enragedDon't you ever, ever insult my cats. Don't you ever, ever imply that I own them because they're "status symbols," or because I am in some way taking pleasure in the knowledge that other cats are being put to sleep right now. Lilly, Alice, and Thomas are my companions. They are my friends. They are the closest I intend to come to having children, and while I may be up for judgment, they are off limits. Leave my cats the fuck alone.
Why do I get my cats from reputable breeders, rather than from the local shelter? A whole bunch of reasons.
I do it for the health of the cat. When I visit a reputable breeder, I can not only meet the kitten I'm hoping to take home with me, I can meet their parents and grandparents. In the case of Alice and Thomas, I met their great-grandfather. I want to know that my cats have a good genetic shot at a long, happy life.
I do it for the temperament of the cat. I have had incredibly sweet, loving shelter cats in my life. I have also had bitter, terrified, xenophobic shelter cats who couldn't be integrated into a household, because they were too damn scared. I want a kitten that has been socialized and loved, and that has been bred to have a good personality to go with those good genes. I want a Lilly, an Alice, a Thomas, a Ripley, a Toby, an Alligator.
And yes, I do insist on kittens whenever possible. At best, I'm bringing home a new cat to an adult who isn't sure about the situation; at worst, I'm bringing home a new cat to two adults who already think there's no room at the inn. I am loud. I move quickly. I go away for long periods of time. I do things the way I do things, and a lot of adult cats can't adjust to me, no matter how hard we both try.
There are cats in shelters. There are cats in rescues. There are cats in need of homes. But I am not in the market for an adult rescue, and the kittens don't need me to be the one that saves them; kittens stand a much better chance than adults. Why do I know this? I know because I have volunteered at shelters and rescues and free clinics since I was twelve years old. Just like I know that I want as complete of a genetic profile as possible on my cats, because I buried so damn many of them when I was bringing them home from the pound.
My cats are not a zero-sum game. Bringing Thomas home from Betsy's didn't kill a kitten somewhere in the world that was waiting for my love; if it hadn't been Thomas, it would have been no new cat at all. Do I wish that there were no cats anywhere in the world waiting for their forever homes? Yes, I do. But that doesn't mean we shut down the breeders, abolish the breeds, and become a Domestic Shorthair and Domestic Longhair-only world. It means we breed responsibly. It means we support the shelters. It means we spay and neuter our pets.
And it means that my cats are not fucking status symbols. They are not somehow less worthy of love and comfort and a place to sleep than cats who have been abused or abandoned. They are exactly as worthy of all those things. And they are getting them from me, as will all the cats in my future.
If you can't be nice to my cats, you leave them the fuck alone.
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May 13 2011, 03:09:35 UTC 6 years ago
Mary MMM
May 13 2011, 15:35:55 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 03:14:18 UTC 6 years ago
Judgmental person is very judgmental and needs the application of a clue-by-four upside the head. It strikes me that this is the same type of person that would judge a woman for not having kids/how she had kids (whether it was her own/fostering/adoption/etc)-would judge that woman on whether or not she breast fed, etc. In short, some people have to be all up in other people's business and have no compunction about sharing their particular point of view.
Too bad that type of person doesn't come with a mute button.
I'm sorry you had to listen to that and they made you feel bad about your obvious love of your fur-babies. I've only been reading your journal for about a month but it is clear that you love them dearly and are a wonderful mom to them. Who cares where they came from-they have a great home with someone that would do anything for them.
May 13 2011, 19:13:34 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 04:03:23 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 19:13:42 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 04:05:50 UTC 6 years ago
I'm really sorry that people are being stupid and that they inflicted teh stupid on you. :-/
I do dog rescue. I also am seriously considering adding a second Toller to my family this summer because one of my favorite Toller males has just been bred. I'm going to Canada to spend the weekend w/ the breeder and see the puppies when they're about five weeks old. I fully expect that one will find its way to Indiana several weeks after that when they're ready to go home.
