Snowshoe kitty

[sap483]

I''m thinking about adopting a second kitten as a companion for my kitten Theo. I have found a couple of Snowshoes/Siamese mix kitties that are oh so cute. I don''t know much about the Snowshoe breed though. Does anyone have any experience with them? Theo is really playful, and we love him just the way he is. However with this second cat I am looking for a cat that is playful just like Theo, but also likes sitting on laps and cuddling hehe. Thanks!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey sap - snowshoe kitties are very cute, for sure. I have to say though, that they aren''t a super well-established breed, so the personality will vary quite a bit from cat to cat.

I think your best bet if you are really set on getting a lap kitty (and I would TOTALLY understand why - I think everyone should have at least one lap cat

) is to go through a rescue organization that fosters their kitties. The reason I suggest this is because its the best way to get a sense of what that cat will be like in an actual home environment. If they are babies, they can change personalities completely as they grow up, and if they are in a shelter, they are often too stressed to act how they would act when they are more relaxed in a loving home (though there are definitely exceptions to this). But if you are really set on a particular personality (which it sounds like you are), I strongly suggest e-mailing or calling several rescue organizations that have their kitties in foster homes or at least do extensive evaluation of kitties in their shelter facility for temperament, and going from there.

Good luck with your search.

 

[sap483]

Hi Amber. Thanks for your response. The two kitties are at a foster home of a rescue organization. They''re only 10 weeks old though so I''m not sure how much the foster parents can tell about their personalities. I was thinking of getting a younger kitten so that Theo wouldn''t feel threated (he''s only 10 months old himself). Do you think he''d be ok with a slightly older cat?

 

[Giada]

sap,

I have a Snowshoe kitty and she is wonderful! Very affectionate, playful and most definitely a lap cat. I cannot say enough good things about her. I have a six-year old daughter and she has been great with her and all of her friends as well.

We adopted her when she was 8 weeks.

Here''s our Mina girl:

 

[FireGoddess]

My Chloe is a snowshoe. She was adopted at about a year old from the pound and is very, very skittish. As AG states, I'd make sure that if it's temperament you're most interested in, you look at that first and foremost...Chloe clearly had some trauma that made her so terrified of everything and that is not normal. She is quite the talker though...can TOTALLY see the Siamese background in her vocalness and her body shape. She is the biggest cuddlebug I have EVER met and will lay down with you for hours, content to be petted the entire time.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Lol Firegoddess, Chloe looks like she has painted toenails in that picture. She looks so cuddly!

I never knew Snowshoe was a breed when I had mine, I found out later. But my last kitty, Squirt, was super cuddly and affectionate, a total lapcat that talked constantly. We would have conversations heh. I agree about the fostering though - most kitties brought up in a foster home as opposed to a shelter are much more calm and happy.

 

[sap483]

Oh my goodness Giada and Firegoddess, your girls are beautiful! I think I am going to arrange some time to meet with the kittens and see how they behave. Perhaps the foster parents will even let them play with Theo to see if they get along? Should I make sure they were tested for feline leukemia before letting them play with Theo? Here''s a picture of one of them.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 6/10/2008 7:33:12 PM
Author: sap483
Oh my goodness Giada and Firegoddess, your girls are beautiful! I think I am going to arrange some time to meet with the kittens and see how they behave. Perhaps the foster parents will even let them play with Theo to see if they get along? Should I make sure they were tested for feline leukemia before letting them play with Theo? Here''s a picture of one of them.

Awwwww, so cute, hope it all works out and Theo gets a buddy.

 

[AmberGretchen]

OMG I can''t handle all the cute pics in this thread - TOO MUCH CUTENESS!! MUST. SNUGGLE. GORGEOUS. KITTIES

OK, well, now that I''ve gotten that out my system...

sap - I''d DEFINITELY make sure they are Feline Leukemia tested before introducing them to Theo. Also know that you usually can''t do meet and greet/play sessions between kitties - it almost never works and just ends up in stressed out, fighting kitties. That''s the bad news. The good news is that if you take the time to introduce them properly, your two kitties of any age have excellent odds of getting along just fine. We here on PS can help you with that when the time comes (Ms. Firegoddess, is our resident expert after many trials and travails introducing her two beautiful girls - but that was an unusual and extra-difficult case).

