Last week I had my first morning as a cat caretaker volunteer in an animal shelter. And it felt really good.

I love cats and I’m very pro shelter cats. I am often amazed by the dozens of people I speak with that simply refuse to get their cat from a shelter. They don’t trust the animals there. They think they must be bad and nasty. Why else would they be in a shelter? They would rather wait for a kitten from one of the neighbour’s cats, which they can raise completely on their own than ‘one of those shelter ones that have been wasted and messed up already’.

If you think that all the shelter cats are bad, then let me enlighten your mind. Let me tell you what kind of cats you could find in a shelter.

The traditional-vagabond cat. This is the cat that simply didn’t return home. It’s the cat that walked too far or ran away from a scary car or dog and got lost. They are usually found by random concerned people and picked up by the local animal welfare organisation. They may be ill or injured, but luckily all the cats that are brought to the shelter are not only taken care of but are also defleed, dewormed and vaccinated. They can’t get healthier than that!

Then there are the ones in which the human has been acting nasty. The dumped-by-stupid-human cat had an owner that didn’t want to waste time or money on the shelter and who has just dumped the poor cat in a box somewhere in the woods. “What you can’t see doesn’t exist,” these disgusting people must be thinking. Even worse is the neglected-or-poorly-maintained cat. I bet you can imagine what I mean with that.

Did you know that many shelter cats are the result of changing personal circumstances?

Meet the elderly-owner-died-or-moved cat. This is the cat of an elderly woman. She probably got it when her husband died. However, when the cat has reached an age between five and ten the woman dies or has to move to a home for the elderly. Unfortunately the cat isn’t welcome in the lives of the woman’s family. But they are such sweet, cuddly and well-raised cats.

Or how about the swapped-by-baby cat? It’s the cat of a young couple and they were all so happy together. However, once they have a baby things are very different. The cat might become jealous and nasty towards the baby, but much more common is an allergic baby… The house isn’t big enough for the two of them and guess who has to leave?

Not all couples with cats stay together forever. Some break up or divorce leading to the inevitable question: who gets to keep the cat? Some couples can solve this problem, some can’t. And that’s why you find so many if-I-can’t-have-it-you-can’t-either cats in the shelter. So many adorable cats that have to pay for their owner’s childish behaviour.

Sometimes money gets in the way. The bankrupt-owner cat had to leave or starve to death because the owner didn’t have the money for cat food and cat litter anymore. The same counts for the one-too-many cat who has the poor fate of being one of many kittens of a new born nest. The owner ‘forgot’ to sterilise his or her cat, may think kittens are cute, but can’t find a new owner for it. And in the end owning too many cats is just way too expensive.

To stay on topic: why on earth won’t some people get their cat ‘fixed’? The overpopulation of cats is tragic. Fixed tomcats hardly ever spray urine, don’t terrorise the cats of the neighbours and don’t ‘sing’ during the night. Fixed female cats won’t whine for a week when they come into heat a few times a year. Because they won’t come into heat, du-huh. And they won’t have kittens you can’t get rid of either. Giving them the ‘pill’ isn’t the answer because it often leads to breast cancer. And the myth that cats should first have had a nest before they are sterilised? Well, that is indeed a myth. All these facts are the reason that all shelter cats are fixed. No trouble for the cat no more, no trouble for you.

And why would you want a kitten anyway? Yes, they are cute and small, but they will ravage your furniture and terrorise your house for at least a year. An adult cat will still want to play, but will leave your house in tact. Hurrah for the adult cat!

So now you know shelter cats are usually very sweet with just a bit of bad luck… Now you know how cute those cats are, and how badly they want a new home… Now you know how much they need your love… won’t you please share your home with one of them?

Column published by Cecile on Monday, August 25th, 2008.

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