Female, moggie rescue cat grew up to be as big as a big Maine Coon

This female, grey tabby, rescue cat looks a little like a big Maine Coon both in their strong, square muzzle and overall size at 17 pounds. She is a random-bred rescue cat. She was found in poor health but flourished in a great home where she is loved to become a monster!

Female rescue cat. A moggie who is loved and who weighs a reported 17 pounds but it looks more! Image: Quora.com.

She was trapped in July 2021 in the US with her three siblings. She's named Florence. They were living under a trailer in Fletcher. They had the usual URIs and were generally ill. They never thought she'd grow up to be so huge. She is adored.

There are some really large moggies out there. But it is rare to see a female this large. Very rare I'd say. I think she is the largest female moggie I have seen.

This is her when she was found:

Image: Quora.com.

No-brainer for pet stores to be banned from selling commercially-bred cats and dogs

There are several jurisdictions in the United States where pet stores have been banned from selling cats and dogs bred in puppy mills which means breeding establishments where they have inadequate standards of animal welfare and where commercial profit trumps the welfare of the animals.

Puppies at a puppy mill in Tennessee. Image: Humane Soc.

And in these jurisdictions pet stores can adopt out shelter animals with whom they work in partnership. That is my understanding of the aim of another jurisdiction namely the state of Michigan which is debating a new bill called HB 4838 which would ban the retail sale of commercially-bred animals in pet stores.

California enacted a similar law in 2017 and they were the first state to ban such sales according to the Associated Press. Other states followed such as Maryland which banned the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores. This caused a pushback from pet store owners of course and the breeders who supplied them. They challenged the measure in court.

Illinois followed along the same lines a year later. And New York band pet stores from selling cats, dogs and rabbits near the end of 2022.

Clarification needed

I am reading some reporting which appears to be misleading. These laws are meant to allow pet stores to adopt out rescue animals but not sell commercially-bred animals.

But some news outlets such as the Huron Daily Tribune state that there will be a ban on the sale of cats and dogs at pet shops. This appears to be an absolute ban. And it implies that you will be unable to adopt a cat or dog at a pet store in Michigan when the law is in force.

However, the bill's title states that there will be a requirement in pet shops for them to sell only certain animals. That comes direct from the bill itself.

So, my understanding of this is that pet stores will be able to sell some animals but not commercially bred cats and dogs (and rabbits) and they will be able to adopt out rescue animals. When a customer wants to adopt a rescue animal from a pet store, they will have to pay a fee of some sort I expect. This is not strictly speaking a purchase but it would be an adoption fee as I understand it.

No-brainer from animal welfare standpoint

I would like to see clearer reporting on this to be honest. But the concept is a no-brainer as I stated in the title. Why is it they no-brainer? Because of the obvious reason that there are too many unwanted cats and dogs in America in many jurisdictions where they are in shelters and where some of them will be euthanised because they cannot find a person to adopt them. These will be healthy animals. So, it's killing not euthanasia.

To be killing animals in one place i.e. shelters and then selling the same species of animal in another place i.e. pet shops is simply untenable and it is certainly unethical. That's why HB 4838 is a good bill and I would expect it to become law which is planned for July 1, 2025.

I also believe the law will refer to rabbits as well by the way. The Huron Daily Tribune also quotes a part of this bill which apparently states the following: "Beginning July 1, 2025, a pet shop shall not sell, adopt, exchange, or transfer, or offer for sale, adoption, exchange, or transfer, a dog, cat, or rabbit."

That confuses me as well because it's stating that a person coming into a pet store after the bill has become law would not be able to adopt a rescue cat or dog or rabbit from the store when this is the whole purpose of the bill.

If someone can clarify that then please do so in a comment.

It works

Here is a comment by Nathan Winograd:

Such laws do three things:

1. Encourage people to adopt/rescue;
2. Educate the community about dog and cat (and rabbit) abuse in mills;
3. Stop that abuse.

And they work. Thanks to the passage of these laws nationwide, the number of commercial breeders in the U.S. has declined by 30%, and “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business.”

What is a "complex needs" rescue cat?

I think the phrase "complex needs" is sometimes misleading and it can be off-putting. This is because the needs might not be complex if you know what you are doing. And I'm prompted to say just that after reading the story of Mylo, a medium-longhaired tuxedo cat who was in foster care at Cats Protection for a year. His complex needs related to his diabetes. Apparently he contracted diabetes because of neglect by his previous owner. A single disease is not really complex, is it? Perhaps the better phrase is 'special needs' which relates to deaf and blind cats and cats with other disabilities.

Mylo. Photo: Cats Protection or Sandra.

Cats Protection brought him back to health but it seems that they were unable to cure his diabetes. And I think the outcome is very nice. Sandra was caring for a 13-year-old deaf Highland terrier with diabetes. She knew the ropes. She was not daunted by the prospect of adopting a diabetic cat requiring daily insulin injections.

RELATED: Can feline diabetes be reversed?

She was an ideal candidate but for the fact that she had a dog. However, she made it clear to Cats Protection that her dog is very good with cats and so the adoption went ahead. And everybody is pleased that it did because they get on very well.

And here's the deal: Sandra does not find it difficult to give Mylo his jab. She summarises it very sweetly as follows:

"I wouldn’t hesitate to take on another cat with special needs – it’s so rewarding, and really, no extra work once you get into a routine. While my morning toast is browning and my coffee brewing, I give Mylo his breakfast and draw up his insulin. When the toast pops up, I shake a bag of well-known cat treats and Mylo jumps up for his insulin then eats his treat – job done."

I have some posts on diabetic cats and in particular administering insulin on a daily basis, on of which was written by a visitor. People who have to care for a diabetic cat or who are thinking of doing so might find it useful and interesting. The link to the page is below.

Cat diabetes – home treatment – first hand experience.

Sue Hocknell of Cats Protection is delighted to see Mylo settled in his new home. In fact, she said that she would have adopted Mylo herself if it wasn't for her other cats because he has such a nice character. She believed that she needed to find an experienced cat caregiver. She was successful. That's why it took a bit longer.

Sandra is a retired nurse which certainly helps.

Source: lichfieldlive.co.uk.