Have you ever adopted an adult cat?

Anne · Nov 6, 2012

It's Adopt a Senior Cat Month and I'm working on a couple of related articles on the topic for our articles section. I'd like to incorporate some stories by our members about their experiences with adopting older cats. The definition of senior keeps changing, but basically, if you ever adopted a cat that was 7 years or older, either from a shelter, or from another place, could you please post to this thread?

Let us know how you got to adopt the cat, why you chose to adopt an older cat, and most importantly, how is that cat special to you and how he/she added to your life. Any special tips, ideas, thoughts, or anything that comes to mind is welcome too. If you have a picture to share, please do!

jackscatshack · Nov 6, 2012

Yes! I have an elderly friend who is 93 yrs young and her biggest fear was, what would happen to her 8 cats when her time comes? I being a cat lover myself told her I would take them. Living in a small house I knew I would need more space for them so, I built a "cathouse" in my backyard. It is a 10 by 12 studio home with 2 enclosed yards for them. I took in 4 of her seniors and absolutely fell in love with them. 2 of them passed within a year so with all this room I decided to take a trip to my local humane society. I shopped around in the cat room reading all the descriptions of the circumstances that brought these cats to the shelter. I realized alot of these cats were elderly and were released to the shelter when their owner died. That's when Jack's CatShack for elderly cats was born. I now take in cats that are 8 or older to live out their days in comfort and with love. Love, love,love my senior catizens!

Draco · Nov 6, 2012

jackscatshack said:
Yes! I have an elderly friend who is 93 yrs young and her biggest fear was, what would happen to her 8 cats when her time comes? I being a cat lover myself told her I would take them. Living in a small house I knew I would need more space for them so, I built a "cathouse" in my backyard. It is a 10 by 12 studio home with 2 enclosed yards for them. I took in 4 of her seniors and absolutely fell in love with them. 2 of them passed within a year so with all this room I decided to take a trip to my local humane society. I shopped around in the cat room reading all the descriptions of the circumstances that brought these cats to the shelter. I realized alot of these cats were elderly and were released to the shelter when their owner died. That's when Jack's CatShack for elderly cats was born. I now take in cats that are 8 or older to live out their days in comfort and with love. Love, love,love my senior catizens!

aww, that's awesome!

I'd love to see pics of Jack's Cat Shack!

Anne · Nov 6, 2012

jackscatshack said:
Yes! I have an elderly friend who is 93 yrs young and her biggest fear was, what would happen to her 8 cats when her time comes? I being a cat lover myself told her I would take them. Living in a small house I knew I would need more space for them so, I built a "cathouse" in my backyard. It is a 10 by 12 studio home with 2 enclosed yards for them. I took in 4 of her seniors and absolutely fell in love with them. 2 of them passed within a year so with all this room I decided to take a trip to my local humane society. I shopped around in the cat room reading all the descriptions of the circumstances that brought these cats to the shelter. I realized alot of these cats were elderly and were released to the shelter when their owner died. That's when Jack's CatShack for elderly cats was born. I now take in cats that are 8 or older to live out their days in comfort and with love. Love, love,love my senior catizens!

What an awesome story!

Sending you a private message about this - I'd like to interview you for this article.

meuzettesmom · Nov 6, 2012

I have three I adopted as adults.

Meuzette, found her in the parking lot at work. She needed me, for when I asked if she needed help. She came, even with a large dog in my company. She wasn't a very pretty black and white cat. Her chin messed up..from whatever. I always suspected a kick, but not sure. Her chin has always been a problem. In her old age(16 my guess)

She drools continually. Oh BTW she is a long hair cat. Which you couldn't tell that first day. Under fed and dirty, dry coat. She was pretty in her glory days with me. Mommy kitty was her rank and nickname. She took care of the household with loving care.

Willie, brown tabby. My niece was pregnant and didn't want him anymore. He knows his name and will come running anytime of the day or where he is at. As a kitten he came up with a broken hind leg and had to have a cast on it for six months. He still sits like he has that cast on.

Ray, my black female. My sister hated her. She jumped up on their kitchen counters and they hated her for that. Defiant. That explains her. I found her to love deeply. Had expensive taste in food. Sure I give it to her. I like her and that amazes her still.

Jill.

natalie_ca · Nov 6, 2012

I mostly adopt adult cats. I've had 4 kittens (Kira, Abby, Spencer and Katie). All the rest of my cats have been adults. I've even adopted a 10 year old kitty I saw in the news paper because her owner who had her since she was a wee kitten, was so busy with a new job and work travel that he felt it was unfair to her, so he did the unselfish thing and found her a loving home with me. Her name was Toby. A beautiful black persian mix.

aeevr · Nov 6, 2012

No, but I will - a bonded pair hopefully.

angels mommy · Nov 6, 2012

Great stories! (Can't say that I have. Angel was 5 or 6 when he adopted me.) Love hearing your back stories though!

jackscatshack · Nov 6, 2012

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jackscatshack
Nov 6, 2012

Rosie one of my 12 yr olds.

