats. I worked in a cat vet clinic before I got married. And then I had kids. :D Cats went WAY down my priority list. Now we have a few farm cats and there's only one that I will let touch me. Ha ha.

[BritAnnia]

I loooooooooooove cats!

My beautiful maine-coon mix, Nanshe, died this past February. We were all heartbroken, even dh who'd never wanted me to get a cat in the first place all those years ago. She was 2years old when we adopted her from the local county animal shelter and was always such a sweet and lovely girl. She'd hug like a small child when she was being held. Paws one over each of our shoulders and body turned slightly and one paw would grip, just like a little child's hand does. absolutely adorable, and what a way to brighten our day receiving a cuddle from her. The house felt so empty after she died and we all still miss her.

 

We adopted two very young kittens from a local rescue group in May. They had been dumped at the county animal shelter without being properly weaned. The shelter staff had simply placed a tray of dry food in front of them and left them to fend for themselves. At 5 weeks old they were too young to be adopted (to the general public) but were kept there for the usual 7 days in case someone came to claim them. At the end of the week they were about to be euthanized when a local rescue group saved them. I adopted themfrom the rescue group when they were 8 weeks old.

Their names are Aine and Aoife and they are quite different in personality. Aine is larger, floppy, cuddly, quiet and gentle. Her nickname is Luna Lovegood. Aoife is smaller and more wirey and tense. She loves to be petted but not held, and she meows all the time which has earned the nickname Moaning Myrtle. My avatar picture is of Aoife in her favourite pose, mouth wide open and moaning at me :)

[SapphireStitch]

I'm a cat-lover, too. (Anybody want to do a poll and compare Myers-Briggs types and animal prefs? I have a theory, but haven't taken time to try to prove it.:))

 

I got my first cat when I was 4 years old and had at least one cat at a time through my growing-up years. When DH and I married he didn't like cats, and I was tired of dealing with litter boxes so I agreed to live without them. Enter DD who at age 5 said "Daddy, I really really really want a little kitty cat!" DH succumbed and we've been cat people ever since.

 

Right now we have Petunia and Gracie. Petunia is a gray and white tabby, with her white parts in a tuxedo pattern. She's 13 years old and has arthritis in her legs from being too athletic as a younger cat. She is DD's cat mostly, but she also likes to sit by me in the evenings if I'm cross-stitching or crocheting. She's whiny and annoying and bulimic and co-dependent.

 

Gracie is 4 years old, she's a tortie and has the true tortie personality. She hates other cats and only tolerates Petunia because P has seniority. She sleeps with DH and me every night and wakes us up in the morning by kissing us and mowrring in our ears. Gracie showed up at our door on Labor Day 4 years ago. She was part of a litter a neighbor's cat had. They did not want to keep the kittens and after they managed to give away a few of them they left the rest to fend for themselves. Gracie "fended" by finding us and adopting us. :001_smile:

 

My favorite cat of all time was the first one we got after DH relented. Basil died 3 years ago of kidney failure, but I still miss him. He was a BIG gray tabby with thick plush fur and huge feet. When we got him he was tiny little ball of fur who was so scared he couldn't go to sleep unless I was holding him. I actually rigged up a cat sling/wrap thing out of a baby blanket so that I could hold him and type at the same time.

 

When Basil was a tiny kitten we had his litter box in our bathroom and I was afraid he'd forget where it was. So when I needed to use the bathroom I would pick him up and take him with me and put him in his box. Even as a grown-up cat, and even after the litter box moved to a different room, he would still follow me to the bathroom and sit on the floor next to my foot to keep me company.:)

 

I really want another boy cat; in my experience male cats are more affectionate and cuddly. Right now, though, it causes Petunia enough stress to have to deal with Gracie. Maybe when she's gone we will get a little brother for Gracie...although she'd probably rather be an only cat!

[swellmomma]

I love cats, we have our cat CHeezie, whom we adopted from the SPCA 2 years ago. Correction she adopted dd, that day. We went in the cat room and everytime dd walked by this one cage this little fiesty kitten would swipe her paw and knock the clipboard of information off the cage door to get dd's attention. We brought her home that day and she has been by dd's side ever since. SHe has turned into a very good mouser (we had house mice when she was 8 months old and she learned very quickly what to do), and has pretty much turned herself into an outdoor kitty. The funniest thing with her is that she will only drink cold running water, so when she is thrirsty she will meow at the bathroom door until someone comes and turns the water on. When we go away for a day or two we have to leave the water on and bathroom door open.

