We’ve been fostering this TaiwanSPCA rescue along with his sister, and he is now big, healthy, playful, and ready to be taken into a good home. He is already litterbox trained. If you are interested in permanently adopting this male kitten, Panther (you can rename him of course), please contact me by PM. A signed contract stating, among other things, that you will neuter and vaccinate him, and that you will not have him declawed, and an NT$2500 adoption fee (which goes to support TaiwanSPCA’s wonderful work) are required.
(We were going to try to place them together, but the sister has a badly infected eye which can’t close, and it keeps getting injured while they play, so we now urgently need to separate them. The best way for us to do this and to ensure the sister gets adequate care and attention is to go ahead and find someone to adopt the boy now.)
We were thinking of waiting till mid-August to get our kitten, since my daughter and I will leave town for 1.5 weeks in the beginning of August and I don’t want to leave the feeding and litter box solely to my wife during that time.
But, that IS a stunning kittie. I just forwarded the pics to my wife and will see what she says.
We have had no trouble getting kittens adopted out, regardless of their color. Even ones I would not give 5 ‘cuteness’ stars to still find homes easily. Kittens are just cute, period!
Panther’s sister, Hope, will be blind in one eye but she is going to be adorable too. Right now her bad eyeball is gross but after that shrinks and the eye closes or is removed, she’ll just be a pretty little thing with one eye closed. She has a quieter, sweeter disposition, and he’s a touch more active and physically playful. Both are cute as buttons, fun, and love attention and affection – and both purr the instant you pick them up. Hope will often let you hold her longer, and will fall asleep in your hands or on your lap.
Anyway, MT, just let us know – Panther will be available first come, first serve, but we’ll be hanging onto Hope for another 6 weeks or more to make sure her eye heals or so she can get an operation on it, and then there are always kittens available somewhere like TaiwanSPCA, AnimalsTaiwan, MeetPets, and so on. We’ve got other connections too, through the local language web.
My wife responded to the pics I sent her saying, “looks like a longhair cat.” She’s never had a cat and knows nothing about them, but she’s afraid the house will be full of hairs, causing an unsightly mess and itching, scratching, sneezing and allergies. I told her, no, it’s shorthair. She asked me to confirm with you. She also asked me to find out his age.
Honestly, all the hair/dead skin cells in the world can’t cause an allergy if the person isn’t allergic to that specific thing.
Like I’m not really sure if I’m actually allergic to cats, as I have lived with a cat before, but have also have been allergic in homes with cats. I find that I am more likely to be allergic in homes which keep open litter boxes. My theory is that I may be allergic to some fort of fungus which grows on cat poo. Also, “foreign” cats seem more likely to make me allergic than the small white short furred “local” cats. The dander is also yummy to dust mites, which many people are also allergic to.
Maybe it’s best you get your wife and daughter tested for allergies before getting the kitten, since it would kind of be crushing for your kid to get a cute kitten and then have to give it back. Or actually, just get them to visit the house of someone who keeps multiple cats in a not so pristine environment for several hours and see if they start sneezing uncontrollably.
Owning a furry animal in the house is basically a guarantee that there will be hair everywhere no matter how much you clean though…better pack your black clothing up in airtight containers.
You’re right, there will be hairs. But we always had cats and I don’t recall it being a big deal. Of course I don’t compulsively sweep the floor every day, so a few stray hairs won’t bother me. But I figured as long as we don’t get a Persian, or the like, it won’t be so bad and my wife will quickly fall in love with the cat and forgive it for having hair.
Allergy test beforehand might not be a bad idea though.
People are allergic to the dander in kitty’s hair, so a clean kitty gives you less allergic reaction. Also, daily brushing -in short or long hair- eliminates flyaways. Plus, dunno about you, but I prefer vaccumming to sweeping, which leads to less flying cat hair all over the place. And anyway, a good fish oil supplement keeps their hair glowing, and it seems to me falls less… unless it is a change of seasons. I have four cats and sincerely, I do not see a lot of cat hair. I do, however, find lots of missing socks under the bed/tables, not dust bunnies. In any case, an air purifier should take care of any remaining dander.
