Ever thought about adopting a cat? This week we welcome special guest contributor Mary Nielsen, founder of Felineliving.net. Below she shares her thoughts and some helpful tips on why cat adoption may be just right for you!
This is Harold, a good friend of the crew here at Cats vs Cancer. He also thinks you should adopt a cat.
There’s a Cat For Everyone Willing to Adopt!
By Mary Nielsen
Would you like to have a cuddly and cute Ragdoll or fluffy and refined Persian to sit in your lap and look at you with glowing eyes? Or maybe you’d like a more active cat to play games with like a frisky Maine coon cat or a sleek Siamese. Cats are wondrous animals with a lot of love to give. If you would like to be a caring pet parent for a cat in need, please consider adopting one from your local animal shelter.
Do you want to tacitly protest the existence of kitten mills? There’s a cat for that!
The mills that breed purebred cats often result in mistreated, unsociable animals and unhealthy kittens. Adopting is not only the most compassionate choice; it’s not at all expensive. There is a ubiquitous fallacy that purebreds surpass mixed-breeds in quality. However, the truth of the matter is cats of blended heritage tend to be hardier and healthier than purebreds.
Do you want a healthy pet? There’s a cat for that!
It is a well established fact that cats are healthier in shelters than they’d be on the street. Where a pet cat’s life expectancy is an average of 15 years or more, a feral cat will be lucky if they get five. When a shelter takes in a cat, their first priority is to screen for illness or injury and find a way to cure the ailment. The cats at these shelters receive full time veterinary care plus volunteers to make sure they have no parasites, are groomed well, and properly socialized. Many shelters will as a public service provide assistance and information on animal care.
Do you want an obedient pet? There’s even a cat for that!
It’s hardly ever that a cat is given to a shelter because of a perceived defect. It could be that the owner requested that their cat be re-homed due to a change in living conditions, such as downsizing at work or a sudden illness. In any case, it is unimportant why the animal is in a shelter. Remember, there are no bad cats, only bad owners. The shelter volunteers will work one on one with the new kitties to learn what challenges they face, if any, and brainstorm the best solutions.
There’s a cat for just about everything!
Everyone’s favorite thing about being a cat owner is watching them grow from a minute kitten and personally training them. If you want this then shelters are not short on kittens. If unspayed and left to her own devices, one cat and her offspring could produce 420,000 kittens in just seven years! It’s hoped that you will take notice that senior animals need homes as well. If you’d like a cat who’s already been trained and is ready to quietly relish the twilight years with you, maybe the older cat is best.
If you’d like to peruse more reasons, please take a few minutes to read the following infographic.
