I want to get a cat

make sure you are allowed to have one per your lease

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
You want 1 male. Males are smarter and more affectionate.

[/ QUOTE ]

but they don't listen to a word you say. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[whiskeytown]

beware - the things are stronger then crack, and impossible to get rid of once you get them without your tears welling up - LOL

I'd say get two siblings - no need for a pet store - most shelters like felinerescue.org (in my neighborhood, your hood may vary) tends to take care of most of that - you just go in, plunk down the cash, and plunk out...

RB

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You want 1 male. Males are smarter and more affectionate.

[/ QUOTE ]

but they don't listen to a word you say. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]


Very true but they keep my lap warm so I'll choose to overlook it

[jokerthief]

The correct response is a blue point himalayan. The most personable and loyal cat. More like a dog is some ways. the price is a few hundred dollars but it will be well worth it.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Aside from whether or not you should get a cat, DO NOT BUY ANIMALS FROM A PET STORE. These animals are not healthy, nor are they cared for under humane conditions. You are only encouraging inhumane treatment of animals when you buy them from a pet store. Further, you are potentially getting yourself into a situation where you're taking care of an animal that is mentally or physically injured and this can be a pain in the ass to deal with, aside from any emotional attatchment you will develop. This is in addition to any additional vet bills you may incur from a sick animal.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I didn't know you were a girl? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I do like dogs more, however, there's no way my apartment could support one.

But they're so cute#$#

[/ QUOTE ]

95% of dogs will sleep all day and run around when you take them out. so if you want a dog just get one.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree.

Dogs are born to run and made to run. Their genetic heritage is being able to literally run their prey to death. Unlike cats, they are very high energy animals whose nature it is to be very active for significant parts of the day.

They sleep indoors because what else do they have to do? It's not like they can crack a book, chat on the phone, or choose the t.v. channel. They sleep indoors because they have no choice and because their owners don't give them stimulation. A lot of them are miserable. They'd much rather be outside running, with or without you. Keeping any dog in an apartment is not the way to go, especially if you aren't among the most active people on earth and willing to take them all over the place.

As someone who loves both dogs and cats, I'd never get a dog in an apartment. I'm not enough of a saint to keep it from being sensorily deprived. (And a short walk every day is not a lot of stimulation.) A lap dog is a bizarre abberation of nature, but many breeds of cats make pretty contented lap cats. To a dog, that's just cruel.

People who get dogs for apartments often get them the way many people have kids -- as ornamentation and a talking point, without really thinking it through or caring too much.

Get a dog when you get a house. An apartment is like a jail to them.

[Blarg]

I'd have to agree with this. It wasn't always thus and I'm sure still now isn't always thus, but you can't tell all that much about what kind of animal breeder a store deals with by looking at the animal. Many breeders don't wait for a full delivery, but just have their cats get delivered by caesarean so the turnover is faster. They don't give the mothers time enough to recover their strength back before getting them bred again, and the females often die pretty young and exhausted.

It wasn't this way when my folks owned their own pet shop and were dog and cat breeders back decades ago, but now things have changed a lot, and pets aren't thought of with the reverence they sometimes were. Their health is ruined through an astonishing amount of inbreeding, and the whole thing has turned into sales of a commodity, almost as if you were selling them by weight. It's kind of gruesome and creepy now. The love is definitely gone.

There are still good breeders out there though. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from a good breeder, if I could see how the animals were raised. Without the good ones, all the business will just go to the bad ones anyway.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

breeder /= pet store

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
The correct response is a blue point himalayan. The most personable and loyal cat. More like a dog is some ways. the price is a few hundred dollars but it will be well worth it.

[/ QUOTE ]

The nice part of the himalayan personality comes from the persian half, which are incredibly nice and mellow cats. The other half is siamese, which are some of the most cussed and mean cats on earth. I'd say if you want a mellow super fluffy cat, just go straight to the persian and skip the middleman.

But most of all, I'd repeat what I said earlier -- buy a shorthaired cat. All that fluff is extremely hard to keep clean. Just a cat's tongue baths can result in daily knots that can be incredibly painful for the cats, bind up their skin, and literally tear it off their bodies when they move. Don't blink -- it happens all the time.

Unless you're willing and available to constantly groom them, often for extended sessions, get a shorthair.