Mandarin being boss.
Like Mandarin, probably someone's pet who either escaped or was dumped. Mine was scooped up with a feral colony.
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Well, I guess I have a cat now...
- Thread starter Damaniel
- Start date
Mandarin being boss.
Like Mandarin, probably someone's pet who either escaped or was dumped. Mine was scooped up with a feral colony.
This is one of the best and unique things about cats. My family got adopted by a pregnant stray back when I was about 4 years old, we kept her and one of the other kittens and had 20 years of wonderful cat life as a result. They're both long since passed away but I'll never forget either of them.
I would get a cat in a second if my wife was down with it.
I would get a cat in a second if my wife was down with it.
OP
OP
I love black cats. My wife and I were planning to adopt one in a few months after we moved, but I guess the right cat came early.
Looks like the one I found, was also a kitten, black, and not chipped, but very friendly to people for some reason.. I couldn't take care of him but found him a home with a staff member from Uni and the kids ended up naming him Batman.
Congrats, Damaniel. That's a good thing you did.
While Sephy being friendly might be evidence of him having a previous owner, him using a litter box isn't. Most cats will use them instinctively, without training. Thirteen years ago - well, almost fourteen now - I took in a litter of feral kittens after their mother got killed in traffic. They were only about two weeks old, so I was expecting to have to help them with defecation and such like their mother would have, but I tried putting them in a litter box and all five of them knew what to do right away.
While Sephy being friendly might be evidence of him having a previous owner, him using a litter box isn't. Most cats will use them instinctively, without training. Thirteen years ago - well, almost fourteen now - I took in a litter of feral kittens after their mother got killed in traffic. They were only about two weeks old, so I was expecting to have to help them with defecation and such like their mother would have, but I tried putting them in a litter box and all five of them knew what to do right away.
Are people usually against it because of superstition or something?
Yes. They get abandoned a lot and are hard to adopt out. When my sister adopted her panther, the fees were markedly lower than for other cats to entice people to adopt. It's heartbreaking.
Looks like a Bombay or some sort of Burmese cross. There's plenty of 'not perfect' Bombays in shelters. They're a friendly bunch and will get quite attached to you. Most dog-like amongst cat-breeds. Easy to become lapcats and quite vocal and smart. You're in for some fun times. Most have a particular quirk. They are active house panthers so make sure you play with them. Some of the easily trainable types and therefore often well-behaved.
I've got a couple of them myself.
As for black cats in general, they are often the most found at shelters but also often adopted because of the high shelter population and cheaper adoption costs (ratio of adoption skews to other kinds but numbers skew to them due to the sheer volume in shelters). If people realised that many of them tend to be Bombays or Burmese mix and their personalities they'd not be in shelters and be in homes tbqh.
I've got a couple of them myself.
As for black cats in general, they are often the most found at shelters but also often adopted because of the high shelter population and cheaper adoption costs (ratio of adoption skews to other kinds but numbers skew to them due to the sheer volume in shelters). If people realised that many of them tend to be Bombays or Burmese mix and their personalities they'd not be in shelters and be in homes tbqh.
Great. Only real downside is that black hair is really visible when your cat sheds, but tbh that's a problem for all pets. Except hairless ones I guess.
Congrats! It's highly possible he was part of a litter and was abandoned but he could have just been a friendly feral. He's so cute. I'm waiting on my future cat to find me like this.
Yep, and it's really unfortunate because black cats (I know I'm generalizing, but...) tend to be sweeter than a lot of other types. They're great little pets.
Cute!
Be sure to get a scratching post ASAP and introduce him to it.
Your furniture will thank you.
Be sure to get a scratching post ASAP and introduce him to it.
Your furniture will thank you.
Glad got it young. Hopefully has a groovy life living with you; so many abandoned cats out there (I take them in when I can as do family; the older they are they have get health issues though). Just lost a cat and been thinking I don't want another but if I saw one in need outside, totally gaining another cat.
Love when people do this. I got one cat this way and my mom took in 3 and a half (one cat comes and goes).
Thank you for being this way OP.
I took in a female cat who showed up on my balcony chair one day.
Way too nice and loving to have not been owned then most likely abandoned.
Now she runs my apartment.
I took in a female cat who showed up on my balcony chair one day.
Way too nice and loving to have not been owned then most likely abandoned.
Now she runs my apartment.
Congratulations and welcome to the club!
