Although June will soon be just a memory, this month continues to be “bustin’ out all over”. Throughout most of the country, June apparently is heralding what promises to be a sizzling summer. With the sweltering temperatures and miserable high humidity that lie just ahead for us, we are always able to find many delightful ways to help us deal with the scorching weather. However for homeless kitties who are languishing in overcrowded animal shelters, the sultry weather is very hard to deal with.
In order to help find homes for so many needy cats, the American Humane Association has proclaimed June as “Adopt-A-Cat Month”. The organization is working tirelessly to support shelters throughout the USA to help them to spread the word.
So, if you have recently been considering adding a fabulous feline to your household, to help clinch the deal I am proposing several compelling reasons to share with your family and friends.
Although most feline lovers are aware of these salient points, when discussing with friends about getting a first cat or even adding another kitty to their household , these talking points may help someone to actually make that fabulous decision and commit to an adoption.
Holding a purring cat on your lap can not only lower blood pressure, it can help prevent heart disease. A purring cat on your lap can lower your blood pressure, and may help prevent heart. Having a cat or two can also help fight depression.
Cats are fastidiously clean. They rarely need baths and generally enjoy being groomed.
Cats are loyal and highly intelligent making them excellent companions. With their off-beat sense of humor, they can provide endless hours of entertainment.
While most kitties bond deeply with their guardians, they tend to be somewhat more independent than dogs. Given interesting, stimulating things to occupy their time while you are working most cats do not mind being alone for several hours.
Helping to care for a cat provides an excellent opportunity to teach children about responsibility and humane values.
Easy to house train, (adult cats are more than likely already house trained) most cats have impeccable bathroom habits. What’s more there’s no need to take walks in the rain.
Having cat in the home may even ward off mice and other pests.
So while you are planning those summer activities and looking forward to that first refreshing swim, why not also take the plunge and celebrate Adopt-A-Cat Month by bringing home a new feline companion or two from your local animal shelter. I have devoted my life to be a kitty servant for over forty years. I cannot imagine a more fulfilling and delightful way to ring in the summer season.
What will you be doing to celebrate Adopt-a- Cat Month? Tell us in a comment.
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Just love the picture of EAP and his momma and poppa. We would love to adopt a kitten and there is one little orange boy in Long Island I would love to adopt. Our situation here is that we now live in an apartment and we have 7 cats already. The youngest is 11 years old and they are all females. They are very set in their ways and VERY cranky with other cats and each other. Adopting a cat or kitten is so rewarding. Hopefully we will soon have a real home and maybe then, with more space, can adopt. Thanks for this story. Loved it.
i’m at my limit for cats – just concentrating on keeping all of them healthy. the oldest 3 will be 14 in september. i will just continue to encourage people to adopt, especially senior cats.
What is your cat limit?
Sorry, this is a test to see if any responses are invested to continue a dialog or only to support the author.
Sorry Jo. Fascinated.
Dee, another crucial question. I think that limits should be set by the amount of time, energy and finances to be able to care for cats really well. My personal limit is 3 kitties. But when I had two special needs kitties that required a lot of extra care and the vet bills were very high, my limit was absolutely 2. While it can be tempting to adopt an adorable kitten, one never knows what is going on with the kitten even with a perfectly healthy medical report. Those reports are often not accurate because they lack blood work and urine tests to really be able to see what is going on with the a kitten or cat up for adoption or for sale for that matter.
Setting limits is the hardest thing that I have to do. My heart is broken almost every day.
I’m not the only one having an association with a rescue group that have people show up at our doors begging to have mama cats with litters taken in. It happens about twice a week from kitten season until now. I beg not to be shown, lest I just throw myself under a train from grief.
My rule has always been… “If you can’t care for your cats as they should be cared for, then you can’t have them.”
My limit is, actually, pretty high but I give my all to them.
Carry on, Annie.
I am in love with Sir Edger, Jo. Black kitties are my favorite. However surprising, the majority of my cats (indoor, indoor/outdoor, outdoor, and feral)are orange tabbies.
June’s Adopt-A-Cat is so important here. And, I always post everywhere to adopt from kill shelters before any other shelter. Those kill shelter babies are on death row and need immediate attention. Others can wait since they aren’t being killed TODAY.
Dee you do amazing work for cats. Bless you!!!
Oh Poe you lucky boy !
Cats do make wonderful pets. At the same time I always have issues with adoption events that let someone take the pet home on the spot. Many require more paperwork and a hold but I still see events that allow on the spot possession. Unfortunately that can lead to feel good adoptions with little to no thought to the long term.
As always I am a rabid promoter of spay and neuter and keeping your kitty in the house.
M E King,
I had a very long interview with the shelter manager before she allowed us to adopt Poe. She asked me very compelling questions that would definitely indicate one’s knowledge, experience and commitment to a kitty. The problem is with many shelters that are bursting at the seams with cats, is that they must make room for others, so many of them can’t go into deep adoption questions and checking up in advance. It is very sad. If everyone neutered and spayed their cats perhaps the population of unwanted kitties might be reduced.
If so many things weren’t going wrong in my life right now, I’d certainly want to adopt! We lost our mancat, Sammi, back in November and we’ve felt the loss of male feline influence ever since. But our eldest is 19 and very fragile, so, along with having to deal with myriad personal crises, the time isn’t right now. How I wish it was.
I’m so sorry that you lost your Sammi. What is the name of your eldest 19 y/o and any others? My oldest cat lived to be over 21 y/o, so I understand fragile, poorly groomed, and “outside the box”. But, I loved and accepted her to the end.
Personal crises throw a wrench into my life too often than I can handle sometimes. I understand. Take care.
This photo was taken the day we adopted Edgar Allen Poe. While it was not in the month of June, adopting a kitty is just amazingly wonderful. I hope you will consider celebrating this month and helping out a needy kitty.
You, Marty and Sir Edgar Allen Poe look great together in the photo. Well done in promoting the domestic cat so nicely. Let’s hope it is good month for cat adoptions.