Actually half of our four cats are black, half this litter (of two) is black, and the whole litter of three kittens that we fostered one year ago (one of which we kept so I’m counting him twice) was black. And my only cat before I moved to Taiwan was black. :eh:
Actually half of our four cats are black, half this litter (of two) is black, and the whole litter of three kittens that we fostered one year ago (one of which we kept so I’m counting him twice) was black.[/quote]
Really? I seem to only see tabby or ginger/ ginger and white cats when I’m out and about.
All my cats before TW were black or black and white. That wasn’t my point.
I’m pretty sure he’s a short hair. I’ve never handled a long-haired cat when it was a kitten, but I think you’d be able to see the difference, and almost all the strays here are short-hairs anyway. I googled for long-haired Persian kitten pics and they look very different. kitten-stork.com/images/persian-kittens.jpg i.ehow.com/images/a02/33/82/sele … 00X800.jpg
Anyway, I think Panther and Hope are at about 7 weeks.
Lupillus is right about the allergies. One is either allergic or one isn’t. The easiest way to find out is to foster some kittens or take someone’s cat temporarily while they’re on vacation. The commitment is temporary, that way.
On hair, if you brush the kitten every day, just a minute or so, it will help prevent cat fur and hairballs. With brushing and a short-hair cat, it’s not a big problem. A mini-vac and those sticky rollers for getting lint off clothes will be useful tools for any cleanup which remains.
Good idea Lupillus. MT, you’re certainly welcome to stop by. We don’t do a good job of keeping our four brushed, so our apartment would certainly reveal any allergies!
Yeah, they are FAR more common here. I seem to be a magnet for the few black ones that there are, huh?
All my cats before TW were black or black and white. That wasn’t my point.[/quote]
I know. I was just adding one more to the list, and wondering whether there isn’t some weird kind of destiny thing going on here.
Good luck on convincing the missus there MT. At first I had a bit of a job convincing mine that cats are one of the greatest things ever. Now they get more attention than I do, damn lovable buggers :fume:
You say he’s a boy kitten. We had girl cat for many years and she was great. I’ve never had a boy cat. We’ll definitely get him fixed if you didn’t do that yet. But, and pardon my ignorance about cat sex, even if one does, that does one still encounter sexual problems with a boy cat, such as spraying scent everywhere or making a goddawful horny howling racket, or is that only unfixed cats?
He’s not fixed yet; he’s too young! You would have to sign the Taiwan SPCA contract in which you’d promise to get him fixed, and not to declaw him or remove his voice box surgically. I think most of the noise from cats is due to the unfixed ones in the streets. Cats will still meow when hungry or lonely, of course, and different cats have different levels of talkativeness based on their personality. We’ve not had more problems with boy cats than girls; we have two of each, and my two favorite cats of all times (and the two most affectionate) happen to have been boys. It’s more a personality thing than a gender thing IMO. Boys can sometimes be a bit more rambunctious during their adolescence, running about actively, but then they mellow in early adulthood IME. But each cat is different.
I’ve had 3 boy cats and none has ever sprayed. We’ve recently discovered that one will wet our bed if we let her lie there (Maya, our oldest cat, who is often ill) but we think it’s related to her illness. So she’s not allowed in the bedroom anymore.
And you don’t have to pick a kitten based on photos alone. Anyone who’s fostering a litter should welcome you to stop by and play with each one, and tell you about their personalities. Just like with people, personality ends up being more important than looks.
How does that look like a long-haired cat? Seriously, this woman does not seem to want a cat. Please send the kitty to some place where he will be loved. But of course, we do know how devious a cat can be. People often claim to hate cats, but when they end up having to live with one they end up being the most obsessive and devoted beings on the planet. Go, Panther kitty! Work your magic!
Well, another kitten (one week old) arrived last night, and we’ve run out of places to put them all and have had to move Panther into the living room with the big cats. But our big cats are picking on poor little Panther, so it’s time to get him urgently shipped out to a new home. If you know anyone who wants to adopt a very playful, healthy little cutie, please have them contact me by PM. He’s about 8 weeks old, and can use the litter box and can eat dry food, so he’s all ready to go!
