talk me down from spunking 500 quid on a fancy cat

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I've always had cats, and they've always been rescues.

We got two cats last year. The first one was 9 months old black cat and he'd been an indoor cat all his life. We let him out (after a couple of weeks) and he was one of those cats that went from house to house, getting fed around the neighbourhood . But lovely when he did come home.

Then we got a grey tabby kitten whose mum had been found in a friend's shed when she was pregnant. He's gorgeous and nearly 1 now. He hangs around our ankles, likes company.

But then, the first cat died after being run over - his territory was so large, I guess it was inevitable . We live in a cul de sac, backing onto other gardens, but he was roaming streets away.

Anyway.

I REALLY want another cat and I've realised I get a lot of pleasure from the appearance of cats - I love grey cats in particular. But, there's hardly ever any grey cats in rescues.

I'd also really love a lap cat. Our black cat was so independent I didn't get my needs met

Soo...

talk me down from spunking 500 quid on a fancy cat THANK YOU.

gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!

Ok, I'm calming down. There's a gorgeous little ginger and white kitten near me for zero pounds. DH is happy with that price and DS 1 is completely in love...

Sounds great.

I love ginger kitties. Unreasonable perhaps but there you go.

Oh and as we're sharing, here's our beautiful rescue boy.

He looks like my Bengal!.

Gorgeous - but I wouldn't want to get in the way of those back paws in a dark alley!

You could try the Burmese cat club rescue, they have a few for rehoming at any one time, tons of character.

My silver spotted BSH is a total lap cat!

I had moggies for 22 years. 2 beautiful ginger boys.

The pedigree entered our lives through rather tragic circumstances and I have to say I'm smitten.
He's VERY different to our previous cats.

He's a house cat for starters which can be challenging.
He is extremely demanding, very vocal, affectionate, gentle and nosey.

He's the incredibly clever, high maintenance and drives me absolutely crazy by constantly jumping on the kitchen worktops.
I've never had a cat who has done that before. He's also deeply motivated obsessed with human food.

To answer your question though OP, no you would not be crazy. They're worth every penny

I name changed for this, as my lot might identify me. We have two Abyssinians. I wanted a rescue cat and a dog, DH wasn't keen on either. Then he read about a cat with dog-like temperament, we visited a breeder and fell in love. As much as I love cats, I'm not sure I could go back to moggies after being showered with love from an Aby. It's like having a dog minus the walks but also without all the worries of leaving it home alone for hours at a time (the cats sleep - even when I'm working from home.)

Ah, lovely cat, however my black moggie will catch a ball, follow me on the dog walk and thinks she is a dog too. Luck of the draw with temperaments. I hope op enjoys her moggie.

thing is with cats, you could end up with a £500 grumpycat, lol.

I have 2 cats, a tabby & white who cost us nothing, came from a friend who's cats had kittens, she's NOT a lapcat, she'll come for a snuggle then bugger off and behaves like Lady Muck most of the time, aloof and disinterested, unless i leave the room, lol. She likes to sit near me, but not on me. She gives awesome headbonks though.

The second is a Tuxedo, he's got a black chin beard and a half-tache and the full batman mask going on, very handsome. He's a rescue who was abandoned as a tiny kitten and i had him at 9wks old. He's a nutcase, jumps up EVERYTHING, i'm constantly fishing him off the top of my cupboards, shelving and wardrobes, but he's an absolute cuddlebug and can usually be found in my lap or tucked down the side of me, purring like an engine in idle.

Those Abys are gorgeous - I find it hard to believe that is what my pair look like under all their fluff!!!!!

Can I just tell you that the dog sleeps just as much as the cats...

The dog gets up at lunch time in case she gets a bit of food, the cats get up at lunch time to demand food and demand a cuddle. How poor DH manages to work from home I'm not too sure tbh!

I had a rather lovely blue tabby point siamese for 11 years (and his seal point brother is making up for losing a brother). They had a pedigree of sorts (probably not a great one, no idea as we bought locally) and we did spend a lot of time with them as kittens (picking them up, stroking and brushing and playing etc).

They both grew up to be lap cats (or shoulder cats, in the case of the grey one).

Huge fun, but they expect you to listen when they tell you about their day. They are probably hopeless as "stay at home alone single cats". We let them roam outside.

Given that you are probably going to be spending £5-£10/week before vets bills I think it is worth seeking out the more extrovert breeds (though I do curse mine when he struts around the house trying to get us up at 6am)! My friends' cats are just a bit dull.

