written by Violet Winegarden, founder, Happy Cat Haven
www.happycathaven.org
Every Spring the Haven is visited day after day by
adults and their children wanting kittens. These people walk by many
beautiful needy cats who were kittens last year - some being kittens
just 5 or 6 months ago. The visitors do not even glance at these loving
creatures, while signing their names on a waiting list for kittens!
Bad enough that so many people allow their pets to breed
and breed again thus flooding our communities with a plethora of
felines, but it is also wrong to want 'kittens only' when it is a fact
that last year's kittens have filled the rooms of animal welfare groups
to overload. Many of these innocent tame and loving cats will be killed
to make room for the (also) innocent kittens born this year! What an
ugly death inducing circle we humans have created by our selfish wants!
Admittedly if you have an adult cat at home and want a
friend for them, a kitten is sometimes easier to introduce but when you
realize how very important it is to provide a home for an adult cat (so
that it has a home and thus a life) your efforts will feel very
worthwhile.
Visitors here will often say, "oh my present cat many
not even accept a kitten and certainly not another cat." I have no reply
- no words at all as I look upon some 40 or more cats, male and female,
living together in harmony in our adoption room. Sometimes, by way of
reply, I take these visitors into our "forever" room where some 15 once
abused cats are snuggled together on the bed or sitting, silent and
content on the wide sills...there is a boss cat here and that is
accepted by all in that particular room with seldom a challenge issued.
Back in the adoption room, with cats coming and going
constantly, one cat or another may decide to "take over" the room. This
causes all to feel on edge. In addition, incoming cats who have just
been neutered and are upset by their changing hormones - this is when
the water spray bottle is kept in full view but never used unless blood
may be shed. Instead, we talk gently to the cats in our normal quiet
voices, actually telling them about their situations and our
expectations - stopping our cleaning routines often to gently hush a cat
or pet a cat, always walking between the cats who are wanting to
challenge another. On occasion in the morning there will be a fair
amount of hair on the floor where a night time encounter has taken
place, however when quiet words are spoken, any aggression can be
reduced.
In a home situation, sometimes it is wise to keep the
incoming adult in a bedroom with its own litter pan, water bowl and food
dishes for a week or so. The home cat and the newcomer may then sniff
one another under the door and even touch paws in their efforts to
satisfy their insatiable curiosity! When the door is opened and the
entire house is available for the new cat to explore, a fight is hardly
worth the effort. Instead, a few hisses and growls may be heard. Very
soon - in a week or so - these two cats will be happy campers and
bonding!
We humans have a desire to interfere with a cat's way of
dealing with changes in their lives. I feel that a watchful silence is
the quickest way to help create friendships between felines. In other
words, let us humans just mind our own business for a change thus
allowing our cats to go about theirs.
Yes, kittens are magic and have their place in the
scheme of things. However, when you adopt an adult cat your are not just
giving a cat a home, you are very probably giving it a life as well.
Go on to Where Have
They Gone?
Return to 27 June 2001 Issue
Return to Newsletters
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