Those poor cats on display at PetSmart

First off I should say that they're lucky in some ways, because if they're in PetSmart that means they're up for adoption and hopefully someone will give them a home soon. Also, I have to give my local PetSmart credit -- not only do they run a better store than my local PetCo, but the cat area is always clean, the cats always have toys, food and water, and the store is very active in working with local rescue groups to get pets adopted. The individual cat sections are pretty roomy as far as those things go, and during the warmer months the have adoption days at least once or twice a month, so credit to them.

But the reason I'm making this thread is that, when I was checking out at PetSmart, the cashier girl asked me about my cat, so I pulled out my iPhone and showed her some photos. In between "Awww" and "He's so cute!" I told her what a brat he can be, then jokingly asked her if I could put him in one of their in-store cages for a week and bring a stray home.

Kind of like Mel Brooks in that old movie "Life Stinks" where he's a millionaire who completely changes his attitude after living a week on the streets as a homeless man.

Don't get me wrong, I love Bud. I love him so much. He's an awesome, friendly little guy and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

But trade him for one week, so he realizes how lucky he is? Sure! I'm half-joking here, but Bud has known nothing but love and warmth. He was with his mom and littermates, then I adopted him, and since I work from home 90% of the time, Bud gets all the attention and play time he wants. He literally sleeps on top of me at night, he gets expensive, high-quality food, and he has more toys than some kids do.

Sometimes that manifests as extreme brattiness, and sometimes I wish I could bring him to a shelter one day, walk him through, and say, "See? THIS is what other cats have to deal with. You have no idea how lucky you are..."

Is that crazy?

I used to have to go up to Petsmart for my girls food. There were a few long-time cats there that always made me sad.  I think the kennels were a bit larger than the ones at the shelter.  I often saw someone in with them with different doors open so the cats could come out and there are always people from the rescues behind their counter; at least one the weekends. They had things for the cats to climb on and play with in the small area behind the kennels too.  There are 2-3 rescues that have cats there. I'm not sure how many dog rescues.  The dog room is the harder one to go in.  The cats mostly seem content or asleep; but the dogs room is SO loud!  My kids don't like it because you can hardly hear yourself think over all the barking.  I still feel bad skipping it or not spending much time in there.  Its just overwhelming.  

We picked up one of my Mom's cats there. We had met her a few days prior when Mom was adopting a kitten from the shelter.  Neither Mom nor I could get her out of our minds.  So Saturday morning before they even opened she called the shelter to see if she was still there.  They said she was; but when we got there her kennel was empty!  I almost panicked; but it turned out they had brought her to PetSmart for a turn in the adoption center there.  We were able to do the paperwork while at the shelter and just go pick her up.  I had gotten married and moved out a few months prior; but I wasn't about to miss it.    So that was 13 1/2 years ago.  That cat has had issues with peeing around the house starting a month or two after we brought her home.  Mom has mostly figured it out.  Accidents are much more isolated; but she sure didn't find answers overnight!  Bunny is going on 16 or so now and starting to look a little old but she has a LOT to say and shes still has that sweet loving with a side of feisty personality she had back then.    My mother is her 3rd owner and she spent a few months there waiting for us. So who knows if her shelter time brought out any extra sweet side. She was rubbing on my hand through the bars of her kennel at the shelter when I met her.  Ironically; Mooch and Noodles were in that same kennel when DH and I adopted them a year and a half later.

Plan said:

Is that crazy?

Click to expand...

Yep, that's crazy.



I think all cats have an innate sense of their own divinity, no matter what their background.

Mine are all either former feral or rescues. Some of them were in an awful state when I found them. Skinny, full of worms and fleas, infected sores, a mouth full of festering teeth, eyes crusted shut so they were blind. Didn't make the slightest bit of difference. As soon as I brought them in and got them healthy they all went,

"Finally! Someone who understands how special I am."

Now they turn their noses up at anything except their favourite foods, have taken over my bed and have as much cat furniture as we have people furniture.

Oh, and I spent all my saving on a house with a huge back yard and put a cat-proof fence around it so they would be safe. And they spend every waking moment trying to figure out a way over that cat-proof fence.

They all have that same sense of entitlement, it's just part of being a cat.

Just accept your place in the great order of things @Plan

 

I used to volunteer with a humane society that kept cats in the cat room at petsmart. We had strict rules for the cats, all of whom usually lived in foster homes because we didn't have have an physical shelter. Cats would be scheduled to stay in a section of the cat room for no more than 2 weeks at a time, and a volunteer came at least twice a day to clean, provide fresh food and water, and give the cats human attention. Kittens tended to do really well there because they are smaller and were kept with their litter mates and they would just play all day. Older cats that were attached to people and/or were uncomfortable being in close quarters with strange cats had a rougher time. A foster could always have the final say about whether they wanted their cat to spend time in the cat room, which was good for the cats in a way because they got more exposure than just at weekend adoptions, but it was hard to explain that to them! I didn't like putting my fosters in the cat room for very long personally, but sometimes I would if I was going to be out of town for a few days.

Plan said:

First off I should say that they're lucky in some ways, because if they're in PetSmart that means they're up for adoption and hopefully someone will give them a home soon. Also, I have to give my local PetSmart credit -- not only do they run a better store than my local PetCo, but the cat area is always clean, the cats always have toys, food and water, and the store is very active in working with local rescue groups to get pets adopted. The individual cat sections are pretty roomy as far as those things go, and during the warmer months the have adoption days at least once or twice a month, so credit to them.



But the reason I'm making this thread is that, when I was checking out at PetSmart, the cashier girl asked me about my cat, so I pulled out my iPhone and showed her some photos. In between "Awww" and "He's so cute!" I told her what a brat he can be, then jokingly asked her if I could put him in one of their in-store cages for a week and bring a stray home.



Kind of like Mel Brooks in that old movie "Life Stinks" where he's a millionaire who completely changes his attitude after living a week on the streets as a homeless man.



Don't get me wrong, I love Bud. I love him so much. He's an awesome, friendly little guy and I wouldn't trade him for the world.



But trade him for one week, so he realizes how lucky he is? Sure! I'm half-joking here, but Bud has known nothing but love and warmth. He was with his mom and littermates, then I adopted him, and since I work from home 90% of the time, Bud gets all the attention and play time he wants. He literally sleeps on top of me at night, he gets expensive, high-quality food, and he has more toys than some kids do.



Sometimes that manifests as extreme brattiness, and sometimes I wish I could bring him to a shelter one day, walk him through, and say, "See? THIS is what other cats have to deal with. You have no idea how lucky you are..."



Is that crazy?

Click to expand...

No, you're right.
I tell Cleo she's going to the pound all the time if she don't behave.

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