Used cats are a great bargain

People are scared about adopting shelter cats. Yet, this makes no sense.

She was once "the most pathetic kitten in the shelter"

The apprehension is based on worrying about taking on "other people's problems." But this is the backwards way of looking at it. What we are seeing are cats who are the scapegoat for their people's problems.

If we don't clean the litter enough, don't provide enough ways for the cat to amuse themselves, or neglect essential areas so that the cat feels compelled to bother us all the time? People drop the cat off at the shelter, and blame the cat.

I don't entirely blame the people involved, either. Once of my driving pressures is the fact that our society, and many like it, do not understand cats. In such a case, it is not surprising the people do not understand cats, either.

People treat cats like dogs, get poor results, have nowhere to go, and have a poor cat experience.

It is not the fault of the cat. But it isn't really the fault of the people, either.

Fact is, cats in shelters are a bargain. They are "fixed," vet-checked, often chipped, and pre-evaluated, and have many many years to give in return for their chance.

There's not a reason in the world not to.

For more about how many shelter cats are overlooked gems, see The cats no one wanted.