Does Anyone Else Find The Cats Nobody Wants Endearing?

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

I've realized that I have a "type" of cat that I go for. I find the cats that are at the shelter for a while and that nobody seems to want extremely endearing. Would adopt them if I wasn't still living at home. I empathize with them and when you finally do get through to them and they start to like you, it's the best feeling ever.

I feel like the longer a cat has been at the shelter, the MORE endearing I find them. Senior cats especially. On some level they have to know that they can't compete with the kittens and it really breaks my heart to see some cats that seem to have just given up. I love giving them consistent affection and I feel like they appreciate it too. Like they're thinking "you're paying attention to me? oh my gosh thank you so much!"

The scared ones I like too. They spend a couple weeks being frozen in fear when humans are there. But little by little they start to open up. Then they start gaining confidence and demanding cuddles. That's usually when they go home And once they bond with you, they stick to you like glue.

Kittens are cute and all, but they are adopted almost immediately. When I finally am able to adopt, I'll probably adopt senior cats and scared ones.

 

[misty8723]

I definitely am attracted to the shy ones, scared ones, older ones, the ones that have been rejected or are not doing so well physically. Sometimes I try to make it my mission to get the shy / scared ones to not run and hide. My heart hurts especially for the ones who had a home and were brought back in for whatever reason.

Like you say, kittens are cute, but I typically avoid doing the kitten rooms when I'm doing my shift. I'll stand and watch them for a bit, but I'd rather spend the limited time I have with the ones who don't get the same attention the kittens do.

 

[denice]

I am definitely attracted to the seniors, shy/scared ones, black ones. I am also attracted to the ones that look the worse for wear, they aren't what most people would call pretty or handsome. I will watch the kitten's antics but I know they have a good shot at getting adopted. I want all of them to find a home.

 

[Moz]

Me too. Indy had been up for adoption for about 2 months when she was a kitten, maybe a little longer. Someone even applied to adopt her sometime before we did, but they never came back to get her.

 

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

I definitely am attracted to the shy ones, scared ones, older ones, the ones that have been rejected or are not doing so well physically. Sometimes I try to make it my mission to get the shy / scared ones to not run and hide. My heart hurts especially for the ones who had a home and were brought back in for whatever reason.

Like you say, kittens are cute, but I typically avoid doing the kitten rooms when I'm doing my shift. I'll stand and watch them for a bit, but I'd rather spend the limited time I have with the ones who don't get the same attention the kittens do.

Yeah people who say cats don’t have emotions are wrong. I’ve been surprised by how much cats feel. And depression is a real thing for shelter cats which gets them in a vicious cycle because they get a URI and feel even worse then when they get better they still are sad and get sick again.

 

[Blakeney Green]

I think it's fantastic that so many people have a place in their heart for the older, shyer, and harder to place kitties!

That said, I do have to say that I hope no one who might be reading is feeling guilty for adopting a baby or for having a desire for a kitten. Every cat needs a home and love.

The majority of my own pets had significant barriers to adoption, whether medical (Bentley and Toad) or behavioral (Maisie and Cullen.) That said, the only one of the cats in my family who was ever in danger of becoming a sad shelter statistic was Zephyr, who I adopted as a healthy eight week old. Zephyr was on the euthanasia list scheduled for about half an hour after he went home. Lots of people want kittens, yes, but there are lots and lots and lots of kittens.

Even if the shelter is no-kill, it saddens me to watch one or two kittens from a litter (usually black or tuxedo) get picked over and left behind month after month, and then year after year. When they do eventually go home, it's with significant shelter baggage that they have to work through because they have no idea how to be cats in a home environment. While it's beautiful to watch them open up to a patient owner, I can't help but think how much better it would have been if someone had just taken them home as a kitten so they didn't have to go through all of this.

I'm not saying don't adopt adult cats. Absolutely adopt them. Adopt everybody! Adopt whoever steals your heart. If that's a senior, great. If that's a kitten, great. Every adoption saves a life.

 

[miagi's_mommy]

Yes... nobody would ever want Angel. But that’s ok I love her quirks! Rufus wasn’t exactly unwanted his old owner just couldn’t afford him any more. And Tiger was a foster but he had been unwanted in the past before they found him. and Miagi was unwanted but he was amazing! His owner definitely missed out!

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I have only adopted one cat. During the time I was looking, I did visit two shelters. It broke my heart to see the cats there, wanting love and attention. I didn't find the right one, although I had feelings for all of them. Snoop was caught in a trap, turned over to the shelter, held four days and then taken to the pet store to sell. He had a serious diarrhea problem. He was held at the store for a week after we were approved to have him. But when I brought him home, it continued. By putting him on a Limited Ingredient Diet, the problem is solved. But I have often wondered if the was turned out from the home he had because of the gastro issue. Every cat has a history and a reason they wind up in the shelter or pet store. I wish they all had homes and love.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I think people like us have an overabundance of sympathy for lost/stray animals. We will go to kitty cat heaven when the time comes and the cats will take care of us !

 

[loveandwhiskers]

Absolutely! I'd adopt them all if I had the space! My local shelter is full to bursting with cats looking for their forever homes and any time I've ever been in the kittens are reserved. My heart breaks for the older ones or the ones who are a little timid... poor babies

 

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

~ I think people like us have an overabundance of sympathy for lost/stray animals. We will go to kitty cat heaven when the time comes and the cats will take care of us !

Yes, please. Kitty heaven > human heaven

 

[amysuen]

My heart always goes out to the older cats who have either been in the shelter a long time, or were surrendered from a home.

But we tend to get kittens because we get them for free and because I worry about how a new older cat will get along with our current older cats and vice versa.

 

[Mother Dragon]

I'm 71 and our next cat will most certainly be a senior cat who has a chance of going about the same time I do. I don't want to leave a cat at an age where it will never be adopted.

 

[misty8723]

One cat we adopted from the shelter was still considered a kitten (Darcy). She was maybe 6 months old and all her litter mates had been adopted, but Darcy had been overlooked. I just for some reason fell in love with her immediately. It turned out that she only had a couple months with us before she got FIP. We did everything we could to make her last couple weeks good ones and it was beyond hard to say goodbye to her. I do believe we got her for a reason, and that was to take care of her for the little time she had on earth. I miss her dearly.

Another was an older cat (Cynthia), and she was so shy and scared, and I think had been abused because she would cringe if you went to pet her and she would shiver when she was falling asleep, but would calm down if I petted and talked to her. She spent a lot of time under the bed when we first got her, but we were patient and loved on her, and she became the sweetest, most loving cat you could ever imagine. She passed shortly before we adopted Darcy.

One thing I worry about a little is that people adopt kittens and they're all cute and playful, but what happens when the kitten grows up? Will they still love and take care of them?

I think I am overly sensitive to seeing / feeling from the cat's (an other animals) perspective. It sometimes just tears my soul apart.