 

I have had cats at one time or another since moving out of my parents home. One we adopted as a senior cat jsut to give it a home to peacefull die in instead of a cage, so that became a learning lesson for the kids for sure. The only time I ever bought a cat at the pet store I got a devil spawn kitty who was absolutely insane and attacked the kids who at the time were 6 months, 4 yrs and 5 yrs. so e had to go to a new home.

[Remudamom]

We are huge cat fans. Felix is our oldest, and for years the only cat we had. Perfect. Comes in when he wants, goes out to do his business, independent, ate with the dogs.

 

Then a cat we were feeding in one of the cattle pastures had an accident and ended up having his leg amputated. We brought him to the house. Sam

 

Then a ragdoll type kitten hitched a ride in the mechanic's truck to the barn and found us before the dogs found her (miracle). I was instantly smitten. Sophia.

 

Found a starving kitty in town. Bucers.

 

Trapped a tom that was a bully. Had him fixed. Tom.

 

Another tom shows up. Gets the Tom treatment. Jack.

 

We're in the process of catching all the feral barn cats and having them altered, then putting them back in the barn. It's slow. There's two mom cats and a lot of babies.

 

Felix, Sophia, Sam and Bucer's have the run of the house, yard. Everyone else must stay out. I'm Sophia's person, she likes to sleep on my pillow with her face on mine.

[3lilreds in NC]

Only, it turns out the cat hates me. He's neurotically, frantically attached to my husband, whom he adores beyond reason. He is moderately fond of my son, whom he accepts as a just-barely-tolerable substitute when my husband isn't home. He is indifferent to my daughter. And he actively dislikes me.

 

You know, I've had this happen with two cats. The first one, Milo, was a little stray that my BIL found at a Ford plant. He'd had an injury to his spine, which made it difficult for him to walk or run like a normal cat. I was clueless in those days, and our other cat, Jasper, seemed to take to Milo right away. He then proceeded to stuff the poor, malnourished, terrified kitten down the cold air return vent. Dh had to take ductwork apart in the basement to get him out. He was wholeheartedly dedicated to dh after that. He was never mean to me, but he never liked me. Ever. I had to have him put to sleep before we came here and I swear to you he *knew* what I was doing and kept his eyes open the whole time. He did not "go to sleep." It was just awful.

 

Then, when we moved to NC Jasper came with us. He was a lovely cat when we got him. I'm not sure what happened, but he became overtly aggressive toward me before we had kids, and the kids did nothing to alleviate it. Eventually we had to get rid of him because he would NOT stop pooping all over the house, and I had 2 babies who were going to get into the big mess. We tried *everything* with that cat. He was a nightmare to me, but he *adored* my dh, who of course could not see that the cat caused huge problems for me during the day. The only reason he lived as long as he did was that he was declawed, so he really did very little damage to me. Good thing he wasn't a biter.

 

Now, all the cats love me best, LOL! Well, Simon, our big Persian, isn't too particular if you have yogurt or ice cream and he loves attention from pretty much anyone. He seems to like my oldest dd best, really. All the other ones are mama's cats, though. They know who feeds them, LOL!

[Rhonda in TX]

Richard (maine coon cat) would walk behind DH as he mowed the yard.

 

Tiffany (part siamese) would allow my then-toddlers to carry her around like a sack of potatoes.

 

When our old-as-the-hills cat, Gary, got so old his arthritis kept him from bathing himself, Tiffany would do it for him.

 

Nelly (a real mutt of a cat) was the cleaning-est cat ever. If you held the tip of her tail up to her face, she would lick it clean.

 

If you were petting Ariel (another maine coon) and quit, she would reach up and tap you on the chin.

 

Great cats. Great memories. We love cats.

