I have volunteered at an animal rescue shelter for five years, and there is no time of the year I love more than kitten season. All of these newborn babies come in, and I’m able to assist in their nurturing so that in a few short weeks families can come and adopt them. It’s encouraging to see the joy on children faces when the family fills out the adoption forms and chooses their new family member. Kittens normally come to my shelter with a sibling or two, and it is even more satisfying to see siblings go to the same “forever home.” While this all sounds positive and joyous, there are serious aspects that must be considered before you adopt a cute little fur ball. Most people do not realize the seriousness of the commitment they are making when they fill out those adoption forms.
Far too often I walk into my shelter to see cats that are six to eight years old that have been returned for no fault of their own. People return these babies with the excuses that “I’m moving,” “both of my children became allergic at the same time,” “he’s not as small and cute as when I got him” — the list goes on. While all of these sort of garbage excuses make my blood boil, they also break my heart. All of these people willingly welcomed these cats into their life and just one day decided that they were a burden. To cats, or any animal actually, us as owners are their entire world. They know the difference between your step and your parents, they know who has the comfiest lap and when to stand by the door for when your mom comes home from work. It boggles my mind to think that while we are everything to them, some people decide that not even that is enough. I have seen so many cats that won’t eat or stop crying because of the shock they had just been through. A cat that was used to running around the whole house and being around people nonstop then goes to being in a three-by-three foot cage and only gets assorted attention during the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. I’ve seen some of these cats become bitter, become too depressed to even want to try and get re adopted. Over time they give up their hope and see that these shelter walls are all that they’ll have. Speaking that it’s a one in 10 chance that a potential adopter come up to me and ask to see older cats. There are cats that have been there since I started at the shelter 5 years ago because they were returned for no reason that was their fault.
The reason I wanted to share this is because while my favorite time of the year is coming up, it is a time to become aware. Make sure that you know you’re signing yourself up to a lifetime commitment to a cat (the longest cat lived to 38 years, but the average lifespan is 15 years). Know that you are signing up to take care of the cat when it’s sick, or that time it scratches up your favorite sofa and pees on the new rug. Cats are basically babies, they don’t always know what they doing and acting are according to instinct. You wouldn’t kick a baby out for that, so don’t treat an animal that way. Make sure that you will be able and willing to pay for expenses such as food, litter, toys and the vet bills that can quickly add up. I know it isn’t always possible, but try to have a backup plan for these animals in case you go on vacation or so on, just so they are taken care of. If a friend or family member is considering welcoming a new pet to their family this season, talk to them about it, let them know what they’re signing themselves up for. Don’t be worried that you’ll scare them off, because if you happen to scare them, they obviously weren’t ready for that sort of responsibility anyways.
If you’d like to get some hands on kitten time, but don’t find yourself ready for commitment, check out your local animal shelter! With kitten season fast approaching I know many places are under helped and they could always use the extra hand.
In case anyone was wondering, this article was inspired by a cat named Dumbledore at Last Hope and this is his page. Please check him out!
