Foo - Something everyone should read

Ive been going thru it with my wife as my cat "bob" has recently begun to "spray" around the house due to his "coming of age" right away she wanted to send him to the pound! Even though Im the one that cleans up after every "mistake" he makes which includes sometimes making a "#2" on the floor! :mad: but you know what? I dont mind, he's a member of the family and he's going NO WHERE! He's staying with me for the rest of his life! :) Anyways, here's something you should all read and take to heart before you decide, for what ever reason, to turn your little buddy into the SPCA or pound, or whatever.

I ADOPTED YOUR CAT TODAY

I adopted your cat today.
The one you left at the pound.
The one you had for ten years
And no longer wanted around.

I adopted your cat today.
Do you know he's lost weight?
Do you know he's scared and depressed
And has lost all faith?

I adopted your cat today.
He had fleas and a cold,
But don't worry none.
You've unburdened your load.

I adopted your cat today.
Were you having a baby or moving away?
Did you suddenly develop allergies
Or was there no reason he couldn't stay?

I adopted your cat today.
He doesn't play or eat much.
He's very depressed,
But he will learn again to trust.

I adopted your cat today
And here he will stay.
He's found his forever home
And a warm bed to lay.

I adopted your cat today
And I will give him all that he could need.
Patience, love, security, and understanding.
Hopefully he will forget your selfish deed


and here's another that was found on C-List Philadelphia:

"Below is a pasted and copied post that made the "best of Craig's List" back in the summer. It is not my own. I have numerous pets including 10 cats,most rescued ferals, the oldest is 19 years old. She was found on a country road with her brother and sister. Brings tears to my eyes when I read it and I have to "kick" it out of my mind or it is overwhelming. Please feel free to copy and paste and post as needed....


You decided that you wanted to move to an apartment that didn't allow pets (and by the way, landlords are forbidden to do this in Toronto). I don't know what lured you. Maybe it was a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Maybe it was a great view. Maybe you liked the woodwork. At any rate, it was more important to you than she was. So you took her down to the shelter, still wearing her cute little pink leopard collar with a bow, and you cheerfully wrote on the card that she was very healthy for her age and friendly and just likes to sleep in the sun! I guess you knew her pretty well - you put her birthday down on the card, too, making me believe you've probably had her for her entire life.

Then you left, secure in your rationalization that somehow, in the midst of kitten season, your seventeen year old cat would find a home. The shelter took a picture of her scared face and big eyes and put it on the web.

For two weeks, I looked at that picture. I hoped someone else would see her fear and feel compelled to help her, but the public wasn't seeing her. She was back in isolation, getting vitamin B shots and subcutaneous fluids. The tech wrote "depressed" on her card. I'm not surprised. I'd be depressed too if I went from "sleeping in the sun" to a metal cage with a thin layer of newspaper.

Finally today, I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt too guilty thinking about her sitting in that cage at her age. So I went down and I got her, and now she's curled up on a fleece baby blanket in a cat tree in my bathroom. When I go in there, she rubs her head on my hand.

Today, I cleaned up your mess. I felt worse for your cat than you did. And all over the city, other rescuers did the same. They rescued your abandoned cats and dogs and bunnies and exotics. And we all wondered the same thing as we did it: How could you create this situation? How is it that you feel no remorse? How is it that you were you able to walk away from an animal you shared your home with for a year, ten years, fifteen years, knowing that they might die because of your actions?

I'll never meet you to ask you those questions. I just hope I meet the person who will be good enough to give your baby that sunny spot to sleep for the rest of her life (however long that is). She deserves it, and it's a crying shame you didn't have the decency to give it to her. This was originally posted in 2006. I am re-posting because the message hasn't sunk in!"

Both of my kitties came from Rescue House, a no-kill cat adoption agency.

While some people are thoughtless when it comes to their pets, some are forced by bad circumstances to give them up. The San Diego newspaper had a story a few months ago about the influx of pets into local shelters. People who were losing their homes were having to move into rentals that did not allow pets.

That second story you posted made me think that since the owners wrote so much about the kitty, including her birthday, they probably did not "cheerfully" give her up. I give props to people for bringing their pets to shelters instead of just abandoning them. At least the shelter gives the animals some sort of fighting chance.

The thing to remember when you want a new pet is to check out shelters first as opposed to a pet store or breeder.

