Did You Grow Up With Cats?

[LittleShadow]

I grew up with Patches, the most laid back cat ever. She was a fluffy longhair calico, and mom loves bringing out the story of the time she started noticing the end of the cat's tail was wet pretty often. She couldn't figure out where the cat was getting her tail wet....until she came across infant me, fast asleep and using the cat's tail for a pacifier. Patches was apparently totally fine with this, and was purring up a storm.

Couple years later, I had moved past pacifiers and now liked to dress Patches up in frilly doll dresses, bonnets, and booties, put her in the doll stroller, and push her around outside. Patches was apparently fine with this too, as she'd just...let me dress her up, plop her in the seat of the open stroller with nothing holding her there, and push her around for ages.

There was also the time I tried to take Patches for show and tell, and if mom hadn't picked up my backpack and realized it was too heavy, I'd have gotten away with it too. Patches was apparently so chill that she hadn't meowed or struggled at all on the ride or even when mom picked up the backpack, and when mom unzipped the backpack she just looked at mom, then tucked her head back down and went back to sleep. Patches was a very relaxed cat.

 

[posiepurrs]

I was a dog person. I didn't have a cat until I was in my teens. I was at my job at a flower nursery and there were 2 kittens about to meet the same gruesome end as their mother. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say I threatened bodily harm to the person who had them. I took them home, much to my parents chagrin. I called my vet, and he told me what to do since they were still tiny. That was the birth of the crazy cat lady. My parents were actually pretty used to me doing stuff like this - I once dragged home a possum who had been hit by a car and got him well. We really had a hard time getting him back to the wild - he liked the steady supply of food at my house!

 

[Maria Bayote]

My family was nuts about pets, and I joke that I grew up in a zoo. We had more dogs than anything, generally at least two big ones.

Haha! Made me think also of my childhood. Growing up in the city of Manila and my brother and I looked like we lived in a mini-zoo, as we had cats, dogs, parrots, ducks, fishes, rabbits, tortoise, and one time even a monkey until the adults decided to return the poor one to the wild. And everytime any of the pets died including the fish my brother and I held a "funeral" at our backyard.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

My first cat as a kid was Casey (pictured below with me when I was 7ish). We got her in 1992 (I think). Despite what the pictures say though, I didn't even consider myself a cat person until I got my cat Willie in 2000. Willie had the same mother as Casey and another cat we had who died before we got Willie and her littermate Lilli.

 

[RajaNMizu]

No, I never had cats growing up. My family members had allergies so any pet with fur was out of the question. In my own household I had a dog for many years. She passed away about 4 years ago. My boyfriend also passed away at the end of last year and I decided new pets would be a good choice shortly after. It didn't hurt that my sons wanted cats very, VERY much. I truly adore them and it's one of the best decisions I have ever made.

 

[Lari]

My parents are not pet people, so no. We had goldfish and for a while my brother had a box turtle. And I talked them into a hamster in high school, which only lasted a couple months. But I never talked them into a cat.

I don't know why I started loving them, though. Our neighbors whose back yard touched ours had two, Oreo and Cocoa. Oreo was the friendly one and a door dasher. I remember chasing after him a lot, but he never scratched, so he probably was declawed (this was the late 80s/early 90s, I think, and while I don't know for sure, it was probably likely). Cocoa, the girl, was less friendly.

My twin aunts always loved cats, so maybe I got some of it from them, even if when I was a kid they has a poodle.

I just know I waited and waited until I was sure I was financially secure and I still worried I wouldn't be able to take care of it and it took a bit of prodding to do it because I overthink everything, but adopting my cat ended up being one of the best decisions I've made.

 

[Jem]

Until my parents divorce, we could only have fish. My poor mother is severely allergic to all animals with skin and fur and feathers. She can't even use down or feather pillows.
But I guess that was one good thing that came from the divorce. My stepmother had a cat that came with her! Yay!
I always knew I was an animal and especially cat lover. And they always seemed to find me as well. My mom felt so bad that we couldn't have a cat (or any "real" pet).
Since my parents divorce, I have not been without a cat (or a few) in my life.
And as a bonus, my husband doesn't have to worry about the "mother in law" staying at our place for more than a few hours! Ha!Ha! Just kidding, my mom is actually really great!

 

[rubysmama]

My parents had a cat before I was born, so I grew up with a feline "big brother", and have loved cats for as long as I can remember.

My Ruby girl is my first ever cat of my own, though.

 

[1 bruce 1]

If not, how did you discover your love for them? If you did, what’s your earliest memory with a cat?

Earliest memory is the not so "family" cat that didn't love sharing a house with small children allowing me to give her some gentle pets on her head after I spent about 30 minutes edging toward her and talking to her in my nicest voice. That left an impression about patience.
Another was a tiny little cat that hated everything but me and a few other people and would tolerate me petting her while she ate so I could watch her nose bridge turn into a prune while she did the angry-cat-eating noises. The memory of her scrunchy nose is branded onto my brain, I'll never forget that.

 

[mama africa]

We had rabbits, chickens, geese, budgerigars and two dogs, but no cats.
My maternal grandmother had outdoor cats, however, and I have fond memories of those visits, where I spent most of the time outside with the cats.
I had my first cat -Eefje- when I was living on my own as a student. My second cat was Lotje, who got pregnant, and whose daughter -Ciske- remained with us. Ciske passed at a very young age, but Lotje shared more than 20 years of my life with me. When she passed, I decide to stay catless for a while and after some time I planned to get a dog. Until a co-worker showed me a few pictures of kitten Missy...