My desire to always have my fuzzy (purebred) redheads doesn't make my devotion to rescuing the fluffy spotted English things any less and doesn't negate the fact that I've fostered a half dozen dogs in the last few years... a half-dozen English Setters who would have been killed in shelters if it wasn't for purebred rescue (and we get bitched at for being a purebreed rescue! Sheesh! And this particular rescue has taken in a lot of pregnant maybe-Setter moms and found wonderful loving homes for the definitely-not-Setter puppies... it's not like they're walking away from dogs on the killing floor because they might not be purebred.) Oops... sorry... different soapbox!
Anyway, I think that everyone should have the right to be loved by whatever pets they desire, as long as those pets are humanely sourced. That can mean they come from a rescue... or a shelter... or from a caring and conscientious breeder.
The dog and cat worlds would be really really boring if all we had were random mutts and moggies.
May 13 2011, 19:13:56 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 04:07:55 UTC 6 years ago
Hell and also no.
May 13 2011, 19:14:06 UTC 6 years ago
We know they're not status symbols
May 13 2011, 04:26:59 UTC 6 years ago
The stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me.
Re: We know they're not status symbols
May 13 2011, 19:14:13 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 05:24:40 UTC 6 years ago
Here's a funny thing. Both Mojo and Magick are purebred dogs, from good breeders. Magick had show champion parents and came to us with their papers and records and his nice long champion heritage Golden Retriever pedigree. And he came to us from the *Humane Society*, where he was dumped at 11 months by people who got him as a status puppy and then had no time for him. He didn't even know his own name when we got him.
Which is to say, people who get purebreds for status or because they are pretty or whatever are out there and that is why purebreds still end up in shelters and rescues and people are assholes and YOU are the OPPOSITE OF THAT.
Your kitties are some of the sweetest babies I've ever met. And the Duchess sends her regards to your household and a giant "die screaming" to whomever was rude enough to get up in your business that way.
Of course, as you know, the Duchess did not replace a shelter cat either, as we had no intention of getting another cat when she informed us that we would be taking her home from Betsy's.
May 13 2011, 19:14:45 UTC 6 years ago
6 years ago
May 13 2011, 05:36:57 UTC 6 years ago
I have a Shiba Inu (Hera) that I got from a mall pet store. I was verbal-ed up all about how that was wrong of me to do, and I can understand the point of view, but it also made me upset that I was deemed less of an animal lover because I got her from there.
But then I looked at Hera and realized "it doesn't matter where I got Hera because I love her and she chose me (when I held her the first time in the store she looked up in my eyes and very deliberately licked me on the nose ... and I was sunk) and life is better with her here."
Also, I've rebutted that whole line of thinking with a sort of variation on what you've said ... "If pet stores are such horrible things, then isn't it better that I 'saved' her from the horrible conditions there?"
Digression.
I think I can already tell this from the number of replies, but ... if you need a posse to throw down, we're available. ;)
May 13 2011, 19:15:19 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 05:43:35 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 19:15:28 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 08:14:32 UTC 6 years ago
I love hearing your cat related escapades on twitter too.
May 13 2011, 19:16:02 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 08:55:59 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 19:19:44 UTC 6 years ago
People are jerks.
May 13 2011, 12:16:20 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 19:19:58 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 15:29:01 UTC 6 years ago
Our love to the kitten nieces and nephew.
May 13 2011, 19:20:08 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 17:10:52 UTC 6 years ago
There is a cat overpopulation because people are stupid and don't get their cats spayed/neutered when, these days, you can find a cheap way of getting it done without having to go to a vet and spending way more money on one animal.
My cats (and horses) are my kids. My roommate has a rescue dog and a purebreed and like you, she did her research first.
People are so stupid and have to attack something that can't retaliate. (But their owners can, oh yes...)
Morons.
May 13 2011, 19:21:01 UTC 6 years ago
6 years ago
Deleted comment
May 13 2011, 19:21:15 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 17:53:24 UTC 6 years ago
Our pets are our children. However we came by them they become family. I would defend my dogs against insult & injury against anyone.
Part of the problem with people (liberal, conservative, whatever they are) is that we spend too much damn time thinking that everyone should make the exact same choices we make.
Your cats are beautiful and I'm glad that you're as happy with them as I am with my dogs. Family comes in many shapes, sizes and from many locations.
May 13 2011, 19:21:54 UTC 6 years ago
May 13 2011, 18:03:15 UTC 6 years ago
Some people just have no class.
