06-03-2008, 02:59 PM
[quote elahon]Outdoor cats generally adapt best when they are outdoors from a young age.
From my point of view, this is the key. If you can find a cat that's been used to living outdoors, then you might be the perfect parent for it. If, however, the cat has lived most of its life indoors, then it would be better for both of you if you simply passed on this particular way to show your concern for the homeless cats. I strongly suspect that there are many cats in shelters, most especially the older cats, who wound up there because their owners could no longer keep them. I'm thinking of my elderly neighbor; she's 90 and in declining health, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her poor kitty wind up in a shelter some day soon. The closest Sammy the cat has ever been to the great outdoors is sitting on the window seat when the window is open and sniffing the world through a window screen. To adopt a cat like Sammy and then make it live outdoors wouldn't be fair and would shorten his life by years. Sammy wouldn't know how to survive, and the psychological trauma for him would be huge. He simply wouldn't understand what you were trying to accomplish and would be miserable.
What you might do instead is pledge financial support to a no-kill shelter where cats are living out their natural lives in a "group home" because they are not adoptable or simply haven't been adopted. See if there is any place like that in your area. I know they exist, because that rescue organization that was mentioned by Spearmint's sister does just that, and I know there are several in my area, too.
I also feel sorry for the homeless kitties, but I learned decades ago that I'm not the kind of person who wants to turn over control of my home to a cat. I did see an adorable one up for adoption at Petsmart a couple of weeks ago and felt myself weakening, and then I thought about why I never replaced the 15 year old cat that died in 1982 and came back to my senses! I sent a donation to the shelter instead.
From my point of view, this is the key. If you can find a cat that's been used to living outdoors, then you might be the perfect parent for it. If, however, the cat has lived most of its life indoors, then it would be better for both of you if you simply passed on this particular way to show your concern for the homeless cats. I strongly suspect that there are many cats in shelters, most especially the older cats, who wound up there because their owners could no longer keep them. I'm thinking of my elderly neighbor; she's 90 and in declining health, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her poor kitty wind up in a shelter some day soon. The closest Sammy the cat has ever been to the great outdoors is sitting on the window seat when the window is open and sniffing the world through a window screen. To adopt a cat like Sammy and then make it live outdoors wouldn't be fair and would shorten his life by years. Sammy wouldn't know how to survive, and the psychological trauma for him would be huge. He simply wouldn't understand what you were trying to accomplish and would be miserable.
What you might do instead is pledge financial support to a no-kill shelter where cats are living out their natural lives in a "group home" because they are not adoptable or simply haven't been adopted. See if there is any place like that in your area. I know they exist, because that rescue organization that was mentioned by Spearmint's sister does just that, and I know there are several in my area, too.
I also feel sorry for the homeless kitties, but I learned decades ago that I'm not the kind of person who wants to turn over control of my home to a cat. I did see an adorable one up for adoption at Petsmart a couple of weeks ago and felt myself weakening, and then I thought about why I never replaced the 15 year old cat that died in 1982 and came back to my senses! I sent a donation to the shelter instead.