I loved this. We had a cat who despised me, yet adored my teenaged daughter. Nothing I did made the slightest bit of difference. Eventually the daughter and the cat left home, and I came to terms with it.
I shouldn't laugh, but I'm actually laughing because we all need to stand together, Bette. There was so much guilt involved in why an animal would like me, but sometimes animals are just animals.
Oof, Sarah, I feel this one. There are so many variables in adopting a pet. The breeder vs. rescue choice shaming is one of the worst. You did everything right, and still felt as if you’d failed. I’m convinced that cats are born with certain traits that can’t be socialized away. Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m pondering the idea of inviting a new kitty into my home, or spending my days writing and sipping coffee at the cat cafe. Have to see where my grief over losing Mini leads me.
Mary, I'll join you at the cat cafe to write, to talk, and to hold space for cats we love and miss. Sarah, you'll never know why Zosi had a greater comfort with in her new home versus yours. I've fostered many cats and kittens. Each one has provided me with insight into feline behavior and left me marveling at their uniqueness. Seems like the others who've graced your photos have fared well in your love.
Cindy, I will gladly join you at the cat cafe! I am so in need of feline companionship. You are doing fabulous work with fostering. You will have to tell me about the Leech Lake event.
I love hearing from people who've fostered cats because you all really, really know so much more than the rest of us. My cat Sweets was so hard to win over, and I think having Zosi taught me a lot and gave me patience. It took me two years to win him over, and it was worth every second. Now he's my absolute best friend.
I'm so sorry about Mini. That was such a hard thing to go through because I've been there with you too. I love this idea that some traits in cats just can't be socialized away. 1000% Or we just move to Japan, which has an unbelievable number of cat cafes.
Cats are the strangest little creatures: some love you irrationally, some hate you irrationally. I have kept cats all of my adult life, and although I love them, they absolutely do vary in character. Your breeder sounded dodgy, so you had a bad start. I’d suggest going to your local shelter and just sitting there after you have had a good walk round. That’s the place where you will find your furry love and it will definitely be easier. Good luck!
I'm sort of laughing, Jacqueline, because you're so right. I love them irrationally. Some love you irrationally, some hate you irrationally.
Before I got my two new ones, I did go to shelters, and then I saw a picture of Sweets and just fell in love so hard that I flew all the way to Minneapolis to get him. He was eight months old, and although he came from a breeder (she had show cats), he was supposedly too shy to be a show cat. I can tell you he is not too shy. I think he just faked it to get out of the hard work of being a show cat. It took me two years to win him over, and I love him so much.
Love means letting go at times. Knowing your limits, accepting another being's peculiarities and finding ways for them (and you) to thrive. You found the perfect home for Zosi...well done! When the time comes, and if it feels right, you may decide to find another pet to love. But beware of animal mill breeders. There are a lot of them out there.
Awww - what a sweet story, Sarah. You didn't do anything wrong - sometimes it just doesn't work. And besides, that breeder sounds pretty sketchy to me in so many ways. Too bad you can't "date" your kitty for a week before you decide to move in together and get hitched, right?
This hurt my heart. We have a rescue dog named Thor. He is a Pomeranian/Chihuahua. When he came to us he had been in a kennel for a year and returned by 3 owners due to aggression. Some had mistreated him, and he was on dog antidepressants, which had sapped his personality.
I feared he would react to us as Zosi did to you. Luckily, he quickly became a soul mate to me. We treated him exactly like you did and got lucky. He never used to like anyone else but is now popular up and down the street! He still hates other dogs though...
But the key point is we got lucky. He could have easily been aggressive to us, and we would have been left with endless self-doubt as to what we did wrong and the sickening jealousy of any do-gooder who took him on and did a "better" job. I know what they could do with their cute photos....
You've proven yourself to the animal world with your beloved cats now. It was never anything you did wrong.
I loved this. We had a cat who despised me, yet adored my teenaged daughter. Nothing I did made the slightest bit of difference. Eventually the daughter and the cat left home, and I came to terms with it.
I shouldn't laugh, but I'm actually laughing because we all need to stand together, Bette. There was so much guilt involved in why an animal would like me, but sometimes animals are just animals.
Oof, Sarah, I feel this one. There are so many variables in adopting a pet. The breeder vs. rescue choice shaming is one of the worst. You did everything right, and still felt as if you’d failed. I’m convinced that cats are born with certain traits that can’t be socialized away. Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m pondering the idea of inviting a new kitty into my home, or spending my days writing and sipping coffee at the cat cafe. Have to see where my grief over losing Mini leads me.
Mary, I'll join you at the cat cafe to write, to talk, and to hold space for cats we love and miss. Sarah, you'll never know why Zosi had a greater comfort with in her new home versus yours. I've fostered many cats and kittens. Each one has provided me with insight into feline behavior and left me marveling at their uniqueness. Seems like the others who've graced your photos have fared well in your love.
Cindy, I will gladly join you at the cat cafe! I am so in need of feline companionship. You are doing fabulous work with fostering. You will have to tell me about the Leech Lake event.
I love hearing from people who've fostered cats because you all really, really know so much more than the rest of us. My cat Sweets was so hard to win over, and I think having Zosi taught me a lot and gave me patience. It took me two years to win him over, and it was worth every second. Now he's my absolute best friend.
I'm so sorry about Mini. That was such a hard thing to go through because I've been there with you too. I love this idea that some traits in cats just can't be socialized away. 1000% Or we just move to Japan, which has an unbelievable number of cat cafes.
Cats are the strangest little creatures: some love you irrationally, some hate you irrationally. I have kept cats all of my adult life, and although I love them, they absolutely do vary in character. Your breeder sounded dodgy, so you had a bad start. I’d suggest going to your local shelter and just sitting there after you have had a good walk round. That’s the place where you will find your furry love and it will definitely be easier. Good luck!
I'm sort of laughing, Jacqueline, because you're so right. I love them irrationally. Some love you irrationally, some hate you irrationally.
Before I got my two new ones, I did go to shelters, and then I saw a picture of Sweets and just fell in love so hard that I flew all the way to Minneapolis to get him. He was eight months old, and although he came from a breeder (she had show cats), he was supposedly too shy to be a show cat. I can tell you he is not too shy. I think he just faked it to get out of the hard work of being a show cat. It took me two years to win him over, and I love him so much.
Love means letting go at times. Knowing your limits, accepting another being's peculiarities and finding ways for them (and you) to thrive. You found the perfect home for Zosi...well done! When the time comes, and if it feels right, you may decide to find another pet to love. But beware of animal mill breeders. There are a lot of them out there.
Awww - what a sweet story, Sarah. You didn't do anything wrong - sometimes it just doesn't work. And besides, that breeder sounds pretty sketchy to me in so many ways. Too bad you can't "date" your kitty for a week before you decide to move in together and get hitched, right?
This hurt my heart. We have a rescue dog named Thor. He is a Pomeranian/Chihuahua. When he came to us he had been in a kennel for a year and returned by 3 owners due to aggression. Some had mistreated him, and he was on dog antidepressants, which had sapped his personality.
I feared he would react to us as Zosi did to you. Luckily, he quickly became a soul mate to me. We treated him exactly like you did and got lucky. He never used to like anyone else but is now popular up and down the street! He still hates other dogs though...
But the key point is we got lucky. He could have easily been aggressive to us, and we would have been left with endless self-doubt as to what we did wrong and the sickening jealousy of any do-gooder who took him on and did a "better" job. I know what they could do with their cute photos....
You've proven yourself to the animal world with your beloved cats now. It was never anything you did wrong.