I'll loan you Da Boys.

my house is empty. no kids left at home. it's so nice and peaceful.

gee thanks. I raised one boy that was enough. we didn't call him tornado for nothing

I've never had one, any suggestions on what to look for?

i cant have a kitty. im too allergic... and rocky would eat it.

that a child?

no... a dog. but its hard to tell the difference most days.

I love having a kitty! You might want to think about: adult or kitten? Kittens come with a whole 'nother level of stuff to deal with.

(happy stuff, but still! Mucho attention needed!)

I probably won't have that much time to pay attention to it. but if I get an older one will it bond with me?

Older ones will ADORE you for giving them a safe, comfortable home! I got mine when she was 10 years old and we are best buds now.

I have two who need a good home.

why are they naughty?

No. They just don't like my border collie and would be happier somewhere else.

well send them over

Stamping their little foreheads now...

now the poor little things are damaged. I don't want them broken

I highly recommend adopting adult kitties. Most times they're up to date on shots, have been fixed and all. And there are so many sweet

adult kitties in the shelters. Kittens can be expensive at first, and destructive.

should i look for a boy or girl or does it make a difference?

how old is adult?

Well, a year is considered adult, but I'd say they are still pretty kittenish until 2-3 years.

also, i've heard about indoor cats vs outdoor.

wow 2-3 years? how long do they live?

who?

oh, 18-21 years

if its an indoor kitty

never what? I'm missing something

Never had a cat before

oh yeah, I've never had a cat before. what did I say

Here's our Claire, we adopted her as an adult, 3 YO when we got her

she's really pretty and looks soft

she was, so silky! We didn't want a long haired, but we fell totally in love with her when we saw her & she totally charmed us

And they will own YOU, not the other way around!

Samilou: awwww thanks

I can lend you my 2 pains i the butt when I go to Georgia on Laborday weekend.

Carebear_001: We already determined that attaching postage to them will damage the poor things and I don't want broken kittys

I suggest indoor only, at least 2-3 yrs, & front declawed (making indoor a must) - we just adopted a 6 yr old orange tiger & he's a doll.

how much does it cost to declaw?

DON'T declaw, it is mutilating the poor kitty's paws. There are other alternatives!

Although alot of times if you adopt an adult shelter cat, you will find that previous owners have had them de-clawed

But it is a terrible practice & it makes them bite more

I'd never declaw a cat, but as intothedawn says there are adult shelter cats who have had it done & I can give them a safe home.

ok, I'm open to all suggestions. I need to know all the thoughts so that I can make a good decision.

thank you all for sharing so much

when I adopted my kitten from the shelter, I tought her to walk on a leash and ride in the car.

Our bank had treats just for her at the window. she was spoiled

we'd always heard that male orange tigers were laid back & super affectionate. Max seems to be supporting that premise.

my two are both male partly for practical reasons. I got both as kittens and boys are cheaper to neuter (thanks for the advice Grandma) and

I subsequently read somewhere that animals bond best w/ humans of the opposite sex. Although little cat seems to be an indiscriminate lover

he does sleep on my side of the bed and usually chooses me over the fella. I suggest you go to your shelter and meet the cats and see if

you're drawn to one and if it's drawn to you. when we were thinking about getting a second cat we went and spoke with the city animal

services people and met the cats. they actually really appreciated that we didn't want to jump in and adopt that day, that we wanted to be

sure. they had one sweet cat who had been adopted and subsequently found on the streets. the person who adopted her gave her away and the

next person didn't keep caring for her and just let her wander away

the adult cats at our local shelter vary between uber active and lap warmers. I've always had fully clawed, neutered, males and love them

ok.

If you have a clawed cat, you just need to provide a couple of good scratching places for them-- find out if they prefer vertical or

horizontal scratching-- vertical will like tall scratching posts, and horizontal will like those cardboard scratch flats

Most shelters are really great, they will let you spend lots of time in the cat room visiting the cats. The shelter we adopted our first one

from let us come visit 4 times before we made our decision!

agreed, don't declaw! Every cat I've had has LOVED LOVED LOVED the cardboard scratchy boards, especially the extra-wide ones. Or, as a

friend calls them, "the kitty double-wide trailer". Heh.

sassyclayer: that is so cute. was it hard to teach a cat to walk on a leash? I would love to be able to take a cat for a walk

intothedawn: thanks for the amazing information. I definitely will go to the shelter tonight and

sit with the kitty's as long as they let me

How would you be able to tell which type of scratching post they prefer if you don't purchase both and see

witch one they use?

Our first cat was over 10 when we got him and it was love on first sight from both sides. Of course he soon cheated on me with the tall guy

RE: scratching-- just pay attention to where they scratch-- if they stretch to scratch the back of the couch or chairs or if they like

scratching at the carpet or rugs-- Sometimes they like both, but most prefer vertical, it seems. Be sure to get a TALL scratching post, so

can stretch and scratch. Those short ones that are only a foot 1/2 high most kitties will ignore.

good to know, thanks