# Cat people- Are they born or made?



## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

(I'm not sure what forum this topic goes in, really, so I'll just put it here unless someone thinks it needs moved.)

I've been a cat person since birth. I can remember running around meowing and pretending I was a cat when I was 5 or so, LOL. We only had outside cats, barncats as my dad called them, when I was growing up. There were 2 mama cats, Cinnamon and Tiger, and they were always having kittens. (And I assume there must have been toms somewhere with all the kittens around, LOL, but I don't remember them.) Even thought they were barncats, they were petted and loved on just as much as a housecat. Of course I longed to have one inside, but never got the chance until I was in middle school when I was allowed to have a beautiful stray I'd found inside. Fast forward to my grown up years. My fiancee knew I missed my cats from home so much (they were not just mine, but family cats by then and I couldn't take them from my family) and offered to get one for us, despite not even liking cats. So we found our Oscar at a shelter. I was thrilled to have a kitty again. Slowly I noticed my lifelong "cat hater" of a fiancee (now husband) bonded with our new addition. I would catch him cuddling him when he thought I wasn't looking, playing "boo" with him around the hall wall (hiding and then letting the cat find and pounce him and then vice versa), and much more. It was soon obvious that my husband was Oscar's "person". TRAITOR! LOL :wink

Really, what a smart cat. He "turned" my husband. He knew his ultimate happiness meant being accepted and thoroughly loved by us both, and I was a given. So he sought him out and won him. Now Oscar is no longer here. Maggie has taken his spot on hubby's lap and in his arms being petted and cooed at. I love it.

So are you a born cat person, or a made cat person? Did a cat turn you?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Made by Cinderella.

I've always wanted dogs. Always. Still do. Now I live vicariously through other members here with dogs I love (Moxie, among others). I had never considered myself a cat person. I took Cinderella out of a horrible situation, intending on rehoming her. 

Enough said. :grin:


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## Maggie the Cat (Mar 13, 2011)

And besides Cinderella there are 4 other cats in your line up, so she must have gotten you good!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

She was the first! But I blame Cat Forum for the rest of them. I was only owned by Cinderella when I joined. 

So be careful!


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## mellnoel (Feb 12, 2011)

cat people are definitely made- by cats. most cat people are that way because they had pleasant cat memories from their childhood. or not from being bit or scratched when they were little. i myself am definitely an all around animal person, exept cocatoos, i was attacked by one about a year ago. don't ask.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I'm not necessarily a cat person, just an animal person in general. I wanted a pet to keep me company and share my apartment. We aren't permitted dogs in my complex so I got a cat. I love and adore him and he's shown me that cats are much more than I ever thought they could be.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Always been both, and always had both. So I'm not sure. :/


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## Lynx79 (Feb 21, 2011)

When I was little, my family had a dog. He died when I was about 5, so I spent the first few years of my life living with a dog, and we didn't get a cat til a few years later. I'm not sure how this works out, but I have always been a cat person and never really been that interested in dogs, despite growing up with one. It was a pleasant experience as well, and I do like golden retrievers but still not so keen on dogs in general. With cats, I think it was a love at first sight situation. So I might say that I was born a cat lover, but then again Prince was my dad's dog and my mam wasn't really too keen on him, so perhaps I picked that up as well as her own love of cats through vicarious learning, or something.


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

I was a convert. Never really wanted cats as a kid. Had a couple of parakeets in succession. Then a little Yorkie. My husband's family always had cats, so he wanted one. After the first cat exerience, I have adored cats.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I was definitely a convert. I grew up with a rescued stray who'd likely been abused by her former owner, and she was not very child-friendly. She instilled a sense of nervousness in me about cats for a long time. I grew up thinking cats were cranky animals that couldn't really be touched without risking a bite or a scratch.

As I got older, and interacted with other people's cats, I began to see that my experiences were not necessarily the standard, but I still considered myself a dog person. I'd also grown up with three dogs (a pomeranian and two dachshunds) who were all wonderful.

