Lots of Rain Today.

[leene_chan]

And who did I see outside but my little kitty friend? He fell out of my lap when he was trying to get cozy. What is wrong with me that I can't even hold a cat on my lap? =_=....Well, I looked over some websites and deduced from his appearance and attention-demanding behavior that he must be at least part Bombay. He's not pure black (he has a little white spot on his chest) but other than that he matches the pictures of Bombay kitties I saw. There seems to be a Bombay breeder in CT, too....I have to wonder, did someone dump this poor kitty off at an animal shelter because he's not pure black? His owners have 10 other cats (so I've heard) and it's not likely that they bought a purebred. Ho hum... Unfortunately, all of the websites said it's not a good idea to keep a Bombay as an outdoor cat because they have no survival instinct and are very trusting of strangers. Someone might ::gasp:: steal him! :D I don't know what to say. His owners are not friends of ours. I can't tell them to keep their cat inside for his own safety, and I know that if I swiped him for his own protection (ha ha!) they'd have no problem with calling the police. Poor kitty.

Comments

Hrm.

[twotone]

I think that purebreds tend to breed true, though. One of the sites I looked at mentioned that many people bring in a partially grey, or mostly-grey-with-a-white-spot-or-two cat and claim that it *must* be partially Russian Blue because of how much it looks like one and acts like one. However, true purebred Russian Blues can be identified not only by temperament and color, but the fact that it's all one color and has a specific unusual eye color.

A reputable breeder wouldn't let their Bombays breed with non-Bombay cats, and most breeders apparently do background checks and screening to make sure that the cats they sell are either neutered or bred only with other purebreds. So probably the mystery-cat is just an exceptionally friendly generic cat who happens to look Bombay-ish and beautiful. :)

The outdoor cat thing is definitely a worrisome thing, though. They're more prone to infections and parasites (and animal attacks), plus black cats allegedly tend to be victims of cruelty. I think that last one may be an urban legend, though.

I'm still kinda sad that we can't take up our future neighbor on her "will trap feral kittens for us" offer. As my cat-loving better half points out:
a) feral kittens = more likely to have health problems we don't know about
b) feral kittens = used to being in the great outdoors = will be unhappy inside, and may try repeated escape attempts.

[astrosnik.livejournal.com]

It's hard to say. Mistakes can happen with carefully guarded purebreds, just like with any other cat. The purebred Himalayan next door to my grandparents' farm escaped- they ended up with some stray siamese-looking and longhaired kittens. Also, when breeding, there ARE recessive traits that suddenly appear, and it is not unheard of for undesired markings or whatever to suddenly surface. It can depend on how far back in the breeding records they research before mating. Far less importance is placed on neutering an undesirable male than with spaying a female.
As for feral cats- it has very little to do with the fact they are outside, and everything to do with their personality and age. We've adopted feral kittens, as well as cats who'd been abandoned outside for several years, and haven't had a problem. Skittishness and nervousness, yes, but nothing dangerous to themselves or people. Maybe we've been simply lucky, but a cat's personality can overcome any situation.
I wonder what the laws are regarding the number of cats the owners can have there? 10 sounds like an unhealthily large amount without a breeders license... =_=
If nothing else, consider you have the company of a cute, nice, playful kitty without the cost?
I recently "took" a cat from our neighbors who'd allowed a declawed cat to roam free, she was always trying to get into our house. Due to the lack of control they took over their animals, I wasn't surprised to find they were willing to have someone else "take care of it, then". >_

[spiderlace.livejournal.com]

http://rto.keenspace.com/k/goodboy.jpg

Awww...

[leene-chan.livejournal.com]

What a cute kitty! :D

Looks just like my little friend right down to the little white patch on his chest, except the cat I know has yellow eyes. Tee hee hee...so cute!

Re: Awww...

[lacespider.livejournal.com]

:) he's a spoiled rotten brat. Can't believe he's almost a year old now (Dec 25th) :D His eyes are still mostly green.

I work at a cat shelter by my house and I notice black cats with a white patch on their chest. Whenever I go out with my cat some cat person on the street stops me and says with a glazed expression, "I used to have a cat just like yours..."