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Not actually a guarantee of being in a home before; cats automatically use litter boxes when available, even stray cats just introduced to the concept, or nearly newborn cats. They instinctively look for a soft sand or litter surface to dig before doing their stuff because that's what they do in nature to hide the smell from predators.
The big marker that he's been, if not in a home, at least around friendly humans, is that he looks for their company instead of fearing them. Cats are socialized with humans up to a few months after being born; if they haven't had contact with humans by then, they will normally avoid them. Of course, he could have lived in a neighbourhood where everyone was friendly to him, so that's not a guarantee either.
Call him what you really want to; you won't get many opportunities of having such a perfectly fitting name. :) Would you believe in over 500 cats being adopted, nobody ever named their cat Toothless (on the other hand, I lost count of the Simbas)? I guess it's a bit long and, well, unflattering if you don't know the reference, but you could nickname him Toothy. Then get a white-haired call and call him Sephy, win-win. :)
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Not actually a guarantee of being in a home before; cats automatically use litter boxes when available, even stray cats just introduced to the concept, or nearly newborn cats. They instinctively look for a soft sand or litter surface to dig before doing their stuff because that's what they do in nature to hide the smell from predators.
The big marker that he's been, if not in a home, at least around friendly humans, is that he looks for their company instead of fearing them. Cats are socialized with humans up to a few months after being born; if they haven't had contact with humans by then, they will normally avoid them. Of course, he could have lived in a neighbourhood where everyone was friendly to him, so that's not a guarantee either.
Call him what you really want to; you won't get many opportunities of having such a perfectly fitting name. :) Would you believe in over 500 cats being adopted, nobody ever named their cat Toothless (on the other hand, I lost count of the Simbas)? I guess it's a bit long and, well, unflattering if you don't know the reference, but you could nickname him Toothy. Then get a white-haired call and call him Sephy, win-win. :)
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Aw, looks just like my guy does!
Ironically, my dude came in a similar way, that being completely unexpected and unplanned. Mom went to feed the barn cats and see's this tiny, probably should have still been with his mom, kitten near the food bowl. Brings the little guy and we decide to make him a housecat. Week later, we see a missing pet poster describing this cat to a tee, clearly the poster was made by a younger child, so we couldn't ignore this. We call the number, guy answers, gets pretty freaked out when we say we think we have his cat, said he'd call us back. That was 14 years ago now, so I don't think he's calling back. I ain't complaining, I got the GOAT cat.
Ironically, my dude came in a similar way, that being completely unexpected and unplanned. Mom went to feed the barn cats and see's this tiny, probably should have still been with his mom, kitten near the food bowl. Brings the little guy and we decide to make him a housecat. Week later, we see a missing pet poster describing this cat to a tee, clearly the poster was made by a younger child, so we couldn't ignore this. We call the number, guy answers, gets pretty freaked out when we say we think we have his cat, said he'd call us back. That was 14 years ago now, so I don't think he's calling back. I ain't complaining, I got the GOAT cat.
You are lucky the cat picked you as it's human.
I have 2 black cats (one from a rescue, the other just showed up at my house one day), and I love these little panthers.
I have 2 black cats (one from a rescue, the other just showed up at my house one day), and I love these little panthers.
Cats kinda innately know how to use a litter box. So he using one isn't an indication that he's previously been a house kitty.
Hes gorgeous and I'm glad he found you :)
Hes gorgeous and I'm glad he found you :)
OP
OP
He definitely fits the bill for a Bombay:
- black whiskers
- black fur
- black footpads
- oddly heavy for his size. I weighed him earlier and he weighs nearly 10 pounds! He hardly looks half that size.
We've already been buying some toys and we're going to make sure he gets plenty of activity time. My wife and I watch a lot of the Kitten Academy Youtube channel, so I've learned a lot about all the different things there are out there for cats to play with.
Sounds perfect. Oh and btw, they generally get attached to one member of the family more than the others. And don't really like being left along for long. You'll find that they know when you plan to leave and will do what they can to prevent you from leaving. Also if you're okay with it they will also crawl under blankets during colder weather once they're friendly. They're the best of the asian new breeds retaining the Burmese traits with the local domestic short hairs, there's a slight difference between British and American Bombays but not enough for them to be differentiated as species.
They do get the eye goop sometimes, so make sure you wipe that when you see them. A tsp of olive oil every now and then is good to keep their fur shiny but they do get high off of it.
Also don't forget they are vocal, so you can 'talk' to them. And a distinctly loud purr.