Sometime last year, I'd been living with my boyfriend for a while, and we started talking about getting a pet. I hadn't been able to take my childhood pomeranian with me when I moved out of my parents' house (he's 14 now, way too set in his routine, requires some special care, and we have no yard in our condo) and I really missed having some kind of furry companion to care for.

We concluded a dog would not be practical to our circumstances (no yard, and we both work full-time so we're gone for about 10 hours a day during the week) and I had sworn never to own another pet that lived in a cage that I had to clean after owning many rodents over the years (scrubbing crystalized urine out of plastic hamster cage tubes was not a fun experience), so we concluded a cat was probably the best option. My boyfriend grew up with many cats, and I thought maybe owning and raising my own kitten would help me get over my unease about cats.

I was certainly right! I now guiltily admit I am probably more of a cat person than a dog person. I still love dogs, but cats fit my lifestyle and personality so much better.

I do love siamese cats (having two mixes of my own) in particular though, and as Tiikiri said, they've got some "doglike" traits, and my favorite dog breed is the pomeranian, which isn't really classically doglike, so I guess I like a balance somewhere between stereotypical cats and dogs.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

I've wanted a cat of my own ever since I was little - grew up on a farm with alot of barn cats, we weren't allowed to bring them in the house but I used to load the kittens into a basket and carry them around the farm - play with them, dress them in my doll clothes - I'm sure they hated that - LoL. Now I have two cats of my very own and I coudlnt' be happier.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Made....I always loved animals in general but considered myself more of a dog person than cat until I was in my mid-20s. Then I bought a townhouse...2 floors and a scary basement...I wanted something more interactive than fish to greet when I came home at night. But a dog was out of the question, just didn't fit my lifestyle. So a cat was it...then two...then 3.

But I still want a dog and will have one sooner than later...probably the next year or so...


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

Definitely born. I have always adored cats, even though I was brought up with a dog and all my relatives had dogs. We got our first cats when I was 13, and my dream came true. I've always been the kind of person to cross the road to stroke a cat. Once on holiday we were told one little stray cat wouldn't come near humans- two weeks later and he was fast asleep on my bed. I have a natural affinity with cats.

That being said, I truly adore any animal. We got a hamster last June when my partner and I moved in together, I couldn't bear being petless. One month later we got several fish. I STILL wasn't satisfied, in January we got our first cat, then the second in February. We move quickly with pets! We'll be getting a dog next summer!


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## Coyote (Jan 16, 2011)

I'm both. I grew up with family dogs, mostly Springer Spaniels, and now I have a pack of basset hounds - one from a pup, two from welfare. My god, those dogs look sad enough when they're happy, the idea of hounds in a welfare pound.... I had to take them in. 

I've had cats too since I was 4, from one cat initially, to 5 at a time, to me vowing never to replace the lost ones after so much heartbreak, to fostering, to adopting the Norwegians. 

My Norwegian Forest Cats are the least cat-like cats I've ever met. They play fetch, they come for walks, they queue up for the dog treats after the walk...


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## MeowMiaow (Feb 20, 2011)

Born - My house has always had at least one cat. In fact, my mother gave birth to me at home, and her cat at the time sat with her all the way through...and as soon as I was placed into my mum's arms, Claudette stalked off in a way that suggested, "Right, baby's here now. I'm not needed anymore!"


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I have no idea. I've always loved animals, but never had a cat before Miu which was like Nov 2009, then a year later around Oct 2010 Captain Jack found me.

Weird thing is that although I've never had cats, I was so keen on getting a fake henna tattoo of a cat silouette. I had the image in my mind and finally had it done one time at a fair. I was so estactic that I was taking pics of it and thought it was very cool. Now I got my own 'black cats'. Miu is a black based tabby (agouti?) and Jack is a tuxedo.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

We had two cats when I was growing up (at separate times), plus we've had several dogs throughout the years...but I was never really close to any of them. Both of the cats were indoor/outdoor cats and tended to be rather aloof and independent, so perhaps that's partly why. 

I adopted Muffs and Abby a few years ago, and now I can't imagine my life without them. So, I'd say I'm a "made" cat person.


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