I didn't need to be lectured!

Okay. To make a long story short, last night I handled the adoption of one of our kittens (a cute, solid gray male) to a very loving, responsible home.
The adopter was really torn about whether to adopt two kittens (we always encourage that if there are not other pets in the home and the cat or kitten will be home alone during the day), but the woman said she wasn't quite ready for two and needs to think about it, so our coordinator approved the adoption.

I emailed her this morning, saying I thought it was great adoption and, in response, I got a lengthy lecture about how we must keep the well being of any cat or kitten we adopt out in mind as the top priority. She went on to say she has, and will continue, to refuse to adopt to homes who only want one kitten and then leave them home alone all day. She also gave me a couple of examples of people who only had one cat, where the cat became aggressive and had to be PTS. She went on to say that "a good home is one where the owner thinks of the cat's wellbeing."

Well, duh! Why did she feel the need to tell me any of this? Honestly, the tone of her response was like I was being lectured. Obviously, I see the benefits of having more than one cat! I really found her reponse to be rather insulting. So, I emailed her back and told her so. Maybe I overreacted, but I don't think it's realistic to expect everyone to adopt two kittens. I have a lot of friends and family members, as well knowing people on TCS who only have one cat, and to imply those cats aren't loved and cared for is insulting. I don't really like to see a kitten home alone all day, but as long as it has plenty of toys, a cat tree, etc.. to keep it occupied and gets plenty of attention when the owner is there, why deny it a loving home?

Again, maybe I'm overreacting, but thanks for listening, anyway!

That was rather rude IMO. I've known lots of people with only one cat and the cat was/is just fine. I think I would've sent her an email telling her that same thing, only in different wording. You might get an email back telling you to not bother coming back if your that unhappy about it. Be careful.

I don't think there is anything wrong with having 1 cat. Mine will entertain herself with a toy for hours... or she'll dig something out of the toy box and come trotting out with it in her mouth. Sometimes, when I'm home all day, I think I drive her nuts, running the vacuum, washing the dishes, making a rackett up & down the stairs, etc. At 1 point, I didn't see her for an hour or so, I started to look for her, she was way back in the bedroom curled up un my pillow, half under the blanket, in front of the fan... and I went in to see what she was doing and she gave me this look like "trying to get away from you and your noise lady!"

And if I have people over, she is just exhausted the next day. Like she's missing out on her quality couch time... having to meow and entertain the guests with her adorable antics. Life is so very tough being a cat!

Wow I agree! That does seem a bit over the top. I always think its better to adopt one cat into a loving home rather than deny an adoption (or something similar) because the person wouldn't take two.

Sure, I'd rather not see cats or dogs or any animal left alone all day. But at some point we have to make concessions for our modern age. Not everyone can work at home. Not everyone can be a stay at home mom. But with the number of animals out there that need homes I can't see how it could possibly be better for an animal to stay at a shelter locked in a cage all day instead of in a house where the kitten parents have to work. (You may be a foster home instead of a shelter... but I'm just going on a generality here )

Seeing how I have only one cat, I find it to be incredibly rude. I am allergic to cats, therefore I only have one. Should I be denied the pleasure of ownership because of that? There are also members who have aggressive cats that will not tolerate living with another cat.

Give me her email address I'm just kidding

While I understand her point (my Scotty was aggressive as an only cat so I adopted Oscar and he has become the loving kitty he used to be), lecturing you about adopting one cat out to a no-pet home is ridiculous!

On those rare workdays when I'm home all day, I get the pleasure of watching my single cat sleep for the vast majority of the day. She has developed a schedule so that she is awake and playing when we are home from work in the evenings, or in the mornings before we leave.

I don't think that she sits and stares out the window all day when I'm not home, wishing she had a playmate - rather, she snoozes all day! Would having another cat make much of a difference? If anything, they'd curl up together to sleep all day!

I don't think it was right for her to lecture you like that - preaching to the choir just doesn't make that much sense to me.

I find the e-mail she sent you absolutely rude! I have 5 cats(well, 2 aren't mine). One of which may or may not be happy here. She is cat aggressive, basically only likes me, dog aggressive, & has some spraying issues. Would she be happier as an only pet? Without a doubt, yes. Is anyone else going to want her & all of her problems? Probably no. It just goes to show that having more than one cat/kitten doesn't necessairly mean they will be lonely.

I even met an 8 week old kitten that was very aggressive. He was adopted to an only pet home & is much happier now.

Did she ever consider that if she isn't adopting out to one cat homes how many more cats will sit in shelters waiting to be adopted??

