How did you get your cats? Options

[itsme]

All of mine cats were saved. I feel really good about doing this? How did you aquire all of your cats?

[Furrballz]

As I am a Breeder, I got most of mine from purchasing/swapping with other breeders and breeding my own to go on with my breeding program.

We also try and foster one rescue a year... and have a couple of foster ... err.... 'failures' one of which is currently on Aussie TV in a P & O ad.
We have a rescue foster here at the moment, but he will be finding another home as he isnt happy in a multi-cat situation

[Lee Lee]

Im the same as Furrballz...bought and swapped...and a couple of yrs ago imported from NZ. I have also had one rescue for this year...that has been rehomed...very rewarding.

[Catsfriend]

Hi itsme,

I have got my cats in each of the possible ways, except of buying one in a pet shop.

- Bought and picked up in person from a reputable breeder (a very good and safe way)
- Had them sent by airplane from interstate only upon seeing photos and pedigrees sent by email (can be risky, unless the breeder is really well-known)
- Bred and kept them myself (the safest way)
- "Saved" from unkowledgeable and/or accidental breeders (mixbreds as well as purebreds, and I found it very dangerous in terms of diseases and behavioural issues)
- Rescued by and taken over from people who found them abandoned or stray (ditto, dangerous as above)
- Taken over from vets where they were left abandoned, or from shelters (a bit safer)
- Taken over from reponsible owners who could not keep them any more (much safer)

In summary, no matter where you get a cat from, if it hasn't been born and raised in your own home, there is always some degree of risk of getting a sick or otherwise impaired cat. Therefore it is good to keep a return option open, and to have the new cat vet-checked straight away. And if you already have other cats in your household, keep the new one isolated for 2 weeks, monitor her behaviour and check her pooh etc., to make sure that there is no disease which the vet could not determine and which she could pass on.

How do I feel about "saving" and"rescueing" cats? Not as good any more as I did in my initial stages, and considering to stop it for good in order to protect my pedigree stock. Sorry!
But I still hope that there will be enough other people who don't mind taking a risk and will help all those many cats still waiting to be rescued.

[OldTom]

Self edited....see below.

[fleabag]

Two rescues/rehoming( burmese problem girls) ..yeah didn't happen they are STILL here, two cats offered by a breeder to me( a devon and a burmilla..both adults who'd fulfilled their duties as breeders)..took me SECONDS to say yes ..and my last boy was on my list for a long time before the perfect kitty was born to my fave breeder who said I could have him even tho my personal circumstances were a little dodgy at the time.
It's all good ..

[Rachelle]

I only have one 'breed', Norman the Devon Rex. I didn't buy him, my ex husband did. So far we have shared 17 years, through so many things, and he is the love of my life.

All my other permanents are rescues.

I also have various rescues passing through my house, some stay longer than others until their forever home is found. Each one holds a very special place in my heart.

CF, rescuing takes a particular type of person, there are so many emotional ups and downs, heartache and happiness hand in hand. After reading your comment 'keep a return option open', I do not think you should do rescue. I would never think this way.

[Catsfriend]

CF, rescuing takes a particular type of person, there are so many emotional ups and downs, heartache and happiness hand in hand. After reading your comment 'keep a return option open', I do not think you should do rescue. I would never think this way.

Rachelle, I have done a lot of cat rescue work in the last few years as well as before - and I have just sent you my website link devoted to this part of my activities as a private message, so you can go through all the photos and stories of all the lovely and not so lovely cats I have looked after, and all those animals who were not rehomable and who we finally kept. Some stories of our rescue cats are positive and heart-warming, but other ones can be shocking, repelling, and sad. You will also be able to see that I am looking after 2 not-so-easy-to-handle rescue cases right now.

Many - and probably MOST - of these animals came to me because someone bought them or picked them up for free and then wasn't happy with what they got - but the pet shop or breeder or whoever gave the animal to them, without checking whether they match, wouldn't take it back any more.