[StaceyinLA]

Of course, 3 live outside (we have 5 acres and they like to kill things). 1 is an inside/outside (gotta love her cuz you don't have to have a litter box) and 1 my dd picked up all wet and muddy from the ball park not too long ago. He is still fairly young, but is starting to explore outside some during the day. My goal is to get him where he doesn't need a box inside, but I'm sure he'll always be in/out because he's so affectionate.

 

All of these cats have been rescued in one way or another. All are spayed/neutered (except the little one and it won't be long). I have serious issues with people not spaying and neutering animals!!

 

My outside ones have no real desire to come in at all. I think they just like their life, plain and simple!!

[OnTheBrink]

We love kitties here! We have three.

 

Pixie: Siamese who is quite the little love. She likes to be held on my shoulder, like a baby. She has no patience for the male tabby, though.

 

Velvet: Gray short hair who is quite the queen of the castle. She is reflective and reserved, but loves a good ear scratching. She chose dd when we went to the pound for a kitten.

 

Muridan (Murray): Orange tabby male, very much a little boy! He loves to watch the toilet flush, he loves to irritate the girl kitties and he loves to be petted. He is always wanting to get outside to get the squirrels and crickets.

[Tracy in Ky]

I am a cat lover through and through. We have 5 of them: Biscuit, Fuzzy, Tiger, Blueberry, and Blackberry. Two of them are strays that we have taken in, the other 3 were born here on the farm.

 

I love my kitties.

[*anj*]

Wow, did I ever get outnumbered in this thread or what? :001_huh:

I thought for sure that since the OP asked whether people liked them or not there would be more people who'd chime in like I did. :001_smile:

 

Oh well, at least someone was amused with my silliness!! :lol::lol:

[MicheleB]

Wow, did I ever get outnumbered in this thread or what? :001_huh:

I thought for sure that since the OP asked whether people liked them or not there would be more people who'd chime in like I did. :001_smile:

 

Oh well, at least someone was amused with my silliness!! :lol::lol:

 

Well, I thought more cat-dislikers (hater is just too strong of a word in relationship to cats :D ) would chime in as well.

 

But, your "poem" was hilarious!

 

And all the cat stories are great. Doesn't it change your mind just a little bit, anj? :D

[*anj*]

Well, I thought more cat-dislikers (hater is just too strong of a word in relationship to cats :D ) would chime in as well.

 

But, your "poem" was hilarious!

 

And all the cat stories are great. Doesn't it change your mind just a little bit, anj? :D

 

I agree, even though I don't care for cats, I can't say that I hate them. ;)

 

Thank you. That poem popped into my head as soon as I read your question. I was laughing at myself while I typed it. :lol::lol:

 

Oh, I wish I could say that the cat stories changed my mind, but no. They kind of creep me out if I think about them too long. Someone said that there is a picture of her mother with a pregnant belly and a cat draped over top. Yikes! I would not like that.

I don't know what my problem is. They just kind of give me the creeps. Maybe because I think they're intelligent, and I don't know what they're thinking. You look at a dog and you basically know what the dog is thinking (probably), but a cat? Somehow I think that the cat is staring at me trying to decide whether or not to claw my eyes out.

 

Yikes! Totally irrational!

But they love me. They want to brush up against me and if I'd let them climb on my lap they would.

Very, very strange.

:001_huh: ;) :D

[Mom to Aly]

I adore cats! I grew up with two, one indifferent, one too stupid to be. She would walk into walls. You'd turn her around. She'd walk into another wall. Not blind. Stupid. Truly.

 

Then, soon after marriage, we got our first cat. Then another. And another. A Himalayan. Then a Persian. Decided to breed them. Kept the one kitten they had. Two more litters, kept them all. Some strays, ended up with 14 cats (no more litters--too dangerous for us :) ).

 

My cats were my children before I had my dd. They say me through the loss of my first daughter, through years of my bad marriage. I had no idea cats could be so smart, loving, wonderful, etc. Most had Indian or French names, all of which I love! I have to list them--skip it if it is too boring:

 

Bisou (a small kiss a child gives a parent--my fave word in French)--a smoke American Shorthair

Mignon--tuxedo longhair (still have her--she is 18)

Shiva--Himalayan

Sauvage--my fave cat ever. Died 3 years ago--Silver Classic Tabby Persian. The most beautiful, intelligent, feeling, thinking, wonderful cat you've ever seen. I'd say human, but that would be insulting him.

