Am I Crazy

On Sep 18, 4:09*pm, CatNipped wrote:
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. *But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. *I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so many
being put to death for lack of homes. *But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha, remember
that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).


I run a big fat risk of stepping on toes here, and if I do I
apologize...I think I do remember saying that about either Brandy or
Odessa-Doll, way-the-hell-back-when. But there were differences back
then as well...

What I am going to advise is simply that you take time to get yourself
mended before anything. Because how are you going to care for a new
kitty, and all the issues a newcomer is going to have, if you're not
in better shape? I'm not saying you have to be an athlete to have a
cat--anyone who has ever seen my Facebook picture knows I'm no
supermodel--but you need to be fair to yourself too and make sure
you're recovered to the best your body can do. I agree with the 6
month idea. It gives you a good goal to strive after, and good focus.
In the meantime, I'm glad you're being smart and not looking into
adopting immediately.

Blessed be,
Elizabeth
Baha

On 9/19/2011 12:05 PM, BfloPolska wrote:
On Sep 18, 4:09 pm, wrote:
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so many
being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha, remember
that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).


I run a big fat risk of stepping on toes here, and if I do I
apologize...I think I do remember saying that about either Brandy or
Odessa-Doll, way-the-hell-back-when. But there were differences back
then as well...

What I am going to advise is simply that you take time to get yourself
mended before anything. Because how are you going to care for a new
kitty, and all the issues a newcomer is going to have, if you're not
in better shape? I'm not saying you have to be an athlete to have a
cat--anyone who has ever seen my Facebook picture knows I'm no
supermodel--but you need to be fair to yourself too and make sure
you're recovered to the best your body can do. I agree with the 6
month idea. It gives you a good goal to strive after, and good focus.
In the meantime, I'm glad you're being smart and not looking into
adopting immediately.

Blessed be,
Elizabeth
Baha


Well, yes, that's why I prefaced it with after my surgery, recovery and
rehabilitation and saying that would be quite some time. I'm also
thinking about Ben having a job and our financial rehabilitation also,
if that ever happens. I'm not talking about the near future.

And as someone else mentioned, there is Archer - I wouldn't be looking
for another heart cat, not only can I never replace Sammy, I think I've
already gotten a heart cat with Archer - even when Sammy was alive he
was this close to me... Maine Coons aren't "touchy feely" cats, they say
that Maine Coons will be your friends, not your babies. The only
difference with Sammy was that she was given to us too early (as big as
she was I'd say probably 4 weeks old, and she sucked her toe while
kneading against me until the day she died.

I just love great big (HUGE) fuzzy cats. I don't think any of us here
gets a cat to replace another cat, living or RB. ALL of my cats are
dear to me just as all of my children and grandchildren are, having
"just one more" is not going to displace an other.

Sorry, Baha this was sort of an "aggregate" answer to several people here.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

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On 9/19/2011 8:09 AM, Lisa Katt wrote:
skrev i meddelandet
...
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how friendly
she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her attributes, but she
made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so many
being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed rescue"
places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit more than
regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead expenses for
the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the past
we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha, remember that
phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about adopting
just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be for quite
some time, I'd have to get the whole surgery/recovery/rehabilitation thing
out of the way, so it may be as far as six months from now or more. But I
signed up to one group's newsletter so we can be at least looking and
speculating on how we could do it.

What do you think?

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards,
at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net


But what about Archer? Wouldn´t he be unhappy?
Elisabet



The whole clowder would probably be unhappy until the new member were
properly integrated. Archer is not going to let anyone take his place
as my little teddy bear/klingon, so he'll have no worries there - *I'll*
have to make sure he's not harassing any new-comers in a "proactive"
attempt to let them know that I'm his to do with as he pleases. I don't
think I'd ever feel for any other cat what I feel for Archer, but that's
true and has been true for all my cats, alive and RB.

