Is Your Love For Cats Hereditary?

[aliceneko]

Is your love for cats hereditary (i.e. you come from a cat loving family) or is it something you've developed independently?
My mother's family have always been cat lovers on both sides. My great-grandfather (on my grandfather's side - I don't know my father's family so I don't know if they're cat lovers or not) had a cat called Itzmar named after his time in the Battle of Gallipoli. My grandfather had grown up with Itzmar and then a series of cats when he was a child and a teenager; and my mother and aunt have also had cats for most of their early years (my aunt used to have a cat that sadly got shot before I was born - it was a very tragic story as she'd recently given birth to a litter of kittens and nobody knows what happened to the kittens since she had given birth to them before my aunt adopted her as she was a stray) and my aunt currently owns a tabby now. Of course, my mother and I own Toffee and Fudge now.
My cousin also has two cats - my grandmother's family were always too poor to afford cats having grown up in the London slums, but she had always been fond of them and often looked after my aunt's cats when she was elderly.

 

[Katie M]

My mother's family is CRAWLING with cat lovers. One of my aunts has four (down from five.) I've got two siblings, and we have six cats between us.

 

[Boris Diamond]

None of my extended family were cat people. I met my first cat when I was 16, at a friend's house. I tried to pet that persnickety Siamese and got scratched! I assumed I had done something wrong and thought that approaching cats might be different than approaching dogs.

My brother's girlfriend loved cats and I became familiar with them through her. She and my brother got me my first kitty when I was 21. That was Hershel, a big tuxedo cat. He may have been the best cat ever. At least he seemed that way to me. I could go on and on about all the wonderful things about him. I have liked cats since.

 

[denice]

I came by it independently. I always had dogs both growing up and a good part of my adult life. After the kids were grown I went back to living in an apartment and I had no pets. I worked 12 hour night shifts for awhile so there was no way to have a dog. A coworker rescued a tiny kitten that had been rejected by it's mother. She already had a house full of animals and was looking for a home for this tiny kitten. I took him. Three months later I got another so he would have company. That was 16 years ago and I still have one of those cats.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Definitely hereditary on one side, one of my great grandparents was cat smart, cat educated, cat savvy and just plain cat crazy (and dogs, too). They were masters at home remedies for minor things, and taught us a lot.
But growing up in a family that was heavily involved in cat/kitten rescue and TNR helped I think
If all others were adopted out leaving a lone kitten without any friends, we were allowed to keep this kitten in our room until they found a home.
One kitten I tried hiding in my book shelf and tried to convince my parents she'd already been adopted out because I so badly wanted to keep her. Didn't help matters when she let out a mad "PEEP" and slid through a few books and went plop at my feet, LOL.
(That kitten was adopted out my a very quiet, sweet lady that I liked as a kid. I have talked with her family members that are friends of ours a several times over the years. Her health is very poor and she's very elderly. The cat has since passed away of course, but she had a very good long life of, I believe, 16 years.)

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
My Love for cats was entirely independently developed. If you don't count the two feral colonies cared for by my Mother, my Parents never had more than twenty cats in the house at any given time.
.

 

[rgwanner]

I think I came by my love of cats from a previous life. My parents both grew up on farms and animals belonged outside. My sister is allergic to cats but has dogs. One of my brothers rescued a cat from a freeway and that was his name - Freeway. I am sure he has passed now. We have lost touch. My other brother and his wife rescued a small kitten in the dead of winter one night (in Indiana) when they came home. They live on a farm and it had been left there. They have had it for about 10 years now and it is my brothers cat.

One of my first memories is of asking for a cat. I was about 4. We lived in a no pet apt. My mom brought home a fish in a bowl and I remember thinking "What am I supposed to do with that?"

I just seem to have always connected with cats. So the short answer is that I did not come by my love of cats from family. It has just always been there.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I think I came by my love of cats from a previous life. My parents both grew up on farms and animals belonged outside. My sister is allergic to cats but has dogs. One of my brothers rescued a cat from a freeway and that was his name - Freeway. I am sure he has passed now. We have lost touch. My other brother and his wife rescued a small kitten in the dead of winter one night (in Indiana) when they came home. They live on a farm and it had been left there. They have had it for about 10 years now and it is my brothers cat.

