We got this young Siamese a couple of months ago, he's about a year old or less. Although he and the slightly older one still have spats, he's very active and cheerful, somehow seems to have more of a sense of humor than the other one. And my husband adores him. He has been sitting in his chair-glide for the last half hour playing with him, talking to him, pulling a toy around, cat jumping, running up and down the stairs, etc. THis isn't an off-topic thing: it's a serious boon to have such an amusement for him. Makes up for all those kitty-litter pans!
I wish I could get a kitten for my wife. She really loves them. We have a toy cat with very smooth fur that she talks to and pets frequently. Today, in day care, she did a jigsaw puzzle of cats and showed me her favorite of the bunch. The problem is that she is very allergic to cats, getting asthma. She might do OK with a dog, but we can't have one in our apartment.
When my husband was home and more aware, he loved all of our animals and they loved him back. He would talk all kinds of nonsense to them, pet them, and they lapped it up. He and the dog would often go for walks around the block (multiple times a day). When we first got our dog as a rescue, she was afraid of men and would not walk my husband. He was already diagnosed at that time. He was heartbroken that she would not walk with him. We worked with a trainer and the first day he was able to take her for a walk was so wonderful - they were both so proud of themselves.
He doesn't recognize her anymore and isn't really sure how to deal with an animal but when I take her to visit him, she still recognizes him. Her tail starts wagging very fast ad we walk in the door, she starts looking for him right away and she is almost jumping on the end of the leash just barely managing to restrain herself. She will sit right in front of him until he notices her. Usually sometime during our visits with him, he will pet her and that makes it a perfect visit for her.
There are many other residents at the facility that he is at that also love to visit with her so she brightens up the day for many of them.
The other thing that facinated my husband was butterflies. We had a butterfly bush right in front of a bow window and he used to love to site and watch all the butterflies on the bush.
marsh, there are several breeds of cats that are non-allergenic and even a hairless one. There are rescue groups for them too, which might help with information and cost. Check it out.
We have two cats. H loves them and they love H. They keep him occupied and company all day. H would be very lonely without them.
The NH my brother-in-law is at allowed him to keep his dog there until he could no longer care for the dog. My SIL said the dog cheered up everyone in the NH.
My California son and DIL both love cats. She is allergic and when they were here she was on heavy meds the whole time. At home, they have two cats. My son WASHES them (note he does not say he BATHES them, he says he WASHES them,) with some anti-allergic soap. Somehow, Marsh, I don't think we should suggest that you get a cat and start washing it!! ;-)
Carosi, I know there are hairless ones but ugh! Actually I think Siamese are supposed to be less allergy-inducing than the others. We sneeze with longhairs but not with these.
Marsh, have you checked to see if your wife is compatible with a "hypoallergenic" cat? (I am NOT talking about the company that claims to have bred special cats and is charging $8,000 - $37,000 for them ... !)
Some people claim that the Siberian and Russian Blue breeds are naturally hypoallergenic. There are a few other breeds that, theoretically, don't cause as much of an allergic reaction, although the claim is based on the cat having less hair. Since the allergy is a response to a protein in cat saliva, the amount of hair has little to do with it.
Russian blues are apparently a bit hard to find...
One site I checked claimed that female cats tend to produce fewer allergens than males. It also warned that kittens don't produce allergens, so you'd need to check your wife's reaction with a somewhat older cat.
Another site said that different cats within a given litter may be more hypoallergenic than others ... so if she's extremely allergic, make sure she checks compatibility with exactly the cat you're contemplating getting for her. (This site claimed there are individual hypoallergenic cats in every breed.)
If there were breeders in your area, you might be able to arrange letting your wife test drive a cat. Siberians are absolutely gorgeous...
PetSmart has a product called (get this) "Kitty Wipes." I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that. I'm immediately wondering what that entails. However, I was very relieved to find out that they are the regular 'wipes' that you use to wipe down the cat and it removes the dander. The dander is dried saliva from the cat licking itself. The dander is what causes the allergies in most people.
I'm finding that with my fancy little American Shorthair I'm doing more sneezing. I'm going to PetSmart this weekend and plan on buying some "Kitty Wipes." I'll let you know how that works. out.
Marsh, if something as simple as that would be helpful to your DW, might be worth a try
I need to add a PS here. My friend, my very good friend, has two beautiful, fancy Persian cats. When I told her that my kitty was an American Shorthair, she said that didn't mean anything. She said that meant he was just plain cat. I was laughing so hard at my friend. I asked her if she was putting my little kitty down because he was an orphan and came from a shelter instead of some high class 'cattery." She and I were acting like a couple of teenagers over that. How can mature women get so tickled over something as ridiculous as that??
Mawzy, cats and dogs can get under the owners skin, and we are very protective of them, just like we were about our children. Well, not as much but I know we have an orphan from the Shelter also, and they mean as much to us as a Registered Purebread. We delight when she jumps on our lap, which is not as much now that she is older. Walks by you lightly touching your legs....ah..
So, I can understand your feelings....But, I know, it is ridiculous isn't it..
My kitty got locked up in the bedroom and wet on the bed. When the door was opened, he ran out of there like he'd been shot out of a gun, ran into the bathroom and into the bathtub and hid behind a white shower curtain. I did't know what had happened but he acted really weird. I didcovered his problem right away and just stripped the bed and started the laundry. The sad part is that I just washed the bedding yesterday. Oh, well. i'ts nice and clean now! Poor guy. It was his first accident and it certainly wasn't his fault. He acted like he was embarrassed. I know dogs get embarrassed--do cats feel shame also?
Mawzy, I think something upset or scared your kitty pretty badly. They can usually go a long time without the litter if they're accidentally shut away from it.
That said, I do use doorstops to keep doors from accidentally getting closed, and have two or three litter boxes in strategic locations...
Mawzy, I think I'd keep the bedroom door SHUT when you're not in there for a few weeks. Or keep it piled up with Stuff. That can get to be a habit quickly and it's an awful one for them to have. Pick up some Nature's Miracle to spray if there are any other accidents.