Hairy Situation

Hi guys ,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I didn't know where else to. Right now I am living in a college affiliated apartment and to no surprise I am not allowed to even have an animal walk by my front door. However, at the end of July I will be moving in with my cousin. Being such a huge lover of cats (having 24 outside cats at one time, most of which were feral), I really wanted to adopt one. The problem is she doesn't want animals in the house because of the hair issue. Some company that installs AC's told her that the hair clogs up the vents, I'm not sure how that went. So my question is, is there any breed of cat that I could convince her will not be a problem in these regards? The sphinx kitty (gorgeous!) is out of the question as much as it pains me since being a full time student means money is tight, unfortunately. I have my sweet angel dog Susie that lives at home with my mom and brother, but I'm 8 hours away from home and lonely
If anyone has some suggestions, I will be forever grateful.

Thanks,
Lisa

Very short/tight coated cats are better with less shedding. Siamese/orientals, or rexes (very low shedding) are examples.

However, as much as YOU want a cat, its not your house and unless your cousin is 100% ok in adopting a low shedding cat, its best not to have one till you have your own place.

She will be constantly complaining about any fur and sooner or later it will be a "you or the cat goes" situation. You might get her to go see some of these breeds first and talk it over. But the final say is your cousin's - and you'll have to abide by whatever she decides.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Very short/tight coated cats are better with less shedding. Siamese/orientals, or rexes (very low shedding) are examples.

However, as much as YOU want a cat, its not your house and unless your cousin is 100% ok in adopting a low shedding cat, its best not to have one till you have your own place.

She will be constantly complaining about any fur and sooner or later it will be a "you or the cat goes" situation. You might get her to go see some of these breeds first and talk it over. But the final say is your cousin's - and you'll have to abide by whatever she decides.

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Thanks for responding. The whole "you or the cat goes" situation would never happen. You see, we come from a spanish family and that is just not our ways. Call it taboo if you like. This has been really hard for me not having a pet by my side since I moved from home to go to college. I grew up in a house where animals were treasured and I practically had a mini-zoo. Having my little dog away from me is *very* hard, though my mom puts her on the phone for me every so often. She's my little princess. So basically I just wanted a little companionship, a little person to follow me all around the house like I used to have. I miss that horribly. I'm not one of those people who kicks a pet to the curb whenever I tire of them. If they are with me, then they are with me forever. You would have to kill me to take a member of my family away. That's how I feel, and I'm sure that's how a lot of people on this board feel.

But I understand what you are saying. I was just wondering what options, if any, I had. Thanks a bunches.

Are you and your cousin open to any other type of pets? Like a non-shedding dog or a bunny or ferret or guiana pig?

Are you going to be as lonely living with your cousin? Missing your dog isn't really a good reason to adopt a cat. Wait at least a little while and think very hard about whether or not you can commit to having this cat for 20 years. Think of where you will be in 20 years and whether or not your new cat will still fit in your life. If there are any doubts, don't do it. When you do have a place of your own, will you be able to get your dog and your cat to get along, since I would assume you would want your dog to live with you then, right? Some cats will follow you around like a dog, but it is certainly not fair to expect them to. "A little person to follow me around the house" does not describe a cat. I'm not trying to be harsh. My sister asked me these exact same questions when I was first considering getting a cat and I realized I needed to wait a while before I would be responsible and stable enough. It is sort of like having a baby. It restricts where you can move, it eats up part of your budget that used to be just for fun or whatever, you can't just forget to feed your cat, you have to make a commitment to another living being for "til death do us part". If you still want a cat, then there really are no breeds that shed less, aside from hairless cats. It is more important to brush them often and feed a high-quality food that keeps their coat healthy. There are also oil supplements that can help with shedding. It shouldn't be a problem if you have a healthy cat and are willing to vaccuum.