The rest of the clowder, now, are not bothered by Archer's closeness to
me. Of course Jessie is Ben's little klingon and couldn't care less.
Demi doesn't like *anyone* touching or even seeing her except at a very
specific time of her own choosing, late at night every night when
everyone else is tucked in, she'll jump on Ben's belly as he's watching
TV to get her daily skritchin's for a specific amount of time and then
jump off and disappear again. Ozzy needs to be with either Ben or me,
mostly Ben, but I'll do just fine when Ben's unavailable. He cries
pitifully when Ben latches the hall door to go into his office or
bedroom. But he doesn't really like to be petted much, he just wants to
"hang out" like Sammy used to (except when she want to lay next to me,
knead my flabby belly, and suck her toe). He has that bit of Maine Coon
trait (they say that a Maine Coon will be your friend, but never your baby).

I guess it's like with children, no one of them can ever take another's
place in your heart and while a new child could never take the place of
one that you've lost, there is still always space for "just one more".
I think the human heart is larger than the infinite universe in its
capacity to hold love.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On 9/18/2011 3:50 PM, Bobble wrote:
wrote in news:9dn1h0F8mtU1
@mid.individual.net:

OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so many
being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha, remember
that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about adopting
just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be for quite
some time, I'd have to get the whole surgery/recovery/rehabilitation
thing out of the way, so it may be as far as six months from now or
more. But I signed up to one group's newsletter so we can be at least
looking and speculating on how we could do it.

What do you think?


I think ask again in 6 months.

Bobble

I guess I was unclear in my question. Finances and physical ability
aside - those would, of course, need to be considered before making a
decision like this, I'm thinking that may take 6 months, but it may take
much longer. To be more specific, I was asking...

Are we getting too old to handle 5 cats instead of our current 4? I not
talking about out-living one, we won't ever adopt a kitten or young cat
again because it would be unfair to out-live a baby and have it
orphaned. I already worry about Archer and Ozzy at only 4, because of
my health issues. But if I do get over my current, acute health issues,
my family is very long lived, so I have a good chance of out-living them?

What do you guys think about using a breed rescue over a regular
shelter? Does anyone have any personal experiences with them? I've
never really looked into breed rescues and don't know if they're truly
rescues or just "selling" cats?

Since we'll be looking (if we look) for an older cat (not younger than
7) will there be more, age-specific problems with integrating into the
current clowder?

Just things like that and other issues I may not have even considered.




--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On 9/18/2011 3:55 PM, Bobble wrote:
wrote in
:

wrote in news:9dn1h0F8mtU1
@mid.individual.net:

OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so
many being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few
"breed rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or
just a bit more than regular rescue groups (for spaying,
immunizations, overhead expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha,
remember that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about
adopting just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be
for quite some time, I'd have to get the whole
surgery/recovery/rehabilitation thing out of the way, so it may be as
far as six months from now or more. But I signed up to one group's
newsletter so we can be at least looking and speculating on how we
could do it.

What do you think?


I think ask again in 6 months.

Bobble


I should expand on my reply. You're going to get all excited, get your
hopes up and, if in 6 months you can't do it, you'll suffer a big let down
and a lot of disappointment.

Bobble

Oh, no. I'm saying six months, but even after Ben gets a job we still
have a lot of other things to take care of before taking on the expense
of another cat. So six months is the shortest time this could possibly
happen, but it will probably take much, much longer so I'm not even
looking at this as a possibility, but just a "thinking about it" thing.
Sorry, I don't know how to make that clearer.


--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On 9/18/2011 4:26 PM, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:


CatNipped wrote:
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so
many being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha,
remember that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about
adopting just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be
for quite some time, I'd have to get the whole
surgery/recovery/rehabilitation thing out of the way, so it may be as
far as six months from now or more. But I signed up to one group's
newsletter so we can be at least looking and speculating on how we
could do it.

What do you think?

My neighbor in the apartment next-door to mine was recently presented
with five adorable kittens, so you're asking the wrong person! She
adopted a scrawny little stray she found at the local library. Said
stray promptly began putting on weight, and surprise! There are two
marmalade, one black, and two (including the runt of the litter) look
like blue-point Siamese. We are only allowed two cats here (which works
out best since one can of cat food = two meals) but I confess I am
sorely tempted. It will be a while yet - they are still nursing, and too
tiny to accurately determine sex, but they are so CUTE!!!!!