Bali--my fave place in the world--Black Bombay.

Buddy--one of her children--biggest cat I've ever seen.

Tartuffe--another of her babies--brown tabby--died at three months :(

Lestat--Lynx Point Himalayan

Caesar--Brown Tabby Persian

Charlo--Black Smoke Persian

Baudelairette--Black Smoke Persian--we thought she was a boy when we named her, and had to change it later :).

Neige--White Tabby Persian--incredibly rare, so gorgeous, you cannot imagine!

Sealy--Seal Point Himalayan--unfortunate name, he followed me around like a dog, so we called him Sealy Puppy, my dd renamed him Silly Putty

Mowgli--Black Smoke Persian--we now call Moogli.

 

Garfield--We got him 3 years ago, right before Sauvage died, when I suspected he was sick. Wonderful black and white cat, huge! Bully, though, which is sad.

 

We adored all of our cats, but, unfortunately, a four years ago, my daughter had a really bad lung infection on top of her asthma, and our doc said we had to give up most of our babies--the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My xh had just left, and I had to give 10 of them away. He wouldn't take any (didn't want any responsibility). I found them all great homes, but I still miss them all, and it still hurts all the time. DD thinks it was because of my asthma.

[Paula in PA]

But they love me. They want to brush up against me and if I'd let them climb on my lap they would.

Very, very strange.

:001_huh: ;) :D

 

They know. I had a bf and a friend in high school who absolutely hated cats. My sister's cat at the time was very anti-social with anyone but her. Except for my bf and friend. Everytime either of them visited, this cat was all over them. It's was funny, from my perspective. Of course, I was only 17. Needless to say, neither relationship lasted. :D

[E_Edgerton]

I think I have grown to love them...I have a neighborhood cat that visits me...he sort of has made me feel chosen! I love cats now...no matter how needy that sounds! I love the visits and hope to get a cat in the future. I like their confidence and sense of purpose. Not to mention they are potty trained from the start!:)

[Stacia]

I love cats!

 

We currently have 5. Two of them are 'mine' (or perhaps I belong to them) & the others are one each for the rest of the family. Plus, there's a stray cat that I've fed for years, but I keep my dh happy by not naming the cat (thus, it doesn't become 'ours'), lol.

 

For many years (from middle school through the time I got married) I had an awesome black cat. I even had a wedding photo taken w/ George (my cat). Dh still loves that photo.

 

The 2 current kitties that are mine (out of our group) both have some flame-point/siamese mix. I like the sassy ones. They're not the type to like being picked up, but they definitely have intelligence & attitude. :001_smile:

 

Here's my theory after years of living with cats:

Black cats: Awesome

Siamese, flame-point, or any mix thereof: Awesome

Black & white cats: Sweet but not the brightest

Orange tabby cats: Lovey-dovey types

[Bee]

At one point,many years ago, I had 13.They were all dropoffs and strays.That was a little much.My 2 oldest cats are mine.They are 15 years old,littermates, and live in the laundry room.They have a cat door so they can go outside as they please.They are allowed to visit in the house but won't stay because they do nothing but pace when they feel forced to stay inside.We have one black cat who was a stray who is allowed in during the day but he usually goes to the laundry room at night.We have 2 female cats that were obviously abandoned.One, the white tortoise shell, belongs to oldest dd.She (the cat,not dd ) is very bossy with all the other cats.She is allowed in and out during the day but has to stay in the house at night.The other cat is strictly a housecat.She is afraid of being outside and is very fat.My dd's cat and the black cat have collars with bells since they will kill whatever they can.One of my oldest cats never hunts anymore and the other is a bit deaf so he doesn't hunt as well as he used to though he is very efficient at killing and eating whatever poor mouse or mole the other cats are torturing.

[TravelingChris]

I love cats. I have two cats and on dg. My current cats are Yorick, a 16 year old Siamese who is the sweetest cat. He doesn't mind being picked up, he likes dogs and cats, he is very good-natured. We have had him since he was 9 weeks old. He is dying from heart failure and has become very thin and bony but he is still very afectionate in a gentle way.

