5 reasons to take a cat from a shelter

Background

I've always loved cats. And this drove my mother crazy, who treated animals coldly and was not eager to have a pet. My heart melted at the sight of fluffy faces. Often, after returning from a walk or from a friend, I simply confronted my parents with the fact: "I could not leave him, he is so wonderful!" - and the cat stayed with us. And so over and over again.

Much later, after moving to St. Petersburg, I came across an announcement about the recruitment of volunteers in a cat shelter, and at that moment I was tormented by the strongest cat inadequacy. Like most people, I knew almost nothing about cat shelters and how they worked. I only wanted to communicate with animals, but in the end I remained a volunteer for many years. And all because I got into a place that changes lives.

I have seen many stories - joyful, funny, sad. But most importantly, they were all kind. And three years later, at this shelter, I met my cat Gosha - the best in the world. And he is dearer to me than any thoroughbred champion. Now I'll tell you why.

pros

1. Age

The most unobvious plus of shelter cats. For some reason, many people think: if you have a pet, then it should be a kitten that you can raise and get the perfect pet. But people do not always understand what difficulties they will face when trying to teach him to potty or teach him to eat dry food.

With small kittens, there are almost more worries than joy: here you shit, here you broke, there you are generally stuck. These are children, it is useless to scold them for the destruction in the apartment: they will not understand. You can't forbid a child to play. Or, for example, I lost a kitten in a 12 square meter room. However, it was not difficult: the kitten was the size of a palm. Sometimes you think how not to crush this little thing inadvertently.

They won't come home to you. Rather, it is a safety net so that the curator does not worry if the owner suddenly stopped communicating immediately after taking the cat from the shelter.

You can't take the cat forever, but really want to purr in the house? There is a way out: overexposure. You can help the cat get used to the person and teach him to be a pet, and the curators will continue to look for him a permanent home. Maybe after that you will understand that you are ready to live a long life together with the cat, and take him away for good.

Shelter cat or purebred - you choose in any case. But remember that doing good things makes us really happy. If you come to the shelter for an animal, you will save one life. And this is not so little. Whatever they say about the independence of cats, believe me, they understand everything and know how to thank. After all, every cat needs a home.