Do the vast majority of rescue cats have big 'ishoos'?

[AphraBane]

Apologies for the provocative title (and the rant below), but I'm feeling a bit despondent about the chances of finding a suitable cat right now. So many of the profiles online seem to detail either major behavioural problems (such that they're only suitable for experienced cat people or those with no kids) or serious ongoing medical preconditions such as kidney damage or diabetes, which would be automatically excluded from any insurance we get (and thus potentially horrendously expensive should an operation be needed).

A very important point: we're not in the UK. In our city there is just one extremely large shelter - at the opposite end of town. We're talking 90 minutes away by car. The shelter generously offers free lifelong medical treatment for pre-existing conditions, but it's so far away there's no way we could put a cat (or ourselves) through that kind of car travel several times a year or more, when we have our own excellent vet 5 minutes away. Obviously we're very aware that any cat we adopt might later get a serious condition, but by that time we'll hopefully have enough experience of cat-caring to deal with it well - that's just part of owning a pet ultimately.

I'm not particularly picky about the age/breed/colour/gender of cat (although a slight preference for 'big boned' cats and no kittens please), because personality is much more important than anything else. I really would like an affectionate, slightly dippy, lap-cat type - the kind who comes up and sits on the keyboard to get attention because it wants a cuddle so much. We have two older children (16 and 12), a lovely garden, live in a quietish area with plenty of woodland access nearby, I work at home and would be there all day for a cat if it wanted attention. I definitely wouldn't get another animal, so it would be perfect for a cat who doesn't get on with other cats. We have limited experience of cat ownership, but many years ago. On the 'downside', we don't have a catflap (so I'd just have to open up the back door a lot), the dog next door is quite barky so would make a nervous cat more nervous, and I'm not quite sure where we'd put a second litter tray (minor logistical difficulty).

On the shelter's website almost every cat listed has either serious medical needs or behavioural difficulties, but it's only a selection of their total cats, so we thought, OK let's go by there and see what they're like. So we were there on Sunday, and of the hundreds (!) of cats there, only a very few were described as 'friendly, confident, not aggressive, suitable for older children'. I fell a bit in love with one gorgeous tabby called Leo who was desperate for a cuddle and the shelter worker let me into his enclosure to see how we get on. After warning me that he was a 2-year-old with an incredible amount of energy who might be destructive (that wasn't on the written profile, but it doesn't put me off)! Leo was a real sweety, but it became clear that he was lacking real socialization (had been taken in as a stray, no knowledge of previous owners) and would need a lot of careful training - he nipped me in play 4 times within a few minutes. Now that I could cope with, I think he could learn to control himself. But then I made one movement too quickly, the poor chap panicked and bit me extremely hard on the arm with no warning - a small but deep bite. The shelter woman said it needed medical treatment because of the high risk of getting infected, so I ended up in A+E getting antibiotics on Sunday evening, then a few visits to the doctor this week to check it wasn't infected. Now four days later the area is still slightly swollen, bruised and sore. Leo is just gorgeous and my heart goes out to the poor lad, but I can't take the risk of letting him live with us, in case he panics again and bites one of the kids like that.

So now I'm thinking, was I just being hopelessly unrealistic to think we could get a healthy cat from the rescue? At what point is the cut-off line between normal cat idiosyncrasy/individual personality and a behavioural disorder?

And I've looked at a lot of different sites both in the UK and here - it's interesting how the profiles differ enormously. Some shelters say very few of their cats are suitable for families or living with other cats, others are much more liberal and far more of the cats are described as an 'ideal family pet'. Is it because they have a different perspective, or just that they take on different types of cats?

[Corygal]

My cat, Mr Cory the fat tabby, had a terrible kittenhood. He was abandoned and left to starve on the street, then captured as bait for a dog-fighting gang.

He is the most laid-back, cuddly, clever and joyful companion anyone could ever dream of. He is a delight to be with, talks, snuggles, makes friends easily and slumbers on my bed snoring fatly. An absolute gift to life.

[addictedtosugar]

My Moggy is a rescue cat with supposed ishoos. He was sent back to the shelter from 3 different homes.
He came to us as a quiet couple, in a terrace with big walls around the garden, and we were warned he may hide under a bed for the first 3 weeks. I have photos of him sat on my knee (looking wary, but he jumped up) on day 3.
He obviously had had abuse to his tail - he holds it in a very strange manner.
He has grown in love and confidence with every year we have had him, and now loves my 5 yr old. He is still wary of the nearly 3 yr old.
He adores me with all his heart, and can often be found lying on my legs having his tummy tickled.
Not sure how I knew to take the risk on him. We took the advice of the shelter tho, and couldn't be happier.

Has he got ishoos? Yes. Is is a loving, happy pet? Yes. The two aren't exclusive.

[isseywithcats]

aphra i dont know if june sends to germany could find out for you but i do know that there are other cat rescues in spain and cyprus who do adoptions to germany and funnily enough romanian underdogs has cats as well as welfare in romania is non existant and they definitely send animals to germany