indescribableCats wind up in shelters for a lot of reasons, and very few of them are "because s/he was a bad cat." People lose their jobs, or move away and don't take their pets. Kids leave for college. People die. People lose the wherewithal to feed themselves, much less an extra, meowing mouth. And in all of these cases the cats, who have no idea what's going on, wind up suffering for it.
Amazing cats come from shelters. Adult cats who don't need to be trained; kittens who have all the world in front of them. Cats whose personalities are already plain when you meet them, making it so much easier to find the right cat for you. Cats who need you.
I've been very upfront about why none of my current cats are from shelters, and why my lifestyle and emotional needs are better met by reputable breeders. But if you don't fall into this category, and feel that there might be a cat-shaped hole in your life, go and take a look at your local shelter.
This post brought to you by the California Dammit Why Can't I Take Junebug Home Oh Yeah Alice Would Kill Her To Death Committee.
June 9 2012, 23:18:04 UTC 5 years ago
About two weeks ago, I went to feed our feral (an orange gentleman who has his own bachelor pad in the basement), and he escorted a half-grown lady cat to the back door.
Walked her around the corner of the building and called her up to the food.
She took one look at the door and ran in, shouting "The Inside, I've found it!."
I don't think she'd ever been outside before.
She is long-haired white kitty with mismatched eyes, who arrived immaculate, with just a little surface mess on her tail, poor thing.
Which mess matched that in the bottom of the open carrier we later found hidden in our hedge.
I'm not sure what the people who dropped her off were thinking.
I hope it was "these folks have a bunch of cats, what's one more?" rather than "puffy kitty can surely support herself real mice, because look how well she pounces her toys."
But in either case I am without words.
I think she was dropped off in the night, encountered the feral (Al Fresco) who showed her the basement, and then turned up at the door the next morning for food.
And so she didn't instead find the street, or the construction site next door, or the local occasional free-roaming dog, or ill-intentioned people.
Lucky kitty.
She didn't have to spend a lot of time lost and afraid - though I think she is still wondering who the heck we are and where her home went.
I have Very Bad Thoughts about people who drop kitties off on the street.
June 10 2012, 18:15:09 UTC 5 years ago