You are also correct that the 10 week old temperament will not be a great indication of what they will grow up to be. If the temperament and how they behave with you is really really important to you, I''d get an older kitty with a more developed personality. If its more important that they be a good playmate for Theo, a younger kitty will be fine (although, again, any age kitty will most likely be fine with Theo as long as they are introduced properly).

Giada - I can''t get over how grownup and GORGEOUS Ms. Mina is - what a beauty she has turned into (and what a treat to see a more recent picture)

FG - you know how I love Chloe pictures, and the pink softpaws are just too cute for words in that picture

 

[FireGoddess]

Aren''t the softpaws adorable?! I know!!! We put them on Chloe for a few years and then after getting a cat tree (intended for Holly) Chloe took ownership of the thing and stopped scratching our bed entirely. She only scratches her tree now so she doesn''t wear the softpaws anymore.

The new kitty definitely needs to be tested before coming into any contact with your cat, but as AG said, it''s not like dog intros where they sniff each other and it''s alright immediately. Cats take way more time.

 

[wishful]

Oh Oh Oh!!! So cute! I didn''t even know snowshoes were a breed! Adorable.
I want more kitties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sap483]

I think I may look into slightly older cats after all. Having the right personality is very important to me, so perhaps that is the way to go.

FG- So that soft paws have worked? Theo has a love of leather products and other furniture. My leather shoes and leather chair all get destroyed. He has ripped the entire bottom of the couch off. Now that it''s been warm and we have the windows open he scratches and pokes the screens on the windows too. We put soft paws on him, and he kept scratching still, but it didn''t do any damage to the furniture- so we liked that. He was still able to damage the kitchen and bathroom cabinets with his soft paws though. They''re starting to fall out, so I may go back and get more. . I just don''t know what to do with him! He has plenty of scratching posts, etc. Any suggestions?

 

[FireGoddess]

I have had great success with the Softpaws. Chloe's scratching post of choice for about 10 years was my mattress and box spring. To shreds. It was irritating, but she wouldn't use any scratching post I got her. Then I found Softpaws, and they definitely helped her not do any more damage to any of my stuff. They stay on a pretty good long time in my experience. I've had one pop off here or there but I just put another one back on. Many times I have had to cut them off because they have stayed on to the point that her nail needs to be trimmed because it is growing so long it is starting to curl. Anyhoo, it was the cat tree that stopped Chloe from going for the bed completely. Once she saw it and I rubbed catnip all over it, she has exclusively scratched it ever since. Much to my delight. I think sometimes it's just a matter of finding exactly what THEY want. I never knew that after 10 years I'd finally get it right and she'd stop scratching my bed completely, instantaneously.

 

[LGK]

I would definitely second getting an older kitty if you are looking for a particular temperament. The two kitties I raised from babies changed personality a LOT when they grew up. (One went from uber skitty to vocal and snuggly, the other went from incredibly laid back to very high strung and willful).

Kittens sometimes adore an older adult playmate. I was terribly worried when our room mates brought their full grown adult male cat into the house with our two six week old kittens years ago. But actually, Buddy (older male) adopted Rat & Sonar as his babies. He would let them play-nurse on him, they would tumble around and play together, basically he adored them and vice versa, they slept in a big furry pile the whole time they lived together.

As a weird aside: Buddy also taught them his vocabulary (Buddy has always said very clearly "ennnngg", it's his weird meow word). So our two babies learned "eng" as their meow word. It's pretty odd! Buddy was only their companion in kittenhood, but now that they're 12 they still speak Buddy-ese. And when we adopted a younger guy, 6 years old, when Rat & Sonar were 10, OP was very very quiet at first. But then after about two or three months, Rat & Sonar taught OP to speak too- so we have three chatty cats that say "Eng" now, all thanks to Buddy.

That kitten is SO CUTE I think my head exploded with cute overload. I want another baby kitty soooo bad!