let's introduce FALCO!!!

[jewel-dragons]

hi there,today we made a visit in Belgium for our new cat!!!
he is a real Norway bush cat (is this correct spelled? :D )

he is now 5 weeks...

here some photo's :D

1 day old
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/creme.jpg
1 week old
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco1wk.jpg
2 weeks old
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco2wkn.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/ef-nest26-02.jpg

[jewel-dragons]

3 weeks old
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco3wkn.jpg

4 weeks old
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco4wkn.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco5wkn.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco5wkna.jpg

[jewel-dragons]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco14-03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco.jpg

today!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco2.jpg

[jewel-dragons]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco24-03.jpg

[adamanteus]

Hello Falco!:)

[drache]

hi there Falco
you look very serious

[Stefan-A]

Dammit, James. I was supposed to say that. :D

Cute little kitty. :)

[adamanteus]

Dammit, James. I was supposed to say that. :D

What? I only said 'Hello'!:D

[Stefan-A]

What? I only said 'Hello'!:D
Yeah, that's all I could come up with. :D Well, apart from "Burn in hell, Falco." ;) May be a bit harsh, though.

[CrazyHedgehog]

cute kitten, how come they are bottle feeding? looks like mom is there?

[adamanteus]

Yeah, that's all I could come up with. :D Well, apart from "Burn in hell, Falco." ;) May be a bit harsh, though.

Yeah, maybe a little harsh there, Stefan.:eek:

[Stefan-A]

Yeah, maybe a little harsh there, Stefan.:eek:
And a tiny bit inappropriate, since it's a cute little cat. ;)

[Gijs & Sabine]

What a sweety http://www.mymix.nl/mf/images/smiles/hartje.gif (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:emoticon('(L)'))
Iris looks very happy, I wonder why :D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

awe hes so cute

[Lori P]

Welcome to the forum, Falco. :-) What a cutie pie!!

Sooo.... is there not such a cat overpopulation problem in Europe? Sounded like quite a road trip to get a kitten. Just curious as to the difference between here and there. (Here, where there are so many unwanted kittens you can't pay people to take them!!)

[anji1971]

HI FALCO!!!:)
What a sweetie, I just love his little white mitten feet!

[drache]

Welcome to the forum, Falco. :-) What a cutie pie!!

Sooo.... is there not such a cat overpopulation problem in Europe? Sounded like quite a road trip to get a kitten. Just curious as to the difference between here and there. (Here, where there are so many unwanted kittens you can't pay people to take them!!)
I think Falco is a special kitty (very)
and even in the US people will travel to pick up that that special cat or dog (or snake), even when there are a gazillion adoptable ones
I've done both, not with cats though

[KITKAT]

Welcome to the forum, Falco. :-) What a cutie pie!!

Sooo.... is there not such a cat overpopulation problem in Europe? Sounded like quite a road trip to get a kitten. Just curious as to the difference between here and there. (Here, where there are so many unwanted kittens you can't pay people to take them!!)

We don't have a cat overpopulation problem in the USA, IMHO. What we have is a pet committment problem in the USA... meaning that people in the USA are not KEEPING their pets, but are turning them in to the shelter every time there is some inconvenience.

Take a walk through your local animal shelter. Is it full of kittens, or full of adults?

If your answer is adults, then this is not overpopulation.

Pet Underpopulation: The Pet Shortage in the US by Loretta Baughan (http://spanieljournal.com/33lbaughan.html)

The Numbers Guy - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116058075161889442.html)

So why are we still hearing about pet overpopulation from the animal rights groups???

Because it makes money for them!

Dog Owner's Guide: Animal charities solicit dollars from pet lovers (http://www.canismajor.com/dog/charity1.html)

REMEMBER... HSUS and PETA are the main groups that OPPOSE the keeping of reptiles as pets. These groups like to seperate animal owners and pit them against each other... using rhetoric about pet overpopulation to attack dog and cat owners, and then turning on herp owners with scare tactics and coercive legislation. DON'T FALL FOR IT!:mad:

[mycolorfulheart]

In my area, there are a lot of kittens and puppies in the shelters. I just started volunteering at one that has a large clinic portion to the shelter. It was incredible just how many tiny little kittens were sick in the clinic, waiting to get better so they could be adopted. Fewer puppies, but those too.

I think it's wrong to group the HSUS and PETA together, since they have very different goals and a different outlook on animals.

I agree with you completely though that we have a pet commitment problem in the US. I stongly believe that when I take in an animal, it's mine for life. Maybe it's just the consumerism in our culture that makes people think animals are 'disposable.' But I blame pet stores and breeders for continuing that trend, not the shelters. A shelter will screen you, interview you, train you before letting you take an animal. At petco they make you sign a small contract that says "i know how to take care of this animal and I will." It's a joke because no one actually asks you if you do know how to care for the animal, and they don't give you the pamphlets that should be free and required with your purchase. Petsmart doesn't even pretend with a contract, they just don't care. Breeders of course will vary depending on who's doing the breeding, but when they're virtually no regulation of breeders, of course there will be many people mistreating animals to make some cash.

[GarterGuy]

Cute little kitty and very cool name by the way.:D

[drache]

well, Falco is definitely in good hands

[Sputnik]

So sweet. Very similar colouring to our little Janosch. :)
When I was a young teenager my favourite singer was called Falco, so the name made me giggle. Rock me, Amadeus! ;) Or should that be Adamanteus? :eek:

Amadeus incidently was the name of my budgie when I was even littler.

