What cat is right for me?

[Bastet27]

Hi people! I'm wondering what cat would be right for me. I'm sure there are lots of people out there that know lots of cat breeds. well, I am a very active person, with my old cats I gave them lots of attention. I'm looking for a cat that needs plenty of attention, loves to sit in laps, likes to cuddle, long hair or shorthair are both fine, but I would much rather prefer shorthair. I have heard that some cats love to play with water...if there is a certain breed I would like that one. I would like an an active cat. any color is fine, but gray and white, orange or brown is excellent. No black and white or gray with dark gray stripes! I had two adorable cats that were those colors and I couldn't think of replacing them. They died a few years ago I miss them! Thanks for your help everyone. Thank You! Bye

cats or kittens, just the same, make other pets look pretty lame!

[Karen]

Maine Coons are notorious for liking to play with water ... why not stop by your nearest shelter and see who tugs at your heart?

[BastetsMum]

My recommendation is go to a shelter first.

However, here are the breeds that like or have a fascination with water:

Turkish Vans, maine coons, abysinnians, tuxies (well the ones I have met anyway) all have a fascination with water.

Though most of these cats bar the maine coons and tuxies are independent and are not prone to being lap cats but are highly affectionate and hyperactive.

Make sure you thouroughly check the breeder out and the types of genetic illnesses that purebreds can get before you go and purchase. If you can get an older *retired* cat from a breeder. They make marvelous pets!

[Bastet27]

Thanks for your help! I'll be sure to check out those breeds. I checked out some pictures and I really like the abyssinians. I think I might get one of those. Do you know if they are active and like to sit in laps?

[Barbara]

Abyssinians are active. And active. And active (look at thread "Abyssinians are the best" under Cat Breeds).
My Filou never sits on the lap but very often on my shoulders. They are very affectionate and love people.
E.g. Filou loves to wake me up in the night by giving headbumpies and purring like a Harley. He can do that 20 minutes until I decide it won't help to continue to sleep.
Abyssinians balance on top of doors, steal money (at least Maya and Bodhi did ) and get into trouble several times per day.
I could not imagine how my life was without one (I have one and a half).

[BastetsMum]

Ok if you want a lap cat DON'T go for an ABY!

Bastet <- my aby - is hyper!

A lap is only a place for her to warm her butt in winter.

They are highly independent creatures who are extremely fast learners!

Bastet can now open the fridge and has new attention seeking behaviour in rubbing her nose against the bottom of the door!

She can also open doors if something is hanging on them ....

Need I go on!

[neko1]

Abyssinians Abyssinians Abyssinians!!!!!!!!!

They are the best!!!! I love my Tama chan to death!!!!!! He is my shadow- wherever I go, ho goes with me. And when I sit down, he is always right there on my lap, purring away. He loves running around the house and playing with my other cats. He also loves car rides and will sit in my lap. He's a wonderful puss and I can't live without him.

I love you Tama and I love all Abys!!!!

[neko1]

Here's some pics of Tama: he's a blue aby:

[smokey the elder]

Here are recommendations in order of my personal preference.

1. Visit local shelters and/or their web sites. Actually look at the cats. Quite often, if you keep an open mind, a particular cat will speak to you in its own way. I have seen this happen so many times in my rescue group.

2. Contact specific breed rescues. Yes, people DO spend over a K on a kitten, then the first time it messes outside the litter box or picks a chair, they give it up, usually on some bogus pretext.

3. Contact a breeder (get references and history from vets, etc.) about a retired stud or queen. Sometimes those might not be socialized well, so watch out.

4. (In my opinion) As a last resort, see a breeder about a kitten. Many breeders have mandatory spay/neuter contracts, unless you plan on showing the cat in a show class where it must be intact to compete.

STAY AWAY from petstores selling kittens!

Good luck, and welcome to Pet Talk, the most addictive pet site on the Internet.

[Soledad]

Tama is beautiful! Did you know his name is Maori for "leader"?

[BastetsMum]

If you go to the public section of www.photogra.com and underneath cats - go to - Bastet DesertSands - you will see my gorgeous little girl..

I wouldn't give her up for the WORLD!

www.photogra.com

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'd also like to suggest Aby's. My cat Sunny is half aby and half tabby but I think he acts more like an aby. He's very active, likes to play in the water, loves to talk to me, is very affectionate towards me, and he's a lap cat when he wants to be. Here are a few pictures of him.





He's also quite a character too.

