Okay so, we as a family love cats. We have four already. But since one of our kitties went missing late last year, we've now given up that he's not coming back/is dead, and have accepted it.
I guess we were all feeling as though we had an empty spot somewhere so my mum suggested getting another cat... I was unsure at first as I didn't want to "replace" the missing cat, but I just cannot refuse the fluffy adorableness of a kitten.
Problem is, we couldn't find any kittens for sale in our area, and those that we could find were either ridiculously pricey (pedigree breeds), or black and white. Picky I know, but we already have two black/black and white cats and we really want a tortoiseshell or ginger cat. Personally I want a Calico!
There's a cattery local to us, which sells pre owned (is that the right term?) and rescue cats, spayed/neutered and medicated for decent prices. Giving up on a kitten, we hoped there would be a young cat available there.
When we arrived, there was one cat that immediatley grabbed me, a small blue (grey) female with beige patches. I had a little tickle with her and was instantly smitten, but the woman that runs the place wanted to show us another cat.
Sadly I don't have a picture of her, but she was a brown tabby called Dolly. She'd been in the cattery for more than a year and nobody wanted her. We held her and she did the CUTEST thing - climbed up on my shoulder and perched there grooming my hair! Although I really liked the first grey kitty, I decided that it was kinder to take Dolly as she had been there for so long, and with the grey cat being such unique colours, someone was sure to snatch her up soon enough!
So we left with Dolly. She was great (at first), cuddly and playful, until she began hissing and growling at us. We expected her to be aggressive to our other cats as... well, they're cats, but she soon began being aggressive with us, swiping and growling at us. We first but it down to her being overwhelmed and scared of her new home, but once she'd attempted to rip my hand to shreds and also had our oldest cat pinned down, we decided that maybe Dolly needed to go to a home without any other pets.
It was only when we returned her that the woman told us that she'd been abused and found with an injured leg and jaw, perhaps from other animal attacks... Something she DIDN'T tell us the day we bought her! Dolly was obviously petrified of other animals and expecting an attack, no wonder she was so defensive and aggressive!
We felt guilty, as she was a lovely cat to begin with, but she wasn't for us. The woman suggested we take the grey cat that I originally liked, which I was thrilled about, but warned us that she did "bat" at the other cat it shared a pen with. Again, this is normal, most cats don't like other cats, batting and the occasional swipe is normal. She also told us that this cat had recently been spayed just two days previously, but assured us it was safe to take her, we just had to take care not to pull or press on her stitches.
She was SO ADORABLE! Also a beautiful colour. We named her Poppy, and she was all great and fine with everyone, only growling at one cat who came too close.
HOWEVER.
Things soon turned bad. Our oldest cat was outside in the rain, and as I knew it wasn't a good idea to have her in the same room as Poppy, I decided that I would carry her in and shut her upstairs away from the new cat. I made to carry the old cat from the kitchen to the stairs, a few feet only, but as I passed the sofa, Poppy jumped up onto the chair arm to swipe at our old cat. I moved into the centre of the room to get out of the cat's reach, but...
THE DAMN CAT FOLLOWED ME AND CLAWED IT'S WAY UP MY LEG TO GET AT THE OTHER CAT!
Seriously, I have huge big claw puncture wounds that are badly bruised and so bloody painful!
I dropped the older cat in surprise and then there was a fucking huge cat fight between the two, the cats yowling and me screaming my head off for my mum, it was so damn scary.
I was worried for the old cat, as she's old and doesn't need to be attacked or the stress really, but she was fine after two hours of hiding. I was also worried for Poppy, despite the injuries she caused, because of the stitches...
Both cats were fine in the end but we had to return Poppy too. I was sad to see her go, as she really was a lovely cat despite that incident. I guess she too needs to be in a home where she's the only cat.
So after all this fuss and crap, my mother STILL wants another cat, but won't settle for anything other than a kitten now. We put it down to the fact that both Dolly and Poppy were full grown, at least one year old, and so they were less impressionable with the other cats.
Kittens don't pose a threat to older cats and they learn that they need to keep their distance from a young age. I guess our two cats were used to being alone and having their own freedom. If a kitten is introduced to other resident cats, they all settle much much easier.
It just so happens that we've found a kitten, ready to leave it's mother in a month or so, and the owner has reserved it for us!
I'm just hoping SO BADLY that everything goes well with this new kitten, because I just freaking love cats and you can't have too many!
