I got a cat!

[Dagger311]

A few days ago, me and my family adopted a three month old kitten who was known as "Barry" (Funny story coming up about that). It is a Silver Tabby with white feet and black stripes. It's very energetic and loves to play with the cat wand.

Anyway, my dad got a call yesterday morning from Fulton Couunty Pet Adoption Services saying that the cat we got wasn't really Barry. Barry had been in their shelter for three weeks, and was never at the building we adopted from. This cat (Who was known to them as "Bob") hasn't had any of it's vaccinations, hasn't been neutered, or anything like that, so now we will have to go down to their building and get all of that taken care of.

But anyway, what are your thoughts on adopting versus buying? What about spaying and neutering? Do you have a cat or kitten?

 

[NDNA_]

I already have a cat (who's name is Pikachu) and he's spaying. I think adopting is better than buying. My cat is my friend so why I'm gonna pay to have a friend ?

I think you should spay/neuter your cat to be sure than you'll not have a thousand of kittens and there will be no sexual diseases.

 

[broadwaythecat]

omggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg you're so lucky!!!!! I always wanted a kitty cat! Just because my mom didn't need animal interaction when she was a kid doesn't mean I don't, either.

 

[Imbri]

That's a cute story about your new kitten. What are you planning to call it?

My family has always adopted, with one exception - my cat now, but there is a long story behind how he came to live with me. I plan to go back to the shelter when it is time to bring home a new cat/kitten.

So many cats/kittens and dogs/puppies are put in shelters that I'd much rather get one there, especially since it then frees up space for another animal, something that is always needed, unfortunately. As for spaying/neutering, I absolutely believe in it. Unless you have a purebred animal that you plan to breed, you should take care of that. It goes back to there being far too many animals being abandoned and ending up in shelters. I know that can be expensive, but there is help for that. Generally, the fees you pay at a shelter will include the cost. You either bring the animal back to the shelter for the procedure or they give you a receipt that area vets will accept. (That's how it works here, anyway. I would imagine other areas have similar programs.) Check out SpayUSA for ideas/examples.

Congrats on the new addition to your family and I hope you all enjoy each other for a long, long time!

 

[Bambi]

Congrats on your new addition I hope you and your family did lots of research and financing before adopting so that Bob has his forever home.

Adopting is always a wonderful thing to do. I have absolutely no problem with buying either as long as it is from a reputable breeder.

Honestly the main thing that bothers me with pet owners is when they don't realize the financial aspect to owning a pet. A pet is NOT a one time expense. It is an ongoing expense for the rest of its life. Working at a clinic I see owners who have adopted a pet (because it is cheaper than buying from a breeder.) Then they end up not able to afford medical expenses so the cat or dog has to be re-homed anyways. It's sad but true.

Research and financing are the two most important things before you bring a fur baby into your home, whether it is rescued or bought.

Spaying and neutering should definitely be done although I disagree with the age that most clinics neuter males at. Females should be spayed before their first heat cycle so that the mammary glands and hormones haven't been activated. This will help(in theory) to prevent breast cancer, cists etc. Most clinics neuter males at 6 months old. The reason I disagree with this is that the body hasn't had the time to benefit fully from the testosterone produced by the testes. Dogs in Canada and America end up with more bone breaks, cruciate ruptures, ligament tears etc than anywhere else in the world! If I put two and two together I am guessing it is because everyone is neutering so young.

I have seen both spaying and neutering done. When I see those surgeries I am surprised that people get all up in arms about ear cropping. Honestly both those surgeries are NOT minor. Especially spaying is a MAJOR surgery with much more pain.

Annnnnd now I'm rambling.....

 

[Smokey]

Please, always neuter/spay your pets, unless you plan on eating them. We don't need more annoying, brain-dead, animals walking around kthanks.

 

[Dagger311]

@Lookyhooky It took me forever to convince them to let me have one.

@Bambi Unfortunately, there are people who adopt and think "I can afford to have one now, since we adopted" and then a month later they can't support it, but we have planned ahead, cut a few things, and fit it in to our budget.

And just to clarify: I was never considering not getting the operation done, I just wanted to see if I was with the majority here.

 

[Lucious]

I will get a cat as well! Can't wait.

 

[Stevey Queen]

Whats the difference between adopting and buying??

 

[Qu33n0f1c3]

Adoption all the way. We caught our male black cat with a fishing net and adopted our two girls from a local shelter. They'd been there for 7 and 9 months.

Buying pets from stores is fine enough, but usually they come from terrible backgrounds, often bred in mills . . . And when they're not cute anymore or act out, end up in shelters.