That can be rescue or kitten through breeder...

Gah, ginger kitten woman is not replying and the rest of you are not helping with your beautiful pics and personality cats!

The personality cats thing can go both ways. I wish I could remember more of the detail about the YouTube video someone posted on a previous thread about oriental breeds where some poor woman's 2 Siamese cats yowl the house down whilst she is in the shower (you couldn't see her in the shower). There are times when that kind of devotion can be a problem. I certainly don't miss having fishy hair (our Oriental boy used to sit on the back of the sofa and groom us).

Agree on personalities - mine two both have very distinct ones. But both share similar traits that most Aby owners will agree on. Hugely affectionate and friendly. We actually taught ours to avoid other humans as the breeder warned us that they tend to act like everyone's best friend and could follow strangers (so people mistakenly assume they're lost and "rescue" them). The grey one is very affectionate and loves to sleep next to my face. She's happy indoors all day and is very empathetic to anyone who's stressed or ill in the house (she would be great in a hospice). She's a huge talker. The ginger boy lives to be outdoors, loves to give head butts, is pals with neighbour cats and jumps on your shoulder, kneading it when he shows his love. He only meows when he wants something. They both have a favourite human they're more loyal to than other humans. One always comes running if called. The other responds to whistles and his cat collar bell. Point is, despite being different temperaments, they share the unique traits known to Abyssinian cats.

That sound to me as if his cat collar lives on a shelf!

Does it have to be grey? Go along to your nearest CPL and see which cat you fall in love with... and give them the £500!

It doesn't have to be grey, no.

Believe me, I'm scouring catchat and gumtree and no one quite suitable has turned up because we need:

A younger cat who can handle being constantly jumped on by CDCat1.
Can live with children.
Can go outdoors.
Not a sibling duo.
No complex health/emotional needs. (I know this could happen anyway, but some of them state they need special care and attention for this reason).

Local RSPCA centres and rehoming places won't rehome kittens to a house with children under 5 . (But if anyone knows of ones that do, please let me know because I'm sure I've phoned most of them!)

I'm getting angry at the Gumtree ads for perfectly ordinary kittens at £150 and another ad for an un-neutered male cat. People are obviously seeing this as a way to print money

List FOR getting a fancy cat:

• more chance of getting a friendly cat? (correct me if I'm wrong)
• could have a kitten so DCat1 isn't usurped immediately
• gorgeous
• beautiful

List AGAINST getting a fancy cat:

• 500 smackers, obv
• no guarantee of personality
• it'll get stolen
• lots of moggies need homes
• friendly cats can be more needy and annoying
• inbreeding of pedigrees causing health conditions?? (please correct me, it's what people keep telling me)
• I'm not the type to have a fancy cat (!)

i would ignore the big rescues and look around for a local one, they're often smaller, more friendly and more invested in the quality of the home, not the details!

Have you looked at the ragdoll rescue site? They have some beautiful cats that you can adopt for £150

See here

link

I absolutely love grey cats but DH absolutely refused to consider getting another cat as he thought it would be 'too upsetting' for our cat. We moved house a few months ago and have been completely adopted my next door's cat. We don't feed him - he goes next door for meals and then comes straight back to us. He is definitely a lap cat and very high needs - following you round miaowing at you.
He is very dim and the clumsiest cat I've ever met - yesterday, he was walking along the fence. When he got to the end, he just fell off like someone in a cartoon falling off a cliff but their legs keep going. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Thanks Lottie, I hadn't seen that site (god knows how, I've been looking!)

They're all either pairs or too delicate for rough and tumble with DCat1 by the looks of things.

SO BEAUTIFUL THOUGH.

I think the problem that happens with pedigree animals is when the breeder does not stick to the correct guidelines such as making sure there is not too much in breeding and not breeding animals which aren't considered close enough to the breed standard. In order for kittens to have a full pedigree, both of their parents have to be on the active register. I think that what happens a lot is that someone buys an animal as a pet and the breeder puts the animal on the non active register but then the buyer decides to breed anyway. Because of this, the person won't be adhering to the guidelines about breeding with the least possible risk of health problems and mounting vets bills in the future.

So this is a very long winded way of saying that if you buy a pedigree cat, make sure the breeder is reputable. Some indicators of this are not selling kittens for under £450 and not letting them go until at least 13 weeks old.