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jackscatshack
Nov 6, 2012

Charlie 18yrs and Gertrude 9.

jackscatshack · Nov 6, 2012

Not sure how to post pics on a thread but I do have photos on my page. I also have a facebook page with tons of photos. Jack's CatShack. I guess it worked, I see 3 of my babies above. On my profile page their is an album of the shack.

angels mommy · Nov 6, 2012

jackscatshack said:
Not sure how to post pics on a thread but I do have photos on my page. I also have a facebook page with tons of photos. Jack's CatShack. I guess it worked, I see 3 of my babies above. On my profile page their is an album of the shack.

I looked at your pictures on your profile page. What a great enclosure!! You can always copy & paste some of those on here if you have trouble, but it looks like you figured it out.

sneakymom · Nov 6, 2012

Jasper was 9 when we adopted him. My next door neighbor moved her sister-in-law here so they could keep an eye on her (she had medical problems that the rest of the family just ignored

) They were going to keep him, but she wound up allergic. It would have killed her sister-in-law to have to give him up. So we took him. I didn't want another cat- we already have 2. Sneaky's the same age as he was, and Holly just turned 3.

He had issues. He was a very nervous cat with a spraying problem. Didn't realize it until I found our garage smelling like cat pee (he spent the first month here hiding in the garage). So wanted to give him up. Over time, he got used to us. And the girls- Holly was his "buddy". The kids adored him too. He still sprayed a LOT- especially two rooms in the house. Asked on here, found Feliaway diffusers, and they seemed to help. Only time he would spray a lot was when I'd leave him and go to work. And the week that we had a ton of people here for dd's graduation- he just did not deal.

I say "was". Sadly- we had to put him down in August. He had been hiding in different places all over the house. Lost a lot of weight too. And then he had these two epsiodes where he lost the ability to control his hind legs. I should have known something was up then. Went to the vets- he pulled bloodwork and his best guess was cancer. His former owner took it well. I guess. Telling the dd who we had just dropped off 3 days beforehand for her freshman year in college wasn't easy.

And you know- I think I'd adopt another older pet. We all say now that we miss Japser's "big grey butt". The way that he had to get in your face to get attention. I don't know if cats grieve or not- but we all think that on some level Holly misses him. She'd play with him- swat his tail. They'd sit in the bow window and bird-watch together.

If I can find pictures of him (I know I have a couple on my facebook page- he was very photogenic) I'll share them.

Cheryl

jackscatshack · Nov 6, 2012

http://www.thecatsite.com/g/a/117203/catshack/ Great hope this worked.

three cat night · Nov 6, 2012

I had a wonderful 13 yr old that became a part of my family, I did not adopt him from a shelter(though I voluteer at the humane society in Oceanside , ca ) he was all over my neighborhood and I could tell he did not have a home. I started looking for him in the evenings with my flashlight and treats to coax him
To my house and spend the night in the garage where I made a bed on top of the washing machine and he loved it. I could not let him in my house because at the time I had an ailing 19yr old cat and also because I needed t o get him to a vet for testing etc. When my cat died I found him in my driveway just hanging out like he was there to consul me as I was so sad losing my cat. I decided I would take him to the vet and luckily he was healthy , just old and hungry . So he came to live with me from that moment and I decided he was going to be an indoor cat, he really did not try to get out more than a few weak attempts. Eight years later he got cancer and I had to say goodbye to my big boy Frankie. I did adopt other cats and he was very attenitive to them , grooming them, and being like a "dad" , by disciplining them for annoying antics , they loved him too. I still miss him so much, he was a very large (not fat) boy and had a commanding demeanor about him. I now have 3 cats, two 8yr old and just adopted a 13 week old kitten. He is raising heck around here as my adult boys are looking at me as if to say " what were you thinking"?.
Sometimes senior citizen cats are just.... Well , better!

knuxie1135 · Nov 6, 2012

Yes I have also adopt a cat that has been abandoned by her mother... I have lots of cats in our place.. that I don't have to worry about mice... heheehe...

thanks,

knuxie

c1atsite · Nov 6, 2012

jackscatshack said:
http://www.thecatsite.com/g/a/117203/catshack/ Great hope this worked.

what a fantastic cat shack and wonderful kitty cats! Gertrude is beautiful.

