Posted by Dinah on October 31, 2006, at 8:35:08
In reply to Did You Get Your Kitties As Strays or Buy Them?, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2006, at 19:55:58
I'm afraid of cats (like I used to be afraid of dogs), and that fear was reinforced by my childhood Siamese cat.
Sometimes I think it would be healthy for my son to have a cat, so that he wouldn't be afraid.
But to minimize uncertainty, I'd almost certainly want to get a breed that was recognized for certain behavioral characteristics, and from a reputable breeder who raised the kittens in the home and with a family, and who knew the temperamental characteristics of each kitten.
It's the same reason I buy a dog, and one of a specific breed with characteristics taht would mesh well with my family, and from a breeder who knows the individual dog. I would and have "rescued" dogs, and ones with health problems or behavioral problems, or ones that are too old to be readily adoptable. But from individuals or breed rescue groups that can tell me an awful lot about the specific animal.
I imagine that's not as important if you're a flexible person, but in many ways I'm not. For example, I'm relatively tolerant of housebreaking issues and very tolerant of health problems, but I don't have the dominance to handle dominance. And aggressiveness or sharp shyness is something I can't work out in a multidog house with a child, and a lack of dominance in myself.
To each his own, I guess. And the important thing is that a pet ends up someplace it's loved and wanted and valued.
poster:Dinah
thread:699151
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20061018/msgs/699264.html