Questions - Round Three

You friendly folks have me wanting two kittens....But hubby and I are in a two-bedroom apartment (one room occupied by our birds). We did not pay a deposit for the birds, but each cat (limit two) is $200--non-refundable. (It's unfair to not get your money back if your cat does no damage, especially since we paid a $150 non-refundable cleaning fee.) Anywho, we've committed to a Ragdoll baby, who comes home in two weeks. So my problem is actually a two-parter:

1. Do I tell the complex folks we're getting one kitten and only pay for one but sneak in a second baby, too? (The only folks who come through here are maintenance people, who really can't have a clue as to who paid for what pets.)

2. If we did decide to get a second kitty a short while later, how can I be certain that a shelter kitty isn't carrying any illness that would put our Ragdoll at risk? I know shelters say cats are tested for FeLV and FIV, but don't cats have to be a certain age before the test reads true? Shelters try to get rid of kittens when they're only eight-weeks old, so I'm not sure if such tests would be accurate then.

Thanks,

Jenk

. Do I tell the complex folks we're getting one kitten and only pay for one but sneak in a second baby, too? (The only folks who come through here are maintenance people, who really can't have a clue as to who paid for what pets.)
Personally I'd pay for the two. not worth getting evicted for that.
Plus what if your landlord comes in for something and finds the two? then what?


2. If we did decide to get a second kitty a short while later, how can I be certain that a shelter kitty isn't carrying any illness that would put our Ragdoll at risk? I know shelters say cats are tested for FeLV and FIV, but don't cats have to be a certain age before the test reads true? Shelters try to get rid of kittens when they're only eight-weeks old, so I'm not sure if such tests would be accurate then.
I am not sure about the test and what age they have to be. I'd think that the tests are accruate at any age, since they test them there. but who knows? the best bet would be to get the new cat checked out by your vet.

My cat care book says that one of the more serious (aka, contagious) diseases is not able to be accurately diagnosed until a cat is at least six months of age! Ack! I want to start out any and all cats young because they'd need to get acclimated to our birds. Yet how can you get a cat at, say, eight weeks and expect it to remain apart from everyone else until it's six months old?!? Double ack!

You are right: my husband and I should pay for two cats if we get two. For now, I'm going to calm my jets and concentrate on the one kitty we're about to get.

Thanks,

Jenk

I agree, just pay the deposit. We tried to keep our kitties hidden from our landlord when we first got them, since we hadn't paid the deposit and they had a one cat limit. (We didn't mean to have 2, long story...) Cats have thing about loving windows, so keeping them a secret is risky at best. All it would take is a semi-observant management employee to notice a different kitty in the window and you are hosed.

I would make a phone call to your vet (or planned vet) and ask about how reliable the tests are. Medicine advances so fast the information in your book may be outdated.

The other option for adopting a purebred cat is to go through a rescue organization for that breed. I saw you were interested in Wedgies, so here is a couple links for them. http://www.forestcats.net/rescue.htm http://www.felinerescue.net/PUREBRED...Cat_Rescue.htm Or if you are interested in any other breeds, here is a list of rescue organizations by breed. http://www.netcat.org/rescue.html You may have a better chance that these kittens wouldn't have been exposed to shelter conditions, although many of these groups do comb the shelters to find purebred cats to rescue (give a better chance than the shelter can). You would just have to ask.