Cat Adoption Forms: Fill & Download for Free

Hello Eric Callender and thank you for your question: Why do cat adoption agencies prefer for cats to be indoor? Isn't that unhealthy and unnatural for them? I've had cats my whole life, and am applying to rescue one now. I am being told they want me to keep him indoors. Why?We like cats to be indoor only for their safety and for the safety of other creatures. An indoor only cat isn’t going to catch and kill birds that your neighbour is feeding (though more bird deaths occur as the result of migrating birds slamming into tall buildings or birds just flying about and not seeing hydro wires).Unnatural for a cat to be inside? Cats were the ones who domesticated themselves and came to live inside, mind you in barns first but now in houses and apartments. Cats are very adaptable They seem to have no problem whatsoever living indoors with humans. Indeed that very feature is what has allowed cats to rise to the top, becoming the most kept pet in the world. Unhealthy? Not at all. Given good food and a balanced diet, a warm bed, and interactive play with their humans, cats are active, healthy, and happy.Indoor only cats don’t lick antifreeze and die painful deaths, nor get under car hoods to keep warm in the winter and get shredded in the fan when the car starts, nor get killed on streets or roads by passing vehicles.Indoor only cats don’t catch feline venereal diseases during mating, nor get into big fights with unneutered cats that claw them up and leave infections in the wounds nor with any dogs running loose. Nor do indoor only cats pick up round worms, tapeworms, ringworm, heartworms, ticks, fleas or ear mites that can infest them outdoors.My name is Peach. Someone dumped me and I had to live by my wits outside for at least 3 months. During that time I got a lot of ear mites and I lost part of my ability to hear.Indoor only cats do not fight with raccoons, get sprayed by skunks, nor get killed and eaten by foxes, coyotes, or birds of prey.Coyote carrying killed cat (Google image)The great outdoors is not a safe place for a cat. Catster (publication and web site) notes the average lifespan for cats who go outdoors is 5.625 years and for indoor only cats it is 16.875 years. Living longer when inside you will have many more years to enjoy your cat.If you read the above and give it thought you will soon realize why rescues and shelters want you to keep the cats they provide indoors only.Normally I write Quora articles about cats and prefer to write about cats. Feel free to click on my profile to see them and hopefully read some. Hopefully you will find articles that are helpful and enjoyable.Thank you for taking the time to read this.I try to answer questions I think I can effectively answer but may pass if I don’t know the answer, or if I have previously answered a very similar question, or someone else may have answered the question as well or better than I could, or the answer can be found easily by googling the topic. Please note that I often get over 100 emails a day and also have other things on my agenda so I won’t always be able to answer questions or respond personally. I hope you understand and are not offended if I don’t post an answer to your question(s).

For the last 30 plus years, animal welfare organizations have collaborated with veterinarians and community members on effective spay/neuter programs for dogs, combined with leash and collar/tag laws that have resulted in fewer lost dogs. Dog owners also tend to take their dogs to veterinarians more often than owners of cats, resulting in more microchips in dogs. The number of stray dogs, dogs in shelters and dog euthanasia has therefore dramatically declined since the 1970's.As a country, we've made progress on cats but not as much. While most owners tend to spay/neuter their cats, many still don't. They also don't systematically put collars and tags on them (or microchip them). These factors, coupled with the fact that most cat owners let their cats roam free outside, lead to lost cats that are not picked up and placed in shelters. When people see a cat roaming outside, their first thought is that it's someone's outdoor cat rather than a lost cat (and even if they try, they may not be able to catch it!). Lost cats that can breed ultimately result in feral cat colonies.In many shelters, you'll find about three times as many homeless cats as dogs. This is why shelters spend money and energy on spaying/neutering and microchipping incoming cats, and in getting adult cats adopted, preferably to someone who will keep their cat inside or provide a safe outdoor enclosure for it. Still, shelter euthanasia rates for cats have also steadily declined, and that's encouraging for animal welfare advocates.There are various tactics being tried to control feral cat colonies. At one time the cats were simply trapped and euthanized as it's not possible to domesticate a feral cat, but the "trap - neuter - release" tactic has been implemented throughout the U.S., which is a more humane solution. Whether or not it will help reduce the number of feral cats is questionable but at least we are not killing cats who tend to live relatively healthily in their colonies. Shelters are also placing less socialized cats they receive into horse barns and warehouses as "working cats," rather than euthanizing them.As a society, we have also tended to value our pet cats less than our pet dogs. The primary reason for cats being relinquished to shelters is the owner moving to a new home; cats have historically been seen less as a permanent family member than dogs. I do believe this has changed over time, especially in the last decade, as cats have become increasingly more popular with a younger, gentler generation. I'm hoping this bodes well for the future of this amazing species.Here is Doogie, who was abandoned in an apartment complex and brought into our shelter. I adopted him, and he inspired me during the writing of a public service announcement highlighting the need to adopt adult shelter cats.Together, we helped get 22% more cats adopted because of it, and we shared an award for our efforts...

Cats have many sweet little ways of showing they like someone. A purr is good. The cat sticks around and tends to be around you, even if from a bit of a distance. Makes eye contact and blinks. Often it’ll talk to you a bit. I’ve had cats like me but not enough to keep me, they’d hang around at times and I’d usually find out later that they already had human(s) of their own. I had a street cat adopt me not too long ago, he did just that as we got to know each other. He kept his distance but was chatty and friendly, and he’d smile when I put food out for him, his hardened expression would soften. He’d sleep on a chair in my garden. I put a little towel and pillow out on the chair he chose, just for him, and he’d curl up on it and purr, and sleep. That was trust. A cat that trusts you usually likes you.Good luck, post a pic if you can and let us know how it goes.Here is Gato on his little pillow. Not a particularly original name. When he started coming by I’d talk to him and always greet him: “hola, Gato!” Hi, Cat! It stuck. He answers to it.