As for the air conditioning vents, it sounds like a load of baloney. There are probably special filters you can get for the intake ducts that will keep hair out of your HVAC system completely. If the only reason your cousin doesn't want a cat is because of this air/co story, you should try asking around to both other people with cats and air/co and also mayeb calling a few companies who won't just try to sell you a duct cleaning service.

I hadn't thought of it since cats are my passion. I'll probably just have to wait like you said. Maybe I'll take up a pet sitting job or something, lol. I haven't the slightest idea.

I have a Burmese and she hardly sheds, either... and when she does, it's into a brush when I brush her (although it isn't really brushing, just with a rubber thing that gets loose hairs).

I totally understand about *needing* a pet, and I think you should get one. Reassure her that you will take care of everything, etc...

Alternatively, you could volunteer at the humane society or local shelter.

Emotions change much more quickly than your responsibility to your new cat does. I think you're doing the right thing by waiting a little while. I know I did! And then a perfect beautiful kitten pretty much fell into my lap, and it was meant to be.

I think petsitting or working with a shelter is a great idea!!!!! Then you can help lots of animals and lots of animals can help you.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Emotions change much more quickly than your responsibility to your new cat does. I think you're doing the right thing by waiting a little while. I know I did! And then a perfect beautiful kitten pretty much fell into my lap, and it was meant to be.

I think petsitting or working with a shelter is a great idea!!!!! Then you can help lots of animals and lots of animals can help you.

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Yes well, missing my dog is not the only reason for wanting a cat. Also I can't take my dog with me if I ever get my own place unless my entire family comes with me because my brother is deathly attached to her. He's been taking care of her since I've moved away, he even calls her his daughter. I couldn't just do that to him, it wouldn't be fair. And I have waited for 3 years, this isn't all of a sudden I need a cat, that would be immature.
I spend all my days at home. I'm majoring in physics and as you can imagine I don't go anywhere. I stay home all day and study. So as to the fact of restricting me or taking up funds that could have been used for fun, that would have no effect on me since I go nowhere at all, lol. I don't know exactly what you mean by emotions change, but I was raised an animal lover and will always be one. The only reason I'm not studying to be a vet is the fact that I know I run the risk of one of those little lives fading away in my hands. I couldn't bare it. Now I know that's immature but trust me, I seriously couldn't handle it.

Working with a pet shelter sounds like a great idea. I could probably do that on the weekends. Thanks for the idea sweetie. And yeah, I guess I will just have to remain petless for a while longer. In the meanwhile I guess I could enjoy all of the happy stories here on the board and beautiful pics. You all have your hearts in the right place. God bless you all for that. I wish everyone were so caring.

I only mean the emotion of being lonely. I hope you don't feel lonely for too much longer. Restricting I mean, by where you can live. I've been looking for a new apartment and it is sometimes hard finding a place to live with a cat that doesn't require a declaw or a whole bunch of extra money. I finally found one, but it's still gonna cost 270$ more total for a cat.

Of course you will be an animal lover for life. Maybe I've just seen too many of my friends think they need a pet and get a cute little kitten that goes everywhere with them, and then suddenly a few months later the cat goes home to their parents who don't want it or to a shelter, or once I didn't ask because I really didn't want to hear that it had been abandoned. People who can honestly be excited about their cat being with them for life should get as many as they reasonably can, and someday I'm sure you'll have that. Maybe one of the ones in the shelter you work with will jump up on you and not let go, who knows?

You said no Sphynx becauses of money but what about a Sphynx rescue? It would cost considerably less to adopt and it would come already vaccinated and altered and everything so you wouldn't have to spend extra for all that.

How would that work out Jen? I don't even know where to begin looking. I would love to help out in an adoption of that sort especially.

Check around this site http://www.pet-net.net/usa/florida.htm

You would just have to start a google search and see what comes up.

Also, what about fostering? Check with your local animal rescues and see if they need a foster home.

Thanks you guys. I will definately consider all your suggestions.