It’s possible to make a less than optimum choice for our particular circumstances. That is why I put so much emphasis on understanding any present multiple cat dynamics and the important traits of the different cat types.
But there are relatively few cats who cannot be made into good pets.
see more crazy cat pics
The chances of bringing home a “bad seed” are tiny when we seek adoption from shelters where cats are allowed to mingle, play, be socialized, and evaluated. The shelter workers see how each cat handles humans, other cats, and dogs. This lets them make useful recommendations to guide people to the kind of cat they are seeking.
Unfortunately, not every shelter situation is an enlightened one. If our local shelter is the type which simply puts the cat in a cage for a specified time period before euthanizing them, we will get little in the way of guidance, and the cats get little in the way of care or understanding.
So choosing under such circumstances is a double whammy; the cats are stressed and cannot display anything like their real selves, and we are under serious pressure, knowing the stakes each cat is facing as a result of our choosing.
In the long term, local influence can push for principles of No Kill Shelters, which serves the best interest of both the animals and the people who want to adopt them. Nathan J. Winograd is a leading activist in the No Kill Shelter movement, and offers proven strategies for transforming “old school” shelters, which are run with the desire to merely to sweep homeless animals off the streets and have them disposed of.
This “garbage collection” attidue is a travesty of humane goals. I am both spoiled by the No Kill approach all my local shelters have taken, and supportive of them with my independent fund raising efforts at local events.
Mr. Winograd offers an eye-opening approach to this issue that is both hopeful for the future, and frightening in its present implications. As he says:
The numbers killed are staggering. And for far too long, we have been led to believe that there is no other way.
But, in fact, killing is neither kind nor necessary, nor will it prevent animal suffering. Indeed, it is population control killing that itself is the root cause of animal suffering in our nation’s animal control shelters.
Those interested in transforming their own local shelter can explore the possibilities with this link. I am impressed with how far this movement has come, and appalled at how far it still needs to spread.
His book has just come out in a new edition:
In the short term, those seeking cats from such a shelter are welcome to explore my articles on choosing cats in shelters to help them save one.
I hope there is enough information here to jumpstart those who want to save many more.
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There’s more to choosing a cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See my CHOOSING A CAT.
