Loving Home Available In Tyne and Wear (Sorted)

[Janeyk]

So pleased you've adopted Heston     We would love to hear any updates on how he is doing    Please could you pop a new thread in Cat's stories      

[puggy1975 Zoe]

Glad he has a new loving home and settling in hugs to Heston

Hope he is very happy in his new home

[snarf]

Lucky boy Heston! Thats excellent news   

thats a shame about the biting,  im no expert but i think, as you do, could very well be down to him settling in and everyone learning each others body language. if he was stray for a while as well he might still be abit wary of being touched when hes not expecting it- time will tell, but might be worth talking to him or stroking his head before you touch him elsewhere? its a good sign that hes rolled and exposed his belly so soon to your daughter- sounds like love

this might help to read for the biting

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,14320.0.html

and this for photo resizing

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,19.0.html
or if your even abit tech savy i use picasa - its a free download and simple to use

[charley24]

Hello   

Well just thought I would update you on how today went !

We went to the rescue centre and saw the kitties ! Claude in particular who is HUGE seemed to like us and loved being stroked !
So we decided that he was the cat for us.
We found out that he was found as a stray, but then was rehomed for 10 weeks before the new owner returned him as she said he was fighting with neighbouring cats.
Anyways, was was put into the pen and wanted to play with a few of the other cats so was put alone, a few days later back with the others and fine every since, being a big cat, seems like he wants to be boss !

He is around 1 - 2 years old and I would say quite a large and heavy cat, not far but very very strong !

We brought him home and he is settling in well, used litter tray ate some food (seems to love food) !
Couple of incidents, which I am sure are normal, he tried to bite the laptop wire so I tried to move him and he bit me, quite a hard bite, then was fine, more strokes, he loves nuzzling.

Then later my daughter was stroking him but he rolled onto his back and she put her hand to stroke his tum and he bit her hand, and broke the skin.
I have explained to her that some cats do not like their tum stroked (or old cat didn't) and she is ok, again went straight back to being loving and wanting to sit on us !  And of course as he is a large cat, he has quite a bite.

Any ideas how to make sure this isn't a regular occurance, other that making sure no tummy stroking ! Altho ears and head are fine - he loves to nuzzle his head on every part of us !

This is the funniest tho, we have windows with 2 smaller windows at the top and the dining room one was open, we couldn't find him, and all of a sudden my mum in law shouted there's his bum ! And he has jumped on windowsill, onto the ledge and jumped to sill on other side........I went outside and found he was stretched out, enjoying the sun !!!! He is going to love the outdoors, but we need to keep him inside for a little while until he gets used to us !

He is currently on daughters bed, having a snooze, enjoying being looked after ! I have tried adding pics but they are too large but I will sort this out !

I would appreciate any advice about the little biting incidents as on the whole he is a lovely cat with a very loving personality, it may be normal for cats from rescues to behave a little oddly at first, from his nature I would say he was from a loving home and perhaps got lost and hence why found as a stray !

As for his name.............well the rescue called him Claude so he wasn't too used to it and the lady said new home, new name.............and because he seems to like his food and we are a fan, we named him after our fav chef - so HESTON he is !

[snarf]

 but we are off to paws tomorrow to meet the cats and see if any like us (including May) so thank you for the heads up, it is also quite close to our home, so we are off tomorrow to go and see all the cats and see if any look like they would like to come home to us, but also taking the advice of the lovely lady who runs the home, she seems very determined to place the right cat with the right family - bonus !!!

Fantastic! i had a look through (im so nosey!  ) theres some beauties there but Claude does look like a charmer, i can see him enjoying the adventures of harry potter! im sure theyll all want to come home with you, hope one is the right one 

[sweepster]

That sounds really promising.  I hope you find the perfect puss for your family 

And Claude looks completely adorable 

[charley24]

Hello !

First thank you Sweepster, I have enquired about May, but she isn't suitable for us (still very scared and the foster mum has said that she needs more time, especially to grow to be a little less timid and she doesn't like to be touched as yet and has had a few hissy fits)  but we are off to paws tomorrow to meet the cats and see if any like us (including May) so thank you for the heads up, it is also quite close to our home, so we are off tomorrow to go and see all the cats and see if any look like they would like to come home to us, but also taking the advice of the lovely lady who runs the home, she seems very determined to place the right cat with the right family - bonus !!!

Thanks for the advice, we hope we will be able to find a lovely natured cat and the owner of the site think she may have a few cats who would be purrfect for our family.

I will update later and let you know how we got on !

But thank you, May is indeed a lovely cat, but I can't help but really love Claude also on the same site, such a handsome boy ! A little older, but really age doesn't matter does it ? It's about finding a cat that looks at us and just makes us melt !

Snarf, I appreciate your stories, and it is good you can understand where I am coming from with my daughter who just wants to love and care for a cat who will also reward her by letting her stroke him and listen to her read Harry Potter to him or her (another story hehe) I think Figs was very well educated on the matters of Hogwarts !

