Adult cats at shelter

[sirrahbed]

I went to PetsMart today to pick up a few items for my kitties and as always, stopped in to visit the cats in cages who are up for adoption from the local shelter.

Today there was a beautiful female. Her name is Fluffy and the sign read that her owner had died and the remaining family did not want her. It said she would not do well with other cats, dogs or children. Fluffy was lying in her cat box and would not even move or look around. I petted the other kitties but had to keep checking on Fluffy.

Well, I keep thinking back to this pretty girl. I feel so sad that this adult who is not sociable may not be adopted. Today all the kitties were adults and most were friendly and wanted attention. Not Fluffy. She looked....depressed.

I am currently maxed out at six cats. I don't know WHY I have to go visit the cats for adoption. I know I can't adopt her or really not even more cats at all right now. This girl needs to be in an only cat home with lots of love and patience. I bet she would bloom in the home of an older person or family.

This is pointless I guess but I just keep thinking about her and others like her.

[moosmom]

Debbie,

I know exactly how you feel. I look at all the "senior" kitties at the Humane Society whose families have given up on them and it depresses the hell out of me. When my Dad died, I kept my word to my father to take care of his cat Tigger. Unfortunately, because Tigger was an only cat, he didn't get along with other cats. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful best friend who offered a furrrever home to him. He lived 3 years longer than my Dad. THAT is what I call a BEST friend.

I try to rescue "senior" kitties from the Humane Society, cats that have been given up by family members, who have been at the HS for longer than 2 months. So far I've had 100% placement success.

That's why I urge people to make arrangements in their wills for all their furkids in the event of their passing. My cats are already cared for should I outlive my furkids. My furkids have gotten me through the toughest of times so it's the least I can do. At least I know that my babies will be taken care of.

[catnapper]

Fear not, there IS A home out there for her. Remember my Minette? She was desperately in need of a home where she could be a princess and blossom on her own. It took many months but it happened! Jen's Toby Greg was much the same -- and he's doing GREAT in his new home!

It just takes a little extra time, but there are homes out there waiting for these kitties.

[Laura's Babies]

I do not understand families that will not keep the pet of their loved one who died. This loving, caring, feeling being was a friend and companion to someone they loved and was loved by them. They not only loose the human they love but end up in a cage somewhere and do not know WHY! OH! I get SO mad about this topic! My sister still has our mothers cat, saying she still has a piece of Mama as long as Boo is still alive..

[moosmom]

Laura's Babies,

I admire your sister for keeping your Mama's cat. Tigger was my last link to my Dad. When they found Dad dead in his apartment, Tigger was right by his side protecting him. He wouldn't let the medical examiner's office near my Dad's body. When Tigger died, we had him cremated and both my best friend Susie and I kept a portion of his ashes. I scattered Tigger's ashes where Dad's ashes were scattered and know that they are now together in peace.

It pisses me off too that families of people who died don't want to bother with the responsibility of their loved one's pet.

[sirrahbed]

I do not understand families that will not keep the pet of their loved one who died. This loving, caring, feeling being was a friend and companion to someone they loved and was loved by them. They not only loose the human they love but end up in a cage somewhere and do not know WHY! OH! I get SO mad about this topic! My sister still has our mothers cat, saying she still has a piece of Mama as long as Boo is still alive..

Yes, Laura - your comment really sums up what bothers me about Fluffy. Not only do I feel upset at the family who would not keep her, but at the thought that this kitty is as you say - a feeling being who looks so sad and confused. I mean - I understand why not all of my kids would be willing to keep ALL of our cats - but this is just one beautiful companion animal! Of course I have no idea why the rest of the family did not want her - but couldn't they have found a home for her and not relinquish her to the shelter?? This shelter is not no-kill I don't know how long they keep the animals but it likely depends on how many animals they have.

Donna, I am so glad that you like to foster seniors. Thank you for your comments and the assurance that you understand how I feel.

Catnapper - I hope that they find her soon and give her lots of love. At least Fluffy is being shown at PetsMart and I hope that helps her chances. The sign also says she had been fostered so I am hoping she has a loving foster home to return to.

And, I think I need to stop visiting the kitties at PetsMart.

[kuhio98]

Debbie ~ Do you or any of the other Sirrah's have friends at church that may be looking to adopt an "only"?

[Craftlady]

Our PetSmart adoption area, the animals are from a rescue group that fosters only. Man source of animals come from strays and ferals but they do get surrounders. They were ones help us out with Cindy.
They rotate the animals from fosters homes (give them a 2 week stint at PetSmart). There are two (sisters) older that must go together and everyone loves the one but the other is not social at all. I've meet the two sisters and agree one is a doll baby the other is mean. They continue to live at the foster home maybe someday they will both be adopted. The foster mom who keeps them wont split them up.
We adopted older cats through PetSmart, Thumper 2 yrs old & Eleanor was 3 yrs old. I take that "we adopted" back.... They adopted us

[carole]

Why is it that people just dont get it when it comes to animals, they do not seem to know or care that they suffer depression at the loss of a loved one, I always put myself in their place, imagine living happily with your family member then they are gone, you don't even understand why and you are put in a cage, that you are not used to , people you do not know, is it any wonder kitty is depressed, they have feelings just like you and I and it saddens and fustrates me that some people just cannot understand that.