Both of my kitties came from Rescue House, a no-kill cat adoption agency.

While some people are thoughtless when it comes to their pets, some are forced by bad circumstances to give them up. The San Diego newspaper had a story a few months ago about the influx of pets into local shelters. People who were losing their homes were having to move into rentals that did not allow pets.That second story you posted made me think that since the owners wrote so much about the kitty, including her birthday, they probably did not "cheerfully" give her up. I give props to people for bringing their pets to shelters instead of just abandoning them. At least the shelter gives the animals some sort of fighting chance.

The thing to remember when you want a new pet is to check out shelters first as opposed to a pet store or breeder.

Those people made bad choices to begin with, and others (including thier pets) now have to suffer for it.
I had more than a few opportunities to buy a new home but didnt because I saw what others refused to see when it came to buying a home at the time, and Ive come out fine. Children still have their rooms, wife and I still have a roof over our heads, and our pets still have a warm loving home. Its true that a pet has a better chance at a shelter but it doesnt change the fact that 90% of the time its the owners fault for making bad choices in not only their lives but in the life of some poor little critter. :(

Those people made bad choices to begin with, and others (including thier pets) now have to suffer for it.
I had more than a few opportunities to buy a new home but didnt because I saw what others refused to see when it came to buying a home at the time, and Ive come out fine. Children still have their rooms, wife and I still have a roof over our heads, and our pets still have a warm loving home. Its true that a pet has a better chance at a shelter but it doesnt change the fact that 90% of the time its the owners fault for making bad choices in not only their lives but in the life of some poor little critter. :(

I agree completely, it's not hard to figure out from the start that all these mortgages were a bad idea, and now the pets suffer.

I see this moving to P&R pretty quickly. :p
Not everyone who is in foreclosure made a bad loan decision. The story in the newspaper had examples of people who had lost their jobs and were losing homes they had lived in for 15 years. Others had medical issues and other expenses that kept them from paying their mortgage.

Not all animals at the shelter are there because of idiot owners. My parents got their purebred Schnauzer from the shelter because his elderly owner had died. I got one of my kitties from my ex because he was allergic. He adopted the cat from the shelter with our daughter, and within 48 hours he was to the point where he needed medication to breathe (he had never been allergic to previous cats). The kitty would have gone back to the shelter if I hadn't taken him.

Point taken :)

My eldest dog is from a no kill shelter. We adopted him as a 4 year old lab with hip displasia, a bite over one eye, and just being fixed. He was a mess but the friendliest dog ever. Well trained and what not.
Apparently he went through two homes and I have no idea why. 3 years later and he is as much a part of our house as my 12 year old cat.
Now if our puppy would calm the heck down.

Ok, I'll volunteer to be the bad guy.



. . . but you know what? I dont mind, he's a member of the family . . .

My wife and I have owned a number of pets through the years: three dogs (two at the same time), eleven cats (nine at the same time), a handful of fish.

There was a time when I considered the animals as "members of the family". They were special, I loved them, they loved me, we were one big happy.

Then, we had kids. I discovered what a member of the family really was. And suddenly the animals weren't so special.

The dogs were the first to go. We had a pair at that point, a couple of great dogs: a rhodesian ridgeback and a black lab. Both mutts, rescued from the pound. Even though they were purchased in two different states and a few years apart, they could have been brother and sister, they totally looked alike. But we were busy with the baby, they didn't get any attention, and none of us were happy with the situation.

We were fortunate enough to find someone to take them both together. A nice family with older children, who had time and attention enough to give them love.

I think about 'em every now and again, but do I miss them? Do I regret giving them away?

Not one tiny little shred. They are in a better situation now than they were with us. And frankly, they were a heck of a lot of work and I don't miss the hassle.




How is it that you were you able to walk away from an animal you shared your home with for a year, ten years, fifteen years, knowing that they might die because of your actions?


The truth is, pets are simply animals that you allow into your home. They're not people, they're animals. They don't grow, they don't mature. You wouldn't invite a squirrel into your home. You wouldn't let a chicken sleep on your couch.

Pets provide comfort and company, but they exist in my home to provide me, not the other way around.


While they are here, my pets enjoy a warm, dry place to sleep; regular food; clean water; and generally doting attention. They have it pretty good.


Someone decided they weren't making good by their animal, so they decided to give someone else the chance to do better. Because of this, you have a new friend. Do you feel a dedicated devotion to this animal? Great, give it a good home and lots of love.