[Barbara]

I love the second pic of acrobat Sunny

[L. Wayne]

Bastet, Concerning cat personalities; generally I have found that even from the same litters of kittens that some are affectionate and some are not. Much of it depends on the personality of the cat. If you go to an animal shelter and seek out a kitty there are several things to watch for when choosing an affectionate furkid. (1). go by each cage and check for any cat that wants to come home with you. This is easily done because they will often begin to grab at you and meow as you walk by their cage. Beware of any furkid that stays or attempts to hide in their cage, regardless of how much you may want them. (2) Pick up the cat from the cage, and see how it reacts to your cuddling. Check for purring and cuddling or sometimes they will actually wrap thier paws around your neck. (3) Caress their paws. This is very important because if a prospective family member constantly withdraws or resists its paws from being caressed, the cat will probably not be very affectionate. (4) Walk by the other cages while holding your prospective pet and check for its reactions to the others. If it growls and hisses, it may be an affectionate kitty, but will have difficulty in adapting to other furkids in the house. This indicates that it would be best as a one-cat household. The ideal reaction will be one of inerest, but will not react to the other's protests at being confronted with another unknown cat. This is the method that I use when choosing my furkids of which I now have 11 and none of them fight each other, and all of my adoptees are lap kitties. Personally, I would always look for 2 furkids to take home because of the companionship that develops between them. Also, if you can take in 1 furkid, then taking in 2 would not be that much of a problem. When you have 2 furkids then they are not so dependent on you for play time and other attention needs.

As far as breeds go, I suggest that you look into adopting a Russian Blue. I currently have 2 of them and one is an adoptee. They are very loyal, affectionate very playful and curious, and make good lap kitties. They need not be pure-breds, as long as there is enough Russian Blue mix in them that they have the physical and personality traits of that breed of cat. The more pure the breed, the more silver-tipped fur they have. and their ears are set at about a 120-degree angle on the top of their head. Although neither of mine are pure breds, they both have emerald green eyes, which is another trait for Russian Blues.

Now, if you want a cat that plays in the water, this behavior is usually up to each individual cat, regardless of the type of coat color or breed. I have had cats in the past that liked to play in the water, and none of the others in the same litter liked to do that.

The problem with adopting a furkid from an animal shelter is that it is difficult to judge how they will react until after you get them home. They will adapt themselves to being confined to a small cage but their true character will come out until they are let loose in the house. This is particulaly true when dealing with male kitties. When I adopted Otis (a flame-point Siamese from a shelter, although he passed about 80% of the4-point examination, after I got him home, he immediately began to take on the dominant male role, of which there was none to fill that position He will attack any cat that hisses at him, but otherwise if they accept him and his self-appointed role, then there is no trouble from him.

The day that I saw Puma in the shelter (a Russian Blue mix), she immediately began to cry out and paw at me especially when I walked by her cage. When I picked her up, she actually wraped her front legs around my neck, and began to purr. She gave out a protest when I placed her back in her cage, in order to talk to the keeper to take her home. Since I have brough her home, she is one of the most affectionate kitties I have ever had. It is not uncommon for her to give me head bumpies, and kitty kisses. Also, if she is cold at night, she will come up to my head and begin to paw at the covers. Then I will let her in under the covers, and she will immediately go to sleep with her head against my chest. The only thing that I have to watch with her is when she becomes confused and scared, she has lashed out at me in the past, when trying to pick her up, but this behavior was only witnessed when she first came home with me.

When I adopted Chris (Christmas cat) -a swirl-orange tabby with white underneath -he passed 100% of the 4-point exam. But after I got him home he bagan to play with the cat toys and made himself at home almost immediately, although he was not that demonstrative at the shelter. Since I have had him, he as made his way into my heart as being one of my favorite furkids. He follows me around, regardless of what I am doing, and is nearly always by my side. He is usually sleeping next to the keyboard, like he is this morning, whenever I am gabbing on the 'net. Every night he sleeps on my bed.

I hope this helps in your decision making.


.........wayne

[rosethecopycat]

Hi,

Welcome.

I'm here to represent Siamese cats!

I like the idea of abys and Russian Blues, or Siamese. But with any of these active breeds, they needs lots of attention, so it might be wise to get a pair. Two is not really any more care than one and the benefits are great. They keep eachother company and out of trouble when you are gone. They play chase and wrestle, it's so fun to watch (and I've got a mixed temperament pair-one Siamese and onw Tux)

If you've heard that Siamese are mean, it's not true. That is a gross generalization. There are sweet and means cats of every shape, size, gender, and breed.

Please do adopt from a shelter.

These poor kids need a chance.

Here's a couple links:

Siameserescue.org

and

petfinder.com

Keep us updated.

Good luck.