Uh oh, I feel the temperature rising! ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On Sep 19, 2:17*pm, CatNipped wrote:

What do you guys think about using a breed rescue over a regular
shelter? *Does anyone have any personal experiences with them? *I've
never really looked into breed rescues and don't know if they're truly
rescues or just "selling" cats?

Since we'll be looking (if we look) for an older cat (not younger than
7) will there be more, age-specific problems with integrating into the
current clowder?

Sabrina was even older when we integrated her, and yes, it was a
challenge. A huge one. But this was a unique situation, owing to the
horrific abuse she had suffered. Sabrina was within a week of the
Bridge herself, had Louie and I not intervened. The other cats weren't
the problem; the ones we had then (Stosh, Roxie, Brandy, and Odessa)
were always friendly cats and more curious than anything else. Sabrina
was simply a psycho case.

I have no experience with breed-specific rescues myself, but from what
little I do know it seems the ones around where I live are taking the
animals either from abusive homes, or from the SPCA, and this latter
disturbs me a bit. I know there's a fee for adopting from the SPCA; I
also know some of the breed rescues are pricey. We have one that asks
several hundred dollars for adopting a rescued greyhound. I don't kow
if it reflects vet care, or medical issues specific to the breed, or
what. For my part, I have always preferred to adopt from shelters.

Blessed be,
Elizabeth
Baha

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so
many being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha,
remember that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about
adopting just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be
for quite some time, I'd have to get the whole
surgery/recovery/rehabilitation thing out of the way, so it may be as
far as six months from now or more. But I signed up to one group's
newsletter so we can be at least looking and speculating on how we
could do it.

What do you think?

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark
Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

Hi CatNipped
I usually drop by and lurk once in a while.
You might want to look and/or ask breeders, about "retired from
breeding" Maine Coons. That's how I got my Dyna, (now at RB). After a
cat has been shown enough, has her Championship, and had a few litters,
she is often retired for one good reason or another. Some don't like to
travel, others develop trouble breeding. They are almost always 'fixed'
before re-homing. This is probably true of all breeds.
H.T.H.
Sylvia R

On 9/19/2011 2:05 PM, Sylvia M wrote:
wrote in message
...
OK, that was a rhetorical question, we all know I am. But...

I can't stop thinking about my Sammy, how beautiful she was, how
friendly she was, how HUGE she was. I miss *her*, not just her
attributes, but she made me fall in love with Maine Coon cats.

*NOT* enough to think about going to a breeder - we not only couldn't
afford that, but I don't believe in breeding cats when there are so
many being put to death for lack of homes. But there are a few "breed
rescue" places around Houston that charge about the same or just a bit
more than regular rescue groups (for spaying, immunizations, overhead
expenses for the shelter, etc.).

I know money is short, and it's only going to get shorter, but in the
past we've always seemed to have room for "just one more (Baha,
remember that phrase from about what, 7 or 8 years ago?).

Do you think it would be absolutely crazy for us to think about
adopting just one more cat into our clowder? It probably wouldn't be
for quite some time, I'd have to get the whole
surgery/recovery/rehabilitation thing out of the way, so it may be as
far as six months from now or more. But I signed up to one group's
newsletter so we can be at least looking and speculating on how we
could do it.

What do you think?

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark
Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

Hi CatNipped
I usually drop by and lurk once in a while.
You might want to look and/or ask breeders, about "retired from
breeding" Maine Coons. That's how I got my Dyna, (now at RB). After a
cat has been shown enough, has her Championship, and had a few litters,
she is often retired for one good reason or another. Some don't like to
travel, others develop trouble breeding. They are almost always 'fixed'
before re-homing. This is probably true of all breeds.
H.T.H.
Sylvia R



After thinking about it for a while, I think I might, when the time
comes, just look for the type of cat I want in shelters around Houston.
And, again, this is just something to think about in the future. It's
almost a kind of therapy for me, just now, to even think that far into
the future.


--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On Sep 19, 2:11*pm, hopitus wrote:
On Sep 19, 12:52*pm, BfloPolska wrote:





On Sep 19, 2:17*pm, CatNipped wrote:

What do you guys think about using a breed rescue over a regular
shelter? *Does anyone have any personal experiences with them? *I've
never really looked into breed rescues and don't know if they're truly
rescues or just "selling" cats?

Since we'll be looking (if we look) for an older cat (not younger than
7) will there be more, age-specific problems with integrating into the
current clowder?

Sabrina was even older when we integrated her, and yes, it was a
challenge. A huge one. But this was a unique situation, owing to the
horrific abuse she had suffered. Sabrina was within a week of the
Bridge herself, had Louie and I not intervened. The other cats weren't
the problem; the ones we had then (Stosh, Roxie, Brandy, and Odessa)
were always friendly cats and more curious than anything else. Sabrina
was simply a psycho case.

I have no experience with breed-specific rescues myself, but from what
little I do know it seems the ones around where I live are taking the
animals either from abusive homes, or from the SPCA, and this latter
disturbs me a bit. I know there's a fee for adopting from the SPCA; I
also know some of the breed rescues are pricey. We have one that asks
several hundred dollars for adopting a rescued greyhound. I don't kow
if it reflects vet care, or medical issues specific to the breed, or
what. For my part, I have always preferred to adopt from shelters.

Blessed be,
Elizabeth
Baha

Breed rescue groups are common all over MileHigh large area; mostly in
the 'burbs. From
what I can tell by mild investigation and media news, like DDFL the
huge, well-funded by
wealthy residents here, they are legit and financed largely by
affluent members and lovers
of the specific breed...whatever it may be.....of dog or cat. They
welcome visitors and local
pet shelter inquiries/investigations and yes, a significantly lower-
priced specific breed may
be obtained from such sources....*after personal investigation i.e.
criminal background check,
shelters records, etc.* to insure legit status of applicants to
"adopt" (and pay their fee for
doing so). I get my cats from local shelter; which is where I got my
big ragdoll (now there's
a specifc breed type: he "flops"). Last, the reason they are only a
certain bargain limit for
price (say two hundred for breed rescue Maine Coon, vs. five or six
hundred from licensed
breeder, with CFA or TICA pedigree line "papers" is that this is the
first firewall defense
against people applying to resell animals to either labs for
experimental purposes or to
resell to various unscrupulous sources who have ads in local papers
for "bargain" pedigreed
animals for sale.
Members and patrons of most of these breed-specific rescue groups are
household names
here, steenkin rich animal lovers who donate generously to other local
worthy causes...examples
being owners, spouses and players of local sports teams. MileHigh is a
sports town and many
fundraisers go on in society get-togethers here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Breed rescue facilities here are much the same. The adoption criteria
is
extremely stringent as they want to ensure that the motive of the
prospective
adoptor is *love of the breed* and not some impulsive adoptor who saw
a
specific breed in a popular movie and thus it has become the "trendy"
breed
of the season.
These cats already have a forever home of sorts as they're usually in
temporary homes where the fosters love them very much. When you adopt
from a breed rescue, you're not rescuing a homeless cat from death. If
that's
one's motive it's better to put your name on the list at the local
shelter for a
specific breed. About every breed comes through a shelter at one time
or another--
I've even seen Korats and hairless cats.
From what I've seen,, they charge about the same price that a breeder
would
sell their pet-quality cats. Around $200 I'd guess

And like any other cat, sometimes the *reason* they end up at breed
rescues or
shelters is that there's a problem. It could be as trivial as the
original owners
got tired of litterbox duty and vacuuming cat hair. Or it could be
that the cat is
peeing/pooping all over the house.

So, same with shelter cats, you must be prepared to invest a whole lot
of patience and love and tolerance
in the event there's a real personality or behavior problem. Impulse
is the worst reason ever to
adopt an adult purebred.

Sherry