It's Caturday- Post some cats (vol 3)
Discussion
We said goodbye to my boy, Ginger, on July 19th. It's been hard to process but it was the right time for him. He's been with me since 1997 and we had him from about 8 weeks old. He was my best friend growing up and passed knowing many secrets. He was extremely loyal, often choosing to follow me round and bring me birds and mice as gifts. He slept at the end of my bed every night and would play games and even speak back to you.
I moved out in 2015, leaving him at the family home. It was hard and I visited most weeks. I was always greeted with a cuddle and face rub! He'd go back to normal and stay by my side until I left. He was always a big boy, but recently he became very ill and frail and we had to say goodbye.
I'll miss you old boy.
And just before we said goodbye for the final time.
My wife wants to get a Birman Blue Point kitten but I'm not sure I'm ready... She's apparently done her research and found they don't shed much (she hates the fur being everywhere), enjoy being inside and are very loyal. I'd much prefer to take a rescue cat / kitten and give it a loving home.
Heck, we had her school's chicks for a week during the holidays, After a few days building trust they would follow me round the house, sit on my desk and peck at the computer and if I lay down they would sit on my stomach and go to sleep, they loved to be stroked and cuddled and centre of attention. They're grown up now and Suzie who actually turned out to be a boy is now huge and still gets cuddles from the family who took her/him in. It would be amazing to give that to another cat who needs it...
I doubt I'll ever feel the same way again about having a cat though.
I moved out in 2015, leaving him at the family home. It was hard and I visited most weeks. I was always greeted with a cuddle and face rub! He'd go back to normal and stay by my side until I left. He was always a big boy, but recently he became very ill and frail and we had to say goodbye.
I'll miss you old boy.
And just before we said goodbye for the final time.
My wife wants to get a Birman Blue Point kitten but I'm not sure I'm ready... She's apparently done her research and found they don't shed much (she hates the fur being everywhere), enjoy being inside and are very loyal. I'd much prefer to take a rescue cat / kitten and give it a loving home.
Heck, we had her school's chicks for a week during the holidays, After a few days building trust they would follow me round the house, sit on my desk and peck at the computer and if I lay down they would sit on my stomach and go to sleep, they loved to be stroked and cuddled and centre of attention. They're grown up now and Suzie who actually turned out to be a boy is now huge and still gets cuddles from the family who took her/him in. It would be amazing to give that to another cat who needs it...
I doubt I'll ever feel the same way again about having a cat though.
Edited by ashleyman on Sunday 6th August 23:58
Condolences ashleyman. Always very hard to say goodbye. 20 is a good innings mind.
As for Birmans, we've had four. One shed like crazy, one a moderate shedder, and two shed very little. But, having said that, they are brilliant cats. Loyal, playful, and very affectionate. We currently have one rescue moggy and one Birman. Both are great and each has their good and bad points, as any cat does.
As for Birmans, we've had four. One shed like crazy, one a moderate shedder, and two shed very little. But, having said that, they are brilliant cats. Loyal, playful, and very affectionate. We currently have one rescue moggy and one Birman. Both are great and each has their good and bad points, as any cat does.
ashleyman said:
...
My wife wants to get a Birman Blue Point kitten but I'm not sure I'm ready... She's apparently done her research and found they don't shed much (she hates the fur being everywhere), enjoy being inside and are very loyal.
...
Sorry to hear about your Ginger ... but OMG no, a Birman - only if you're there 100% of the time & don't mind having a cat joined to your hip (or more often your right ankle) for 100% of the time its awake. Ours has all the annoyances of a regular cat, but turned up to 11. My wife wants to get a Birman Blue Point kitten but I'm not sure I'm ready... She's apparently done her research and found they don't shed much (she hates the fur being everywhere), enjoy being inside and are very loyal.
...
Tripping - I can't get to the top or bottom of the stairs without the furry b
d (no matter what it's doing at the time) racing me & cutting in front at the top or bottom step. Emerge from the d/s toilet & it'll pounce past me. Work at the computer & I'll have it fly past one shoulder or the other & perform a controlled crash into the keyboard & monitor, just showing it could have snuffed me if it wanted to.Shedding - loses its own weight in fur annually - seriously, I kept a bag of all the fur that came off with brushing in a year ... an A3 gripseal bag. This doesn't include the fur vacuumed or vomited up. See the cat in sunlight & there is a Lion sized halo of fur just floating there. I "grew out of" allergies many years previously, but with the cat they're back in a big way, permanently on antistamines. And the vomit ... if your lucky, it's happened overnight & is therefore contained in the kitchen ... even then if someone had dropped a grenade in a bucket of vomit, it would probably be less messy. Daytime, the cat manages to get it on all carpeted areas. The fur is also the fine, undercoat stuff - not guard hairs at all so really feels the cold - anything below 21C is arctic to it. Used to spend a lot of time bothering me (for use as a radiator - very friendly then), but now has adopted it's own shelf in the airign cupboard. IDK what's worse TBH...
