Recently one of our beloved cats died. Our other cat (Jezebel's sister), Cleo, is now alone much of the time and we are beginning to explore the possibilities of adopting another cat. This brings up ethical questions for me regarding adopting an older cat vs. a kitten, and more importantly, where to adopt from.
The adult cat/kitten issue for me is simply that there are many, many more adult cats out there that need homes and that are less likely to be adopted, since everybody loves a fuzzy, adorable kitten. Jezebel and Cleo were adopted together as adults and they have been simply two of the most wonderful pets a person could want. I never saw them as kittens, and I don't feel as if I have missed anything. So, in general I definitely am more comfortable adopting adult cats who may otherwise go unadopted. However, now that we already have a cat and we are exploring bringing another cat into our home, and into Cleo's home, it makes more sense to adopt a kitten, whom she will be more likely to accept than an adult cat who is less likely to accept the established hierarchy. So that's one question. Pete seems pretty set on adopting a kitten, so I'm sure we'll probably go with that option since I think it would also make the easiest transition for Cleo and the new kitten.
Now for the more difficult "where to adopt from" debate. What we know so far is that we will not buy a cat from a pet store where who knows what may have happened in its early life, and we will not buy a cat from a breeder. There are already too many cats for society to care for properly, which is why the humane society and some other agencies routinely "euthanize" animals that are deemed "unadoptable." So it doesn't make sense to support the creation of even more cats. The more difficult part of this dilemma, for me, is the question of whether to adopt from a no-kill shelter or from a humane society/ASPCA type of agency, where many animals each year must be euthanized in order to make room for other adoptable animals. Many people absolutely refuse to support these organizations because they are repulsed by the practice of "putting down" animals. For me, it is not quite that simple.
Jez & Cleo were adopted from a no-kill shelter (AdvoCats in Virgina, which I highly recommend as a wonderful organization if you're in the DC area). I felt good about this decision at the time, but the fact of the matter is that if I hadn't adopted them, they would have lived to be adopted by someone else, or simply lived out their lives in the shelter's playroom with many playmates. They would not have been put down had I not adopted them.
So, from that point of view, it makes sense to adopt from the humane society, since the animals there may very well be put down if they aren't adopted out in a timely fashion. But that is a difficult choice to make because I'm not especially keen on supporting the practice of euthanizing perfectly healthy animals just because there aren't enough homes for them.
What are your thoughts? Have you dealt with this dilemma?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I would suggest that wherever you adopt a cat from, just the fact that you are adopting a cat makes you a real hero for that animal. Look for a shelter with friendly customer service but most importantly, look for the cat that touches your heart.
Whether you adopt from a shelter that strives towards or adheres to No Kill philosophies or not, you are opening a cage, making room for one more life to be saved and that is what is most important. Personally I would support, through adoptions and donations, shelters that strive for saving lives and work proactively to reduce or eliminate the killing of healthy and savable animals. But that isn't a choice between animal control versus non-animal control. You will even find shelters who perform animal control following that path!
While I work for a shelter that does not perform animal control, we partner with many shelters that do who are open to rescues, have progressive adoption and foster programs and are constantly thinking of new ideas to save lives and achieve a day when each and every savable animal is saved. Those are the shelters who deserve real credit for hard work and dedication!
in my experience, the old cat will not accept the new cat no matter what age especially if the established cat is female. Kittens annoy the crap out of older cats. Again only from my experience, wait till the remaining cat passes then get new cats together.
Dan
Thanks for your comments!
I do have to say that I'm not that worried about Cleo accepting a new cat, though. I've had cats throughout my life, and they've come in and out of mine and my cats' lives with very few problems. My parents do have one cat that is very shy and doesn't like to be around other cats too much, regardless of how long they've been around, but for the most part they've all been accepting.
The important thing, I think, is to pay attention to the temperaments of both cats, trying not to upset the power dynamic and making sure both cats are friendly in general.
Post a Comment