[Janeyk]

i fostered a cat recently that had been living outside for some time but had once had a home, he was very affectionate and obviously delighted to be fed, warm and loved again. no such thing as too much attention and followed me about - for me he was too clingy and i did feel like he didnt want me out of his sight in case i didnt come back. he was adopted by a recently widowed lady that wanted to feel needed and loved and wanted a cat that would always be near for her to talk to and look after. she also wanted a cat that would tolerate her cat mad 6 year old grandaughter. ive seen pics of him there and he looks so happy, he adores the grandaughter and rushes to greet her when she comes to visit.

what a lovely story 

[snarf]

I just think that if we had a kitten who we could watch grow up would be easier on our daughter, like she will feel this little kitty needs her and she has to be responsible for him or her (helping with her anxiety, it is good for her to care and understand she is important in the role to help aid her issues)

Of course a neutered kitten who is ready to explore outdoors would be practical and cheaper, I feel that we need to find the right kitten for us, that said if we met a older kitten who liked the look of us and we felt could joing the family it would be wonderful, so I am not ruling any pet out!

my parents would have described me and my childhood cat much as you described your daughter and figs in the other thread, its a wonderful thing to give a child and it really did help me.
We got him as a kitten but i dont think it would ever have made any difference to me had he been older. my scamps was never a lap cat, only wanted a few mins attention at a time etc despite being very loving as a kitten and although id have never changed him or swapped him i did feel i was missing something and was forever waiting for him to come home or come out of hiding.
the benefit of an older cat is that the personalities are settled so you know what youre getting. i fostered a cat recently that had been living outside for some time but had once had a home, he was very affectionate and obviously delighted to be fed, warm and loved again. no such thing as too much attention and followed me about - for me he was too clingy and i did feel like he didnt want me out of his sight in case i didnt come back. he was adopted by a recently widowed lady that wanted to feel needed and loved and wanted a cat that would always be near for her to talk to and look after. she also wanted a cat that would tolerate her cat mad 6 year old grandaughter. ive seen pics of him there and he looks so happy, he adores the grandaughter and rushes to greet her when she comes to visit.
obviously you know what your daughter needs  but an older  cat will still need her and love her and could be better at showing that, they do appreciate being rescued!

[sweepster]

Hi, what's the reasoning behind the 'no kittens under 6 months' from those rescues?  Is it because you are out during the day, or because you have young children?

Anyhow, I wondered if either of these two would appeal?  'May', in particular, seems as though she needs a little bit of extra love and understanding which may be a good 'project' for your daughter.  I can vouch for the huge rewards one eventually reaps in helping slightly more timid cats gain confidence and develop into loving, loyal companions.

Stan:  http://www.catchat.org/aristocat/cgibin/prview.cgi?id=2010050402

May:  http://www.catchat.org/pawz/cgibin/prview.cgi?id=2010052208

Edited to correct link; I pasted the same one twice

[charley24]

To be honest I have 2 girls and they are placid, the youngest aged 6 helped with feeding Figs and would let him out, let him in etc, occasional stroke, but really it was my 10 year old who had the bond and spent a lot of time with him, so no, he wasn't afraid, daughter 2 is partially deaf so is quite quiet.

[charley24]

Hi Rosella,I suppose I did think of Figaro as a cat altho technically speaking he was a kitten still !
By the time Figs was 6 months he had a routine and after being done he spent a lot of time outdoors getting into mischief and then coming home for cuddles and strokes !

I just think that if we had a kitten who we could watch grow up would be easier on our daughter, like she will feel this little kitty needs her and she has to be responsible for him or her (helping with her anxiety, it is good for her to care and understand she is important in the role to help aid her issues)

Of course a neutered kitten who is ready to explore outdoors would be practical and cheaper, I feel that we need to find the right kitten for us, that said if we met a older kitten who liked the look of us and we felt could joing the family it would be wonderful, so I am not ruling any pet out!

It makes me sad, we ust assumed Figs would be here for 20 years, he was killed the day before his first birthday and we buried him on his birthday, can't believe we could love him so much, he was one of the family !

[Rosella moggy]

I have tried some centres locally to me in Sunderland to no avail, either being told no kittens, or we would only be considered for a cat 6 months upwards. 

Can I ask, without any offence being taken as certainly none intended; did you think of Figaro (RIP sweetheart) as being a cat when he was only 6 months old?  Our two youngest are now 19 months and we still refer to them as "the kittens" 

6 months is still very young bearing in mind you will hopefully have any newbie for another 20 years if you are lucky.  I think perhaps the rescues are being protective bearing in mind your daughter is very young.  We have 6 cats and 5 of them run for the hills whenever my nephew visits (he is not a bad boy by any stretch but perhaps a bit "enthusiastic") and the other 1 cat is always initially wary   

Figaro was a very very handsome lad 

[charley24]

This was Christmas day with his new toy !

[charley24]

Hello, firstly thanks to all who posted on my newbie thread about our Figaro and the advice you have given on not buying from a site online and for trying rescues etc.

I have tried some centres locally to me in Sunderland to no avail, either being told no kittens, or we would only be considered for a cat 6 months upwards.

As our 10 year old daughter is still pining, we feel it would be nice to get a younger kitten (however we would prefer 10 - 14 weeks so that kitten has been well cared for by Mum and is ready to leave), we would like a tabby or ginger to have a different cat to Figs as my daughter insistent she doesn't want a new Figs as it might remind her of him if we got a look-alike cat.

Can anyone help ?  Do you know of any kittens available near to us, or within the next few months ? We would like her to be able to focus on something new and hope a new little shadow may help as she has issues with anxiety disorder and Figs really helped her, being hit by a car the day before his birthday hurt us all so much but her especially.

We are responsible cat owners, Figs was insured, neutered and immunised, we take being a pet owner very seriously.

Thanks so much x

I am attaching a pic of our gorgeous boy and a link to my album all about Figs x

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=409065&id=635720607&l=4d809bd6a9