Reasons to Adopt an Older Cat

Senior Cats Are the Best Choice for Senior Citizens

 

 Miss Snookie is about nine years old now and is a sweet lapcat for Bobbi Fein, who rescued her. A male or female cat Snookie's age would be a good choice for an older couple or single who might pre-decease a younger cat. In fact, you'll often find older cats in shelters for exactly that reason; their human companions died, and no relatives or friends wanted to take them in. What a win-win situation it would be for both parties, to adopt a cat like Snookie!

Reasons to Adopt an Older Cat

Consider a Young Adult Cat with Smaller Children

 

Fluffy is an example of last year's kittens who often turn into this year's unwanted adult cat languishing in a shelter. In his case, he was lucky because a caring person rescued him (after months of failed attempts), patched him up and gave him a home. A young adult cat would be perfect for a home with smaller children, or for a younger working single or couple who need to leave a cat unattended during the day. Let's face it: little kids are often much too rough with kittens, and kittens become bored and mischievous when left home alone day after day. There's also too much chance of their harming themselves in even the most kitten-safe home.

Reasons to Adopt an Older Cat

An Older Female Cat Comes With Benefits

 

 D'Ni had just given birth when first discovered, and was pregnant three months later when finally trapped. Older female cats often make loving companions for homes without small children. They are ideal for retired couples or singles. The bonus is that most of them are already trained to a litter box, have been spayed, and have had all their shots.Cons: If you have small children or kittens in the house, a senior cat might not be your best choice.

Foster a Lonely Kitty for the Holidays

By Franny Syufy, About.com Guide to Cats

Sunday Night as I watched the movie "A Dog Named Christmas," I was touched by the idea which was the premise for movie, inspired by the book of the same name, written by Greg Kincaid. Animal shelters are generally overflowing and understaffed, especially during the hectic holiday seasons. What a lovely concept: to foster a shelter cat or dog, and to give him or her a real home, instead of a lonely cage, if only for a few weeks.

And what a pleasant surprise to find out that Petfinder.com was also inspired by the movie to create its own Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program. Over 2,000 shelters and rescue groups are participating in the program, and you can find one close to you in the Petfinder database. If you've been seriously thinking about adopting a new pet, but aren't yet sure you can make the commitment, this is an excellent way to give a cat or dog a trial run. Even if you are not ready to adopt, it would be a wonderful way to bring some holiday cheer to a homeless pet. Who knows? You may be so bonded by the end of the holiday period that you'll decide to make the relationship permanent.
_{Photo Credit: © iStock Photo/Julia Pivovarova}

If you've been thinking about fostering cats and kittens, this is also a wonderful opportunity to test your mettle before making a long-term commitment. Read stories and advice from current cat fosters, and if you already foster cats and kittens, post your own story.

Good, Bad, and Ugly News for Cats

The Ugly

From the Cats Forum "From The Globe and Mail": "Toronto Humane Society officials arrested, face animal-cruelty charges."

Toronto police officers and agents from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals swooped in Thursday afternoon to execute a search warrant and lead five handcuffed men out of a shelter that the OSPCA's lawyer derided as "disease-infested."

"These are animals who are just left to die in their cages," Christopher Avery, a lawyer for the Ontario SPCA, said during the raid. "They're found dozens at a time, dead in [a] cage, every morning in this building. Read the original forum post for links to more news coverage of this arrest.

The Bad:

From msnbc news: Certain bags of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat food (recalled in September) have sickened 21 cats in the south and along the northeast coast. I covered this recall in a blog early in October, and also at the same time updated my top picks of dry cat food to reflect this information. This recall illustrates the importance of rotating foods when feeding cats. Cats who obtained thiamine from other food sources should not have been affected by this food. From the Premium Edge web site: "Product testing proved no contaminants were discovered in the cat food; however the cat foods were deficient in thiamine. Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix, and it was not deficient in thiamine. No other neurological signs have been reported on any other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods."

The Good:

From The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder.com: Clicks on the purple button became over 7 million bowls of food for shelter animals in November. You can also help support the work of the Animal Rescue Site by shopping in its gift shop.