cruel or humane?

[JenBKR]

I have never heard anything about leaving an abandoned cat to die. That really surprised me. Belle is still pretty small too (almost 7 lbs.) and still wants only soft food. She will eat a little dry food when she is starving. When we first got her she refused to eat dry food until we fed her soft...other people said to leave the dry food there are she would eventually eat it. Well...she ate NOTHING for 3 days. Not a bite. I felt so bad, I could not let that go on, so ever since she gets her soft food.

[G535]

Kind of makes one wonder why some people study to be vets when they don't have any real compassion for animals.

[krazyaboutkatz]

This is a bit off the subject but is one of my bad experiences with a vet.

When I took Storm to the emergency vets, the vet in charge that night found out that I owned 4 cats. She asked me if I was a foster mom or involved with a rescue group. I told her no, that they were just my cats. She then said that in vet school they were taught that cats are solitary creatures and that they prefer to be by themselves and she thought that 4 cats was just way too many cats to own. She made me very upset but I just bit my tongue. I later remembered that feral cats stay in colonies so cats really aren't as solitary as she thinks. I also don't understand why some people become vets if all they do is cut down their clients. I guess they're just in it for the money.

[BigCharles]

I'll weigh in here. Both sides may be right if, and ONLY if, there are no other cats in the house. I only say that because there is a slim possibility on the down side.

Now if you house already has existing cats, I would not worry. I remember hearing a kitten cry out in John's barn one afternoon. We knew that there was a momma cat out there. John said that he had not seen momma in a couple of days. We searched and found a two inch long kitten. The next day John found another.

Long story short: these two turned out to be the ruggedest cut ups ever. You did not need a storm to hear thunder, yes thes two chasing through the house. They are not anti-social and can behave just like the other cats. John had three others in the house at the time.

Now, John was also home all the time. He was a full time farmer by then. He could be there to do the bottle feeding six times a day. The neighbors, especially the kids, loved to come and help out.


Judge for yourself. If you can devote the needed time and resources, then go for it. Yes you will have to be the teacher if there are no other cats.

[Jennsen]

It really makes you wonder sometimes doesnt it! I know every cat I've ever had hates to be alone. They all sleep together on my bed, and eat together...all of mine would be lost without another cat for company! It's funny when my 2 cats that are allowed to go outside come in, Oliver waits at the door and jumps all over them and will fall down right in front of them and lick them to death. Here's a picture of oliver and Jack sleeping in my chair

[Jennsen]

Originally posted by BigCharles
I'll weigh in here. Both sides may be right if, and ONLY if, there are no other cats in the house. I only say that because there is a slim possibility on the down side.

Now if you house already has existing cats, I would not worry. I remember hearing a kitten cry out in John's barn one afternoon. We knew that there was a momma cat out there. John said that he had not seen momma in a couple of days. We searched and found a two inch long kitten. The next day John found another.

Long story short: these two turned out to be the ruggedest cut ups ever. You did not need a storm to hear thunder, yes thes two chasing through the house. They are not anti-social and can behave just like the other cats. John had three others in the house at the time.

Now, John was also home all the time. He was a full time farmer by then. He could be there to do the bottle feeding six times a day. The neighbors, especially the kids, loved to come and help out.


Judge for yourself. If you can devote the needed time and resources, then go for it. Yes you will have to be the teacher if there are no other cats.

Their behavior and attitude has alot to do with their genetics. I've had cats that were raised by their mother and myself handling them from birth, and they were hard to deal with as adults. I have one right now, Max who's 15 yrs old, and he hates people, he wouldnt let anyone, including myself, pet him until a couple of years ago. He would flip around and bite! When he was about 2yrs I picked him up and he bit through my bottom lip. He was raised by his mother. So it just depends on their blood line.

[QueenScoopalot]

Originally posted by Jennsen
Their behavior and attitude has alot to do with their genetics. I've had cats that were raised by their mother and myself handling them from birth, and they were hard to deal with as adults. I have one right now, Max who's 15 yrs old, and he hates people, he wouldnt let anyone, including myself, pet him until a couple of years ago. He would flip around and bite! When he was about 2yrs I picked him up and he bit through my bottom lip. He was raised by his mother. So it just depends on their blood line.

I read a while back about a study of cat genetics, and feral lines. This seems quite true also, but the researchers found that kittens sired by a human friendly tom cat tend to be much more social toward humans even if raised on a bottle, whereas kittens sired by very feral toms are not as affectionate. As many know several different tom cats can father one litter of kittens due to the way a cat's uterus is set up. I have had litters come through here that have very human friendly babies, and some in the same litter that just don't warm up no matter what! I thought that was very interesting. Keep on rescuing those street waifs everyone, and ignore the ignorant comments from vets and people who claim to be 'in the know'! We know better. This is not the article I had read before, but another one I came across not long ago.....http://www.messybeast.com/paternal.htm

[carole]

QSA and other's I strongly believe cats are just like humans, you get your shy ones, your extroverts, your grumpy ones, your happy ones, your skittish ones, and your gentle ones.

My own two are like chalk and cheese, different in every single way, one is gentle, sweet natured and skittish or timid, and the other is grumpy, not too fond of human touch, but he has a purrsonality all of his own, that I love about him, he is my lovely boy all the same.

Both kitties were strays, one picked up from a shelter the other roaming my street, so I have really no idea about their parent kitties or their life before here., either could have been abused and both were neglected, who is to say how that affected one or both.

I would imagine kittens born to feral mother's and father's would be less sociable all the same.

They are a mixed bag as humans, and each one has their own endearing qualities, and of course that particular vet service should be ignored.