My answer to the thread question is no-- But my original pre-pet leaning was indeed to adopt 1 senior cat (any cat, not a specific 1), but destiny stepped in. That was the only reason, because I really did feel a senior would be a good match for me. I've only adopted 2 felines in my life--both kittens (now they're cats!).

nekochan · Nov 6, 2012

Sneakers was about 10 years old when we got her. We had lost our senior cat Sylvia to cancer a month or two before, when I went to visit a friend and they asked me if I wanted a cat. It turned out one of the kids in the family had stopped at a woman's house in the neighborhood and complimented their cat and the woman said she didn't want the cat and that she could take her if she wanted! She said yes and carried Sneakers and her food back to her house (this was something considering Sneakers weighed 16 pounds at the time!) However they couldn't keep Sneakers because they already had 4 cats of their own so they asked if I might want her. I talked to my brother who was living here at the time, since Sylvia had technically been his cat. He said we could at least take Sneakers as a foster. So she came home with us. Of course she never left! Sneakers was 16 pounds when we got her and had mats on her lower back probably due to being too heavy to be able to properly groom herself (and apparently no one cared enough to groom her). She would try to bite if you touched her back at first. She liked to sit on peoples' laps but would try to bite if you moved while she was on you, although I was able to get her to stop doing this by just standing up if she did that, eventually she stopped being bitey. We were able to get the mats out and help her to get on a healthier diet and slim down. Sneakers was very vocal, and she would sit on anyone's lap, even if it was someone she didn't know. She didn't really like other cats or my dogs, but she tolerated them when we got more cats, they mostly just stayed out of her way. Sneakers developed kidney disease a year or two ago but despite several scares we were able to manage it for a long time, but she passed away last April from CRF and possible heart failure. We had her for about 8 years so we think she was about 18 although she could have been older if the age they told my friends when they got her was not accurate.

You can see her photos and stuff here: http://www.catster.com/cats/83040

angels mommy · Nov 7, 2012

Nekochan said:
Sneakers was about 10 years old when we got her. We had lost our senior cat Sylvia to cancer a month or two before, when I went to visit a friend and they asked me if I wanted a cat. It turned out one of the kids in the family had stopped at a woman's house in the neighborhood and complimented their cat and the woman said she didn't want the cat and that she could take her if she wanted! She said yes and carried Sneakers and her food back to her house (this was something considering Sneakers weighed 16 pounds at the time!) However they couldn't keep Sneakers because they already had 4 cats of their own so they asked if I might want her. I talked to my brother who was living here at the time, since Sylvia had technically been his cat. He said we could at least take Sneakers as a foster. So she came home with us. Of course she never left! Sneakers was 16 pounds when we got her and had mats on her lower back probably due to being too heavy to be able to properly groom herself (and apparently no one cared enough to groom her). She would try to bite if you touched her back at first. She liked to sit on peoples' laps but would try to bite if you moved while she was on you, although I was able to get her to stop doing this by just standing up if she did that, eventually she stopped being bitey. We were able to get the mats out and help her to get on a healthier diet and slim down. Sneakers was very vocal, and she would sit on anyone's lap, even if it was someone she didn't know. She didn't really like other cats or my dogs, but she tolerated them when we got more cats, they mostly just stayed out of her way. Sneakers developed kidney disease a year or two ago but despite several scares we were able to manage it for a long time, but she passed away last April from CRF and possible heart failure. We had her for about 8 years so we think she was about 18 although she could have been older if the age they told my friends when they got her was not accurate.

You can see her photos and stuff here: http://www.catster.com/cats/83040

Love the picture of her & the dog yawning! Funny!

aeevr · Nov 7, 2012

Holy frijoles!!

Sneakers was just THE CUTEST thing.

Anne · Nov 8, 2012

Nekochan said:
Sneakers was about 10 years old when we got her. We had lost our senior cat Sylvia to cancer a month or two before, when I went to visit a friend and they asked me if I wanted a cat. It turned out one of the kids in the family had stopped at a woman's house in the neighborhood and complimented their cat and the woman said she didn't want the cat and that she could take her if she wanted! She said yes and carried Sneakers and her food back to her house (this was something considering Sneakers weighed 16 pounds at the time!) However they couldn't keep Sneakers because they already had 4 cats of their own so they asked if I might want her. I talked to my brother who was living here at the time, since Sylvia had technically been his cat. He said we could at least take Sneakers as a foster. So she came home with us. Of course she never left! Sneakers was 16 pounds when we got her and had mats on her lower back probably due to being too heavy to be able to properly groom herself (and apparently no one cared enough to groom her). She would try to bite if you touched her back at first. She liked to sit on peoples' laps but would try to bite if you moved while she was on you, although I was able to get her to stop doing this by just standing up if she did that, eventually she stopped being bitey. We were able to get the mats out and help her to get on a healthier diet and slim down. Sneakers was very vocal, and she would sit on anyone's lap, even if it was someone she didn't know. She didn't really like other cats or my dogs, but she tolerated them when we got more cats, they mostly just stayed out of her way. Sneakers developed kidney disease a year or two ago but despite several scares we were able to manage it for a long time, but she passed away last April from CRF and possible heart failure. We had her for about 8 years so we think she was about 18 although she could have been older if the age they told my friends when they got her was not accurate.

You can see her photos and stuff here: http://www.catster.com/cats/83040

Thanks for sharing her story with us!

Have you ever adopted an adult cat?

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