If people cannot return the animal to the source where they got it from, the animal will most likely end up in a pound or animal shelter, or be neglected and abused for the rest of its life. I have seen some of such animals in my neighbourhood, dogs chained on in the backyard 24/7, and cats abandoned and left to raise their kittens under some bush, exposed to rain and cold. So, please, don't tell me that I shouldn't do rescue work - although I really don't want to do it anyway, because it is extremely expensive and most often heart-breaking, but what else can you do if someone drops a box full of flea-ridden and undernourished kittens off in front of your house door over night just because they know you love cats?

... Instead, please tell ALL kitten and puppy producers that they have a moral obligation to take their offspring back, if the pet does not match the circumstances of the family they gave it to, and that THEY - not other people - have to find a GOOD home for their offspring.

Yes, I stand to it: KEEP A RETURN OPTION OPEN, most definitly. And this applies to the buyer or adopter as well as the breeder or rescuer.

[Rachelle]

CF, I think someone has said before that your writing can be confusing, as I read it that you were saying that you would only rescue if you had a return option.

Every one that adopts from me signs an agreement that, apart from many other things, states that if for any reason they can no longer keep their adopted kitten or cat, that they will notify me and I will collect them.

[OldTom]

You know what really bugs me? Is how every single thread seems to career off topic whenever the contrary one posts?

Damned annoying.

[Catsfriend]

CF, I think someone has said before that your writing can be confusing, as I read it that you were saying that you would only rescue if you had a return option.
Every one that adopts from me signs an agreement that, apart from many other things, states that if for any reason they can no longer keep their adopted kitten or cat, that they will notify me and I will collect them.

Good on you, Rachelle. I do the same. Sorry for the confusion. No, I did NOT say that I would only "rescue" an animal if I had a return option. That wouldn't make any sense at all! No idea how anyone could read this into a message I wrote. Where do people find the words which I have never written? Sorry for not being perfect (yet) with using your language. But I am a good learner. I am sure we will find a common language as time goes by. ;)

RESCUING means helping animals (or people) to get out of an environment where they are not happy and noone else is happy with them being there either. Returning them to such a hostile environment would be by any means just cruel.

However, for an animal that someone will buy/get/adopt etc. from a decent animal-loving source with the intention to keep the animal forever for their own and their family's enjoyment - be it as a pet only or ALSO for breeding - I certainly would insist on a return option, most definitely!

No matter whether it is an expensive purebred pedigree cat or a free give-away moggie, it can always happen that it does not meet the new owner's expectations. In such a case, the new owner who does not like this particular animal at all, will certainly NOT be the best person to find a better home for it. Therefore, the breeder or rescuer should take it back.

[Rachelle]

I did not add any words to your post, that's how I read and interpreted it that way.

I am well aware what rescue is all about, having now done this for the last 20 years.

[Little Soot]

Back to the topic.

Our moggie was in a litter of kittens on display at the animal nursery section of our local agricultural show and were available 'free to a good home'. Gucci is a purebred Himalayan from a reputable breeder, and Scout is a purebred Ragdolls, also from a reputable breeder.

[ChocolateDots]

Pretty boring story for mine lol

5 from a breeder interstate and 2 bred by me

You know what really bugs me? Is how every single thread seems to career off topic whenever the contrary one posts?

Damned annoying.

Especially when they complain about it happening in a thread they start

[meglane]

My story is also pretty boring, I got my Saffy girl from a breeder in Brisbane.

The way I got her may be boring, but she definitely isn't! She's my lovely little best friend :)

[george]

I adopted my kitten from my work, we run a kitten adoption centre. Before he came to us he was rescued from a pound by a dog rescue organisation and placed into foster care.

[XantheMan08]

Neither of my cats are pure bred or anything special but they are both beautiful and I love them!
Misty (9y/o) was the daughter of my first cat Shadow (now deceased) she was the only girl in the litter and the only one our parents let us keep. Shadow was given to us by a friend as a kitten, she got pregnant due to our own irresponsibility which I don't regret as such because that would mean no Misty but I know we should have had her desexed sooner.

