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Be kind to the old fellows
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
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Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
Rule 1) Be kind
Rule 2) Follow the lemmy.world rules
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My partner and I foster a lot of cats. Some of the sweetest cats take forever to get adopted just because they aren't kittens anymore. One of our fosters has been with us for almost three years now - just because he isn't a kitten and needs some inexpensive meds sprinkled on his food once a day.
We adopted a male cat who was a couple years old, he had no teeth and has stomach problems so he needs special food. He had already been adopted once and returned because of the issues and he got bullied out of his foster home by some other cats. Felt so sorry for him, he’s the sweetest boy and our other cat tolerates him ok (they have an older sister/younger brother dynamic), and she doesn’t usually like other cats.
The shelter staff made it sound like he was special needs but it’s literally just a slightly more expensive hard food. I guess after he was returned they wanted to make sure whoever adopted him knew what they were getting into. Love that little guy!
66% of our resident cats are on prescription diets. Total non-issue. I think people just worry about other unanticipated costs.
That's super awesome - both for the fostering, and for paying the cat tax in advance!
I like the idea of getting an adult cat - a bit bigger, a bit wiser, and a bit warmer to the idea of having a bed and a human to call their own.
What a handsome spotted guy!
SQUEEZIES! I know scruffing is wrong, but God dang, do they love sqeezies and butt spanks.
Scruffing is not wrong.
It mostly depends on weight. I can lift my Yorkie by his butt skin and neck skin, and he loves it. If I did that to a heavier animal without loose skin, it would hurt them. Cats tend to lose that extra skin pretty fast. They just like getting squeezed there. (Mostly if they're hand raised).
Of course everything is context sensitive. You can "scruff" a healthy adult cat without ever hurting them if you do it right. You don't lift them up by that skin.
I won't adopt kittens, personally. Those little shits are cute, sure, but they eat everything and claw everything and try to kill themselves on everything. Just like a toddler.
Even if an older cat wasn't trained at all, they still get some sort of common sense level up after they pass kitten age.