Convincing People to Adopt Adult Cats...

When we first lost Squirt, we let all of the shelters know in case he was brought in. we also visited a couple of "unofficial" shelters - people who have made it their life to rescue animals and have built barns and shelters to accommodate them. What an eye opener! After visiting one that has over 300 cats and 40 kittens, I swear I will never adopt a kitten again. Some people at work are talking about adopting a cat after the holidays and I have offered to take them to this shelter to have a look and I am always educating them as to the benefits of adopting an older cat.

Lori, Rick, Shadow and Squirt

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Please don't shoot me.

I understand completely why adult cats are good adoptee's. I understand the benefits to adopting an older cat. BUT.....

While on my search for my kitty, I went to a local shelter to view their kitties. They had 6 that were available, and all were older cats. I was approached by this big beautiful black male cat, who won my heart. He was personable, he was gorgeous, and he was huge (I like bigger cats).

The reason I did not adopt him: He was 10yrs old. That's 10yrs of his life that I would not be able to experience. That is 10yrs less, that I would be able to own him

I was sad to not adopt him, but I wanted a kitty that I could potentially have for 20yrs... not one that would only give me 5-10yrs. I wanted a long term companion.

It is for those reasons, that I was looking for a cat aged 2yrs old or younger. I might have even taken a 3 yr old. But not a 10yr old, a kitty who is done half of its life already, a kitty who is firmly set in his/her ways.

I'm not being mean, or rude, and I HOPE my words do NOT come out seeming that way. I just wanted to explain my reasonings for wanting a younger cat rather than one who is 5yrs +.

It may be a reason others have as well.

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Here is one of my experiences, as I have adopted one cat under the age of 10, but she ultimately was the reason I haven't adopted one under that age since, and probably wont. Yes, you dont get as long with them, but as this tale proves, there are no guarantees either way. When I lost my first cat (a 14yo), I went to the local cat rescue for another companion, and the only adoptable cat they had was a 5yo, so I adopted her, even though i was swaying towards oldies then anyway, I decided she could be the cat I had for years and to help me with the loss of the oldies. Then the week after, the chance of an oldie came up, so I got him too, giving me a 5yo and an 11yo. After 8 months, the 5yo became poorly with suspected FIP, and within 2 weeks, I had to let her go. The 11yo had 4 years and 1 month with me, so he was the cat that got me through lots of losses, including hers.

My current two cats are a 16yo who I Took on 3 years ago as we thought she was coming towards the end - she was just depressed and a home environment was the best thing we did for her. My other is an 18.5yo who was taken to the rescue with suspected liver issues so no one wanted her, I offered to foster her, and 15 months later, she is still here, longer than my 5yo and longer than some of the cats I have adopted that were younger than her.

This is why I pretend not to know how old my foster kitty, Princess is. She's about 10 yrs old, not that you'd know it by watching her. She POPS. That's the only way I can describe it, she's just a poppy cat lol

I don't know...to me it seems selfish to pass up a cat based on age. Princess probably has a good 10 yrs left, if not more. Some cats live well into their twenties. You can hope anyway

I know I'll never adopt a dog under the age of 2 again. I've never adopt a cat though, they usually end up finding me haha

You know, to me, a cat out of the shelter is a cat out of the shelter. I was in last night for a meeting and snuggled with "Sandy" a 9 month old and then realised we got her at 12 weeks and she is still at the shelter and it is sad to see the kittens growing up at the shelter instead of in homes - they just aren't getting snapped up like they used to be. So if someone is adopting ANY aged cat or kitten from the shelter - its better than them going to a petstore and getting a BYB kitten

Originally Posted by ilovecats4ever

It seems like anyone I talk to, that is considering adopting a cat, wants a kitten. I know kittens are so adorable but so are adult cats, I get so angry when people say I want a kitten, I guess I just think of how sad it is that so many adults get passed up. I adopted Coffy from a shelter 7 years ago and he was estimated to be about 2 years old at the time, he has been a dream cat, I LOVE this cat so much. I love my cats like I love my two children, they are my children.

On Thanksgiving I was talking to a family friend who lives alone and is older, he was saying how he was thinking of getting a kitty to keep him company, I spent over an hour telling him how he should get an adult because everyone wants the kittens, he saw my point and said he never thought about that, I told him how the adults are sitting in the cages so sad and alone and how if he wants a kitten too, then get one for the adult to have for a companion. I plan on trying to convince people to give the adults a chance, the kittens most likely will get adopted right away over the adults.

I am going today to look at an adult cat and hope she likes us, I will have such a hard time with all the other ones there. Please tell your family to go out and and adopt an adult cat today

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I only adopt adult cats.. Kittens are too much work and too much to deal with.. Adults are over that crazy stage and scratching and biting stage.. People really should adopt adults for the sheer factor it's much easier! and a better transition for the adults, cuz they know they are being saved and all the more thankful for it!

I would adopt any age too. There are no guarantees, Ny last 2 only lived till 7. My prior 2lived to be 15-16. You never know. All cats are wonderful.

I think it is useful here to inform people the grown up cat WILL bond, attach to them. Thus it is not necessary at all with a kitten to bond with the human.

If you are nice to the cat, it will bond, sooner or later. And if the cat had it rough - it will bond still harder then most bought kittens do.



Btw. Adopting a cat from a shelter / rescue group you do de facto save 2 cats: the cat you did adopted, and also leaving place in the shelter for some another homeless cat waiting in queue for a place in the shelter.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I have seen senior citizens (as in people) in shelters trying to adopt kittens, and you know that the kitten will outlive them. We always try to steer these adoptors to cats of an age that matches them.

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I wonder though, if it's not a bit of a two-edged sword. If they adopt a 10-year-old cat they do have a much better chance of outliving it, but at the same time if they keel over in five years their 15-year-old cat will probably be considered too old to adopt and PTS by a shelter. A 5-year-old would have a much better chance of re-adoption. Maybe the 'responsible' thing would be for them not to get a pet at all at that age, but then that would probably mean one more cat getting put to sleep without getting his own home, even if it is for just a few years.

As for the original topic, I think people mostly wanting to adopt kittens is only a small part of the problem. If everyone who adopted a kitten would then have it spayed and provide a loving home for the next 20 years or so, it would be fine. The problem is a large percentage of these idiots won't get their cat spayed, they'll dump her on the side of the highway when she's not cute anymore, and the next thing you know you have an adult cat and quite possibly a litter of kittens back in the shelter. If people took proper care of the kittens they adopt, there would be a lot fewer adult cats in the shelters.

When I was looking for a cat I knew for sure that I didn't want a kitten. Cozmik is 9 months so he's more of a teen, but people don't seem to adopt them either.

I'm a 'cat' fan too. I'm looking forward to when I get my own place adopting a few older cats. I've only ever owned Persians & Exotics before but I would love to give a Domestic a home - I also prefer older dogs to puppies.

My family has been big fans of the adopt an adult cat method for years.

Our last 2 family pets came from the local HS. Gracie (who passed about 3 years ago) and the current family cat Midori.

We've become a big fan of spayed multi-color females. Both ours were 4 years old a the time of adoption. Far from desireable kitten stage, but you can easilly have 10 years of good companionship.

When I worked reception at the Animal Hospital, I always used to recommend that to clients who aksed about obtaining new pets. I got kind of dismayed by the number of people who only wanted kittens.

The pluses of adult cat adoption are many, less training, and if you know cats you can get a better judge of the personality of the cat you are getting whether you want a lap lion, a sofa sphinx or an active vocal kitty. With kittens beyond the influence of good training (which is a lot of work) its kind of pot luck what kind of cat you wind up with.