 

My other cat is a stray we found at 11 weeks. He is a large medium haired male. He likes me the best and likes to jump on me and purr in the afternoons.

 

Both of my cats saved my then house from burning down since they alerted us to a furance fire. The safety stop had failed and the furnace had started burning the closet it was in. The cats meowed loudly and strangely and alerted us.

 

We usually also have a dog. Our dog now is a calm miniature poodle that barely barks. I like quiet animals. I also have a fish tank.

[Nakia]

Oh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE cats. We have a gray cat, Quincy, that dh and I got right after we got married. He is 10 yrs old. We have an orange and white cat, Murray, who is 7. He is our master mouser. And we recently adopted 2 tuxedo kittens, Oliver and Oscar. I adore each and every one of them.

 

Even my dh loves cats. I once had a patient tell me that a man who loves cats makes a good husband. :D

[Guest Katia]

Add me to this list! I LOVE cats.

 

We have had four so far:

 

Kitty-Kitty- put to sleep in Oct. at 16-19 years old. She was a stray that stayed and she was my baby-love.

 

Blitzen- is 8 years old. A big, orange Maine Coon. He is around 18-20 pounds. A real lover.

 

Snowflake- 6 years old. All white Turkish Angora. Sweet and lovable, but she doesn't like me to sleep at night. (grrr!) She loves her pink mice.

 

Theta - 4 years old. Turkish Van. He is the most lovable thing! Fun and playful.

 

Notice my name is Kat. Did I say I loved cats? :001_smile:

[keroro]

I love cats and even have a lovely pet cat, Raincloud, who we consider to be a member of our family. However, one of my biggest pet peeves is pet cats who are allowed to roam freely outside. I believe domesticated cats should be indoor pets only. The primary reason is the threat they pose to songbirds and other wildlife. Furthermore, house cats have a longer life span too.

[ereks mom]

He is 16 yo and is such a sweetie!

 

Pic #1

 

Pic#2

[MicheleB]

He is 16 yo and is such a sweetie!

 

Pic #1

 

Pic#2

 

Great cat! My 8yo ds just saw the pix and said he wants a cat like that! :D

[Paula in PA]

He is 16 yo and is such a sweetie!

 

Pic #1

 

Pic#2

 

Oh my goodness! That's like seeing our big, orange, fluffy tabby 10 years from now! My dd saw the picture and her mouth just dropped open. He looks just like our Mooch. It's so wild! :D

[GreenKitty]

I love cats!

 

Currently we have two females, one 8yr old and one 3mos old. We are debating on getting another kitten as a playmate for our current kitten. Our 8yr old is not very fond of the kitten following her around all day biting her tail. We do have several things for the kitten to play with, including us. Though I wonder if she would be happier if she has a buddy?? Suggestions?

[RoughCollie]

I didn't like cats particularly, but a long time ago my neighbor's cat would visit me every day. Of course I was nice to him! My neighbor noticed this and decided that I loved cats, so she gave me a kitten as a gift. I did not refuse the gift because I didn't want to hurt my neighbor's feelings. I went right out and bought cat books and supplies. I absolutely adored that cat.

 

My neighbor saw how much I adored my new kitten, so she brought me another one. Of course I took the kitten. I am just lucky that my neighbor moved away before I became the owner of dozens of cats.

 

We had our cats for 14 and 15 years, respectively, and they brought joy to our lives every day. They were like our children until we had children -- then the difference between children and pets became apparent. Of course, we still loved the cats, but the kids were much more important to us than they were.

 

I cannot have a cat now because my DD is allergic to them.

 

RC

Edited September 26, 2008 by RoughCollie

[Audrey]

Love cats. Love animals. I don't get people who say that they don't like animals. Unless they are allergic, I'm very suspicious of people like that.

[Kalypso]

Okay, you asked for it.

 

No, I do not like them in my house

I do not like them with a mouse

I do not like them on my lap

I do not like to see them nap.

I do not like to wear their hair

I do not like them anywhere.

 

I do not like cats, Michele B

I do not like them, can't you see?

 

How's that?

Kittens are cute but then they grow up. :glare:

 

:iagree: