I tought Clio to jump thru a hoop and sit...for a food reward.

 

Mine comes when I call him, and knows the command 'kill'...

I totally concur with what ElTianti said about personalities... I've seen turly domestic cats (technically all the ones you see out there) act wilder and more feral than my cat. Odd, since his grandma was one of these:

And even his kids wouln't be considered 'domesticated' by any standards. I could easily get him to jump through a hoop, or just about any basic dog-tick, but there's no way in heck that he would subject himself to a leash!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by drogers
[B]

Mine comes when I call him, and knows the command 'kill'...

I totally concur with what ElTianti said about personalities...

 

I'm gonna add one more vote for the "get two cats". Twice as much fun, no more trouble.

I used to volunteer at a local humane society, specifically in the cat area. I can give you a lot of advice here but I'll try to keep it short:

- Go to a shelter / humane society. There are sooooo many cats out there that need loving homes. It should run you less than $70 per cat including fixing & shots depending on where you go.

- Don't overlook the older cats. The nice thing about the older cats is that you can see what their personality is already - are they shy, playful, lap cats, territorial, etc?. Kittens are great, but you have no idea how their personality will develop. And they are only "kittens" for a few months. Also, the older cats are already fixed and have all their shots. They need homes too - kittens always get picked first.

- Spend some time at the shelter / humane society. Don't plan on taking a cat home that day. Go once, and play, then go back when you feel the need to. You'll know what the right cat is.

- I know someone is going to disagree with me here, but domesticated cats should not be let outside. They do not need to go out. I know a bunch of very sad people who let their cats outside only to get mauled, run over, "kidnapped", or end up with one of the feline diseases (FIV / AIDS).

- My favorite breed of cat is a Maine Coon. They are very big but very gentle and tend to be lap cats. The ones I saw at the shelter would let you hold them without struggle. They're easy to spot - big fur & big paws.

Good luck - if you have any other questions, let me know.

Dave

 

I'll be the lone dissenting voice from the "shelter" opinion. I suggest you consider a private breeder for a couple of reasons. A kitten learns much about "being a cat" from it's mother. Naturally a good mother will instill wonderfully good traits in her offspring. I'm talking about the kinds of traits humans like... only using a scratching post, knowing humans are "good company", good litter box training,etc. In fact, our breeder kept the kittens around for 12 weeks instead of the usual 8 weeks to give them more time to spend with their mother.

A reputable breeders cats are usually of good temperament, free of cat diseases like feline leukimia virus (cat aids), and you will know this by seeing the other kittens in the litter, as well as how the mother acts around company. In the end, all cats have their own personality, (just like us) but I believe you can narrow this down when you purchase from a breeder. We met ours at a local cat show, where her cats are always award winners for personality. As for breeds, our previous siamese lived to be 20 years old, and our current Somali is probably around 10 (I forget) and still plays like a kitten, dashing around and jumping into my arms when he decides it's time to be carried!

Sorry, forgot about the "two cats" part. In both cases I've had mostly one at a time. There was a slight overlap and I regret that. We introduced Bart (the somali) to my old siamese in the last few years of his life, and I'm afraid this made those years a bit "too eventful." Imagine a playfull kitten and an old cat that was used to all our attention. The poor siamese was "ambushed" at every corner (Bart was only playing of course) and I regret that his last few years were so "stressed" IMO, if you want two fur balls that ignore you except when they're hungry....get two! If you can handle lots of attention get one.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ElTianti
[B]

Wow is that a Serval? do you own it?

 

My cat... well, he's one of the best things that happened to my family... we picked him from a friend that had a disability and something like 10 cats and was having trouble taking care of them all... my cat is one of the most sharing and loving cats I know of... if you need a good cry, you just pick him up, take him to your room with you and cuddle with him on your bed and he will sit in your lap and look up at you with wise old cat eyes while you pet him.

He's old, but still a loving cat

 

cats are great...somehow we ended up with 3 cats and a mini weiner dog.

They all have such different personalities it's amazing. If the cat is an indoor type get a short hair. Your black clothing will thank you. You might also think about declawing. We didnt declaw the back claws...but now our "new" leather couches are all scratched up.

We have two tabby's one brown and one orange both boys. They are extremely friendly and are not afraid of people.
The himilayan has a bad behaviour problem..she'll go to the bathroom anywhere but the litter box. She stays in the garage and backyard now.

Since we moved to our new house all the animals have completely taken over the garage.

If you do get a cat, get one of those litter maid's from Target. it makes life much easier.

 

Hey Drogers, my cats are Bengals too. They are ultra smart, and do, on occaission still exhibit a little of that wildness from their ancestry. Shiner (male named afyter the beer) will play fetch, come when called, sit up on his rear legs, give a high 5, lie down, roll over, and jump through a hoop on command (yes, I have witnesses). Really messes with dog owners heads when they see a cat that knows more tricks than their dog.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Colin
IMO, if you want two fur balls that ignore you except when they're hungry....get two!