Xanthus (3y/o) our younger cat was rescued from a drain in 2008. My mum heard meowing down the drain and told us (she was reluctant to do so because she knew we would want to investigate). Our dog had been attacked by feral dogs when Mum was walking him in that area earlier that morning and she didn't want us attacked by the same dogs! (Our dog Duke was fine though it took him months to heal - He was PTS last year due to old age). Back to the cat...We had no idea what to do because we could hear him but not see him, so we lifted up the drain and I went down (it wasn't very deep) I could see a little blob in one of the pipes but despite out best efforts he would not move! So as it was getting dark we went home after leaving more food in the drain where he could get it. The next morning after visiting the RSPCA to see if they would help (they refused - so much for the rescues they do on TV) we went back and after shaking a box of cat biscuits for hours caught my first glimpse of him - a tiny grey kitten with one eye stuck shut with dirt - I tried to get him but accidentally scared him back into the pipe! By then a council man had arrived asking what we were doing in the drain - we told him and he gave us a animal trap - It was huge and barely fit in the drain. Mum gave me a prawn which I not only had to touch but had to put on the hook in the cage that triggered the door! Ta-da next morning there he was - we took him straight to the vet who gave us special food for him and a heap of medicine - he told us that he had cat flu and that it was best if he was PTS! We took him home expecting him to die overnight but were glad to find him exploring in the bathroom the next morning. Xanthus has only needed medication twice since (once because of the stress of my sister moving out and the other because the dog got inside and terrified him). We are so glad we didn't have him PTS as he is now the most beautiful pet even though he eats 24/7!

And that is how we came to own our cats

[Catsfriend]

OH MY GOD ... a baby kitten thrown into a drain ... what creature on Earth would possibly do such a thing?

I am so happy that Xanthus has found you.

Thank you for rescueing him.

But I shouldn't be asking. Last year, I went to our local waste deposit site to throw some bulky rubbish and a load of bags filled with soiled cat litter away, and the man who lives in that little caravan on site and collects the $4 fees there asked me into his "home" and showed me those 5 newborn kittens that he had found the day before in a garbage bag - alive - and had been nursing since then by gently dropping condensed sweetened milk into their mouths that he had bought for his coffee. Yes, I took them on and hand-raised them and gave them away to some unqualified people for cheaper than free who never came back to me with a thankyou ever after. Silly me. And I keep doing it again and again. I guess, OldTom is right saying I'm a "nutcase". Perhaps I should rather keep all those precious characters until they find really good homes rather than giving them away to people who won't ever appreciate them - but then I will be called a "cat hoarder" and classified "mentally ill" in medical terms. So, I'd rather be a "nutcase". In comparison, it still sound nicer.

I hope that we will arrive at the day when no more little children will come running into my arms again, at my daughter's primary school, telling me shocked in tears, "My kittycat had babies last night and my dad killed them all..."

Administrator, can you please move this topic to the "Rescue" section? Because I'm in tears myself now, too, when I read and remember these stories. This topic is no more classified "G".

[XantheMan08]

We aren't exactly sure how he ended up in the drain as it was a brand new housing estate with one or two houses and we asked around to see if anyone had a cat - none of them did. I hope that it wasn't a person that put him down there but I don't doubt it was a possibility. I am so glad we saved Xanthus too! I was so worried that he would die but after the first night he seemed to get much better we fed him cat milk with a little syringe - I will try and find some photos of how small he was - I'll put them in the photos section. I also read to him for hours on the first night (I stayed up as late as my parents would allow) I read an Australian history book to him and a number of children's books about cats!

I find it quite horrible that some people can do things like that to cats! I am very lucky that Xanthus came along when he did because our cat Shadow had died three months earlier, if she was still alive we would have been forced to give him to the RSPCA who would have put him down because of the cat flu.

[Jacobdixon]

Well, this is very interesting forum and I feel very excited that I found my cat was having deafness and was in very bad situation when I found her from the road, but now she is doing great.

[samiandkitteh]

My cat was adopted from a family, he came from a good breeder... I grew up with strays and FTGH cats all my life, the new addition is my first cat in years and my first pedigree cat... ;))

Sami

[XantheMan08]

Sami that is really cool I have always wanted a pedigree cat and was looking at buying one when we found and rescued our cat Xanthus. Our council only allows two cats per residential block so we can't get another which is sad but I am thankful for the cats I have. What type of cat is it?

