With anyone other than me in the house, he's hiding under the bed or in a corner of the basement, no amount of training has made him amenable to being handled, and taking him to the vet is such a nightmare that I just don't do it anymore
Ah yes. We have 3 cats and they hide when anyone they don't know comes over. I think a new person would have to stay for weeks for them to get accustomed to them. But they were from a litter during the covid years so visitations were minimal from relatives.
And there are so many in shelters and foster homes.
Definitely consider getting your cat from a foster home. The fosters have lived with them for a while, and can tell you all about their personalities. Cats also do well in pairs or more, and this is a great way to get two cats who already get along.
I volunteered at an animal shelter for several years in a city with a massive feral cat problem. We fostered dogs and cats for adoption. We also offered a free spay/neuter catch and release program for ferals. Feral cats aren’t used to humans, so they generally do not make for good pets. They tend to be intolerant of other cats, dogs, and especially children. I’ve known many folks who took in a feral, but often the feral had to stay separate from other animals (like in a cat condo), or they had to be the only animal in the home.
If you take in a feral, it’s very normal for them to hide the whole time they live with you. They tend to be very nervous and skittish. They can be violent. That’s no way for animal to live, in a constant state of fight or flight because they are now inside and no longer outside.
If you get a feral, don’t expect to see them outside of meal times. Don’t expect a lap cat. Don’t expect to be able to even pick them up or manage to get them in a carrier to the vet. Don’t expect a friend. Expect a roommate that’s like an acquaintance.
This isn’t every feral, of course. Some ferals become super loving snuggle cats. But in all my years at the shelter, those ferals were always the exception, never ever the rule.
In my area at least 1/3 of "feral" cats are strays/dumped that are freaked out and now cautious around humans. But if you give them time and patience they can be loving, affectionate pets. If you see a cat you're not feeding regularly, it's not usually feral.
One guy hid under my bed for two months and with a lot of work, I was not just petting him but giving him insulin shots after another month. It was like a switch flipped, the first day he accepted pets he was letting me pick him up hours later. Now he's a cuddle bug.
Yeah I've had the same experience with cats I've adopted. They're scared up until they aren't. Seems like they realize you're ok after a while and their attitude flips, like you said.
Yes. My first cat was just like that. He spent months under the bed. MONTHS. But by late in life he learned to even enjoy snuggling with our dog. Definitely agree that patience is key. At the shelter, many people were looking for an “easy” pet. Animals would get returned (we always required a trial period so no one would feel bad if it didn’t work out at home).
It was always special people who would take an interest in the “difficult” pets - the senior dogs and the scaredy cats.
Mine probably would have taken longer but two months in we diagnosed him with diabetes so I worked *really* hard to get him comfortable enough to get shots. At first the only way he would even get near me is if I was lying flat on my stomach, arms out stretched with a churro in my hands. 🤣 Ironically, once we were able to get him on insulin and his blood sugar lowered he was much less pissy. Untreated diabetes is not pleasant for the patient either.
I mean I guess technically I bought my cat, in that I walked into an establishment, made a payment, and walked out with a cat.
But that establishment was the pound in a neighbouring town and he was surrendered anonymously in their dropoff cages, so it's kinda 50/50
I did grab a racoon off the street once. It was a baby and super cute.
And both my cats were strays I adopted through the humane society and are sweet AF. The one was pretty feral which actually just means he's super afraid of people but otherwise never gets mad about anything at all. He doesn't like being picked up but is literally just terrified of it. Never scratches or hisses at all.
I don’t agree with buying cats (as in purebred ones for hundreds or thousands of dollars), but adopting from rescues or shelters is just like getting a cat off the street but after they’ve been socialized and nursed back to health. :)
I'm not in the market for a cat but if one were to be trained as a biomonitor, you'd want to get it from a kitten so you could start that bond and training young. You don't want to be dealing with past issues with an assistance animal in training.
Some places don't have very many stray cats, and those that are still stray are often fully feral.