I don't see a need to despise the previous owner.

Is your cat fixed? That usually prevents marking.

And suddenly the animals weren't so special.That's unfortunate.

Personally, I don't understand how people can "get rid" of their pets (especially in a case such as moving into an apartment complex that disallows pets. To me, that would be cause for finding another apartment, not giving up on the pet). That said, I do understand that some people get more attached to pets than others. To me, they're family, but to someone else, a dog might just be a hunting tool. *shrug*

I really like my dog a lot even though he is nuts. He is an American Water Spaniel and my wife has totally ruined him as any sort of working dog. Hell, the dog gets a plate of what we eat every night for the most part.

The dog sits and stares at his reflection in the glass of one of our bookcases for twenty minutes at a time. He won't go out in the rain to relieve himself unless someone else stays with him. We built a very large fenced area enclosure so he could run around. He goes in. sits down, and stares at the house in a forlorn sort of way.

I am allergic and he is a pain in the posterior but I really love the dog. Say what you will but I really enjoy his company. I guess you could say he is family as the vets office has given him my surname. Getting rid of him would break my heart. Nuts as he is he is still my nutty pooch!!!

I have a question for those who consider pets to be part of the family. Have you made arrangements for the animals in case something happens to you? My sister and I have agreed to take each other's cats if something were to happen to either of us. None of my other siblings would be able to take my cats. If I didn't have the agreement with my sister, the cats would go to a shelter if something happened to me.

Ok, I'll volunteer to be the bad guy.




My wife and I have owned a number of pets through the years: three dogs (two at the same time), eleven cats (nine at the same time), a handful of fish.

There was a time when I considered the animals as "members of the family". They were special, I loved them, they loved me, we were one big happy.

Then, we had kids. I discovered what a member of the family really was. And suddenly the animals weren't so special.

The dogs were the first to go. We had a pair at that point, a couple of great dogs: a rhodesian ridgeback and a black lab. Both mutts, rescued from the pound. Even though they were purchased in two different states and a few years apart, they could have been brother and sister, they totally looked alike. But we were busy with the baby, they didn't get any attention, and none of us were happy with the situation.

We were fortunate enough to find someone to take them both together. A nice family with older children, who had time and attention enough to give them love.

I think about 'em every now and again, but do I miss them? Do I regret giving them away?

Not one tiny little shred. They are in a better situation now than they were with us. And frankly, they were a heck of a lot of work and I don't miss the hassle.




The truth is, pets are simply animals that you allow into your home. They're not people, they're animals. They don't grow, they don't mature. You wouldn't invite a squirrel into your home. You wouldn't let a chicken sleep on your couch.

Pets provide comfort and company, but they exist in my home to provide me, not the other way around.


While they are here, my pets enjoy a warm, dry place to sleep; regular food; clean water; and generally doting attention. They have it pretty good.


Someone decided they weren't making good by their animal, so they decided to give someone else the chance to do better. Because of this, you have a new friend. Do you feel a dedicated devotion to this animal? Great, give it a good home and lots of love.

I don't see a need to despise the previous owner.

If all of the above is true for you thats fine, for you, but its the complete opposite for me. I have children, raised them, and still have one of the cats that they grew up with, and her son, and two of her grandsons! :) and yes, they ARE family! I would never ever give them up UNLESS I truly could no longer care for them, and I mean like I would painfully and reluctantly give up a child for adoption! and I would fall into a deep deprsion and feel like dying! Yeah, its like that. But thats just me, I love my animals, and just like my children I knew the responsibility that came with them BEFORE they came along. :thumb:

I have a question for those who consider pets to be part of the family. Have you made arrangements for the animals in case something happens to you? My sister and I have agreed to take each other's cats if something were to happen to either of us. None of my other siblings would be able to take my cats. If I didn't have the agreement with my sister, the cats would go to a shelter if something happened to me.


Yup, my cats will be well taken care of if something were to happen to me :thumb:

Replacing your furry kids with human kids? Bizarre.
I have enough room in my heart for furry and non furry variety. Not to mention a few reptiles.
However, if I had to pick one to rescue from a burning house it would be my son.

I have 4 cats. It would be 5, but I lost one in July to cancer. Two are so feral (trapped in my neighborhood) that I can not handle them without a blanket, but when I do, they seem to like it.

