December 11, 2009

Narrowing the options down.

Yesterday I dreamed of cats. Other than demonstrating how obsessed I can get when I put something in my head, the dream was very representative of how hard it is to decide which cat you want to get.

In the dream, there were something like 30 cats in some sort of pyramidal structure in the middle of my house.  They were all neatly seated in shelves, looking at me, and they would not move unless I told them to - even though they were clearly hungry and in need for some care. There were cats of all kinds: big, small, long-haired, short-haired, silky, shaggy, white, black, brown, mixed, patterned, tigers, calicos, tortoiseshells, old, young... A multitude of cats.

If I had to choose ONE of those cats, I have absolutely no idea which it would be.

So, I decided to do my homework before I got face-to-face with the thirty kittys desperate for a home in the nearest shelter. If I can somehow figure what I want in a cat, and what kind of cat can give me that, then at least I will go for the shelter knowing what I am looking for and hopefully will find it more easily.

I am grad student and my roommate has a full-time job 30 miles away from here. This means that the cat will probably be alone for 4, 6, 8, maybe even 10 hours in a day. I should probably cut kittens out of the list of options simply because I have lived with puppies and babies at a house before and I am sure kittens will be just as much work and require just as much attention.

I know that my cat will be spayed or neutered, which means that probably its sex won't make a huge difference. There is, however, the idea that males are more needy and females more independent. I also have a bias against females because of my ex-roommate's female cat, Socks, which was a senior when she moved in with us and definitely did not appreciate my company. So, male it will be - unless a female cat can prove both the evidence and my bias wrong.

We live in a small apartment and I think I may be slightly allergic to cat hair - well, nothing too bad really, I just seem to sneeze a little more than normally when near cats, spring flowers, and dust. But, just in case, maybe we should stick with short-haired cats for now. It doesn't hurt to improve my odds and make life easier for the three of us who will be living together.

I want a cat who likes to be petted but can handle being alone, and I really wish that it would appreciate some play every once in a while. The combination of facts rules out not only kittens, but also senior cats. Again, it is the dog experience that brings the insight: senior dogs like to rest and sleep and more often than not ignore toys and play time. Therefore, we will go for a young adult - or at least younger than 8.

Okay: sounds like a reasonable list. We are looking for a short-haired adult cat, most likely a male, that seems to like people.

[Maybe now it is time to finally face the shelter.]

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