Comments | verin_the_brown: Cat questions

verin_the_brown

Cat questions

Jan 13, 2009 11:18

Yeah, I know this is the wrong place. Most of you are dog people.

But, suppose you wanted to get a cat, where would you look for one? Shelter? Craig's list? What about kittens? Do shelters have kittens or only adult cats?

Are there allergen free breeds of cats?

Comments 21

hilleviw January 13 2009, 17:27:43 UTC

Dog person here...but my understanding is that Maine Coon cats are pretty allergy-friendly. When I visit friends that have them, it's not as dreadful as when I visit friends with other kinds of cats. I can usually be in the same room as a Maine Coon and continue breathing for as much as an hour. They also have long lifespans. No idea where you'd find one, though.

kickindancer January 13 2009, 17:39:39 UTC

If you want a specific breed, like a Maine Coon, you probably need to find a breeder. Another allergy friendly cat is the Sphinx--they are a hairless breed, so if you bathe them regularly, the dander simply can't pile up all over your house, because they have no hair to shed. However, my personal opinion is that they are one of the ugliest creatures on Earth ( ... )

echoweaver January 13 2009, 18:02:59 UTC

Starting with a kitten is the best way to ensure that your cat will be friendly and tolerant of everyone, but no guarantees.

Snerk. Yeah, for the record, I got Menace when he was three months old. There are tradeoffs in the adult/kitten argument: kittens, like puppies, are extra work. You get the best adaptivity, but you also can't screen much for personality b/c the kitten won't have fully developed one.

kickindancer January 13 2009, 18:10:34 UTC

Ha! yeah, I was thinking of your cat when I wrote that, though I didn't know if you'd gotten him as a kitten or not. I figured you did, because who would take a cat that everyone knew would try to kill anyone who came in your house?

echoweaver January 13 2009, 18:22:06 UTC

Yeah, I got him as a kitten, and I'm sure I couldn't have taken him after he got psychotic b/c then he would, pretty much by definition, have hated me. But I also won't claim that I would have taken this pain in the ass cat out of the kindness of my heart either. I had to love him BEFORE he got psychotic.

Adopting from a shelter wouldn't necessarily protect you from Menace's problem anyway. He started developing problems around the age of 4, which is far enough into adulthood that you'd *think* you knew what you were getting.

Thread 5

echoweaver January 13 2009, 17:55:29 UTC

We adopted Elf from a no-kill cat rescue that two of my friends volunteer with. Most of the cats they keep are adult -- the kittens tend to be adopted out as quickly as they are rescued, so we got one in part b/c a friend called and said kittens were in. (We specifically wanted a female kitten b/c of concerns about integration with Menace. I've now raised two kittens and would be inclined to adopt an adult when the need arises ( ... )

hilleviw January 13 2009, 18:02:18 UTC

...and calling any cat - even a Maine Coon - "hypoallergenic" is a significant exaggeration.

echoweaver January 13 2009, 18:03:58 UTC

I thought there were cat varieties that were better with allergies than the Maine Coon? Specifically hypoallergenic?

hilleviw January 13 2009, 18:11:26 UTC

I've had friends who swore their cats were allergy-friendly, but if I'm in the same room as the cat for just a few minutes my eyes are streaming; if I spend the night in the house, with the cat barred from the room, and the room having been seriously vacuumed first, I still require a trip to the ER to get my breathing under control. An hour at debg's house and I thought I was going to die imminently (of course, she's got 13 cats and no pretense that they're hypoallergenic).

Now, I'm VERY allergic to cats, so it may be that with a less allergic person the responses to the special breeds are acceptable.

As for me, I live with 2 toy poodles and have no allergy problems with them, but my uncle who is very allergic, can't be around them at all. He reacts to dog saliva, not dog fur or dander (which poodles don't have).

Thread 12

kmriley January 13 2009, 17:57:51 UTC

pawschicago is a very nice place - they take their adoption seriously. (i might argue a little too seriously, but they want to find good homes) they definitely have kittens and adults. of course, kittens are popular.

verin_the_brown January 13 2009, 18:32:22 UTC

You don't have a cat right now, right? But you did a few years ago?

kmriley January 13 2009, 21:48:58 UTC

right. no cat. allergice fake-husband (who wants a cat more than I)