Quote Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy View Post
tokolosh, I seriously doubt shelters are full of cats because someone had to give them up for a good reason. Maybe a few of them, but not most.
I guess it depends how you define a good reason, really. And it probably also depends a lot on the region. The major ones here seem to be 'moving and not allowed pets' and 'cat not happy since baby was born'. Sometimes 'new work demands; can't care for it properly anymore'. The thing is, a lot of these factors really aren't as much under most people's control as it might seem. Not every move or every change in job conditions is made for selfish reasons. A lot of them aren't even 100% voluntary. For instance, the only way anyone can absolutely permanently guarantee not being in the 'have to move' position is if you owned your own freestanding, one-family house outright. That way it would be your call alone and no landlord or strata council could change the game-plan on you, and you'd never have to trade down to meet a cheaper mortgage. As for the 'new baby' thing - well, I don't know. It seems really draconian to say 'you can't ever have kids once you get a cat in case it doesn't work out', but once you're in the situation, what do you do? You can't give the baby back. Doesn't mean you didn't try to pre-think things, or that you give the cat up lightly.

I agree you have to think hard before you take on a pet. And there are a lot of 'hidden' responsibilities that you should know about and be honest about before you do it. But a lot of the time you just don't know what might be coming at you. A lot of people do do that thinking and make that decision in the best possible faith, and then find themselves gotcha'd in spite of it. These are pretty uncertain times.

To be truthful, I've never given that much thought to it. I've got different things to walk around 'just not getting' most of the time But I'm a bit surprised at the hostility towards people whose pets end up in a shelter. I would have thought if you do have to let a pet go, that would be the most responsible option around and might even deserve a shred of credit. I wouldn't trust myself more than I'd trust the SPCA to screen out potentially unqualified adopters for instance, and it sure beats just dumping them.