There is at least one more cat I am going to trap and rescue from living life outside in sub-freezing weather... as soon as I complete accommodations for the two I am taking care of now.

While I feel for those that people abandon to shelters, it is nothing compared to the ones people just flat out abandon, especially without spaying and neutering. My two new additions were spayed after I trapped them, and the other two were also rescued from abandonment by someone else, and were spayed/neutered before I got them.

One of mine had a severely infected uterus when I trapped her, and would have died a painful death if I hadn't trapped her and brought her to a vet... the other was in early pregnancy and would have had kittens in the wild.

There were two other cats to be trapped, but I have not seen the second one for a while... it may have died as a result of the cold, or traffic, or predators... after all cats are not equipped to live in the wild.

I always tell my cats when I come in from the cold how it is a good day to be an inside kitty... and I know that they don't really understand it, because there is a part of them that wants to run around free... but I understand it for them.

But enough of the abandonment soap box, and on to the shelter issue... While I do understand the arguments about human versus animal life, and relative value... rarely is it essential to give up animals to shelters, it is usually convenience.

Both of my dogs were rescues. :thumb: :thumb:

i have 4 cats. It would be 5, but i lost one in july to cancer. Two are so feral (trapped in my neighborhood) that i can not handle them without a blanket, but when i do, they seem to like it.

There is at least one more cat i am going to trap and rescue from living life outside in sub-freezing weather... As soon as i complete accommodations for the two i am taking care of now.

While i feel for those that people abandon to shelters, it is nothing compared to the ones people just flat out abandon, especially without spaying and neutering. My two new additions were spayed after i trapped them, and the other two were also rescued from abandonment by someone else, and were spayed/neutered before i got them.

One of mine had a severely infected uterus when i trapped her, and would have died a painful death if i hadn't trapped her and brought her to a vet... The other was in early pregnancy and would have had kittens in the wild.

There were two other cats to be trapped, but i have not seen the second one for a while... It may have died as a result of the cold, or traffic, or predators... After all cats are not equipped to live in the wild.

I always tell my cats when i come in from the cold how it is a good day to be an inside kitty... And i know that they don't really understand it, because there is a part of them that wants to run around free... But i understand it for them.

But enough of the abandonment soap box, and on to the shelter issue... While i do understand the arguments about human versus animal life, and relative value... rarely is it essential to give up animals to shelters, it is usually convenience.

bingo! :)

I couldn't imagine going without my two cats. My parents had gotten a dog when I was five, got really close with him and had to go take him the day before I left for college for my freshman year to be put down due to an advanced state of cancer.

Years ago, I was sitting in the doorway of my apartment when I saw a beautiful calico cat staring at me from the front step. I opened the door for her. She walked in, looked at me with her big green-gold eyes, and said "mer". Mer (I named her instantly) toured the place checking it out before leaving quietly. She visited frequently during the next few weeks. She'd stay for a few minutes or for a couple of hours.

Her owner lived across the way. I ran into him one day & let him know what his cat was up to. Turns out he was moving & was going to have her put down because he was getting new furniture. He had never named her, never played with her, or even held her. Mer was fed & watered, but she was just an ornament for him.

Mer & I were roomates for the next 12 years. Perfectly housebroken, never scratched the furniture, never was anything but a perfect lady of a cat. When I went through hard times, she was there. When I was stabbed in the back by friends, she still slept on my pillow. When I went away, she greeted me in her subtle cat way on my return. She even tolerated the next two cats I took in- hellions both. We read the paper every morning, sitting on the rug together.

When Mer got old, she stopped eating or drinking. She loved ham & chicken. Neither interested her. She finally started leaving the yard, trying to find a place to die.

When the vet injected her, she was in my arms. I believe it was her favorite place. She's buried in the back yard under a plumeria bush. I'm a hard-headed guy, not given to anthropomorphism. I also firmly believe that animals have a capacity for love. Not quite like the human kind, but far more sincere.

I want to find the character who had her for six years before me, just to let him know what he gave up for the sake of his furniture.

Next to me on his box is one of the hellion cats. He is a little black alley cat. Took years for him to become a pet, but he's never far away. In the bedroom sleeping by my wife is the purebred Ragdoll cat that we found in the yard, badly injured, obivously tortured by some sadistic menace. He was near death, unable to walk anymore due to the spines driven through his front paws. Sebastian (pompous name for a pompous animal) is cheaper than cable TV and far more entertaining. His left eye is going to have to be removed soon, due to the old injuries. Vet thinks he was kicked in the face in his previous life.

