I've been volunteering at a no kill cat shelter now for four months. During this time I have met so many wonderful feline souls it's crazy!
A lot of the cats at the shelter have been abandoned. You can tell the ones that came from homes because they greet you when you enter a room and hover around you waiting for a pet. Some of them are pure love and you can hold them while they purr like crazy.
At first I was a bit apprehensive being around so many strange cats. I thought there would be a good chance that I'd get bit or scratched, but I was wrong. They all live in separate rooms based on their condition. There's a room for diabetes, FIV, FeLV, urinary problems etc. I have yet to meet a single aggressive cat at the shelter and have never been hissed at!
It is absolutely heart breaking to see how many wonderful, sweet, friendly, loving, smart and amazing creatures have just been tossed aside like a piece of garbage! People would never do that to other humans in our society, or at least - when we do, we are usually jailed for such behaviour!
When I was a kid we had a lovely white cat that we got as a kitten. He had different colored eyes, one blue and one green. He was a farm cat and did not adapt well when we brought him to the suburbs. He remained an outdoor cat, but he stayed away from home for long periods of time. He was very difficult to catch, and in many ways behaved like a feral cat. He used to howl to go outside.
We decided to move away from that town and on moving day we couldn't find him. We looked everywhere. So we left him there. I was eight years old. There was nothing I could do about it. My family made it seem like what they did was fine, that he would be ok. He'd survive. But sadly, he probably didn't make it. What happened to him when it was winter? Maybe some kind soul took him in. Or maybe he was sent to a shelter and killed.
This sort of thing happens every day. I just feel so sorry for cats at the shelter. Some of them do really well, and are quite happy and sociable. Others look rather sad. Some just look like they really need to spend a few hours cuddling or falling asleep on your lap. In all fairness, they probably get more attention and love than they would get at many homes.
Most people take care of their cats in that they provide food and water, and litter. But most people don't worry about what kind of food their cat eats, whether it gets enough water or wet food, they don't bother to clean the litter very often and aren't home enough to really spend time with their cat.
Most people treat their cats like furry animate furniture. Nice to look at and pet now and again, but don't really take the time to actually get to know them and find out what makes them tick. What makes them happy. A lot of cats just sit in the house doing nothing all day all by themselves. It's really sad.
At the shelter life is at least slightly interesting. They all have their own beds and pillows to rest on, they get fed at the same time each day, their litter is cleaned twice a day, they get fresh water twice a day. Twice a day a team of volunteers arrive who love to spend time talking to them and petting them.
I worry about what happens to some of these guys who get adopted. Do they end up having good lives? People should be really serious and committed when they decide to bring a pet home. And by all means, they should only get cats from shelters!
One of the advantages of getting a cat from a shelter is that many other people have taken the time to get to know these cats so it's a lot easier to match a person to a cat. For instance, a family with kids would probably want a lively sociable cat that is extremely tolerant. Where as an older single person might be better suited to a more quiet and laid back cat that likes to relax on your lap.
Either way, my heart breaks a little bit more each time I go and I get to know them all a little bit more. I realize how completely unappreciated these guys are and much they could totally enrich so many peoples lives (well, they already do - but it would be nicer for them to be in an actual home!).
A lot of the cats at the shelter have been abandoned. You can tell the ones that came from homes because they greet you when you enter a room and hover around you waiting for a pet. Some of them are pure love and you can hold them while they purr like crazy.
At first I was a bit apprehensive being around so many strange cats. I thought there would be a good chance that I'd get bit or scratched, but I was wrong. They all live in separate rooms based on their condition. There's a room for diabetes, FIV, FeLV, urinary problems etc. I have yet to meet a single aggressive cat at the shelter and have never been hissed at!
It is absolutely heart breaking to see how many wonderful, sweet, friendly, loving, smart and amazing creatures have just been tossed aside like a piece of garbage! People would never do that to other humans in our society, or at least - when we do, we are usually jailed for such behaviour!
When I was a kid we had a lovely white cat that we got as a kitten. He had different colored eyes, one blue and one green. He was a farm cat and did not adapt well when we brought him to the suburbs. He remained an outdoor cat, but he stayed away from home for long periods of time. He was very difficult to catch, and in many ways behaved like a feral cat. He used to howl to go outside.
We decided to move away from that town and on moving day we couldn't find him. We looked everywhere. So we left him there. I was eight years old. There was nothing I could do about it. My family made it seem like what they did was fine, that he would be ok. He'd survive. But sadly, he probably didn't make it. What happened to him when it was winter? Maybe some kind soul took him in. Or maybe he was sent to a shelter and killed.
This sort of thing happens every day. I just feel so sorry for cats at the shelter. Some of them do really well, and are quite happy and sociable. Others look rather sad. Some just look like they really need to spend a few hours cuddling or falling asleep on your lap. In all fairness, they probably get more attention and love than they would get at many homes.
Most people take care of their cats in that they provide food and water, and litter. But most people don't worry about what kind of food their cat eats, whether it gets enough water or wet food, they don't bother to clean the litter very often and aren't home enough to really spend time with their cat.
Most people treat their cats like furry animate furniture. Nice to look at and pet now and again, but don't really take the time to actually get to know them and find out what makes them tick. What makes them happy. A lot of cats just sit in the house doing nothing all day all by themselves. It's really sad.
At the shelter life is at least slightly interesting. They all have their own beds and pillows to rest on, they get fed at the same time each day, their litter is cleaned twice a day, they get fresh water twice a day. Twice a day a team of volunteers arrive who love to spend time talking to them and petting them.
I worry about what happens to some of these guys who get adopted. Do they end up having good lives? People should be really serious and committed when they decide to bring a pet home. And by all means, they should only get cats from shelters!
One of the advantages of getting a cat from a shelter is that many other people have taken the time to get to know these cats so it's a lot easier to match a person to a cat. For instance, a family with kids would probably want a lively sociable cat that is extremely tolerant. Where as an older single person might be better suited to a more quiet and laid back cat that likes to relax on your lap.
Either way, my heart breaks a little bit more each time I go and I get to know them all a little bit more. I realize how completely unappreciated these guys are and much they could totally enrich so many peoples lives (well, they already do - but it would be nicer for them to be in an actual home!).
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