Adopting Cats

Back at the start of this blog I (very) briefly mentioned some problems I had trying to adopt cats from Cat Rescue Centres or the RSPCA and said I'd come back to it. So while I'm still trying to figure out the look of the blog I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about my experience.

I originally set out to adopt cats from the RSPCA or a Cat Rescue Centre because I know they are heart-breakingly full of unwanted cats and kittens. However, living in a flat and wanting to adopt kittens as house pets left me unable to do so.

Most of these places won't allow you to adopt a cat  as an indoor cat unless there is a medical reason the cat should not be going outside (eg. the cat is blind).

Having been brought up with 5 cats over 19 years I very much know how much cats love the freedom to go where they want, when they want. But, I also don't think it is cruel to keep cats as house pets if they are given a loving and stimulating environment and aren't over-fed. In my opinion it's much much better than being penned up in a rescue centre or being abandoned to go feral or the other worse things cruel people do when they no longer want their cat. Boooooooo to them!

To add insult to injury (for me), when I first started looking in to adopting a cat (which was many many months before it happened) the RSPCA were complaining about there being too many outdoor cats chasing and killing off the population of birds and small mammals. Yet they won't let you adopt a kitten to be a house cat!

I must point out at this stage that there is one exception where I do agree with the policy. That is when a cat has been brought up as an outdoor cat and is very much used to the outdoors. I think removing a freedom already given is cruel.

However, I think the contradiction of them wanting fewer outdoor cats for the sake of birds and small mammals but not letting you have indoor cats is a little bit ridiculous. Many centres come round and inspect your home before you're allowed to adopt too. So why not do the same for house cats and ensure they have a loving and stimulating home and the new owners understand the different needs of indoor cats with regards to food intake?

I know I'm not going to change the situation by ranting about it but I wanted to share my experience and  express that I think they're reducing the number of loving homes these cats can go to.

I think If I'd lived in a house surrounded by fields instead of a flat surrounded by busy roads my cats would be outdoor cats too. However, I feel blessed to have such adorable and loving cats and a lot of people comment about how spoiled and loved they are back. What more could they really need?