Hard to sleep at night knowing that such people are out there with the rest of us.

DAMMIT you made me cry.

*goes to cuddle kitties who have saved my sanity more than once*

i absolutely :love: my kitteh. wouldn't think of taking her to the shelter unless there was absolutely no other option what-so-ever. she's 11yr old in May. i'll be heartbroken when she eventually dies. i just don't understand some people, but to each his own...

I have four dogs--all of them rescues. My oldest was, I suspect, abandoned in a local park at about age 6 months. He was wearing a collar that was beginning to choke him because he was growing so fast. Of course, no tags or other way to ID him. He's been with me for over eight years now. I'll probably lose him to cancer within a few months, but he's given me eight years of wonderful times. In exchange, he's scratched up my hardwood floors and dug up the back yard. As far as I'm concerned, I can get the floors re-surfaced and I have a shovel. Every day with him has been a gift.

I have seen how some people treat their pets.

In a lot of cases, it is much better for the animal to be given up than to have to suffer life with the owners. In fact, is isn't selfish at all when some people give up their pets--it's a responsible decision on their part.

Teh kitteh was rescued from a friend of teh bf's who did not have her cat spayed. Gosh. Silly owners.

I'm thinking of adopting another cat from a friend--he's pretty desperate because his cats are family and he absolutely refuses to send them to the pound, but at the same time, he cannot keep them because his new apartment does not allow pets (long story, but it's totally not his fault he had to move). The two kitties are being fostered at someone's place, but the person is wildly allergic. Well, at least they're doing all they can to save Bones and Kote from the pound.

I was considering this thread this morning, as I checked the food I feed the one or two outside cats I still intend to bring in out of the cold, and I thought of how much nicer the world is today than it was for our grandparents... and indeed better than it is in other parts of the world (from the perspective of pets).

I think it is our comfort level that allows us to be able to treat our animals a little more like people than our ancestors did, and I think that is a good thing. Just as our predecessors had to live in housing that we would today consider barbaric and wouldn't even consider keeping for our summer cabins, they also didn't have the ability to leisurely enjoy the benefits of sharing their time with their domesticated pets as more than a casual diversion (if even that much).

I know that based on how I was raised, I would find it difficult if I were suddenly thrust into a village of the past century... and the difficulty would increase the further back in time the village would be.

From a pet's perspective, it wasn't that many years ago that veterinarians didn't exist... and of course human medicine has come a long way in recent decades as well. But especially for animals, if an animal was ill, the almost immediate response was to put it out of its misery... or possibly to save the bullet and just ignore it.

So maybe I need to remember for my kitties... Not only are there times when it is a good time to be an inside kitty... but indeed, it is just a good time to be a kitty in general. ;)

Makes me glad that my family picks up animals to adopt from shelters.

Here in Texas, people actually do something worse than toss their pets away at shelters. They drive out of the city, find the first county road they lay eyes on, and just dump the animals off there. I know people who live out in the country, and they get beseiged by so many "strays", that they have to call vets or animal control to pick them up, just because they don't have the financial resources to take care of that many animals [1]. Its not unheard for people to drop off 15-20 cats at a time via this method, usually mother cats who have had kittens, and the kittens are grown, past the "cute" phase.

[1]: Taking care of animals is more than just dumping a bowl of cat/dog food every couple days and walking off. Even stray cats need to visit the vet every six months to a year for shots, oil changes and other periodic maintainence. Without this, rabies, FIV, feline leukemia, and other highly communicable diseases can wreck not just a cat population, but can spread to truly wild animals too.

Ok, I'll volunteer to be the bad guy.


Done.

Someone decided they weren't making good by their animal, so they decided to give someone else the chance to do better. Because of this, you have a new friend. Do you feel a dedicated devotion to this animal? Great, give it a good home and lots of love.

I don't see a need to despise the previous owner.


When you take an animal into your home, you have accepted responsibility for it.
While finding a new home for a pet is commendable, most do not do this. An animal from the pound doesn not usually have a known history. The worst is assumed usually because it is closest to the truth.

We have dogs In addition to kids. While they do offer admittedly suspect watchdog services, they also provide hours of entertainment. Just like the kids:rolleyes: