Originally Posted by nelie:
Like when we went to go pick up our cat, a lady was returning a kitten that she didn't want. She had accidentally poked the cats eye out.

There should be some sort of repercussion to that---animal cruelty or something. How on earth does one "accidentally" poke a cat's eye out?? Poor kitty. Honestly, I can't stand people sometimes.

I also suggest going to a shelter.

If you get a kitten be ready to go through the fun that comes with that! A lot of scratching and getting into trouble. After about 2 years I feel like they calm down a little bit. Older cats are great too.

I suggest a lot of scratching posts put around the house. I notice my catch only scratches the furniture when I move her posts when I vacuum and forget to put them back in their places.

I have a tabby and she doesn't shed that much. It picks up a little before summer and before winter. If she lays on clothes they may get a little hairy but for the most part they are fine and so is the furniture.

My parents have white cats that don't really have long hair but they shed like crazy. I am not sure what kind of cats they are.

Originally Posted by nelie:
I don't think you did anything wrong but it could also be that the people are especially jaded. I know humane societies use a lot of unpaid volunteers and these people often see stuff that you don't.

No doubt about it! I didn't go in with the expectation that we would be handed a pet, no matter what people here are saying about me and my family. I've never dealt with the aspca before, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into going there. They didn't look understaffed to me, there were about a dozen people standing around just greeting folks. A very kind girl took my son and was talking to him about cats and showing him cats in little portable cages that were about to be transported. We eventually were paired with someone that wasn't nice to us. What we learned was invaluable. How we were treated wasn't very kindly. Did anyone explain to us how we should approach the cat? No. A little kindness would have gone a long long way in making this a positive experience for us. I'm not complaining about a cat, I'm complaining about a person.

I'm not deterred, it might take a while but we'll work things out and get a cat at some point even if it's not right now. My little boy is the most important thing to me, he may be a little nervous now but that does not mean that he does not deserve to have the opportunity to learn about cats and have a family pet.

I have learned that cat people can be really really mean.

Again, I think that may be why a rescue may be better for you than the ASPCA but sometimes people in the shelter can be funny or even some rescues. My concern, again for you and your son is that any cat may be a bit too curious for your son. I say this as I have a cat clawing and climbing on me right now. Cats are very willful and although they have a reputation for being solitary, they aren't really.

Hey, Palestrina, I think your family did everything right! I also think the shelter did the right thing too. Sounds to me like the problem was just with that particular worker and how she communicated...

I mean you guys were willing, patient and had the right idea. She also got you out when it was needed and recognized bad signs. She knew her stuff. From what you described, that was not a very aggressive cat unfortunately :( but others already talked about this so I don't need to say anything else. How this woman communicated the information she had and the things she knew seemed the biggest problem. She should have said things like "Oh dear, maybe this is enough for a while but this is a great first start." Or "These are some good efforts, but try this instead...". She was treating you like a cat expert and getting mad at you for things you didn't know instead of having more sympathy. It could have been an off day for her and she's probably had lots of bad experiences, so I have sympathy for her. But I totally get what you mean. A comment like " Why did you even bring him here" in my opinion was unnecessary and rude. There were so many better ways to word that, even other suggestions she could have made to make it more positive.

I also applaud the effort you have put into this. Adopting a cat from a shelter is not easy for you or the cats. But you are doing this the best way you know how!!! Don't give up if you want this, and take all the time your son needs. My little sister was the same with animals at first too... Now she loves them at six years old (even though she doesn't have a pet of her own). Your son was doing what all young kids do, the cat was doing what all cats do, and the worker could have said a good effort to both you and the cat instead of accusing you!

You are already doing a better job than me by seeking out a shelter cat, something my husband and I won't be bale to do when we can get a pet. Due to his allergies, and the allergies of my entire family, we will have to get a very specific hypoallergenic cat from a breeder. A reputable breeder and not a kitten mill from a store, but a breeder never the less. We won't be helping the same way you are, so you have my applause.

Palestrina, do you have any friends with cats? Maybe taking your little guy over to visit might be a more relaxing experience. Hopefully someone you know will have an outgoing, friendly kitty.

Originally Posted by Tai:
Palestrina, do you have any friends with cats? Maybe taking your little guy over to visit might be a more relaxing experience. Hopefully someone you know will have an outgoing, friendly kitty.

Thank you to everyone with constructive advice! We are not deterred, we will have our pet one day! Tai, this is our plan exactly. We will visit as much as we can and get out little boy used to kitties first. Luckily I just ran into a neighbor who offered us a visit to her home to meet her cat.