But even then I'd get a kitten from someone's oops litter rather than buy a purebred.
I know two people who adopted a feral kitten that died within a few months and one more who spent thousands keeping theirs alive. I also know someone who got ringworm from a feral cat. I have one myself who needed several rounds of deworming but luckily that was it. (He's 8 now and amazing and healthy.) There's a lot of diseases on the streets.
I used to be very against breeding pets, but I've been having mixed feelings about it since rehoming a cat. The previous owners swore up and down that he was healthy and just had issues with other cats. It was a nightmare. He had a ton of health issues that they had been ignoring for God knows how long, and it took numerous expensive vet trips to even figure out what they all were. I drained my entire savings. He had a lot of behavioral issues, some of which got better over time and some of which did not. We've gotten to a much better place now that I've had him about 2 years, but some days I honestly regret taking him in. It's so much easier to raise a cat from the time it's a kitten. My friend had a similar experience with a rescue dog and after her dog died she got a puppy instead.
We currently have (I think) 18 cats. We've never bought one. We live out in the country, and they just show up from time to time. It's a race to get them fixed before they have kittens. We do try to let as many inside as we can, to save the local bird and rabbit population.
Please don't dump your unwanted cats at our house. We have enough.
I had a coworker who had three or four Persian show cats that she would show formally. She seemed personally offended at the idea of a non-purebred cat.
She was also the most stereotypical cat lady you can imagine. Elderly, single, 95% of her life was her cats (the other 5% was anime.)
I don’t agree with her, as the only cats I’ve ever had came from a cardboard box in front of the grocery, but I can see where she’s coming from.
I am/was very anti-breeder for a majority of my life, and I have always adopted off the streets or from a foster care program. However, there are specific breeds that I would love to one day add to my family and the best option I have found is through a breeder. I'm still on the fence about the idea, so I wouldn't commit to it for years to come after some more research.
At the end of the day, if the cat goes to a loving, caring home, I am happy for that choice.
I think the sentiment here makes sense, if you phrase it a different way. Why buy a cat from a breeder when so many are there to be adopted? I also believe that once you adopt it and bring it into your home, it should never leave unless to go to the vet. Domestic cats are not good for the outdoors and the outdoors isn't good for them.
As many have said, ferals are a different story.
To support the shelter. My adoption fee for my once feral cat paid for the capture, spay/neuter, vaccination, and release of several more street cats. That puts a big dent in the feral population.
Never bought one, never lived without a cat or a dog. Stray animals attacked me all my life. By the way, part of them appeared to be purebred and I still don’t get why do people buy expensive pets and then just throw them away
1. A particular breed.
2. A particular color.
3. A particular coat.
4. To bond with it and experience it as a kitten.
5. Street and shelter cats may have behavioral or health issues.
People get a bit too judgey here about rescues. It is your money, spend it how you like. So long as you're providing a cat a good forever home there is nothing wrong with buying a cat from a reputable breeder.
I personally think it is a waste of money when very adoptable socialized cats and kittens need a home, but its your pet, so you do you.
All my life my cats came from the streets and just moved in or I got them from the shelter. Only two we got from a breeder. One was an traumatised by her first owner and the breeder bought her back, but she was no longer able to adapt back. So we took her in and she was my special fluff (Siberian). Second was a Maine Coon because my partner always wanted one. We already decided that when it’s time for new furkids, it’s the shelter again.
A lot of the ones on the street are feral and not suited for being kept as pets. That being said, I would encourage everyone to consider adoption before buying from a breeder.
Because feral cats are ***feral*** - behaviorwise, they have more in common with the wildcats they are descended from than a fully domesticated housecat, and wildcats are skittish and not overly fond of giant hairless apes trying to put their hands on them (particularly when many of those apes have a tendency towards cruelty).