[jewel-dragons]

the place in belgium is just 104 km from my house,so not so far.
but it's very difficult to find a really BEAUTIFULL kitten like this.
we only want this color....

these are our cats...
Tijger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/alumix001.jpg

and Twiggy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/P1010170.jpg

and about a few weeks offcourse Falco
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco24-03.jpg

[Zephyr]

I like his name, but if you had named him Captain FalcoN, then he could use falcon punch. :P

[anji1971]

All your kitties are beautiful!

Twiggy looks just like my old cat Skatcat!
Unfortunately Skat 'abandoned' me for my younger nephew (we all lived together at the time) and she now lives with him. I guess she got mad when I went back to school and didn't have time to cuddle her as much..........she is very needy that way!:rolleyes:

[adamanteus]

Rock me, Amadeus! ;) Or should that be Adamanteus? :eek:.

You only need to ask......;)

[Lori P]

Oh dear, I wasn't trying to turn Falco's welcome thread into a debate on whether there is a cat overpopulation problem in the US (tho I have to just say, Kitkat, you're the first person I've ever heard deny the overpopulation problem which continues to be nothing short of epidemic in many areas; my local pound has been euth'ing kittens for lack of space since January, and I'm in one little corner of one little county of one little state... I can't imagine the statewide/nationwide count so far for this year yet. I do agree that there is a serious responsibility problem, no doubt about that. But please don't lump all rescue in with PETA. To imply that I love the overpopulation problem because it "makes me money" is so laughable it almost brings me to tears, as I face another month trying to decide whether to pay the mortgage or the vet bills first.)

All I was wondering was if the problem was as pronounced in Europe. It's just that because of the sad state of affairs in my area, I can't imagine having to search out a certain color kitten, as there are gazillions (at last count, lol) of them at every pound, shelter, and in local ads of every color and breed. It seems in my mind that Europe, as always, is ahead of the US in animal welfare issues and seems to have a better record of spay/neuter. But I could be wrong, that's why I asked.

Probably best to let it drop and sufficient to say, Falco is as cute as they come. I looooove the name, too, and will have to "borrow" that! :-)

[Stefan-A]

I don't think cats even have the same status here. In this country we have a "summer cat" problem. I don't know if you have the same phenomenon in your respective countries, but here some people get a kitten just for the summer and then just discard them when fall comes, either because they haven't thought about how to take care of the animal once they move back to the city, or because they just don't care. Naturally, the cats won't survive the winter, so these animals fill the shelters every year. But I think there has been a huge improvement, cats are routinely sterilized these days. I'd say it's definitely a rule rather than an exception. In fact, I don't remember when I last saw an ad for somebody donating or even selling kittens. I'm probably just not paying attention.

When I've been on vacation in southern Europe (especially Greece, but also Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus), there have always been a lot of cats everywhere. I have no idea if they have owners of any kind or if they're "public property", but they seem very much a part of the scenery. I'd love to know if they're considered much of a problem.

[KITKAT]

But please don't lump all rescue in with PETA. To imply that I love the overpopulation problem because it "makes me money" is so laughable it almost brings me to tears, as I face another month trying to decide whether to pay the mortgage or the vet bills first...

Oh no... I said neither one! What I said was that it makes money for PETA to talk about overpopulation. If you read the links I provided, you'll understand why I said this.

ALSO, before you think I am lumping PETA in with rescue, let me tell you that PETA does absolutely NO rescue, ever. PETA is an animal rights group, and is not an animal welfare group.

I have been doing rescue for almost 20 years now, but I still stand on my opinion that we do not have pet "overpopulation". :rolleyes:

Try this link:

www.nokillbill.com (http://www.wethepeoplepets.com)

KITKAT
director of PuRRS, Inc. Allbreed Cat Rescue, 501(c)3 pending

[mycolorfulheart]

I forgot to say how cute + lovable Falco is. Did you name him after the Falco from Smash Bros? http://smashbros.planets.gamespy.com/images2/ssbmfalco.jpg

[jewel-dragons]

falco is the name he already get from the breeder....
falco is a cat with papers who allways get a name by the breeder,you can always choose another name,if you don't like it,but we love the name :D

[Gijs & Sabine]

He's just soooo sweet !! We definitely come to see him ourselves when you have picked him up :)
I also like the name, it reminds me of Falkor, the luck dragon from Neverending Story. Lets hope he will be your lucky one as well ;)

[jewel-dragons]

update :-D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/kunomooren/falco1-04-08.jpg

[count dewclaw]

he is a real Norway bush cat (is this correct spelled? :D )


I'm not very familiar with cat breeds...so, what makes a Norway bush cat different from what we would call a "domestic long hair" cat? Are there special characteristics? Thanks.

Falco is a very cute kitten BTW!

[mycolorfulheart]

They get cuter as they get older, i swear.

[jewel-dragons]

official it's a norwegian forest cat,my english is not that good :-)

uhm... these cats are pure breed...

something like radix X radix (pure)
others are crosses like radix X parietalis (or something)
forest cats like these and main coon or what ever,are pure,and massive.

here is an example how he is going to be about 2 years....

http://www.kattenbemiddeling.nl/dek-foto/boromir.jpg

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

maine coon's get HUGE.... simba's dad weighs exactly 30 pounds! this is what my young simba should look like in about 2 years, he's even this same color:

http://media3.guzer.com/pictures/largest_cat.jpg

[adamanteus]

Mmmmmm. I quite like. The cat's okay too!:rolleyes:

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

lol! james...

I wish i could find out the original owner of that picture and cat... but the problem is the picture is like famous on the internets... who is the mysterious woman with the gi-hugic cat? the world may never know...

[mycolorfulheart]

wow that cat is huge! My lil black cat always reminded me of a black panther. I always thought it'd be awesome if she just kept growing....

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

lol yet another one of jame's hilarious posts has suddenly dissapeared