Shelter Cats Come in All Personalities
Hanging out with shelter cats is bittersweet. They are a pleasure to be around, but I wish I could give them all a home. Each one has a unique personality, a story as to why they ended up in the shelter, and a need for a home. Post is sponsored by Purina Cat Chow, but all opinions are my own.
Getting to know Some Shelter Cats
Cats are known to have big personalities. It can be somewhat easy to see which dominating traits they have right away.
I love the way South Suburban Humane Society has their cat rooms set up. They have a couple rooms with cats in cages because they require separation.
Then, they have a few rooms where the cats can roam freely. They have beds, toys, and the run of the room. This was so refreshing to see because I had only ever seen shelter cats in cages.
Upon entering the rooms, you could tell which cats were extra friendly and craving human attention, and which ones that needed a little more warming up time.
This is great for people looking to adopt because you can get a good idea about the cats to see who would make the best fit for your home.
For example, take Portia. She’s clearly the queen of the room. She makes it known right away that you may pet her, but only on her terms.
Also, she rules the other cats, and just straight regulates the room. Knowing this, she might be better off in a home as the only cat.
Then there were the cats that you could tell were not all that social. Jay Leno was completely content to sit in the cabinet.
He didn’t seem stressed or scared, just would rather hang out alone. That’s fine. He would most likely love a quiet home without a lot of traffic.
Another cat was Kindle, who remained in the corner during our entire visit. We wanted to scoop him up and hug him because he looked so depressed. We would never do that, of course — it’s important to respect the cats’ space and read their social cues.
This cat needs a loving and quiet home to remind him that people are friends, and that he doesn’t need to be afraid. He wasn’t hostile, just never got comfortable enough to come socialize.
Eventually, Shelley was able to slowly pet him, but only briefly. Again, we didn’t want to force any interactions.
Why are Cats Surrendered?
Keep in mind that many of the shelter cats that we met were given up for reasons that were not their fault. Most were owner surrenders due to allergies, relocation, or financial reasons. They are perfectly lovable animals deserving of homes.
The open rooms at South Suburban Humane Society provide an ideal way to get to know the cats. A person who is seriously considering cat adoption should spend time getting to know the animals.
Bring the whole family to make sure everyone gets along and doesn’t have any allergies. The more you know up front can hopefully prevent a sad situation down the road if the adoption doesn’t work out. Returning the cat to the shelter is devastating to both your family and the cat.
Please consider adopting when choosing your family pet. Shelters are overcrowded.
When you choose to adopt, you free up space to save another animal. Support your local shelters, so they can continue to do the great work that they do.
The Denver Dumb Friends’s League is opening a new cat facility next month. Have to go check it out.
I will definitely have to share my rescue story. What a great idea! Way to go Purina!
These cats are so cute! They for sure deserve a loving family and hope they all find one soon. We have a cat we rescued over a year ago, he is quite the curious cat, always getting into everything, but we love.
These cats are so cute! I love cats and have had one just about all my life. I think that everyone should help out the local animal shelter and help rescue a cat. This is how i got my sweet kitty now!
This is such a great article! We always adopt our pets from local shelters and always encourage others to do so too!
Thank you Tiffany!!! That’s great that you do that!
Out dog is from a shelter and I would never have gotten a dog from any other place.
That’s how we will be from now on. Our first dog was from a breeder, but I know so much more now. Rescue from now on.
Our cat came from a shelter. And he definitely has a unique personality. He is the sweetest thing though and so good with our family.
They are funny guys for sure! All pets have their own personalities. You have to get to know them just like people!
We volunteer at the local shelter. Sabrina, 12, isn’t quite old enough yet so she spends a lot of time in the Cat Cabin (As it’s called) giving extra love to the cats on feature for adoption.
That’s so awesome!!! Awe, I love that — the Cat Cabin. 🙂
Aww, this makes me want to head to the shelter and adopt all these adorable cats! If only it was possible!
Me too, Amy. I want my own rescue one day!!!
The shelters and rescues are so full and it’s so sad to hear people going out and “buying” pets. It’s so important to adopt, the cost is no different (in fact, it might even be better to adopt financially). It takes a lot of advoating and support to get animals adopted out.
The last time I stopped in a pet store I was FLOORED by the prices. Saving a creature is much more rewarding for sure!
I have never picked a cat from a shelter. I have always just gotten mine from friends. There are so many animals that don’t have homes.
There really are. It’s never hard to find a kitten, that’s for sure.
I miss my kitty! I cannot wait to be in a new house to adopt a new babe.
Awe!!! Do it!! 🙂
Shelter cats make the best pets. They usually come fixed and with all their shots for way less then it would cost you to get a free kitten and have to pay for everything yourself.
YEP! That’s so true. Great points, Tammy.
My Daughter did her community hours for school at our local shelter. There are so many great pets that need a forever home. Everyone should check out a shelter before buying a pet.
I agree. This project has opened my eyes even more! There are just too many homeless pets.
I always want to give them all a home too – cats and dogs! Every pet deserves a good home where they can be wonderfully spoiled!
Wow, what an awesome way to interact with them before adopting. This makes it soo much easier to choose the right fit for your home.
Really adorable cats! I hope they all find their forever homes very soon! Rescuing animals is always the best way to go.
My girls keep asking if we can get a cat. We’ll definitely be visiting our local shelter when the time is right.
I have two shelter cats of my own. We adopted them about 2 weeks apart. They are both boys and about the same age. I love my kitty cats!
Thanks for the share. My friend loves cats. I will make sure I share this with her.
We rescued a shelter cat and he’s just about the sweetest cat in the world! Saving shelter cats from being put down is a noble cause!
Where I come from in New York our kids had to do certain amount of volunteer time before they can get their diplomas. 2 of my girls worked in a shelter. So important and taught them so much. This is definitely a campaign worth all of our time 🙂
Awww what sweet kitties! I wish more people would reach out more to shelters it would help animals so much especially cats.
Shelters are the first place people should go to get their pets. Why breed more animals in mills when we can’t keep up with all the throw-away pets at shelters? Thanks for the post!
My cat is a rescue, he’s five years old now!