That's not to say store animals don't deserve homes though. We got our first cat from a store when we first moved to our current house. I just like the idea of giving abandoned animals second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. chances.

I've never encountered a shelter cat I couldn't fix with enough love and patience.

Also as a rule of thumb, I never, ever adopt kittens. They're so 'high demand' that I feel safe that they'll find a home. I go for the meanest, fussiest cat I can find in the shelter at the time. Basically, ones no one else wanted, because they'd hiss or scratch because they were scared.

As for spay/neuter, with cats... oh god yes, get it done. Not only do they multiply, but females in heat are practically torture, and males pee all over the place.

 

[Dustbunnii]

Spaying/neutering is sooooo important... I think the US should have mandatory spaying/neutering so that animals wouldn't have to be euthanized as often...

As for adopting vs buying, I would adopt. I don't want to support mills or anything...

 

[ben_nyc]

Can you provide a picture?

 

[RoosterInURbutt]

Can you provide a picture?

I agree,
Pix or it didn't happen.

I have gotten cats from where ever you can think, abandoned, garage cat, barn cat, adoption, last chance, shelter, people's homes, rescue center. Even 2 the vet said if I didnt take them away from there owner when I did, they would of died in a week or 2. They were skin and bone and flee infested. They couldn't even produce blood for lab work.
Brought them back to life, got them homes. All in a days work of a crazy cat dad who has no pet cats.

 

[Dagger311]

@LoveMcQueen The difference is : Adopting a cat could be from a shelter (I.E the cat was abused by it's previous owner, taken away and put in a shelter), or maybe someone no longer had the financial means to take care of it, so it had to be rehomed. Buying a cat is typically done through breeders, or through cats that the breeders give to pet stores. Anyone feel free to correct me on any of this should I be wrong.

@ben_nyc Every time I bring up my 3ds or camera, it runs away, but this is the best I got:



We have named him Indy everyone.

 

[Imbri]

Oh, he has the sweetest face! The name is cute, too. And from what you said about him scooting every time you pull out your camera, he has a mind of his own, so I'd say the name fits.

 

[tigereyes86]

Very cute, congrats on the new addition to your family!

I have 2 just now, both neutered. 1 was adopted from a farm and one was sort of given to us actually! Her owner bred dogs and couldn't keep up the maintenance on her coat as often as she needed to so we got her. Shes a seal point persian, or Himalayan as US calls them. Our boy was found on a farm, they thought the mother only had 1 kitten but then another showed up so we got him and took him in or who knows what would have happened to him. He's a ginger farm cat, big bruiser of a moggy despite being the runt!

Adoption is a very generous thing to do although I would also buy from a reputable breeder, no problem with either!

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

You have no idea how many cats my family has owned. Let me think.....

All the cats we've had are ALWAYS stray cats, usually born from cats that live in our barns(we own a farm as a family business). We currently have five cats. Almond Joy, Sophers(don't ask), Fat Princess, The Gray Ninja(a.k.a. Sir Ribblesworth) and we got a new kitty a few days ago. Her name is Peanut Butter. She's really cute.

My family has had at least 20 cats.

Umm, so the five there, Mustard, Ketchup, Stickers, Rainbow, Snickers, Snickers Jr., Rainbow the 2nd, Rainbow the 3rd, Susie, Ruby, Emerald, Claws, Fribbles, Onix, Pinta, and a ton more that I don't remember. We repeat names on our cats a lot.

Anyways, adopting is always much better. You help out a cat in need that was alone, scared and now you've gotten the cat and it's safe now. You need to spay him, it actually extends your cat's lifespan by a few years.

 

[broadwaythecat]

@Lookyhooky It took me forever to convince them to let me have one.

@Bambi Unfortunately, there are people who adopt and think "I can afford to have one now, since we adopted" and then a month later they can't support it, but we have planned ahead, cut a few things, and fit it in to our budget.

And just to clarify: I was never considering not getting the operation done, I just wanted to see if I was with the majority here.

I've been begging my parents ever since I could talk and the only pets I got were a bunch of racist fish.

 

[Mr. L]

Nice cat, just hope it doesn't like scratching things too much, we had to declaw our cat's front paws for that reason.

 

[Dagger311]

@LookyHooky How could fish be racist?

@Kippla Are they all outside cats? My room smells like a manure factory, and I only have the one!

@Mr. L I personally don't like declawing them, as I think it takes away from their naturally given ability to hunt, but he scratched the piss out of me a couple of days ago. Ever heard that saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie"? Well, the same goes for cats...