Hunting/Killing - still does it, even on the harness. I've only taken it out twice & don't any more, after it calmly stepped into a bush & emerged with a Greenfinch in its mouth.
Being a housecat - seems resonably adjusted (average 4 bed place with conservatory & attached double garage), but still gets the zoomies & unless you want an episode at night, needs shutting up. Depsite going out in the (large) back garden daily with #2 human, constantly tries to escape. This is a bad idea, most cats idea of road safety is to cross by emerging flat out from cover, Birmans aren't even that smart ... never been near the road because I know what would happen - "I wonder what that big grey things is? I wonder if it will be my friend? I will spend 10 minutes sniffing this one spot to find out" SPLAT.
Friendliness vs aloofness - takes it to new levels. I'm #3 it the cats ranking & it's bad enough when the cats attention is locked on me, but, #1 human cannot do anything between about 7am and 11am (when it settles in for the main sleep of the day) without the cat being there. On the other hand, if it's not interested in you, it's really not interested in you. It went misisng for several hours one time, #2 human and I spent ages looking for it, no joy. Only when #1 human calls it does it make a noise - it had got in a drawer & was trapped in a chest. That should be another topic - All Drawers/Cupboards Lead to Narnia.
Trainability - God no. Attempts to train it to stop clawing the bottom step of the stairs (Feliway, citronella, toys everywhere, exercise, etc etc) now mean it's incapable of going upstairs on it's own unless the proper procedure is followed:
1 - hang suspiciously around bottom step until a human notices
2 - start clawing
3 - have bean bag or shoe thrown/flicked near it
4 - go up a few steps & repeat 2 & 3
I could go on .... but to sum up, before this cat, I used to like them.
CR6ZZ said:
Condolences ashleyman. Always very hard to say goodbye. 20 is a good innings mind.
As for Birmans, we've had four. One shed like crazy, one a moderate shedder, and two shed very little. But, having said that, they are brilliant cats. Loyal, playful, and very affectionate. We currently have one rescue moggy and one Birman. Both are great and each has their good and bad points, as any cat does.
As for Birmans, we've had four. One shed like crazy, one a moderate shedder, and two shed very little. But, having said that, they are brilliant cats. Loyal, playful, and very affectionate. We currently have one rescue moggy and one Birman. Both are great and each has their good and bad points, as any cat does.
garythesign said:
20 years is a good lifetime for a cat.
Lovely photos. Cats just get under your skin
RIP Ginger
Lovely photos. Cats just get under your skin
RIP Ginger
Gretchen said:
Ashleyman I'm sorry for your loss. Ginger looks full of love in all those photos. What a fabulous age too <3
Thanks all. I'd like to think Ginger had a good life. He was spoilt rotten and got all the attention and love we could give him. He was a very affectionate boy which made it even easier. I will miss him dearly.RedCarsAnonymous said:
I could go on .... but to sum up, before this cat, I used to like them.
lol. I like to be able to see the shape of a cat and not just see a ball of fur so was already hesitant to get one... I'll pass this onto the wife and see what she says.Edited by ashleyman on Monday 7th August 11:21
I feel your pain Ashleyman, my Tabby, Monty, passed away very suddenly on Friday morning. He was 17.
Truth be told, we'd expected him to go at some point within the next year or so (he wasn't young, and he'd had an irregular heart beat for years, and arthritis for which he was on medication), but it was still very tough and a surprise.
I'm feeling very down, but I'm taking comfort in that he passed at home away from the vets, whilst having a cuddle with my mum, and that it was all over very very quickly. I'm also glad that I got some nice pictures of him on my camera about a month or so ago as they're a nice memory to have.
It's odd not having him around the house, he's been there most of my life. RIP fella.
Truth be told, we'd expected him to go at some point within the next year or so (he wasn't young, and he'd had an irregular heart beat for years, and arthritis for which he was on medication), but it was still very tough and a surprise.
I'm feeling very down, but I'm taking comfort in that he passed at home away from the vets, whilst having a cuddle with my mum, and that it was all over very very quickly. I'm also glad that I got some nice pictures of him on my camera about a month or so ago as they're a nice memory to have.
It's odd not having him around the house, he's been there most of my life. RIP fella.
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