For Adopted Cats-Ever Wonder What Their Life Was Like Before You Adopted Them?

I adopted Sabastian and Kona as adults, meaning they both have a
"past". I know something about Kona's background was because he was
turned into the clinic (which houses cats for adoption as well in
conjunction with a rescue group) as an 11 year old by the family that
had been bringing him there for years. But Sabastian, who was about 3
years old when I adopted him, was a "door dump"-he was left at the
doorstep of the clinic in a carrier, something which I assume happens
at most shelters.

Periodically I wonder what his life was like with whoever had him
initially. I wonder what name they gave him and how he was treated.
Nothing in his condition or behavior really gives a clue. He was
neutered but not declawed. He doesn't seem to be particularly scared
of anything. He's best described as being a lovebug on his own
terms-he likes being held and petted for discrete periods of time, but
after some time (and those periods seem to be getting longer) he
decides that he's had enough and wants to go do other things. He likes
to have places of his own but he also will sleep on his back with his
legs all splayed out in the middle of the floor. He definitely isn't
clingy, although he likes being around me and other people even when
he's had his quota of lovin' for the time being. He's not at all a
"talker", in fact he rarely meows. I sometimes wonder if his sparse
vocalization is a relflection of his upbringing, but it could also
just be the way he is. Whatever life was like for him at his original
home, he seems to have been physically well cared for and there aren't
any signs of mistreatment.

I know that people give away pets for all sorts of reasons and I guess
it'll always be a mystery as to why his original owners didn't want
him anymore. He's a healthy 12 lb long haired black domestic breed
(although when he wants to be held he likes to melt in your arms like
a ragdoll, he doesn't seem to have any of the other characteristics of
that breed) Not an unusual looking cat but very attractive. He's by
far the most athletic cat I've ever been around, but he's not really
bad about jumping on things like the kitchen counter that I would
prefer he not get on. He's real fastidious and always uses the
litterbox. He and Kona have settled down to a roomate kind of
relationship with only occasional spats, so I would tend to doubt that
there was another cat that he couldn't get along with.

At least his original owners had the decency to make reasonably sure
he'd be taken care of even if they didn't have the gumption to bring
him in to the shelter themselves. Did his original owner get married
to someone who was allergic or didn't like cats? Run out of money to
take proper care of him and decide not to tempt fate? Had to move
away and just didn't want to bother taking him? I guess I'll never
know and Sabastian isn't inclined to discuss the matter. In the end I
suppose all that really matters is that we're both very happy he's
here.

On 27 May 2004 15:42:52 -0700,
(CajunPrincess) wrote:


snip
At least his original owners had the decency to make reasonably sure
he'd be taken care of even if they didn't have the gumption to bring
him in to the shelter themselves. Did his original owner get married
to someone who was allergic or didn't like cats? Run out of money to
take proper care of him and decide not to tempt fate? Had to move
away and just didn't want to bother taking him? I guess I'll never
know and Sabastian isn't inclined to discuss the matter. In the end I
suppose all that really matters is that we're both very happy he's
here.

Glad he found a home with you, but it still p*sses me off that his
people do that. But, like yousaid, they could have done a lot worse
than leaving him where he'd be found and given the chance to find a
home. What really burns me up is the ones who abondon their pet where
they have little or no chance. A few years ago I drove a tractor
cutting grass along the right of ways along county road, and it seems
an all too common practice to dump animals near houses in the country
(sound familiar, Sherry?)

As for my current three masters, I have no idea about Little Bit's
history. She wasn't wild when she found me, but had was awfully skinny
(and pregnant). Rocky WAS wild, a true feral who wanted nothing to do
with humans. Vet estimated he was about 6-8 years old before I was
able to catch and haul him in the first time. It took a long time for
him to get to where he is. As for Sammy, I know exactly what her
history is, I witnessed her birth when LB had her litter.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

A few years ago I drove a tractor
cutting grass along the right of ways along county road, and it seems
an all too common practice to dump animals near houses in the country
(sound familiar, Sherry?)

