Since 1982 we have had 4 great cats share our lives. Each one was obtained in a different way:
1. Breeder – We got Brio from a home-based cat breeder in Brampton. As new cat owners, we were not that experienced and wanted an animal that would be smart and affectionate. A Siamese, Brio checked all the boxes.
We chose wisely. He gave us 17 years of unconditional love.
2. Veterinarian’s Office – After Brio passed away we discovered Sammy at the vet’s office. He was about 7 months old and a former street cat. He turned out to be a wonderful animal, although we had to spend a lot of time to get him to stay inside. He had an incredible purr but was otherwise a quiet soul. He gave us 16 years of affection and companionship. Vets don’t seem to be a source of adoptable cats these days.
3. Humane Society – Our daughter got her first cats from the Arnprior Humane Society back around 2006. After we lost Sammy in 2015, I was lonely and so we dropped into the shelter in Arnprior. There we met a forlorn 7-month-old ginger named Oates who had lost his home due to a family breakup. We couldn’t resist. Oates came to sleep on our bed the first night he was in his new home. He dearly loved Maria with every fiber of his being. He was a cat for the ages. We were devastated when he died of brain cancer at the age of 9. I miss his gentle presence every day.
4. Cat Rescue/Foster Home – We were so depressed when Oates passed away that we seriously thought of not having a cat again. We were expecting another 5-6 years with him, and now that he had left us so soon we despaired of starting over. How could we give a home to a kitten who would certainly outlive us? Months passed, and we remained catless. Then our world changed. In early March we saw a notice on Facebook about Stanley. He was in the care of an independent cat shelter not far from us. We contacted them and were soon in touch with Stan’s foster care volunteer.
The cat rescues rely on foster homes for the animals in their care. Stan’s foster was a kind and compassionate lady who had many homeless cats under her roof. We loved Stan from the outset. He is about the same age as Oates was, so he fits in well with our timeline. He had lost his home because his owner had to go into long-term care. Not many adopters want older cats, but he was perfect for us.
We paid Stan’s adoption fee, and retrieved him at a local PetSmart store. He has been so grateful and loving that we never regretted bringing him home.
That is not the end of the story, though. Turns out the cat rescue owner was overwhelmed by the number of animals in her care, and did not give them the necessary vet care and maintenance. Her home-based shelter had a number of cats confined in cages and many were in tough shape. The cat rescue had to be shut down.
Stan was lucky that he was surrendered to the foster home and not the shelter per se. He was also well cared for by his previous owner so he is OK, and so are we. It could have been far worse for him.
So all’s well that ends well I guess. However, if I had to choose a preferred way to adopt a cat, I’d go with the Humane Society. Some cat rescues are wonderful, others can be dicey. And how do you know their situation? The pet stores seem to get their cats from both sources, and this worries me a bit.
As I type this I look over at the cat tree where Stanley is comfortable, warm, well-fed, and taking his ease. He may have had a bad break in life, and getting here may have been a bit of a crapshoot, but he’s home.