Your cat may be a psycho

[Jeff-Groves]

I adopted a Feral Cat that just showed up one day a few years ago.
It took me several months to get her to trust me. She now lives in the house with us.
Kohtalo has become a model of love and trust! It was rough at times for her to trust us. Many scratches and bites. But We can rub her tummy now and even hold her paws with no reaction from her other then a very loud purring sound!
It's not about the love She gives us. It's the Love We give her that changed a once feral Cat into A Big Baby that gets on my lap every night and goes to sleep as if it's heaven!

Kohtalo means Fate or Destiny in Finnish. I believe it was Fate that brought her to us.

[Skybird]

Even pets need hobbies, than they do not turn psycho.

[Commander Wallace]

We have 4 cats that my lady has rescued. The joke in the house is that the cats have a better medical plan than I do. Two of them were brother and sister and I suspect both of them had been abused as kittens. The male had severe separation issues and a non functioning kidney due to injury. He is fine now and happy and no longer has issues when we leave. His other kidney functions fine but he is on a special diet. His sister was mean and vicious but is now the nicest cat around. It took years to get her that way, though.

The other one had a few surgeries and the last one has hyper thyroid ism for which she gets one pill in the morning and another at suppertime. All of them are doing pretty well. Their medical bills and special diets over the course of the year are considerable. At various points during the night, they are bed buddies.

When retirement comes, we have talked of getting a dog. I like West Highland White Terriers but will probably just go to the local dog shelter and get a dog or two ( mutts ) no one wants to give them a chance at a happy life.

[August]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

When retirement comes, we have talked of getting a dog. I like West Highland White Terriers but will probably just go to the local dog shelter and get a dog or two ( mutts ) no one wants to give them a chance at a happy life.

That was my plan too but the shelters want as much for dogs and cats as breeders do these days. If I am going to pay close to a grand for a puppy then i want to at least pick out the breed and age.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by August

That was my plan too but the shelters want as much for dogs and cats as breeders do these days. If I am going to pay close to a grand for a puppy then i want to at least pick out the breed and age.

Nice. I was under the Impression that with a lot of dog shelters that do euthanize dogs, they would do what ever they could and make reasonable accommodations to find them a good home.

A friend who owns a construction company asked me if I would like a young pit bull that was at an animal shelter. It had been a fighting dog. It's a sad story that would upset a lot of people so I will spare everyone the details. I wasn't able to adopt him as I was seldom home. Long story short: My friend ended up adopting the dog as the shelter was going to put the dog down.

The dog turned out to be the nicest dog and seems incredibly grateful. He has a great home and goes to work everyday with my friend and has a lunch made for him and carries it out to the truck every morning.

Keep looking August. If you truly want a dog, I think shelters will work with you. I always give them a donation to help offset their costs and it seems that Betty White was an animal advocate as well. Truly a great legacy. People gave donations to the shelters in memory of Betty White and I think a lot of that money will be to keep animals in their homes so they won't have to be surrendered. News reports suggest people are surrendering their animals to the shelters as they can barely run their respective households with the economic downturns.
It's great there are so many animal and dog lovers here.


@ Thanks Platapus. That's the plan as it stands. I have seen some great mixed breeds and in my humble opinion, they make the best pets and a friend that anyone could ask for. A friend of ours had a West Highland White terrier and she was the sweetest dog. We bought big bags of " beggin strips " dog treats just for her. She developed cancer and had to be put down. My lady and I were heartbroken over her loss but not as bad as the older man, our friend is. As I said, we will just go to the shelter and let the dogs pick us out. I would rather take one or two that nobody wants or will give a chance to have a forever home.


Btw, thanks for looking out for animals as well, Platapus.

[August]

I will and good luck to you.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

As I said, we will just go to the shelter and let the dogs pick us out. I would rather take one or two that nobody wants or will give a chance to have a forever home.

I do think it is important for the dog/cat to "adopt" you.

[Commander Wallace]

I saw this video of animals that have been reunited with their previous owners and or care givers and thought it might be of interest.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace

When retirement comes, we have talked of getting a dog. I like West Highland White Terriers but will probably just go to the local dog shelter and get a dog or two ( mutts ) no one wants to give them a chance at a happy life.

You can have the best of both worlds by checking to see if there is a breed specific rescue organization for WHWTs in your area.



There are some national databases where you can search for specific breeds.


Absent of that, contact your local all-breed rescue and talk to one of the officers. People who run rescues know who runs the other rescues and perhaps they can also help you.


Thank you for considering rescuing a dog from a shelter.