Adoption is not a Temporary Option

         Doomed by their own families, maturity can be a cat’s worst enemy.  Watching two young felines from the window, I realize they are the same cats brought home as cute kittens by our neighbor weeks ago.  Kids were constantly seen cuddling them.  Now, dragging their tails behind them, they are getting stepped on and rejected.  My mistress, Hun, has been hearing their mewing and is carefully observing them.  When she opens the door, they dash inside and tentatively explore before she secures them in a carrier. Calls to friends; family members; co-workers; veterinarians; pet stores and animal shelters are exhausted.  I hear Hun repeatedly explain about how they are young indoor cats that were abandoned by neighbors, who moved during the night. "No" she couldn't take them she said, but wanted to help. Hope came when a pet store owner agreed to take them.  However, that same pet store owner had a change of heart once Hun arrived there.  She was told the cats were cute, but too big and would never be adopted. A staff member at the store also noticed fleas on the cats.   

        Eventually the cats were accepted at the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter, which is a kill shelter that works to move animals to other shelters that don’t put unwanted pets down, but most of them were full to capacity. Hun reluctantly gave them the carrier to keep along with a generous donation.

        Although Hun was not the owner, she did a lot of legwork trying to find the cats shelter, and in the process experienced a lot of grief and guilt. Kittens are adorable, but they grow up.  Some humans think it’s a cute idea to buy kittens for their kids to play with but responsibility is not taken into consideration for the kitten’s care. A cat in the early stages of a treatable disease can live a long, healthy life, if diagnosed and treated properly. Ultimately, many abandoned cats become sick as well, and even if a kind soul adopts them, their fate can change. Diagnosed with a disease upon being examined by a veterinarian, the owner's pet may be abandoned again. Vet bills are very expensive and a sick pet requires extra care which can be time-consuming for a busy owner. Had the original owners thought twice about adopting those two cats maybe they would have been adopted by another owner with a more stable situation who could have provided them with a permanent home. Even though a cat can adapt, it's a creature of habit and becomes disoriented when displaced from its human family and home.  Getting at the root of the problem, spaying and neutering cats and having them examined early could help end the cycle of unwanted cats.

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A Cat’s Prayer

I pray for the privilege of not being born
...not to be born until you can assure me
protection from torture and being forlorn
the right to live healthy, to roam and chase mice,
enjoying life in a caring home that is nice
...not to be born until my body is deemed
precious and humans have ceased to be mean,
exploiting it because it is plentiful and cheap .

Author Unknown

The Brookhaven Animal Shelter:

355 Abandonment of animals 

A person being the owner or possessor, or having charge or custody of an animal, who abandons such animal, or leaves it to die in a street, road or public place, or who allows such animal, if it becomes disabled, to lie in a public street, road or public place more than three hours after he receives notice that it is left disabled, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.