(Yes, I am a bit of a crazy cat lady!)
I guess we were all feeling as though we had an empty spot somewhere so my mum suggested getting another cat... I was unsure at first as I didn't want to "replace" the missing cat, but I just cannot refuse the fluffy adorableness of a kitten.
Problem is, we couldn't find any kittens for sale in our area, and those that we could find were either ridiculously pricey (pedigree breeds), or black and white. Picky I know, but we already have two black/black and white cats and we really want a tortoiseshell or ginger cat. Personally I want a Calico!
There's a cattery local to us, which sells pre owned (is that the right term?) and rescue cats, spayed/neutered and medicated for decent prices. Giving up on a kitten, we hoped there would be a young cat available there.
When we arrived, there was one cat that immediatley grabbed me, a small blue (grey) female with beige patches. I had a little tickle with her and was instantly smitten, but the woman that runs the place wanted to show us another cat.
Sadly I don't have a picture of her, but she was a brown tabby called Dolly. She'd been in the cattery for more than a year and nobody wanted her. We held her and she did the CUTEST thing - climbed up on my shoulder and perched there grooming my hair! Although I really liked the first grey kitty, I decided that it was kinder to take Dolly as she had been there for so long, and with the grey cat being such unique colours, someone was sure to snatch her up soon enough!
So we left with Dolly. She was great (at first), cuddly and playful, until she began hissing and growling at us. We expected her to be aggressive to our other cats as... well, they're cats, but she soon began being aggressive with us, swiping and growling at us. We first but it down to her being overwhelmed and scared of her new home, but once she'd attempted to rip my hand to shreds and also had our oldest cat pinned down, we decided that maybe Dolly needed to go to a home without any other pets.
It was only when we returned her that the woman told us that she'd been abused and found with an injured leg and jaw, perhaps from other animal attacks... Something she DIDN'T tell us the day we bought her! Dolly was obviously petrified of other animals and expecting an attack, no wonder she was so defensive and aggressive!
We felt guilty, as she was a lovely cat to begin with, but she wasn't for us. The woman suggested we take the grey cat that I originally liked, which I was thrilled about, but warned us that she did "bat" at the other cat it shared a pen with. Again, this is normal, most cats don't like other cats, batting and the occasional swipe is normal. She also told us that this cat had recently been spayed just two days previously, but assured us it was safe to take her, we just had to take care not to pull or press on her stitches.
She was SO ADORABLE! Also a beautiful colour. We named her Poppy, and she was all great and fine with everyone, only growling at one cat who came too close.
HOWEVER.
Things soon turned bad. Our oldest cat was outside in the rain, and as I knew it wasn't a good idea to have her in the same room as Poppy, I decided that I would carry her in and shut her upstairs away from the new cat. I made to carry the old cat from the kitchen to the stairs, a few feet only, but as I passed the sofa, Poppy jumped up onto the chair arm to swipe at our old cat. I moved into the centre of the room to get out of the cat's reach, but...
THE DAMN CAT FOLLOWED ME AND CLAWED IT'S WAY UP MY LEG TO GET AT THE OTHER CAT!
Seriously, I have huge big claw puncture wounds that are badly bruised and so bloody painful!
I dropped the older cat in surprise and then there was a fucking huge cat fight between the two, the cats yowling and me screaming my head off for my mum, it was so damn scary.
I was worried for the old cat, as she's old and doesn't need to be attacked or the stress really, but she was fine after two hours of hiding. I was also worried for Poppy, despite the injuries she caused, because of the stitches...
Both cats were fine in the end but we had to return Poppy too. I was sad to see her go, as she really was a lovely cat despite that incident. I guess she too needs to be in a home where she's the only cat.
So after all this fuss and crap, my mother STILL wants another cat, but won't settle for anything other than a kitten now. We put it down to the fact that both Dolly and Poppy were full grown, at least one year old, and so they were less impressionable with the other cats.
Kittens don't pose a threat to older cats and they learn that they need to keep their distance from a young age. I guess our two cats were used to being alone and having their own freedom. If a kitten is introduced to other resident cats, they all settle much much easier.
It just so happens that we've found a kitten, ready to leave it's mother in a month or so, and the owner has reserved it for us!
I'm just hoping SO BADLY that everything goes well with this new kitten, because I just freaking love cats and you can't have too many!
(Yes, I am a bit of a crazy cat lady!)
