They say a dog is a man’s best friend. And although many report that a certain sparkly gemstone is a girl’s best friend; I disagree. A woman’s best friend should be a cat.
Meet Kayla.
She has been my best (animal) friend since 2008. Sometime after completing graduate school and living without roommates for the first time (in a city known for the occasional household rat) I decided to embark on the journey to owning my very first pet. Other than some short-lived fish, I had never had a pet growing up and thought I should break myself into the experience by starting with a cat. Other reasons for this pet choice included the fact that I did actually have a bit of a rat problem that my building manager seemed less than concerned about and was working long hours at the hospital, limiting my time to provide walks and potty break
My second decision after deciding to get a cat was my decision to adopt, or rescue a cat from a shelter. I knew that shelters are over-crowded with animals needing to be loved and cared for and I wanted to be a part of that solution. I filled out an application with my local shelter that made my process into graduate school look simple. I waited. And finally, I was approved! As I happily went down to the shelter to pick out my pet, I didn’t have in my head what I was looking for. Small, big, young, old, long hair, short hair, it was all up in the air for me. I was waiting for a connection. When I arrived, the staff let me into the cat holding area. I looked around. Right away, a tiny black cat pressed her face to the cage door and “Meowed” loudly. She kept meowing until I picked her up and held her in my arms. And then she was silent. She rubbed her head against my shoulder and I was in love. I didn’t even continue to look at the other cats. I couldn’t. This one was mine. In fact, it seemed as though she had picked me.
Fast forward to today. Kayla and I have braved a cross-country move, a plane ride full of cat-haters, several dogs, another cat, three different homes, a marriage and a baby. And through it all, she has remained resilient, patient, adaptable and kind. She cheers me up. And now, she cheers my little boy up too!
I don’t know what month is “adopt-a-pet” month (I’m sure there is one), but I adopted Kayla in February many years ago, so I’m writing this to you now. The adoption need for stray or shelter cats is so great and the number of people willing to help so few. Approximately 70% of the 3-4 million cats that that are abandoned to nationwide shelters are euthanized (http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.aspx). And tragically, seven out of ten shelter cats are euthanized because no one adopts them (http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.aspx). When I was trying to find a home for a stray cat I found last year, I called every city and county shelter in a 200-mile radius of where I live and was told time and time again that they could not accept anymore cats into their shelter due to overcrowding. And not only that, but the shelters were receiving reports that due to economic difficulties, individuals where simply releasing their pet cats to the street.
For those people who think that they can just leave a cat outdoors to return to the feral cat population; it doesn’t work that way. Most cats cannot relearn street survival skills after residing as an indoor pet. The outcome for almost every stray is a violent end or a slow, painful death. Many abandoned cats die outdoors from starvation, disease, abuse, or as the food of a predator (http://www.feralcat.com/).
Fortunately, I did end up finding a good home for my stray, but it wasn’t easy and really brought to light for me the great need of this population.
If you have a rescue cat, congrats and thank you. If you do not have a rescue cat, please consider adopting one. You’ll be surprised how much joy they bring into your life.
I know my life has been brighter as a result of adding Kayla to it.
And finally, for those of you who do own a cat, here are a few tips for ways to help keep your cat safer:
- Keep your cat away from dangerous Traffic
- Keep your can up-to-date on its vaccine’s to reduce Diseases.
- Keep your cat safe from household or yard (such as chemically treated lawns) Poisons.
- Keep your cat Flea-free by maintaining their medication.
- Keep your cat safe from Other Animals that pose a threat as a predator.
- Keep your cat away from Cruel People who may want to inflict harm.
- Keep your cat from “Loss of Home” by providing him/her with a microchip.
The following are some websites you can visit to learn more about cats, animal adoption, animal shelters, homeless or unwanted animals, spaying/neutering, and pet overpopulation:






















What Readers are Saying