I remember a case where this fairly well known decorater guy that did TV shows here in NZ was murdered, he left behind two dogs, the family had them PTS, and buried beside him, one was old and had many medical problems, but as for the other i am not sure, still it seemed a rather harsh thing to do,obviously no-one wanted them , very sad.

I hope with all my heart little kitty finds her furrever home and soon, and does not have to spend another miserable day alone.

[Laura's Babies]

I would have taken Mama's Kitty Boo if Sis hadn't wanted her but she was already living with my sister so I wouldn't take her away from a home where she was loved and cared for.

I agree, people just do not GET that these wonderful companions DO have feelings, they love, grieve and fear, just like we do. I found this today and posted it in Pet General

"I think some people are in need of an attitude adjustment concerning our companion animals, particularly cats and dogs. Scientific studies have shown that these animals function on the intellectual and emotional level of a 3 year-old child, yet people do things to them that they would never consider doing to their small children.

For example, good parents would never:
Let their child wander the streets unattended with no identification.

Leave their child alone in the backyard, day and night.
Abandon their child in a strange neighborhood, hoping that some kind person would take the child in and care for it.

Allow their child to promiscuously have sex with whomever passes by and become pregnant.

Fail to teach their child proper manners.

Neglect to provide their child proper medical care.

Yet many people think it's perfectly fine to do all of these things to their pet dogs and cats. If these creatures are on the same emotional and intellectual level of a 3 year-old human child, then adopting a pet is a much more serious step than people realize. You are actually becoming the pet's parent and the pet is not something to be tossed aside like a stuffed toy if the family tires of theresponsibility.

Our pets want and deserve to be a part of our family circles. And for those who feel that the world cannot exist without Fifi or Tom's offspring, consider this: For every person born, 15 dogs and 45 cats are also born. So there is no danger we will be in short supply if they spay or neuter their pet. Spaying or neutering is your duty and obligation and there are many low-cost clinics to assist you. Give the gift of life, adopt a homeless cat or dog and learn and practice responsible pet ownership. You will get so much more than you give."

-TERRI KNIGHT

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I understand you very well, Debbie!! Although my house is "no vacancy's" now, I cannot stop myself from surfing to cat-shelters, and look at the adoptable cats . I always feel so sorry for those poor ones who stay behind.... . I feel so sorry for them
I sure hope that Fluffy will find a great loving family!!

[orangemm]

I ALWAYS stop and look there.

I remember when Jeff's mom died, she left behind a cat named Fred. She had adopted him from someone else; he was her first cat and apparently had been mistreated by his first owner (not the lady she got him from). Fred hid for the first month, but finally she won him over.

We had 4 cats at the time, so we couldn't take on another. We posted ads at her church and lo and behold, a lady came forward to adopt Fred. We had quite a time rounding him up, but she managed and took Fred home.

She called us frequently to let us know Fred had settled in with her and her dog. She absolutely adored him.

About a year and a half later, she called us, crying hysterically. Fred had passed away suddenly. The vet said it could have been his heart, but who knows? She was devastated. We kept telling her she couldn't have done more for him, that he was happy with her, and that's what mattered.

It can be done. If no one had offered, I'm sure we would have managed somehow. But I think Fred was happier with her than he would have been in a multi-cat household.

I'm sure Jeff's mom would have approved, and that's what is important.

[catmandu]

Theres Nothing Sadder Than A Loving Pet,whose Owner Has Passed On.
And Nobody Wants Them.
Not Only Have They Lost Thier Furr Ever Home And Thier Best Friend,and They Dont Have The Faintest Idea Of What Happened And Why They Are Suddenly In A Cage,with Thier Loved One No Longer There.
Mr Fluffy Angel Would Have Been Like That Except I Used To Board Him,and The One Good Daughter Brought Him To Me.
The Other Daughters Took His Food,dishes And Collar And Left Him Alone In An Empty House For Four Days Until Evangaline Brought Him To Me.
She Told Her Sisters That Mr Fluffy Had Been Taken To The Shelter.
I Hope That Fluffy Can Somehow,some Way Find Another Loving Furr Ever Home.

[Lizzie]

I'm another who always goes in to see the cats at PetsMart even though I can't take in any more. Although, that's what I thought this time last year when I stopped by and ended up adopting a senior Siamese cat whose owner had become too mentally ill to take care of her. She was very, very stressed out, thin from refusing to eat much at the shelter, and initially with me, and biting me whenever I stroked her. The chaotic turn of events in her life, removal from a home she'd known for over ten years to a cage in a noisy shelter, then a cage at PetsMart, all that was apparent in her behavior. Once she was established in my home, she blossomed rapidly. Fortunately, she was a cat who didn't need to be an only cat because I couldn't have taken her if that had been the case. So, for me also, it's the seniors who need "only cat" homes that depress me because their incarceration in a shelter is so much worse for them, and their chances of a home are less.