I’ve had a lot of cats over the years, and none of them bit to be let down. Possibly this is because I have always been aware of the wiggle that means “I want down now” that cats will give. And of all my cats, only one doesn’t like to be picked up. Poor Shadow has Issues, and I think that he was mistreated in his first home. I’ve worked with him, though, and now he’ll let me pick him up and hold him for nearly a full minute at a time. All the other cats LOVE or LOVED to be picked up and cuddled.
Again, I appreciate everyone’s input. I took a look at the shelter’s website today. It was a bit depressing. They have a lot of animals. We have decided that whatever cat we get will be from the shelter. Just because. Damn.
They have a wide range of ages and breeds. The worse the cat will have to fear from my daughter will be a couple hundred stroller rides or tea-parties. She’s very gentle, just busy. We live in a developed area so it’s definitely an indoor cat.
My wife and I are going to the shelter on Saturday. There are still a few things to prepare. I’ll make sure to upload some pics afterward.
No allergies to cats. No accessible chemicals. And the blinds could hold a small horse.
I think it’s time for Burger to meet Pentobarbital.
All good advice.
Two cats also tend to take care of each others’ issues - Dewey used to attack our feet before we got him another cat to wrestle. And it is hilarious when they wrestle. And also they lick each other.
My Maine Coon begs to differ. He hates to be outdoors more than pretty much anything you can possibly imagine. In fact, I was just coming in to this thread to *suggest * a Maine Coon.
We adopted ours from the Humane Society, and he is the biggest, cuddliest, most affectionate cat I’ve ever known. He loves to be held and snuggled, and he is almost impossible to anger. I’ve found him to be a perfect addition to a household with a very active child.
I do agree with asterion in regards to fur. Glacier has an awful lot of it, and leaves it all over the house. He doesn’t get mats, but he is occasionally prone to hairballs. For us, though, the fur issue is more than worth it, because he’s just such a huge love.
Since this is asking for advice, it is better suited for IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Cats do seem to do better when they have at least one other cat to keep them company. Mine chase each other, groom each other, and snuggle up to each other.
I should have said earlier in the thread that I also recommend adult cats…or at least, not a brand-new kitten. Very small kittens have absolutely no sense, and will get into an incredible amount of trouble. They’re adorable, and a lot of fun, but I don’t recommend a very young kitten for a first time cat owner. I’ve had very good success with adopting adult cats, who are frequently given up because they outgrew the adorable kitten stage. A very young kitten isn’t likely to gladly put up with being dressed up and/or taken for a ride in a stroller. Some older cats may tolerate it, but very few cats will enjoy it. I know for a fact that my daughter’s cat Achilles does NOT appreciate a silky scarf as either an ascot or tied on his tail in a bow.
I also don’t recommend Siamese or Siamese mixes to first time cat owners. I love meezers, and have had a few myself, but they are very strong willed and smart. They can figure things out that a regular cat can’t, and they will sit and PLAN what and how they are going to destroy next. They also have a slight tendency to be wool eaters. My meezers have always been good natured kitties, but even so, they have also been very stubborn.
Also, perhaps your daughter might like a dog, instead? A dog is generally more active than a cat, and more likely to put up with being dressed up. Dogs are also generally more forgiving. I wouldn’t suggest a toy or teacup dog, but a middling to large dog might be what she would enjoy.
Go to the shelter and look for the friendly cats. I did this when we were looking for another cat after we lost one, the shelter lady showed me various cats which were distant and aloof. Not Nuke though, he was in a room with a dozen other cats roaming free, he marched almost over the heads of those other cats to get to me and started headbutting my hands for fuss whilst purring like a train.
Yup, he came home with me that afternoon.
I have a blue Persian and it is a sweet cat (apart from thinking it is a miniature lion). It looks big and gruff but it is the most timid and affectionate animal. They do take a lot of looking after however in grooming and shaving.
I’d also recommend getting two cats. I started with one, and the poor thing was miserable when he was left alone for more than a few hours, so we got another. When you have two, they keep each other company, and even better, they get all the rough stuff out of their systems playing with each other, and you get nothin’ but snuggles.
Most shelters have siblings or mother/kitten pairs that they’d prefer to adopt out together anyway. Take a look at some!