Ahem. gets on soapbox, even though she's preaching to the choir
We've got the double-whammy. We not only live in the country, but between two
lake roads. For some reason people love to dump animals at lakes and camping
areas. I think Pam can vouch for this one, too.
We had a family reunion at thelake two years ago, and some extended
familymembers I'd never met brought 2 kittens, not hardly 3 months old, with
the intention of leaving them at the lake! I started out being all nice and
telling them they were welcome to bring them to the Humane Society. I wasn't
getting anywhere and ended up making a bit of a scene I'm afraid. DH knew at
this point I didn't have the ability to shut up and interceded. Oi. I'd
forgottena bout that.

Sherry

Sherry wrote:



Ahem. gets on soapbox, even though she's preaching to the choir
We've got the double-whammy. We not only live in the country, but between two
lake roads. For some reason people love to dump animals at lakes and camping
areas. I think Pam can vouch for this one, too.


We had a floating colony of around 20 cats when I was a kid, from people
dumping their cats at the farm. The reasoning seems to be that farms
can "always" use another barn cat. Pine Cone was a dump off at Morrow
Mountain SP., where we often camp. They tell me that every year they
get at least one dump off of cats and/or kittens. Pine Cone was one of
the lucky ones. He's still terrified of cars, which makes Rob and I
think he was tossed out of one. Poor Kid.

Pam S. wondering how he's going to keep from singing when we're
traveling as he "says" he's going along

Tanada wrote:
Sherry wrote:
Ahem. gets on soapbox, even though she's preaching to the choir


get at least one dump off of cats and/or kittens. Pine Cone was one
of
the lucky ones. He's still terrified of cars, which makes Rob and I
think he was tossed out of one. Poor Kid.

Pam S. wondering how he's going to keep from singing when we're
traveling as he "says" he's going along

This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat was
renamed.

Jill

Poor kitten! I'm so glad he was saved.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he
and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when
suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep
in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up
one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and
she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat
was
renamed.

Jill

Poor kitten! I'm so glad he was saved.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he
and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when
suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep
in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up
one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and
she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat
was
renamed.

Jill

Poor kitten! I'm so glad he was saved.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he
and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when
suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep
in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up
one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and
she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat
was
renamed.

Jill

Tanada wrote:
Sherry wrote:
Ahem. gets on soapbox, even though she's preaching to the choir


get at least one dump off of cats and/or kittens. Pine Cone was one
of
the lucky ones. He's still terrified of cars, which makes Rob and I
think he was tossed out of one. Poor Kid.

Pam S. wondering how he's going to keep from singing when we're
traveling as he "says" he's going along

This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat was
renamed.

Jill

Tanada wrote:
Sherry wrote:
Ahem. gets on soapbox, even though she's preaching to the choir


get at least one dump off of cats and/or kittens. Pine Cone was one
of
the lucky ones. He's still terrified of cars, which makes Rob and I
think he was tossed out of one. Poor Kid.

Pam S. wondering how he's going to keep from singing when we're
traveling as he "says" he's going along

This reminds me of a guy I used to work with telling me about a trip he and
his wife took. They were driving along I-40 through Arkansas when suddenly
someone flung something out the window from the car ahead of them. Keep in
mind, in some spots on that highway the speed limit is 70 MPH. It was a
kitten! (OMG) They had to swerve to avoid hitting the poor thing. They
stopped and the kitten was remarkably unscathed (but I'll bet it used up one
of its lives with that particular incident). Since his wife volunteers at
The House of Mews in Memphis, they brought the kitten back with them and she
was checked; the vet pronounced her healthy. At the proper age she was
spayed and put up for adoption. This guy had named her "Roadkill" which,
being a very *young* guy, he thought was funny. I'm pretty sure the cat was
renamed.

Jill