 

[PipersMom]

No, I didn't grow up with cats. I had friends who had cats, but I always had dogs. I never actually pictured myself having a cat. I had been wanting another dog (which wasn't going to happen anytime soon because my 6 year old has developed an intense fear for some unknown reason) when Piper took up residence in our garage. I am still decidedly a dog person and I hope to have another one someday, but Piper is sweet and it's nice having a furry creature in the house again.

 

[1 bruce 1]

No, I didn't grow up with cats. I had friends who had cats, but I always had dogs. I never actually pictured myself having a cat. I had been wanting another dog (which wasn't going to happen anytime soon because my 6 year old has developed an intense fear for some unknown reason) when Piper took up residence in our garage. I am still decidedly a dog person and I hope to have another one someday, but Piper is sweet and it's nice having a furry creature in the house again.

It seems like kids from about 5-8 or 10 years go through random periods of developing strong fears, then (usually) forget about them later on. Maybe your kid has seen a scary dog on TV or had a bad dream about one.
I was about 7 when I developed a short lived fear of fish.
Stop laughing.
For some reason they just seemed menacing and unpredictable, even the cute little ones, and after a few months I forgot about it.

 

[PipersMom]

It seems like kids from about 5-8 or 10 years go through random periods of developing strong fears, then (usually) forget about them later on. Maybe your kid has seen a scary dog on TV or had a bad dream about one.
I was about 7 when I developed a short lived fear of fish.
Stop laughing.
For some reason they just seemed menacing and unpredictable, even the cute little ones, and after a few months I forgot about it.

Ha! My 4 year old is terrified of dolls, stuffed animals, and anthropomorphic toys. So, basically anything inanimate with a face. However, she has had this fear for basically her whole life. Her teachers can't use puppets or stuffed toys because she'll run out the room screaming.

The dog thing started after he was startled by a neighbor's dog who got out and was zooming around the neighborhood like all crazy lab puppies do. That was a while ago and he is still going strong with the dog fear.

Edited to add - I think it's the unpredictability of dogs (and to a lesser, extent other animals) that triggers his fear. He's nervous around the cat, even though she rarely goes within 10 feet of him.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Ha! My 4 year old is terrified of dolls, stuffed animals, and anthropomorphic toys. So, basically anything inanimate with a face. However, she has had this fear for basically her whole life. Her teachers can't use puppets or stuffed toys because she'll run out the room screaming.

The dog thing started after he was startled by a neighbor's dog who got out and was zooming around the neighborhood like all crazy lab puppies do. That was a while ago and he is still going strong with the dog fear.

Edited to add - I think it's the unpredictability of dogs (and to a lesser, extent other animals) that triggers his fear. He's nervous around the cat, even though she rarely goes within 10 feet of him.

Dolls are weird looking, so I agree with your 4 year old, smart cookie
Lab puppies are nuts in the energy department and I can see how their energy could scare a kid even if the dog means no harm. The dogs body language is all play but their speed and not really caring if they hit a brick wall can be scary to a small kid that's only a little taller than they are.
Kids are cool because they don't lie and if something scares them, they'll let you know about it.

 

[NY cat man]

When I was a kid, living on a small dairy farm, we had a series of mongrel dogs, but no cats. Then, when I was 14, I got a job at a local gas station/ repair shop. The owner had 8 or 10 barn cats, and one of them was a real@*#%$&@! It would claw you if you tried to pet her, or bite if you tried to ignore her. Between college, a hitch in the military, and renting for the first 33 years of marriage, having pets was not an option. However, since we bought our house, we have adopted 6 feral street cats that found their way to our door, ranging in age from 8 to 4-ish for the latest one.

 

[TobiDaDog]

In my early years, my parents swore that we would never, ever have a cat. They were mean and nasty, they bit and scratched...you know the drill. That is, until my mother heard a pitiful little noise outside of our front door one day. She opened it, and was met by a tiny grey puffball limping into the house like she owned it.

It was a filthy little kitten. She picked her up and ran her out the back door, where she waddled all the way back around and cried to come in again. This would happen every time she was put out.

My mother, against her own will, fell head over heels for this little kitten. When she realized how hurt she was, she got her off to a vet, who said that half of her body was covered in road rash, gravel, and glass. Someone had thrown her from a car.
We kept her, and I named her Puff, after the cat in the Fun With Dick and Jane books that I was reading at the time.

After that we pretty much always had at least one cat. My parents attributed it to her, that they realized that cats just weren't as bad as they thought once they met little Puff.

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, we had several cats and because my parents didn’t seem to know about spaying and neutering litter after litter of kittens. We literally gave them away on street corners and parking lots. The cats were indoor and outdoor cats and so had very short lives. Most didn’t live past three and either died being hit by cars or simply disappeared. Consequently as an adult, my cats are of course spayed and indoor only.

 

[islander]

No. Was not allowed. I of course tried to gather from time to time .. maybe is why I went overboard later.. When I moved from Cornwall to a far flung Scottish island I travelled in a Mini with 12 cats and 3 kittens..

 

[doomsdave]

No. Was not allowed. I of course tried to gather from time to time .. maybe is why I went overboard later.. When I moved from Cornwall to a far flung Scottish island I travelled in a Mini with 12 cats and 3 kittens..

Sehr gemutlichkeit . . . . .

 

[islander]

I went from London to the North of Scotland in the overnight express, and the (crated) cats were in the guards van.. When I finally got to where I was going it was to find the sales deal on the house had been delayed So the cats went to board at a vet. An epic journey and several days before our freedom.