Pretty much everything I came here to say has been said. Personality is everything, shelters or breeders who breed ‘underfoot’ are the best places to get cats, two cats, one older and one younger makes a great pairing.
Our first cat was an ex-alley cat we got from the shelter. My wife pulled me into a pet supply store that had some cats from a local shelter visiting. She was cooing over some kittens when the lady from the shelter handed my a calico with half a back foot, about 2/3s of a tail, and notch out of one ear. He looked up at me, and slammed the top of his head into my chin. About a week later I picked him up from the vet. He liked to lick facial hair, and outside of the headbutting was the gentlest cat I’ve ever seen.
We got our second cat because the first cat would meet us at the door everyday when we got home, and follow us around. When we went on a trip, he followed the friend we had watching the place and cat around. We figured that he was lonely, and got him an inbred puffball of a kitten. He mothered her, and played very carefully with her until she shoulder tackled him down the stairs, after which he roughhoused more freely with her.
Why? Is that cruel? 
Or are there privacy issues for cats now, too?
Well, he’s obviously already terrified, and the person with the camera is clearly making it worse, since the cat is reacting directly at the camera. It’s mean.
I have picked up hundreds of cats and not one has bit me.
When we got our cat, we decided that we wanted one that was declawed. I know, horrible procedure and all that, but we were looking for one that was already declawed, and that’s different, I think. Anyway, we went to this big shelter, with…probably around 150+ cats. And they were all free-range, within the confines of the building. So, imagine: a declawed cat, not particularly big, in a small area with over a hundred clawed cats as competition.
Yeah, he was pissed.
He hates–HATES–other cats, just because of that. We had to get all the other cats out of the room before we could be sure that we would adopt him. And even then, he was still pretty angry and skittish. Also very vocal, since he couldn’t use his claws. We brought him back, and now he’s just the laziest softie. He’s content to just sit and sleep, and he is very inactive even by cat standards. And he’s very affectionate…to humans.
Point being, ask about any exacerbating conditions within the shelter or because of a previous family. Sometimes, the cats will act different than they normally would because of conditions that won’t be present in your household. Also, if you want a particular type of cat, there’s pretty much guaranteed to be at least one of that type in a shelter near you.
I’ve had cats from may different situations - no kill shelters, kill shelters, found, barn, adopted as adults…there is no one situation to seek out or avoid. I would also say there is no one breed or color that is better. My tortie Isabel was a wild barn kitten who wouldn’t let me pick her up at first. She now sleeps with me under the covers and loves to snuggle. My tabby Hanna was found while biking and she is the most lovable thing there is. She was near death, and obviously had been dumped (and maybe abuse - she had some suspicious marks that looked like burns), but she is very affectionate.
I would venture to say the way your cat turns out is more up to how your family treats it, rather than what type of cat it is. If treated with love and affection, it will probably return the affection. If treated harshly and punished often, it may become reclusive and mean.
Some cats are just aggressive. We have a tabby that a friend rescued from outdoors that we got as a kitten. He hates being picked up, but wants to be petted. No problem so far. The problem comes when he’s decided he’s done being petted and tells you by biting you or scratching you.
I’d venture to say that it has a lot more to do with an individual cat than the way your family treats it. My family and friends have had plenty of cats, all more or less treated the same (and most gotten from kittenhood), and they’ve run the gamut from skittish, hidey cats, cats that would climb a toddler to steal their food, cats that were friendly, lazy puffballs, and cats that would play fetch like a dog.
The only thing that’s been consistent for us is that the male cats we’ve had have been more friendly than the females, and that’s not a huge difference, just a trend.
We have two calicos, and I think they would be lovely companions for a seven year old. They are both very vocal, affectionate and playful (even at 10 and 13 years old!). They have their ways, just like all cats, but at seven, your daughter is probably old enough to respect that if kitty isn’t a picking up type kitty, don’t pick her up. I agree with getting a juvenile cat, too - they’re still tons of fun, but not babies any longer.
You can’t go by the length of hair to know if you’re going to have problems with too much hair, though. My cat is short-haired, but she has more hair than just about any other cat alive. I think you can tell by petting the cat - if you pet her down her back and come away with a fistful of hair every time, she’s going to be a shedder (and a hairball maker).