Some people just have no room for anyone who doesn't agree with them.
I am sorry those people found you.
Some people are just fucking awesome.
You're one of those, and I am glad I found you.
Are there people whose pure-breed whatever is a status symbol? Of course. Most of the people who go to a breeder, though, go for the same reasons you do - out of love.
I live in Missouri, the "Puppy Mill Capitol of the World". I have family who are dog breeders. Responsible, Ethical, Betsy-class breeders (yeah, I met her once [briefly, in a musical capacity], and several people I know and respect have spoken well of her as a Cat Person, so I feel that I am justified in such a statement). I've had all the arguments more than once. Hell, someone who was way more important to me than I realized hasn't spoken to me in two weeks after [what I thought was] a civil discussion over changes to regulations. I agree with everything you said, absolutely.
*hug*
May 13 2011, 19:22:20 UTC 6 years ago
6 years ago
Deleted comment
May 16 2011, 00:38:55 UTC 6 years ago
Preach it Sister!!
May 14 2011, 02:44:15 UTC 6 years ago
Hubby and I have 2 Boxers. They are our 4-legged children. "Roxy That's Princess Pissy Pants To You" was adopted from a rescue group. "Hurley No Naughty Damn Dawg" was a rescue from an asshole of a neighbor who wanted to exterminate him for being active.
I assure you they are NOT status symbols. That's what my Mercedes is for!
Re: Preach it Sister!!
May 16 2011, 00:39:25 UTC 6 years ago
I want a status symbol? In my crowd, I point to my 1952 Aarne-Thompson fairy tale index.
May 14 2011, 06:48:44 UTC 6 years ago
cats really do make the world go round.
May 16 2011, 00:39:38 UTC 6 years ago
May 14 2011, 09:25:11 UTC 6 years ago
Love is always risky, and loving an animal is almost a guarantee of loss. Anyone who thinks less of you for not wanting to risk that loss any sooner than you have to is a jerkface and not worthy of your time and energy.
May 16 2011, 00:39:52 UTC 6 years ago
May 14 2011, 18:04:26 UTC 6 years ago
Your kitties came from a reputable breeder, someone who's been breeding cats for a while, knows what they're doing, and treats them well. I highly doubt that the parent cats (is there a technical term? If so, I don't know it) are just locked away to starve in a cramped cage somewhere until it's time to make more babycats, which is a main concern I keep hearing about getting cats from breeders.
Also, it's completely obvious that you love your cats to death! How could anyone think that they are only status symbols, only trotted out for a quick round of hey-look-at-me-and-how-awesome-I-am? Your cats are lucky to have you.
I personally don't think that you should have to defend your reasons for choosing to get your cats from a private breeder, but since some thoughtless person out there made it necessary, I think the reasons you gave are all extremely good ones. You obviously put a lot of consideration into where you were getting your cats, what you could offer them, and what kind of cat would suit you best. I wish that more people would do the same.
May 16 2011, 00:40:57 UTC 6 years ago
6 years ago
May 14 2011, 19:01:50 UTC 6 years ago
My family's cats growing up were nth-generation farm cats that we brought home from Grandma's woodpile after having spent several years playing with the cat collective that lived on her almond ranch and begging Mom & Dad to let us take one home. When we finally get a cat or two for the house here, we're thinking of a Maine Coon from a breeder because one of our friends has several who are very sweet and I think one would make a good companion for baby Josh. I plan to ask her for a recommendation on breeders - I *think* her mother may actually be the breeder involved, but don't know for sure. All this is after our housemate and her cats moves out someday.
It's very obvious to any of us who pay attention that you love and adore your cats, and you're an excellent cat mommy (even if I'm sure they don't think they're fed nearly often enough).
May 16 2011, 00:41:42 UTC 6 years ago
Also, Maine Coons are AMAZING with little kids. So are Norwegian Forest Cats, but all my experience with them is second-hand.
May 15 2011, 09:16:25 UTC 6 years ago
(Nothing new to add to the many comments before me, but...)
May 16 2011, 00:42:11 UTC 6 years ago
You added a Balrog. You win.
May 16 2011, 00:02:10 UTC 6 years ago
May 16 2011, 00:42:23 UTC 6 years ago
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