Originally Posted by MuttigreeMom

Wow I agree! That does seem a bit over the top. I always think its better to adopt one cat into a loving home rather than deny an adoption (or something similar) because the person wouldn't take two.

Sure, I'd rather not see cats or dogs or any animal left alone all day. But at some point we have to make concessions for our modern age. Not everyone can work at home. Not everyone can be a stay at home mom. But with the number of animals out there that need homes I can't see how it could possibly be better for an animal to stay at a shelter locked in a cage all day instead of in a house where the kitten parents have to work. (You may be a foster home instead of a shelter... but I'm just going on a generality here

)

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And let me add that a lot of people in my family have had only one cat, and none of them turned out to be agresive at all. And also 2 of them lived to be quite old, one died at the age of 23 and the other near 18.

What about potential medical expenses of 2 cats versus one. There's a possibility that 2 cats could be double the expense, and maybe some people can't afford 2.

The only thing I can say is that she approved the adoption, right? then why was she telling you this stuff? SHE approved it, bottom line. and while i do feel that if you got one cat, you may as well get 2, or 3, or 7 there are cases, like Karen, who can only tolerate one cat at a time, and also like MuttigreeMom said, I'd rather see any adoption than a cat have to live in a cage, and someone else mentioned that some cats are one pet cats.... I'm sure Simon would have been happy as a clam having me all to himself, same with Sapphire, neither of them like other cats, so a person should adopt 2 regardless? pardon me for saying so, but to make a blanket statement like all single cats will become aggressive and have to be PTS kinda seems a tad ignorant Good for you for speaking up for yourself Eileen! I know how it feels to be talked down to and it gets my hackles up too

ETA: I'm pretty sure my cats sleep all day when I'm not home, and they even have 6 other playmates! There's some suspicious yawning going on when I walk in the door

One is better than none!

Like you guys have pointed out, there's any number of reasons why somone chooses to only have one cat, be it allergies, financial, the cat's personality, etc....and I firmly believe we need to respect that.

This really supports the point I'm trying make with our coordinator that we need to consider potential adopter's individual circumstances, along with what's best for the cat. She emailed me back saying that she guesses we partially disagree on the definition of a good home and said she naively used to think that cats or kittens would do fine being home alone. I'm trying not take that as she thinks that I'm naive! Maybe I am, but that doesn't change how I feel about this and I won't hesitate to speak up about it in the future.

Based on the less than welcoming reception my Gracie gave Peter and Claire, and the way she still reacts to them sometimes, I suspect she'd be just as happy as an only cat.
As Fwan said, "One is better than none."

Being a one cat mom right now I think Phenom and most other only cats are fine with being an only cat. Phenom get all the attention she wants and needs. If I am home all day for some reason she goes upstairs and goes under the bed to sleep. I am inturuding on her "me" time. I think your supervisor at the cat place is DEAD WRONG!

Never before in my life have I ever considered having more than one cat. I had perfectly happy cats (non-aggressive and loving). As a single person for many years, I would not have been able to properly support myself and more than one cat and it would have been worse IMO to have 2 if I couldn't support 2. Until our daughter moved back home with her sweet Mika we would never have even considered more than one. Now, of course, we feel differently because of my princess grandbaby Mika.

Bijou and Mika both sleep pretty much all day as I believe most cats do so I don't necessarily think they need a "sleeping buddy".

Perhaps she isn't as naive anymore, but she certainly sounds ignorant!

I agree with Fran that one is better than none and every one that we get a home for (and you do a great job of that), that's one less alone and abandoned.

Don't let her get you down about this and stand up for your beliefs (as I'm sure you do anyway). We're all with you here!

As was just stated, some cats just sleep all day. One cat can train his/her slaves just as well as two can!

How many cat owners started off with just one cat? I know I did!

Yup i did too, Here in germany anyway, Teufel was the last one in his litter and nobody wanted him!

I'm so glad i got him

As for kaylee i really couldnt afford another cat, but thank god i moved back to my parents, they are both spoilt brats!

Sounds like she has personal issues in home (ahem..in bed).

Besides, not all cats like other cats. Luna would be the happiest cat on earth if it weren't for Whitey/Patches/Beauty.

Until Petals came into our lives, Trixie seemed perfectly happy to be a one kitty army! She had the run of us and all our undivided attention. She ruled the house.......now she shares it with 3 younger siblings, but to be honest, I think she is much happier with playmates..........even Tiggy!



sorry for the hijack Eileen! That woman was out of place!

Boy oh boy Eileen! I think your coordinator's is vastly outnumbered in her thinking.... next time she says something you don't agree with, you can comeback with something like "well 9 out of 10 TCSers agree with ME!!!!!!!"