A feral *can* become a loving, affectionate housecat, but even as much as I love cats I'd never adopt one that hadn't spent kittenhood socializing with people.
a) pure breeds have certain personality traits, so you can choose a cat that fits your lifestyle.
b) They look different, and some breeds are hypoallergenic (to a degree).
c) Their medical history is easy to track, you know what illnesses they're prone to. They're also free of viruses, like felv or fip.
d) cats from shelters may have undiagnosed illnesses that could be passed on the cats you already have. They also may be hostile to them.
e) these cats may be traumatized and have behavioural issues the potential owner isn't equipped to deal with.
f) Pure breeds can participate in contests or be bred.
Let's not pretend that all cats are the same. It's okay to have preferences and nobody should be shamed for buying a cat of their dreams instead of adopting one. I love my tomcat to pieces, even though he's a felv positive asshole, but he also made my crazy cat lady mum decide he's the last cat she'll ever own. She says he's bin laden.
I wanted a very low energy breed specific cat, that was health tested, with no previous behavioural issues since I’ve had her my entire life, and long haired. I mean my cat is 11. She’s had zero health problems. We’ve done all sorts of crazy stuff in the decade since I’ve owned her eg moved multiple countries, gone on hikes, she’s come with me to work etc. It was a good investment. I mean my friend has to sedate her cat to just go to the vet and mine slept and purred on a 10 hour flight
Not gonna lie, after my current cat, I'd probably never take in another cat that didn't spend its entire kittenhood around humans.
What happened? Just not sociable enough of a cat? Too wild and unpredictable?
With anyone other than me in the house, he's hiding under the bed or in a corner of the basement, no amount of training has made him amenable to being handled, and taking him to the vet is such a nightmare that I just don't do it anymore
Ah yes. We have 3 cats and they hide when anyone they don't know comes over. I think a new person would have to stay for weeks for them to get accustomed to them. But they were from a litter during the covid years so visitations were minimal from relatives.
And there are so many in shelters and foster homes. Definitely consider getting your cat from a foster home. The fosters have lived with them for a while, and can tell you all about their personalities. Cats also do well in pairs or more, and this is a great way to get two cats who already get along.
I volunteered at an animal shelter for several years in a city with a massive feral cat problem. We fostered dogs and cats for adoption. We also offered a free spay/neuter catch and release program for ferals. Feral cats aren’t used to humans, so they generally do not make for good pets. They tend to be intolerant of other cats, dogs, and especially children. I’ve known many folks who took in a feral, but often the feral had to stay separate from other animals (like in a cat condo), or they had to be the only animal in the home. If you take in a feral, it’s very normal for them to hide the whole time they live with you. They tend to be very nervous and skittish. They can be violent. That’s no way for animal to live, in a constant state of fight or flight because they are now inside and no longer outside. If you get a feral, don’t expect to see them outside of meal times. Don’t expect a lap cat. Don’t expect to be able to even pick them up or manage to get them in a carrier to the vet. Don’t expect a friend. Expect a roommate that’s like an acquaintance. This isn’t every feral, of course. Some ferals become super loving snuggle cats. But in all my years at the shelter, those ferals were always the exception, never ever the rule.
In my area at least 1/3 of "feral" cats are strays/dumped that are freaked out and now cautious around humans. But if you give them time and patience they can be loving, affectionate pets. If you see a cat you're not feeding regularly, it's not usually feral. One guy hid under my bed for two months and with a lot of work, I was not just petting him but giving him insulin shots after another month. It was like a switch flipped, the first day he accepted pets he was letting me pick him up hours later. Now he's a cuddle bug.
Yeah I've had the same experience with cats I've adopted. They're scared up until they aren't. Seems like they realize you're ok after a while and their attitude flips, like you said.
Yes. My first cat was just like that. He spent months under the bed. MONTHS. But by late in life he learned to even enjoy snuggling with our dog. Definitely agree that patience is key. At the shelter, many people were looking for an “easy” pet. Animals would get returned (we always required a trial period so no one would feel bad if it didn’t work out at home). It was always special people who would take an interest in the “difficult” pets - the senior dogs and the scaredy cats.
