Choosing Aged Cats Over Kittens

I’m a cat person. I prefer cats than dogs. I don’t know why, but I think it’s because cats are more independent and don’t demand as much attention.

In 1978, my first kitten cost me just 50 cents. I was a kid with some pocket money; she was about the cutest thing I’d ever seen!

Smokey came from a Mount Gravatt flea market. We took her home, watched her grow, had fun with her, thus began my lifelong attraction to felines. And it doesn’t matter the cat’s age; I look for one with personality. The aloof variety isn’t my thing. It’s got to like people, not just appear at mealtime and then disappear. I’ve become good at finding sensational cats.

Unfortunately, cats don’t live forever; a human’s lifespan is much longer. This means I’ve owned a few cats in my time.

When we lost 14-year-old Quattro 13 years ago, it was time to visit the cat shelter again. I always go for adult cats. Yes, I bypass the cute kittens because of what I’ve learned about cats. It’s not because I don’t like kittens, but because the adults have evolved into their forever personalities. You’ll know what type of cat you’re going to get when it’s grown. Kittens have cuteness. Cuteness won’t translate into positive personalities. So I hug the kittens and then put them down. I’m looking for homeless grown-ups, those with good character and personality.

I’d like you to meet Levi. He’s our current fella. He was about nine months old when he stepped forward and twisted his tail around Margo’s leg. She reached down and took to him instantly. I wasn’t so convinced. An attentive tail isn’t enough. My interest was originally with a 4-year-old black short hair named Jett. He looked me in the eye and talked back when I spoke to him. He was responsive and wasn’t shy about showing it. For me, this started ticking many boxes. I then picked him up to see how he liked being handled. Everything was going fine until I rolled him over to stroke his stomach.

That bite ticked a completely different box!

Jett wasn’t angry. Many cats do this when touched on their tummies, often because a child was playing roughhouse with them as they were growing. Could I tolerate this enough to retrain Jett to accept belly rubs? Perhaps.

Sharkey entered the picture. He had Persian in his blood and this weird-looking overbite. At 11 years of age, his time in the shelter was already too long. What a smoochy purrer! He wasn’t shy about showing his happiness! He rolled over to have his tummy rubbed.

Two cats came home with us that day!

Levi and Sharkey became good friends until Sharkey died in 2012. He lived a fabulous life with us, sleeping in our bed every night, snuggling in when we woke, and walking with us on the property. We were sad the day he left us. Levi now sleeps in place of Sharkey, walks where he walked… and loves the odd tummy rub too!

He is our special boy!