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Lost my best friend today...


P15-D24

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1 hour ago, Dartgame said:

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. We lost our Dog and Cat within a year of each other - 16 or 17 years ago, both due to age and health.

The best medicine is to go find a new friend at the shelter. We got two rescue cats a year apart after the others were gone.

 

I couldn't agree more.All my cats were roughly 15-18 years old when they died off last year,and the first 2 replacement cats came from the local animal shelter. I was looking for adult cats because it's not fair to the kittens for someone my age to adopt them,but I really didn't want the two I ended up with. Neither had much personality,and the big tom (16 lbs) was even hiding in one end with his nose stuck in the corner and nobody could get him to even look around. You could pick him up and pet him and he was totally passive,but he was trembling and scared to death. Same with the 5 lb female. She is a tuxedo cat like the tom,but she would just lay there and look at you. No personality at all,and no interest in anything. I took them both because the girl there said "they had been there a long time without being adopted and they need to find a home soon". To me,this meant they would be put down soon,so I took them. The little female was an absolute delight within hours of coming home and discovering she was in a house again with room to run around,and right away she made friends with the 4lb calico female I rescued as a sick stray last year. By the next day they were chasing each other and playing,and she was jumping up on my chest to rub noses with me and purr.

The tom was a bigger challenge. He must have been abused before,because he was terrified of me as well as both of the females. They would try to make friends with him and he would panic and run away to hide. It took him over a month to figure out he was safe,and then he started to come out of his shell,and now he is one of the nicest cats that has ever lived with me. He plays with the females now,but he is very gentle and always allows them to win. It's pretty funny to watch a 5 lb female cat square off with this big 16 lb tom cat and both of them get up on their hind legs and grab each other around the neck and shoulders,and watch that tiny little female "overpower him" and wrestle him to the floor.

The reason I wrote all that is to make you aware that animals,and especially cats tend to get terrified about being locked up in cages away from their homes and the families they knew,with the lights and air-conditioning goiing 24/7 and it never getting quiet. The personality you see most of them exhibiting when you go to look for a new pet is not their actual personalit,so don't be afraid to adopt a quiet and shy pet. Once they get to their new home and figure out they are a part of a family again,they will open up and be a pleasure to live with.

 

The last two cats I got were strays,though. One was born behind a local grocery store and had grown up behind the dumpster there,and the other one was left in the yard when her owners moved away,so she was a stray,too. They are out in my shop where they have plenty of quiet and can sometimes catch an occasional mouse or snake. The one behind the dumpster is now as tame as a housecat,but the other one still stay hidden most of the time. The shop is 1800 sq ft,so she has plenty of places to hide. I put out food,water,and a litter box for her,and am letting her adapt at her own pace.

Edited by knuckleharley
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