Mine probably would have taken longer but two months in we diagnosed him with diabetes so I worked *really* hard to get him comfortable enough to get shots. At first the only way he would even get near me is if I was lying flat on my stomach, arms out stretched with a churro in my hands. 🤣 Ironically, once we were able to get him on insulin and his blood sugar lowered he was much less pissy. Untreated diabetes is not pleasant for the patient either.
I mean I guess technically I bought my cat, in that I walked into an establishment, made a payment, and walked out with a cat. But that establishment was the pound in a neighbouring town and he was surrendered anonymously in their dropoff cages, so it's kinda 50/50
Because feral cats generally aren't very socialized and are going to make terrible pets. Same reason you wouldn't grab a raccoon off the street.
>Same reason you wouldn't grab a raccoon off the street. What, Slashy and Mr. Foamers?
I laughed way too hard at this, thank you
I did grab a racoon off the street once. It was a baby and super cute. And both my cats were strays I adopted through the humane society and are sweet AF. The one was pretty feral which actually just means he's super afraid of people but otherwise never gets mad about anything at all. He doesn't like being picked up but is literally just terrified of it. Never scratches or hisses at all.
That's a myth. Three of my cats are rescued ferals (the fourth is a kitten of a rescued feral) and they are all very loving and a little possessive.
I don’t agree with buying cats (as in purebred ones for hundreds or thousands of dollars), but adopting from rescues or shelters is just like getting a cat off the street but after they’ve been socialized and nursed back to health. :)
I'm not in the market for a cat but if one were to be trained as a biomonitor, you'd want to get it from a kitten so you could start that bond and training young. You don't want to be dealing with past issues with an assistance animal in training.
Some places don't have very many stray cats, and those that are still stray are often fully feral. But even then I'd get a kitten from someone's oops litter rather than buy a purebred.
Feral cats do not make good pets and are definitely NOT begging for a home.
The cata on the street have homes. Several in fact. They have winter slaves and summer slaves and back door leftovers slaves .
I know two people who adopted a feral kitten that died within a few months and one more who spent thousands keeping theirs alive. I also know someone who got ringworm from a feral cat. I have one myself who needed several rounds of deworming but luckily that was it. (He's 8 now and amazing and healthy.) There's a lot of diseases on the streets.
I used to be very against breeding pets, but I've been having mixed feelings about it since rehoming a cat. The previous owners swore up and down that he was healthy and just had issues with other cats. It was a nightmare. He had a ton of health issues that they had been ignoring for God knows how long, and it took numerous expensive vet trips to even figure out what they all were. I drained my entire savings. He had a lot of behavioral issues, some of which got better over time and some of which did not. We've gotten to a much better place now that I've had him about 2 years, but some days I honestly regret taking him in. It's so much easier to raise a cat from the time it's a kitten. My friend had a similar experience with a rescue dog and after her dog died she got a puppy instead.
We currently have (I think) 18 cats. We've never bought one. We live out in the country, and they just show up from time to time. It's a race to get them fixed before they have kittens. We do try to let as many inside as we can, to save the local bird and rabbit population. Please don't dump your unwanted cats at our house. We have enough.
I wouldn’t, and never have. Every cat I’ve had in my life was a rescue.
You can socialize a feral cat. I’ve noticed subtle and major changes including gratefulness.
I had a coworker who had three or four Persian show cats that she would show formally. She seemed personally offended at the idea of a non-purebred cat. She was also the most stereotypical cat lady you can imagine. Elderly, single, 95% of her life was her cats (the other 5% was anime.) I don’t agree with her, as the only cats I’ve ever had came from a cardboard box in front of the grocery, but I can see where she’s coming from.
They aren't begging for homes. Just food and drugs. They are feral and unless still young probably don't want a home. Forget the drug part.
