"I'm so PROUD of you!"...

[MaggieTheCat]

..."for NOT helping the special needs cat!"

That's basically what my mom said to me today.

My husband and I had been thinking about getting a special needs kitty, one who has diabetes insipidus, which basically means he can't concentrate liquids and would have to drink and pee a lot. I had mentioned it to my mom a few days ago and she didn't really say much about it at the time.

Well, we went to meet the special needs kitty today and decided not to adopt him in the end, not because of his illness, but because we didn't think his personality would fit in with us and our cats. When I told this to my mom, she said she was proud of us for not getting the cat, that it had been foolish to even consider it, and that she was happy we had decided against it because it would have been a terrible idea.



Frankly I am downright insulted she would say this. We are still in the market for a special needs kitty; the one with DI would have been great from the standpoint that we could handle his illness, it's just that his personality wasn't quite right. My mom is insisting we adopt a healthy little 8 week old kitten...you know, the kind that is going to get adopted anyway because everyone loves kittens. We want to help a less adoptable cat, either one that is sick or disabled or even one that is healthy but older and less wanted. She absolutely cannot understand why we would want to do this.

Look, it's not like we haven't thought this through. We've talked a lot about it. We have the experience and the capability to handle a special needs kitty, within reason. There are a lot of kitties out there who are considered special need that aren't really that hard to take care of (in our opinion.) Like a blind kitty. Or an amputee kitty. All of them have a much lower chance of being adopted because they are considered special need and most people want a perfect, healthy cat. We are willing and capable of taking one of the less adoptable ones, why shouldn't we?

[Andara Bledin]

WTF indeed. While a special needs cat is a bit more work than a healthy one, if you know what is necessary going in, it shouldn't be enough extra work to make all that much of a difference.

Another option for the less adoptable would be an older cat. If we had the space and finances, the local adoption agency had a gorgeous older male who was an absolute sweetheart.

^-.-^

[tabbyblack13]

Personally I would rather adopt an older cat. With all of the stuff I have a kitten in my house would result in a lot of expensive items in the garbage. Older cats may be considered less adoptable but there is still a lot of great cats out there.

Adopting a cat with health issues takes a lot of time and money to make sure that the cat stays healthy. I know this from experience with both dogs and cats. My mom was a sucker for special needs pets and I grew up with them. I also have a cat with Inflammatory Bowl Disease and another one at risk for Feline Diabetes. I have to feed special food for both of them and make sure I have meds on hand for one of them.

What we pet owners wouldn't do for our animal.

[Eisa]

Oh, wow. That would piss me off. There is nothing wrong with taking in a special needs cat. In fact, I applaud you for wanting to get a cat that's not a little fuzzy kitten! Older and disabled cats need loving homes, too. Do they feel the same way about special needs children?

[MaggieTheCat]

Do they feel the same way about special needs children?

Get this. Some friends of ours are in the process of adopting a baby. They have said repeatedly that they will take the first baby that is available. Their only requests are that the baby is as young as possible (less than a week old preferably) and that the baby not be addicted to anything (due to the mother's addiction.) They do not care what gender or ethnicity the baby is.

So when my mom and I were talking about adopting cats tonight, she asked how our friends' adoption is going. She said, "Pretty soon they'll be going to pick out a baby!" I was like, "Uh, I don't think that's how it works. I think they will be given a baby, they won't really have a choice other than the requests they have made." My mom was like, "They don't get any say!? What if they don't like the baby!" I was like, are you serious? This couple cannot have children naturally due to some health issues the wife has, they are going to be happy to have any baby. It's not like they are going to go to a hospital nursery and look at a bunch of babies in cribs and say, 'That's the one I want' but apparently that's what my mom thinks is going to happen.

She has also expressed her distaste that this couple would be willing to adopt a baby of any ethnicity. "Even if it's Chinese or black or something??" she's asked, aghast. (we are all Caucasian, for the record.)

I swear, the only reason I talk to her is because we're related. If she weren't my mother, I wouldn't even consider being friends with her.

[protege]

I had a special needs kitty once. I've posted about Snow on CS before. Granted, she didn't have health issues, but her lack of hearing meant she spent nearly a year in the shelter before I adopted her. I know, that her deafness isn't the same as some kitty issues...but at the time, I was working 7 days a week...and simply couldn't be home as much. I felt, that if I adopted a cat with digestive or other health issues, that it wouldn't be fair to the cat.

Before I adopted Snow though, I read up on kitty hearing issues. Just in case if I had to do anything different. The main difference? I had to be careful not to startle her if she was sleeping. That's why she was at the shelter in the first place--she would bite her first owner's dog or children when startled. All it took to prevent that? Simply touch the chair she was sleeping on...and she was fine. She wouldn't snap, and would let me pet her. Otherwise, there was nothing wrong with her. She was a very sweet, playful, fluffy....2-year-old kitty cat.

Sadly, it wasn't to last. About 6 months after I adopted her, she died of a heart attack in my kitchen. Snow was fine when I got home from work...but fell over while she was eating dinner. I got to cuddle her one last time before she died in my arms

She seemed very happy at my house....and I'm sure she's still around. I'd hear scratching noises in the corner of my office. She would 'knead' the carpet for several minutes before lying down for a nap. Out of the corner of my eye, I'd see a flash of something white running through the living room. That went on until I adopted my current kitties...who I'm sure can see her, and chase her around the house

[BlaqueKatt]

My mom was like, "They don't get any say!? What if they don't like the baby!" I was like, are you serious?

sorry one's own children don't come with guarantees to be free of health issues or to have/develop a personality free of flaws that will mesh seamlessly with everyone, ask any parent of a teenager....

back on topic:
I personally will never adopt a kitten, for two reasons: one, kittens get into everything, two it is a total crapshoot on what the cat's adult personality will be like. I've seen sweet cuddly kittens turn into mean, destructive, almost feral adult cats.

[Andara Bledin]

I swear, the only reason I talk to her is because we're related. If she weren't my mother, I wouldn't even consider being friends with her.

I've never considered family ties any sort of pass on having to associate with anyone.

I've got family I only ever communicate with during reunions, and that's only enough to remain civil. I don't think I've seen or spoken to my dad in nearly a decade. Not that he's had any interest in anything other than meth for longer than that. >_<

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

"sorry one's own children don't come with guarantees..."

No, but wouldn't it be nice?