2 | Molly Pitcher
July 24, 2009 at 9:38 PM

Let me add from personal experience: there are two main types of cat hair, apparently. The usual short-hair cat has hairs that are a little rough–like the extreme close-ups of hair in a textbook. Long hair cats tend toward light fluffy hair that floats around the floor and winds up in clumps under furniture.

Surprisingly, the fluffy stuff sometimes causes fewer problems than the other kind, which can actually stick to the skin on your face. One of my kids wanted a kitten–a Siamese her piano teacher had. But the teacher remarked that everytime the kitten got near my daughter, my daughter’s eyes became swollen. So no cat.

Then a friend gave my husband (bed-bound for a time) a strange looking kitten–turned out to be half Maine Coon. And that cat lived happily with us till its death. So kittens that we figured would have long hair (not Persians) were what we always had at home. (Naturally, when she moved away, my daughter decided to experiment–got a short-haired Manx, Also naturally, the cat got dumped on me because my daughter can’t stay around short-hairs.)

4 | la-t-da
July 24, 2009 at 10:08 PM

I have a cat story. I had a cat named “Charlie Brown” for 18 years. I found him in the newspaper. The ad said he was free, he was brown, and he didn’t get along with other animals. I took the bus through snow (Denver) to go to the apartment to see this cat.

It was an elderly lady and she was going on about how I will need patience because he just can’t get along with the others. As she was talking I was looking around. She had to have had 16 or so different kinds of animals in there. Bunnies, other cats, dogs, birds, etc.

That beautiful brown cat came out from somewhere, walked up to me, and sat down in his beautiful Burmese pose by my leg. He looked up like, “Get me the hell out of here”. He was my Charlie Brown for 18 years and he never had any problems with any other animals or humans or anything on this green earth.

The story continues. After Charlie Brown died I wasn’t ready to get another cat quickly. But I don’t know what moved me a few months later. I was driving home from somewhere and just felt moved to go look at cats at a shelter. It just came out of the blue. I wasn’t even thinking of cats or Charlie.

I get there and they had a freaking brown kitten. (They are so rare at shelters and are massively expensive to buy retail.) I yanked that little guy up, got in the car, and cried. I was convinced he was Charlie Brown reincarnated and he was calling me again to come save him. LOL

(As he grew I could tell his features were not Burmese. I googled and found him to be a Havana Brown. Smartest animal I have ever known. Extra short hair and very soft. I had no allergy problems with either of these brown cats though I have had allergy problems with other cats.)

6 | chatblu
July 24, 2009 at 10:25 PM

Havana Browns are extremely rare to the point of near extinction. I have been breeding Scottish Folds for 20 years, so I am partial to them. A brown cat is the expression of the tabby gene on the color black, if that makes sense.

8 | la-t-da
July 24, 2009 at 10:46 PM

Oh my goodness gracious. Here is the Scottish Fold. How sweet and precious and beautiful they are!

http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/scottish.html

10 | HT
July 24, 2009 at 10:59 PM

Cat stories…..I have to delurk (you made me!). When my daughter was in grade 2, her erstwhile biological sperm donor went back to the maritimes, and Libby was really sad (we didn’t know whether he would ever return, and while I was glad to see the back of him, the kidlets hadn’t yet figured him out). Anyway, Ryguy (who was in kindergarten) insisted that Libby wanted a cat, so we should get a cat. We duly went to a trusted pet shop, and he picked out a kitten. Libby was ecstatic, but not really ready for primetime ownership. Cat got out – the day before she was due for the snip. We searched for her for two weeks. Libby was inconsolable. Ryguy arranged with next door’s boyfriend to replace with a kitten from his cat’s recent litter – a beautiful part apricot siamese. Two weeks later, original kitty turns up on the doorstep – preggers. Gives birth to three kittens, all of whom I had homes for, but Libby put up such a stink that I finally gave in and kept one. So, now three cats. Then, going through a bad patch with erstwhile dad again, Libby gets another kitty from the shelter – sum total 4. Libby then goes through teenage angst, so I suggest rather strongly (she was 18) that she stay with one of her so called friends for a week while we cool down. She disappeared for two years, leaving me with four cats (and I was not a cat person). She came back, complemented with boyfriend and two hyper-energetic Jack Russel terriers. Today, bodycount at my house – Ryguy, Libby and significant other, two dogs, four cats and me. Original kitty is 15, replacement kitty is 15, daughter kitty is 14+, final kitty (who thinks he’s a dog) is 6. I must admit, for someone who was not a cat person, they have brought me a lot of laughs over the year (not to mention vet bills), but they are worth it. P.S. Ryguy doesn’t like the dogs at all, but Zeke (the one who thinks he’s a dog) is a loyal and much loved companion. All that to say, it’s too sad that you are that allergic Madamab. Kittys really are worth i – and you don’t have to walk them twice a day.

14 | chatblu
July 24, 2009 at 11:16 PM

Scottish Folds are cute and very sweet. They are the ultimate companion kitties,

16 | Fredster
July 25, 2009 at 12:06 AM

For MB even though she’s gone to bed:

http://www.drna.org/

My Chloe looks kinda like Fritz Otto, or Thai or Addie, probably most like Addie because she lurves to give you those looks once she’s in her bed.

la-t-da: I replied to your comment about LSU S’port in the prior thread. It would be a pretty good drive for me to get there from the nola area.

18 | la-t-da
July 25, 2009 at 12:40 AM

Hey Fredster. Thanks for the hospital info. Much of my family doesn’t have insurance and use LSU Med Center. I don’t remember it as the cleanest of places but they all seem to get good care.

I know Shreveport got a lot of people that migrated there after Katrina so I would think that hospital has gotten pretty swamped. It will be interesting to see if Shreveport got Fed money to help add on or remodel that Med Center. Lot’s of “faith-based” goings on up there.

I will be driving to Shreveport from here. I do not want to be stuck with my family without a car and renting one for a month is just too expensive so I am driving. I have driven it once before. Boring but not too bad. I always spend the night in Midland, TX to say hi to Laura and George. LOL

20 | Fredster
July 25, 2009 at 1:35 AM

Hey Fredster. Thanks for the hospital info. Much of my family doesn’t have insurance and use LSU Med Center. I don’t remember it as the cleanest of places but they all seem to get good care.

Normally I’d think you would get good care because you are seeing the instructors/professors from the school and usually their med students.

That was the good thing about the troika of med ctrs in nola: Veterans was there next to Charity and across from Tulane Med Ctr., so that if you were at any of the three your chances were good you were going to see some good docs from the med schools somewhere along the line. Tulane Med Ctr jusn’t isn’t big enough and they are in a partnership with HCA which is for profit big time so I doubt no freebie patients there.

Oh well, if anything comes up before I can try to get some ins. I’ll just have to hope for some “charity” somewhere!