Topic: Choosing a cat

[OliveOil]

My mum has decided to buy my 9yo a kitten in the near future... she is looking at a short haired exotic or ragdoll... anyone have any experience with either?  We have never had a cat so new to all this... the cat will live indoors with our dog -shihtzu.

[kitten]

Hi OO, no experience with either of those breeds you mention, ours is a heinz 57 varieties cat, but we love her  ;D  In fact, she chose us when we went to see the litter, so it was obviously meant to be  ;)

Good luck, hope your mum finds one she likes, i'm sure your daughter will be totally thrilled  ;)  ;D

[Hex]

No experience of exotics but plenty with moggies.  Kittens learn their social skills fairly early on, so the things they are exposed to at 6-26 weeks are critical.  Try and choose one who has been family reared in the house rather than kept in a run, and ideally one who is already used to dogs and children.

We only really had our new one because she came from a house with three dogs, six cats, two toddlers and a parrot - just knew she would have the strength of character to cope with everything we could throw at her, and indeed she now runs the household at 18 weeks.  My two older ones lived in a run before I had them at 12 weeks, and they don't really have any social skills, or indeed the best toilet habits.

[Jeannine]

We used to show Persian, Chinchillas and  American Shorthair Silver Tabbies .

The Chinchillas were really stuck up,Johns favourite  but a bit too chocolate boxy to me.

The Silver Tabbies were sweet and gentle, very loving but with a bit of character.

We have thought for 6 years about buying a 'breed'cat again but 2 have come our way that were just moggies and the decision was taken for us you might say.

However,this is what we had decided.

We were going to go for a British Blue, rather than me tell you all the reasons why, take a look at the breeders info online, briefly for us it was because of the gentle nature .

I rather fancy a British shorthair Silver Tabby but wondered if I would be comparing to my old ones that we had I Canada.

I love the Scottish Fold too.

Many Ragdolls were considered phonies in the US so I never got involved with them beyond considering them as a possible maybe many years ago when they were pretty new, but their laid back character might have been too laid back for me, unless the British ones are different.

I have never been fond many of the Oriental cats, a bit vocal and thin for me but some of them are beautiful.

After so many years of grooming I would not buy a long haired cat again as the time needed is  considerable do to keep the animal in good condition.


Good Luck, I envy you.

XX Jeannine

[OliveOil]

Thanks for the replies guys.. I think  a long haired is out the more i think of it.

There is a breeder of exotic shorthairs in lincoln... I might go and see her.  Ideally I need to get one in the summer holidays break so that i have 7 full weeks to social with it - so it may not be until next year if we cant find one soon... The kitten is for my son - he loves cats and has a whole collection of Jelly Cats.  My daughter wants a poodle to do a agility with.

I swear this place is becoming a zoo.

[OliveOil]

Ooo the british shorthairs are nice too Jeannine... I think it will between the bsh and the esh - the exotics are so bagpussy!

[grotbag]

hi,I breed british shorthair cats,if you are going to buy a pedigree it should be at least 13 weeks old and be fully vaccinated.if i can be of further help please pm me.

[grotbag]

ps, the B.S,H is an ideal indoor cat.all of our kittens are sold as being kept indoors.

[OliveOil]

Hi Grotbag... I like both breeds as much now, the more i see the more i like them both.

What is an average price for BSH?  What are they like? Are they active or lazy?  I am looking for an indoor cat that is laid back.

My sons friend just got a kitten - sounds quite horrific.  The little boy is so cruel to the kitten - throwing it about and its certainly alot younger than 13 weeks grrrr I think they just took it for its first vaccs... my son has told him several times that he will report him to the RSPCA if he continues with the cruelty!  Bless him.

[grotbag]

hi olive, the bsh is not the most active of cats so is an ideal indoor cat,they dont need a lot of grooming,for a pedigree you are looking at 3-400£,which sound expensivebut will include vacs,prob free ins and backup from the breeder if needed.ps am hoping one of my girls is pregnant now.I have 2 blues 1 blue colourpoint and 1 silver tabby.

[prink13]

OO, have no objections to pure breed cats, as long as from a reputable breeder - however we have always had rescue cross breed moggies, we've had a British Blue Cross, a British Bi-colour Cross and a Russian Blue cross, all excellent personalities - but would have to recommend the russian, as very docile and a definate house-cat

Kathi

[OliveOil]

Showed my DS the exotics and BSH last night and we went mad over the BSH... so we will see. 

With DD wanting a ruddy poodle as well its running into alot of money! So they both might get rescue's at this rate anyway.

I'd prefer to get them at xmas as they will be their main pressie but I know how hard it is getting animals from reputable breeders at xmas so still not sure what is happening yet... I'm leaving it to my mum at the moment.

[norfolklass]

it's always worth trying your local shelters as they do get pedigrees in as well as moggies and mongrels (although you do need to know why the animal has ended up in the shelter in the first place!)

I think generally girl cats get less wanderlust than boy cats, so if you're after a house cat it might be worth getting a girl.

[grotbag]

hi olive,if my bsh is pregnant her kittens would be ready to go bout nov/dec

[OliveOil]

Keeping fingers crossed then for you!  If only you lived closer  :-[

[oggiesnr]

You don't choose cats, they choose you.  And if they change their minds they up and leave.

When Peter was born, "Boswell" decided he wanted peace and quiet and decatted to a house down the road.  Our current cat "Litany" (Litty for short) came with her sister "Matins" (aka Matty).  Matty decided that it couldn't stand either us or her and went to live half a street away.  Her new owner said she opened the door one morning, Matty went in, looked round, sniffed the air and settled on chair and stayed.

The allotment appears to have two resident cats plus on Sunday we watched a fox come to within 20 feet of us.  I know all the problems but they do look magnificent.

All the best

Steve

[OliveOil]

sounds about right for cats steve though i dont think a £350 cat will get teh chance to leave home LOL.

It is looking like a xmas present at the moment - got a brill scratching post activity centre from ebay so that is waiting to be wrapped up.

[tin can]

I have one standard short hair and one long haired cat.
The long haired needs a lot of grooming to keep away the knots, but that can be part of the pleasure of owning a longhaired cat!
We looked into getting a Ragdoll a while back, but came to the conclusion that as they are so placid and stress free they would be very likely to be runover and so would need to be kept indoors for their own safety. As they are so valuable, they would also risk being stolen.
We ended up with the 2 we have now , both free and in need of a good home.