One of my first memories is of asking for a cat. I was about 4. We lived in a no pet apt. My mom brought home a fish in a bowl and I remember thinking "What am I supposed to do with that?"

I just seem to have always connected with cats. So the short answer is that I did not come by my love of cats from family. It has just always been there.

I got a gold fish once and loved that crazy thing, only to be upset when it died about 4 days later. =(

 

[rubysmama]

Since my parents had a cat when I was born, I grew up thinking it was purr-fectly normal to have a cat as a family pet, and therefore, I've loved cats all my life.

 

[rgwanner]

I got a gold fish once and loved that crazy thing, only to be upset when it died about 4 days later. =(

I am so sorry for your loss

 

[1 bruce 1]

I am so sorry for your loss

Aw thanks =) But I think it happens to most kids when they get a pet that doesn't live long like a gold fish.

 

[misty8723]

We always had animals of all kinds when I was growing up, but I was more of a dog person until DH and various cats I've known "converted" me. I love all animals.

 

[muffy]

I came by my love for cats independently. I never even liked cats. We always had dogs when I was growing up. Then one day I started feeding a stray cat and before I knew it I had a colony of ferals and 8 cats I adopted from the colony. My brother has a cat and I had an uncle that loved cats but that's all the cat lovers I have in my family. Cats are the love of my life.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I come from a long line of big animal lovers. My mom's side is mostly cat lovers, my dad's side is strictly dog lovers. My parents had a dog before I was born and when I was about 4 and my sister about 1, we got our first cat. My dad wasn't a cat person but he warmed up with that cat. He's still more of a dog person, but he's the only one in the family. My mom, sister, brother and I are all cat lovers through and through.

 

[sivyaleah]

My parent were not animal lovers at all. Especially my dad, although every dog seemed to love him. There were vague rumors my mom had a cat when young, but I somehow doubt it as her mom never expressed liking animals either. We had no pets to speak of. Even the turtles I had were sent to live at an aunts house that lived nearby. A fish tank or two until they perished. Oh and we tried having a puppy; that lasted about a month. My brother was terrified of it and my mom resented having another "child" to care for.

I was wild about all animals from early on. As a kid I thought being a vet would be an amazing job.

I had pretty much zero experience with cats when we got our first one, although I always liked them since I was a kid.

 

[Lari]

I think independent. My parents aren't really animal people. We had fish from time to time and my brother had a turtle my mom really liked. And they like Lelia well enough. I think because they would take us on vacation, they liked not having to come up with care while we were away.

I remember asking for a cat. I always liked them. My aunts like cats, so I probably got some from them, but it was mostly independent.

 

[neely]

I would have to answer both, i.e. independently and hereditary. My dad loved dogs and my mom grew up with a cat but my sibling and I had neither growing up. I couldn't wait to have a pet of my own and raised a puppy in college. When I got married and we had our own apartment I snuck a kitten in unbeknownst to our landlord. Then when we bought our first house with a large fenced in yard we adopted a dog but always had one or more cats. We made sure our children were raised with animals and I'm proud to say they adore them.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

I believe I get the love for cats from my mom. She is a cat person, but my dad is not an animal lover at all. I think we probably would have had an indoor cat or two during my childhood if it weren't for my dad's dislike for animals. I am close with my mom, and even though we have always visited each other, she loves to visit at our place so she can see Pixie. She loves him, and he loves her. She is charmed when he head butts her, holds her lap hostage, and rolls around at her feet.

 

[Norachan]

I come from a family of animal lovers, so I guess it's hereditary. We always had cats when I was growing up. My Mum used to be the person people brought stray cats they found to, I think the most we ever had at one time was 7. The most I've ever had at one time as an adult is over 30, but that was when I had a lot of colony kittens to re-home so that was just for one summer.

My grand father used to work with heavy horses, so I think I get my love of horses from him.

My brother and sister are both dog people. Traitors!

 

[Winchester]

I'd say we kids got our love of cats from my mother. We always had cats while we were growing up, although they were indoor/outdoor cats back then. My grandmother liked animals, but she couldn't touch their fur. It was her "thing". The cats and dogs loved her, but knew she could never touch them and they were Ok with it.

We have five cats now, down from eight. My sister has seven cats now, down from nine. My brother has one cat, down from five.