[OldTom]

My oldest (moggie) was from a litter born to a cat owned by a good friend. She (the cat, not my friend!) is black and I've got a theory. Seeing I wear mostly black I would have black cats to reduce the visible fur all over me...

My next furry friend (pure bred) was offered to me by his breeder the day after he was born - I wasn't really in the market for another kitty at the time but I'm so very glad I agreed to have him - he's rather spectacular, even if he's quite naughty at times.

Lastly, this boy (also pure bred and the other's half brother) is a rescue of sorts. His original owners daughter suddenly developed terrible allergies and after testing, the results showed that this guy was the culprit. My friend wasn't about to give her daughter away so he had to go. Luckily for her, him and me he found a home with us. He very quickly put an end to my black is best theory.

I have another addition coming at the end of the month. She is also a rescue - rescued by another member of this forum. She was advertised as 'good to breed with' and as she is not pure of breed, nor was the person offering her a registered breeder, my friend pulled out the stops and snapped her up very quickly. She (the cat) has since been desexed and its a good thing too, as it was discovered that she was suffering from pyometra. So this very lucky little girl is going to make my little girl very happy.

[CeilingCat]

I sort of inherited him. He used to belong to an old flatmate, and she moved out of the country so I took him after that. He and I were inseperable from the moment I moved in there anyway so it was a good fit :)

[CatsRCool]

I found my cat on pet rescue, from a lovely private rescuer lady. He is fab and we love him to bits. First cat I've ever had - been a strict dog person all my life. But I think I've converted to team cat now :)

[Humphrey81]

Hello there, my name is David, I got my cat from a pet shelter in my town. The cat looks great actually, it's absolutely black and yellow-eyed. I'm really happy to get such a nice animal to my place!

[lynh]

Welcome David, to the joys of being owned by a cat. I wonder if you'll be able to stop at one.

I have six now, and would like more if my home was larger.

Lily and Poppy were bought from a pet shop. I know all the arguments, but while there are still animals available in pet shops, what's going to happen to them if no-one takes them - to the RSPCA and then PTS??

Ruby was advertised for free on a site which I don't thing exists any longer called Cat Match. She was being looked after by a lady who seemed to be running her own little rescue from her home.

Gypsy and Mischa were adopted from my local RSPCA volunteer branch in Kempsey NSW. I don't have much time for the RSPCA as an organisation - they are dishonest and all about money - but the volunteer branches do a wonderful job simply for the love of the animals.

Summer was "rescued" from an unhappy home, where she'd been harassed by the family dogs and was very depressed. She's a Ragdoll and certainly very different to what I'm used to. It's taken 3 years for her fit into my home and be happy.........a long journey, but it was more than worth it when she recently started calling to me to come out and play and has actually started purring. She's still very tentative with the other cats, but is SLOWLY making progress.

[Serena]

Honey my naughty tortie, who I love so much was rescued from the pound and Raidon my Selkirk Rex was from a lovely breeder in Perth.

[love.my.cats]

Samson's mum was a stray that my ex's nan had been feeding. When we found her under a shrub with two tiny (est 2 day old) kittens, we moved them inside where they lived for the next couple of months. After many visits and getting to know the kittens, Samson came home with me when he was about 8 weeks old. His Mum, Sister and the cat we suspect may be his Dad were all de-sexed and stayed with my ex's nan.

Meeka was adopted from a local pound. I was actually going to get a ragdoll kitten, I'd begun searching breeders but decided I'd prefer to rescue a kitten. I had my heart set on a long hair and I searched for many weeks, drove for sometimes up to an hour to meet different kitties. One day I was early for work, called into the local pound and out of no where this GORGEOUS grey fluffy kitten (approx 13 weeks old) came and met me face to face at the window. That was it. She came back to work with me right then.

Jett was about 13 weeks when we got him as well. My hubby and I had been discussing getting another cat later this year when we move but we went into a local pet shop one day and they had 5 little rescue kittens for adoption. They'd originally come from the AWL and were part of an adoption program through a local vet. We played with them for a little, talked about it on the way home. Started making lunch, talked about it some more and in less than an hour, we were back with a carry cage to adopt Jett!

[anika_perry]

My mom bought my cat because of some mice she saw... Well, the mice are gone but I will keep my kitty of course. :)