Expensive cat!!

[Virginia9742]

I was out wondering around, near the downtown area, and I wondered upon a pet store.  I saw lots of cute critters and I really wanted a kitten, and the guy told me it was 1,800!!!  I think it was pretty clear he was trying to cheat me or just everyone in general...  I mean, it's a kitten, I would never pay the equivalent of almost $300 for a cat in the U.S., much less here.

Has anyone had any luck acquiring a pet in Hefei?  There are like a million cats outside my apartment, but I don't want to catnap them.

[rgeczi]

What you can do is go to the website 58.com, and check the pet sections there.  There are some people giving away cats for free, or near free.  The site is all in Chinese, so you are going to have to use Google Translate to understand it, then have a Chinese friend contact the people to ask about the pet.

Good luck.

[大枪]

裕丰花卉市场 Yù fēng huāhuì shìchǎng (Yu Feng flower market) A market that sells pets, plants, pots, sculptures, aquariums, ornaments etc. Bus 137 from Municipal square.

[Virginia9742]

Thank you guys!  Btw, you don't happen to know the pinyin for that address, do you?

[zap]

You can also buy puppies on walking street for like, 80 RMB (negotiable). You have to go at around 11:30 pm to 2 am and they are located on the small street that intersects walking street (Not sure if that was clear).

I hear that the puppies aren't 'healthy' and will contract deathly diseases within weeks of purchase. This is local information from an old girlfriend who said the most bat-shit crazy things but they have all panned out during my time here in China. This is one of the few things that has yet to prove true/false. Kinda curious now, because her accuracy has been 100% so far.

I would pay 1,800 for a laser-cat. Easily. Was it a laser-cat???

[Virginia9742]

That is a big negatory on the laser cat.  I checked out another pet shop today, which I found from Google, and they had cats at 2,000.  Are cats a luxury item or something?  There seem to be a million stray cats in Hefei...

[Aussie Mike]

If you really want a cat, which can live for 12 years then I could find one for you. Any particular colour or sex preference?

[Virginia9742]

Really?  That would be great, Mike.  I guess a cat is a cat to me, though I hope it could be a short-haired kitten  

[Aussie Mike]

Black, white, brindle, male or female, vaccinated and de-sexed or just a cat?

I'd prefer to give you a kitten and be sure it is vaccinated and de-sexed at the right times.

[Virginia9742]

Any color is OK, though I like solid colors.   I'll gladly take the cat to the vet if it's not vaccinated or de-sexed.  This is so nice of you Mike, but I don't want you to go to too much trouble!

[kaibo 开 博]

I'll kidnap one for you and it will only cost 1750 CNY which is much cheaper than the quoted price. I usually rescue them from the restaurant down the road so you can appreciate it is risky getting chased by a bunch of Chinese chefs with meat cleavers; hence, the price id due to danger money.

When I was in Wuhan 6yrs ago, a student there had a cat that cost her 7,000 CNY. I would want gold claws, a diamond studded collar and silver teeth for that money.

A common friend had a great kitten in Hefei, until it turned into a 'tom' and started chasing kitties on the streets at night and got all beat up every week or so. He used to escape and run away every now and then -- the cat that is -- but I guess if I had to live with a master and not be allowed back on the streets I would escape and risk getting beaten as well. He was usually white after a bath but every other week he was red, white and black; on account of the fact that fighting brings blood stains on fur coats and dirty paws from rolling down the road dodging, bigger 'toms,' cars and e-bikes.

I have got a great slingshot I can loan you as well if you don't mind stunning it into submission before you bring it home. The vet's bill will be cheaper than the 1800 you were quoted anyway. You will wanna be quick though on account that it's now winter and any strays will be turning themselves in at the 'cattery' soon to escape the restaurant bounty hunters that disguise them as dogs to be sold in the local market. It's pretty hard to tell the difference once they are hanging up on a hook with the fur removed.

I actually saw a stray cat this morning swimming after small waterfowl in the canal down by the west-end of town. I raced down to the water's edge but it just climbed out before I could take a picture. That is a true story in fact and happened today. Based on that, Mike can go fishing for cats down by the canal using small ducks as bait.

There you go Virginia, you have plenty of options now. Let me know if I can help anymore.

BTW: I really do like cats ... but not half as much as South-East Asian countries that prefer them in the pot.

[dsw]

I brought my two cats to China with me, and found a third while here. She was abandoned on the street because she's deaf. I got my other two in Korea under similar circumstances. There are so many kittens that are kicked out here that there is really no reason to buy one at ANY price, never mind a rip-off like that. Besides, when you pay these folks you just encourage them to engage in animal breeding which is all-too-often a harmful and disgusting industry.

[Virginia9742]

Ahhh, wait a minute!  So my roommate changed his mind, and decided he doesn't want a cat.  Grr, I'm so frustrated, but I guess no cat.

[kaibo 开 博]

Don't worry, you can become a modern day Saint Augustine and feed the strays. Mind you, it is only adding to the problem rather than fixing it. The feral cat I really did see yesterday, swimming in the canal, was a real 'moggie.' He was a wild little mongrel and was after the wildlife. Cats have taken over vast habitats in some domains and need to be culled, rather than cuddled. They also carry diseases that can perpetuate into domestic pets. A doctored cat is the only good cat in most societies. I have even considered going on a culling spree myself when the moggies start breeding because they howl and scream nightly for weeks on end when the 'kitties' are in season.

Another 'bug' that irks me in societies are unrestrained dogs. As far as I am concerned, the owners need to be slapped with massive fines. Statistically in 2006, I recall some 7,000 deaths occurred across China from dog attacks. I am talking people 'victims.' We were riding down along the river the other week through a small village; first one dog chased us, then as we rode through the village a whole pack of three or four joined in the chase. I am still infuriated by this kind of shit and wish there was something I could do before some kid gets bitten. But I can't become a vigilante. Mind you I am tempted to ride through with a big construction reinforcing-bar next time and clout the bastards on the snout. Dogs in China can be rabid as well. There is some clown in Hupuo that lets his German Shepherds run around unrestrained all the time. Every time I see them I want to tear strips off him. Once again, I have no authority and he might even set the dogs on me. But what he does is legislated against already.

I recall reading an article about the Mongol armies of the Khans, that reigned during the Yuan Dynasty. They were the most mobile armies in history before the Germans in WWII. They rode across the continents in massive mobs and with them ran thousands of mastiffs. In case you don't know, they can be fierce dogs and unrelenting in attack mode. I can't imagine the horror of an army that set the marauding dogs on the villagers in those days.

It is just as well Chinese municipalities do have dog laws but equally so, there should be cat laws. The problems are the owners. Dogs are easier to control than cats. Feral cats across this city, although assisting to keep rats down, are mangy vermin and need some culling. Anyway that's my bitch for the day.