Thoughts On Senior Pets And Adoption

[lizbud]

I must admit that I am one who has always looked at younger animals for adoption, but
this article certainly gives me a lot of food for thought.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/pet-adopters-urged-needy-animals-19960792?singlePage=true

[Karen]

It makes me think of Valerie and Dasher!

[Grace]

That's a wonderful article, liz. Thanks so much for sharing it.

We're down to 4 cats from 6 a year ago. All of them are "seniors" - ages 9, 10, 11, 12. We've talked about what we might do when they are all gone - and decided if we are still here and able to care for a pet, we would adopt a senior cat. Over the years we've had our share of kittens - now it's time to love an older one :)

[pomtzu]

That's a wonderful article, liz. Thanks so much for sharing it.

We're down to 4 cats from 6 a year ago. All of them are "seniors" - ages 9, 10, 11, 12. We've talked about what we might do when they are all gone - and decided if we are still here and able to care for a pet, we would adopt a senior cat. Over the years we've had our share of kittens - now it's time to love an older one :)

My RB Meezer Ming lived to the ripe and ornery old age of 20! :love::eek: You've still got a long way to go with your "babies", Gretchen! :D

[Taz_Zoee]

I am all for adopting a senior pet. But my BF thinks it's not a good idea. More vet costs and you wouldn't have it as long as a younger animal.
Well, we shall see what happens the next time I am ready to adopt. But that won't happen any time soon. The four I have now are fairly young. Zoee is the oldest at 8 1/2.

[phesina]

My Poppaea (aka Princess Poppaea Sabina Eugenia) is more than 20 years old!

She keeps on plugging along..
56964

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[cassiesmom]

This thread reminds me of Moosmom and her senior kitties, and of Yodee and Slick :love: :love:

Hello, Princess Poppaea Sabina Eugenia! You are looking very regal and wonderful!

[Lady's Human]

When we adopted Angel there were 2 beagles in the shelter, George and Gracie, who were in their teens.

They were such sweethearts, but a house with 2 young children isn't he place for them.

I asked about them when I went to drop off some things for the shelter, and they had been adopted. An elderly gentleman (gentleman in every sense of the word, at least relating to pets!) visits the shelter on occasion, and if they have senior pets for adoption and he has room, he adopts them to make sure their time left is spent in a loving home.

[Alysser]

I honestly have turned a shoulder to it before. One reason, my parents refused to adopt a dog older than 3 at the time we got Mikey because they didn't want to deal with the heart break. But in the future I sure wouldn't mind giving some deserving seniors a home for their golden years.

[Karen]

When we adopted Angel there were 2 beagles in the shelter, George and Gracie, who were in their teens.

They were such sweethearts, but a house with 2 young children isn't he place for them.

I asked about them when I went to drop off some things for the shelter, and they had been adopted. An elderly gentleman (gentleman in every sense of the word, at least relating to pets!) visits the shelter on occasion, and if they have senior pets for adoption and he has room, he adopts them to make sure their time left is spent in a loving home.

Awww, that's good! If you see him again, tell him all of Pet Talk says thanks!

[phesina]

This thread reminds me of Moosmom and her senior kitties, and of Yodee and Slick :love: :love:

Hello, Princess Poppaea Sabina Eugenia! You are looking very regal and wonderful!

The Princess is VERY talented at: just as I'm about to take the picture, clopsing her eyes! In this one, at least her right eye is still open slightly.

[redbird]

My first kitty who is now at the Bridge was only about 6-7 weeks old when I adopted her. I knew that my next kitty would not be a kitten, I wanted an older cat. Autumn was 3 yrs. old when I adopted her. They didn't have many older cats at this no-kill shelter.

I have always believed in Senior Cats having a good home. I do wish people would adopt them, they deserve a home with people who love them as much as the kittens.

[Casper]

I have the biggest soft spot for senior pets. :love: My roommate and I have already decided that when we are done moving and know we'll have a calm home (aka after Towser has gotten a tad older) we would love to adopt an older dog just so it can live out its days in a comfortable, loving home. :) Before I got Towser my original plan was to adopt a senior dog, but I know Towser was meant to be. As much as I would love to adopt a senior cat, I don't think we could easily integrate one into our family with the cats we have now... plus we are at our limit with a 5 cat household!

[Glacier]

We've adopted several senior animals. Long time members will recall Pirate, who was at least 12 when she got here, probably older. We've adopted cats up to 16 years old. My last kitten is 12 & the last real young puppy was Earle, who would have been 14 this year. Seniors are much easier to integrate into a pack! You do have to be prepared for some heartache, but there's no guarantee that a 6 week old puppy is going to get 14 years either! I've lost dogs who were as young as 4 to sudden illness. A friend lost a six month old puppy to a massive heart attack recently! I would take every one of my seniors again if I could! They were worth it.

I live with an aging zoo. All the dogs except Tehya are at least 12; all the cats are in double digits. The vet bills have not gone down even with decreasing numbers! The change has been fewer middle of night emergency calls due to fights or other youthful stupidity! Now I have more chronic conditions to manage. I hand out more than a dozen pills every day!

[Asiel]

I've taken a 7 yr old and one rescue we had was supposed to be about 6-7 yrs old but we now realize he was much older than that....the vet bills can be astronomical but as they age and develop ills but you're glad you were the one to make their last yrs happy and comfortable. Saying this I don't know if I could go through the pain of losing them so much faster that a young pup.