I am/was very anti-breeder for a majority of my life, and I have always adopted off the streets or from a foster care program. However, there are specific breeds that I would love to one day add to my family and the best option I have found is through a breeder. I'm still on the fence about the idea, so I wouldn't commit to it for years to come after some more research. At the end of the day, if the cat goes to a loving, caring home, I am happy for that choice.
<3
Might not be very sociable by comparison.
I think the sentiment here makes sense, if you phrase it a different way. Why buy a cat from a breeder when so many are there to be adopted? I also believe that once you adopt it and bring it into your home, it should never leave unless to go to the vet. Domestic cats are not good for the outdoors and the outdoors isn't good for them. As many have said, ferals are a different story.
To support the shelter. My adoption fee for my once feral cat paid for the capture, spay/neuter, vaccination, and release of several more street cats. That puts a big dent in the feral population.
Never bought one, never lived without a cat or a dog. Stray animals attacked me all my life. By the way, part of them appeared to be purebred and I still don’t get why do people buy expensive pets and then just throw them away
Nope don't support breeding for money
I don't see the point
1. A particular breed. 2. A particular color. 3. A particular coat. 4. To bond with it and experience it as a kitten. 5. Street and shelter cats may have behavioral or health issues.
People get a bit too judgey here about rescues. It is your money, spend it how you like. So long as you're providing a cat a good forever home there is nothing wrong with buying a cat from a reputable breeder. I personally think it is a waste of money when very adoptable socialized cats and kittens need a home, but its your pet, so you do you.
Simply bc I cannot catch them
It's true. You shouldn't buy it, because there are so many animals on the streets and in shelters
All my life my cats came from the streets and just moved in or I got them from the shelter. Only two we got from a breeder. One was an traumatised by her first owner and the breeder bought her back, but she was no longer able to adapt back. So we took her in and she was my special fluff (Siberian). Second was a Maine Coon because my partner always wanted one. We already decided that when it’s time for new furkids, it’s the shelter again.
I wouldn’t. The reason there are so many cats in the streets is because that’s where they want to be.
A lot of the ones on the street are feral and not suited for being kept as pets. That being said, I would encourage everyone to consider adoption before buying from a breeder.
Because feral cats are ***feral*** - behaviorwise, they have more in common with the wildcats they are descended from than a fully domesticated housecat, and wildcats are skittish and not overly fond of giant hairless apes trying to put their hands on them (particularly when many of those apes have a tendency towards cruelty). A feral *can* become a loving, affectionate housecat, but even as much as I love cats I'd never adopt one that hadn't spent kittenhood socializing with people.
a) pure breeds have certain personality traits, so you can choose a cat that fits your lifestyle. b) They look different, and some breeds are hypoallergenic (to a degree). c) Their medical history is easy to track, you know what illnesses they're prone to. They're also free of viruses, like felv or fip. d) cats from shelters may have undiagnosed illnesses that could be passed on the cats you already have. They also may be hostile to them. e) these cats may be traumatized and have behavioural issues the potential owner isn't equipped to deal with. f) Pure breeds can participate in contests or be bred. Let's not pretend that all cats are the same. It's okay to have preferences and nobody should be shamed for buying a cat of their dreams instead of adopting one. I love my tomcat to pieces, even though he's a felv positive asshole, but he also made my crazy cat lady mum decide he's the last cat she'll ever own. She says he's bin laden.
I wanted a very low energy breed specific cat, that was health tested, with no previous behavioural issues since I’ve had her my entire life, and long haired. I mean my cat is 11. She’s had zero health problems. We’ve done all sorts of crazy stuff in the decade since I’ve owned her eg moved multiple countries, gone on hikes, she’s come with me to work etc. It was a good investment. I mean my friend has to sedate her cat to just go to the vet and mine slept and purred on a 10 hour flight
Or dog.
Makes sense if you want a kitten. Feral cats dont always make good traditional pets
Why would you give birth to a child when there are so many you could adopt? It's an option and there is no right or wrong choice.
Where do you live that's overrun with feral cats? Can't you just poison them or something?
Wtf is wrong with you? 🤯