[blparent] Adopting a Pet

[Tammy]

Hi,

Is this a strictly indoor cat, or does it go outside sometimes?  If it's an 
outdoor cat or even if it may accidentally get out, I wouldn't get it 
declawed.  If you declaw it and then it goes outside even by accident, and 
gets attacked by another animal it won't have any way to defend itself. 
Sarah will most likely get a little nip or scratch from the cat, but she'll 
learn very quickly what it will and won't tollerate.  How old is the cat?  I 
would advise against getting a kitten, they're a nusence, and they chew 
through everything, and are not so good with kids, although this isn't 
always the case.  I would tell her that the cat is staying for the week-end, 
and I wouldn't tell her anything more at this point.  That way you're not 
pressured to keep the cat if you can't, or don't want to, and you won't have 
a whiney crying child asking why for the next couple of days because she 
won't know any different.  She'll just think the cat stayed there for a 
couple of days.  If you end up keeping the cat you can tell her and she'll 
be happy to have a new furry family member.  smile  Oh, and get a collar 
with a bell for the cat.  That way you'll always know where he or she is.
hth

Tammy
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 12:57 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: [blparent] Adopting a Pet

Hello.  Gerald and I are considering in taking a stray cat who needs a home. 
The cat is healthy, has had his shots, been checked for worms and leukemia. 
He's not fixed or de-clawed.  I don't know much about cats, so I have a few 
questions.

What do I need to know before trying to introduce the cat to my guide dog?

I'd like to take the cat on a trial basis for a few days.  How can I make it 
clear to my three-year-old that the kitty is going to stay through the 
weekend, and then we'll see from there?  Would that idea be too hard on her?

I know de-clawing is beyond the scope of this list, but is it something I 
should consider doing because of Sarah?

Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, 
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of 
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of 
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
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