Sad kitties

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about adopting a cat. Erik tells me I’m too busy right now, and I know he’s right, but maybe after summer vacation starts? I’d really like to have a cat again.

Now, after looking at lots of listings for shelter cats at Petfinder, I’m also saddened and anxious at the large number of cats that just need to be adopted ASAP in order to save their lives. In Berkeley, I was lucky enough to volunteer at a very good no-kill shelter where the pets are amply loved and coddled, even given plenty of room to run around in. Now there is at least one somewhere around here that looks like it might also take good care of its animals. (And they have a beautiful cat there that I’d just love to take home with me!) But it looks like the city-run shelters in LA aren’t able to lavish the same kind of care on their animals, so you get stories like this one.[link broken] Just look at the body language in her photo: this is obviously a fearful cat.

I know I can’t save all the animals out there, but reading all these cat listings that say “adopt this cat right away or else she’ll be put to sleep!” or “this shelter usually only waits 4-7 days before euthanizing” just makes me so sad. I suppose the volunteers who write these postings might be exaggerating a bit–and I’m the first to tell you that “cat people” can get pretty weird–but still, I know there are tons of homeless pets out there whose lives will be cut short unnecessarily.

Please, everyone, spay or neuter your pets, unless you’re prepared to take care of the babies too. Take responsibility for your pets! I’ve heard too many stories about people dumping pets because they didn’t think it through carefully enough when they got the animal. Do not get a pet unless you can take care of it until the day it dies! Pets don’t have a lot of options when their people abandon them.

*sigh* I am sad thinking about all these poor kitties. I am going to think it over long and hard and as soon as I think I’m ready for a cat, I will go to one of these shelters and save some poor girl from an unfortunate fate.

**edit**
This makes me feel a little better: by signing up with igive.com, and doing online shopping through their storefront, up to 26% of my purchases will be donated to an organization of my choice. I chose the Milo Foundation because I know they need money to pay for their new storefront in Berkeley. I don’t know how often I’ll remember to shop through igive, but it’s a good idea, and hopefully I can contribute a little bit that way.

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]