Is it wrong to want another purebred?

"Brian Link" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:32:48 -0500, "Mary" wrote:


"Adam Helberg" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Brian Link" wrote in message
...

It's not "wrong" for you to buy a bred cat, you will be doing neither
harm
nor good;
just satisifying your desire, like when you buy anything else. The
breeder, knowing
he sold the cat, will breed more.

When you adopt a shelter cat you are doing a good deed by saving an
animal's life.


Very nicely put. However, Brian does not care.


And your evidence is... ?

Oh wait... you're insane. I forgot.

BLink

My evidence is poor Henry.

"Brian Link" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 19:02:10 -0500, "Mary" wrote:


"PawsForThought" wrote

Mary, honestly, I never have. Maybe there's something wrong with me
but I can tell you I've never felt that desire. I mean I like kids, so
long as they're not mine. Funny, when they show a baby on tv for
instance, my husband and I will look at each other and say "too bad
it's not a kitten. Now THAT would be cute!" :')

--


I have had the impulse, but as soon as I thought about how
it would change my life I vetoed it. Even with my sisters and
many of my friends and colleagues doing the little mysterious
smile and comments such as "it's the most wonderful thing
in the world" and all that other stuff the childful do around
us child-less, I have never bought into the idea that I am
missing anything I don't want to miss. For me, doing anything
and everything I want to do with my life without having the
distraction of dependants who might or might not even like
me or appreciate what I have done for them just does not
quite suck. I have watched my oldest nieces and nephews
grow up, too. Let's just say that their parents' experiences
with them have done nothing to make me think my first
take on the situation was wrong.


Let me just mention, on behalf of responsible parents everywhere, that
your decision was entirely proper.

BLink

Thank you. I agree.

On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 09:40:44 -0500, "Phil P."
wrote:


That's not what I said. Don't manipulate my statements. I never said a
DS/LH "is the only breed anyone should ever share their lives with." I
said its unconscionable to *buy* a 'purebred' from a *breeder* while
millions of cats are languishing and dying in shelters every year. There's
nothing wrong with adopting a 'purebred' from a shelter... Or are the
'papers' too important to you?



Papers are a big deal in many breeds, but a statement I like in the
horse world is, "you don't ride the papers."

In the same way, you don't snuggle with the papers and the papers
don't love you back. So, unless you are showing, the papers are really
not important. They just inflate the value of the animal as an object
or breeding stock, but not as a pet.

Only one of my animals has had papers, and she is hardly a good
example of the breed. She's an undersized sheltie with prick ears,
poor conformation, totally wrong coat; and she has an enlarged heart
and poor vision. Her papers are meaningless. On the other hand, she is
the cutest sweetest most wonderful dog. But the papers don't say that.

As you said, Phil, there are plenty of purebreds in the shelters. The
only difference is that they don't have papers. It seems like the best
place to look for a pet quality purebred. And with the websites like
petfinder, it is even easier since you don't have to go to each
shelter physically. You can sit at home and look online.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 17:16:58 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:

No, actually, it's not a defensive reaction. It's an aggressive reaction.
I'm sick to death of the holier-than-thou attitude some posters on this ng
display. In all honesty, I'm not sick-to-death of it enough for it to keep
me awake at night, nor am I sick-to-death of it enough for it to concern me
when I'm not posting, but I am sick-to-death enough of it to point it out
here a few times.



It's very similar to the older person explaining something to the
younger person. I hated it when older people did it to me, but now I
am totally frustrated with my know-it-all nephew who can't see the
whole picture, and totally resists what I try to tell him from actual
experience.

Those of us who do know, really do know. And it's hard to convince
people until they have seen as well.

I understand where you are coming from. Honestly. I grew up in a home
where breeding was intentional and considered a good thing. My mom was
a backyard breeder and proud of it. A lot of what she told me was
from ignorance or bias. But it was wrong. It wasn't until I joined
this group that I began to learn how wrong it was. And it took me
awhile to change my opinions. But I did, and now I know better.

Once you have actually been on both sides, it's easier to look at both
sides and judge which one is better. My first 3 cats came from my mom
as a bakyard breeder. I have been lucky with their health. But I have
also seen how that luck could have been a horrible mistake. You see,
Kira got a double dose of a recessive gene that my mom was completely
unaware of, even though she had been breeding the same two lines
together for about 8 years and probably 6 litters. We realized later
that a couple other kittens demonstrated the gene as well, but we
never kept in contact with the buyers, so we never knew. Thankfully,
that gene was simply a mutant long hair gene, but it just as easily
could have been a gene for a health defect.

I am ashamed of the history, and I feel horrible knowing how much we
contributed to the overpopulation problem. I have to wonder how many
of our kittens died young or ended up in shelters. There is nothing I
can do to take it back, but I will do my best to encourage others to
take a better path.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

On 30 Mar 2005 21:58:22 -0800, wrote:


Or are you suggesting people adopt from shelters, or adopt rescued
strays because it's *cheaper*?
Let me clue you in. I "adopted" Biskit from my windowsill in rain/sleet
storm last February. After vaccinations, spaying, hernia surgery and
surgery to remove a BB from under the skin on her side, the grand total
for my "free cat" was over $400. I daresay that's about what most
purebreds fetch around here.


My mom and I spent over $750 on a stray cat she found at the side of
the road. Head injury, etc. And he died after 2 1/2 weeks. The
cheapest to pick up and the most expensive in terms of emergency vet
care. You could also say he cost more to enjoy per day than the
others, too. But I don't regret it. He taught me several things in
those two weeks, and those were well the cost, even the emotional
cost, which was much worse than the money. I'd have paid a lot more if
it would have meant he would live.

My shelter cat was $75 for the adoption. Admittedly a good value since
he was already neutered, had vaccinations, and a microchip. But he
didn't adjust to the food change, so I spent $76 at the vet about a
week after I got him. It did the trick, so he is doing well now and
settled in. Now he's enjoying the food a bit too much

I suppose adopting will save money with the initial purchase, so
that's an added bonus, but certainly not the reason to adopt. After
all, anything can happen with *any* animal. So, vet bills can be
around the corner at any time.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

"Ashley" wrote in message


That would be because, working in a shelter, you don't get to see much of
those who get a kitten and keep it for the next 15 years ...


From where do you conjure up your ridiculous notions? You don't work or
volunteer in shelters. So, how could you possibly know what we see? You
need to get out more... a lot more.

From my experience, I think I can say with reasonable certainty, that the
overwhelming vast majority of shelter adoptives keep their cats for *life*.


I'm beginning to get more than mildly leary of the shelter folk


I'm sure the shelter folk are more than mildly leery of armchair critics who
shooti off their big mouths about things they know nothing about.

"Ashley" wrote in message

I am, however, really sick of the lecturing "If you saw what I saw" bunch
around here, who seem to think that anyone who has slightly different
views


As one of the "if you saw what I saw" bunch" I can say with reasonable
certainty that "if you saw what I saw" you'd probably have a different view,
too. On second thought, after reading some of your posts, maybe not -
you're too self-centered.


Having said that, such
posters are progressively filling up my killfile,

Maybe that's why your views are so distorted and your information is so
erroneous.

"Meghan Noecker" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 09:40:44 -0500, "Phil P."
wrote:


That's not what I said. Don't manipulate my statements. I never said a
DS/LH "is the only breed anyone should ever share their lives with." I
said its unconscionable to *buy* a 'purebred' from a *breeder* while
millions of cats are languishing and dying in shelters every year.
There's
nothing wrong with adopting a 'purebred' from a shelter... Or are the
'papers' too important to you?



Papers are a big deal in many breeds, but a statement I like in the
horse world is, "you don't ride the papers."


Also, unless you actually *see* the mating and *birthing* you can't be
absolutely sure the kitten came from the pedigree on the papers. In
breeders' lingo, falsifying papers is called 'paper hanging'. They even have
a name for it!



As you said, Phil, there are plenty of purebreds in the shelters. The
only difference is that they don't have papers.

Absolutely.

Phil

Meghan Noecker wrote:
On 30 Mar 2005 21:58:22 -0800, wrote:


Or are you suggesting people adopt from shelters, or adopt rescued
strays because it's *cheaper*?
Let me clue you in. I "adopted" Biskit from my windowsill in
rain/sleet
storm last February. After vaccinations, spaying, hernia surgery and
surgery to remove a BB from under the skin on her side, the grand
total
for my "free cat" was over $400. I daresay that's about what most
purebreds fetch around here.


My mom and I spent over $750 on a stray cat she found at the side of
the road. Head injury, etc. And he died after 2 1/2 weeks. The
cheapest to pick up and the most expensive in terms of emergency vet
care. You could also say he cost more to enjoy per day than the
others, too. But I don't regret it. He taught me several things in
those two weeks, and those were well the cost, even the emotional
cost, which was much worse than the money. I'd have paid a lot more
if
it would have meant he would live.

Have you seen my Biskit? For my $400, I got the most beautiful and
unusual cat in the whole world. She is, for lack of a better word, the
most "polite" cat I have ever owned. She is a "lady" and so dainty. Her
litterbox habits are impeccable, and so are her "housecat manner." She
*never* scratches on the furniture or jumps up on the counter...she
gets at my feet and "asks" to jump in my lap with a cute little mew.
She is totally devoted to me and faithfully stays in the same room with
me.
I dare anybody to go to a breeder, and ask for all that, and expect to
get it by forking over $400.
She is beautiful because she is a moggie. She has a sweet nature
because she has known hunger, and neglect, and abuse, and cats like
that are "grateful." I am sure of it.
Here's Bikkie:
http://members.aol.com/jjrich0523/biskitwindow.jpg
http://members.aol.com/jjrich0523/bikkie.jpg

Sherry

As a member of the "If you saw what I saw" camp, and I can probably
speak for Phil in that camp also, you're not nearly as sick of us
as we
are of you.


Sherry


Well now, nice to see you again Sherry!

Yeah, I thought it was time to leave lurker-land. I'm finally getting
used to the google interface. OE was just so unstable I gave up
trying.
Sherry