So many domestic cats so close together saddens me

I have mixed emotions about this video. We don't know where this is or in fact what this is but it must be some kind of shelter somewhere. And some people say that the domestic cat is solitary!! I think that you can see that the domestic cat is no longer essentially solitary because they put up with or adapt to this kind of forced social behaviour where they are crammed together in a small space. But they appear to be safe and cared for which is an improvement on being street cats.

They seem to be getting on pretty well but I would expect there to be some stresses and some fights. They are probably fairly content to be there because the alternative is to be on the street where they wouldn't be looked after. 

Domestic and feral cats accept this kind of unnatural situation if there is a food source. The benefit of the food source outweighs or masks the unnaturalness and unpleasantness (at least potentially) of being so close together. Crammed together actually. It saddens me. It is a symptom of human failure in their relationship with the domestic cat.

Screenshot.

They have nowhere to go for a bit of peace and quiet and to claim their own territory. Domestic cats are essentially territorial and, in this situation, they have to put that territorial attitude aside completely despite the fact that it is deeply embedded in their psyche.

Woman adopts 20-year-old shelter cat to remove him from the shelter

Image: Quora.com

On Quora. com:

"My friends daughter went to adopt a cat from the local shelter... she chose this cat because he was 20 years old & didn't want him to spend the rest of his life in a shelter...

There aren't words for a moment like this... the picture says it all..."

~Copied and pasted from another page~

RELATED: 26-year-old Rescue Cat Quickly Adopted.

Comment: brilliant. It's the kind of attitude all us should have when it comes to cat adoption. 

I'll tell you this: I bet this was and probably still is a brilliant relationship with rewards on both sides.

Example of how an animal shelter assessed a kitten's personality incorrectly

Below are the words of an anonymous person. I really do not know who wrote them. Also, they made this statement about five years ago so this is now history. It was a draft article which I never completed. I thought this woman's words should not be deleted and so decided to publish them on this subdomain website. They are wise words. Words that warn of the difficulty in assessing animal personality at shelters.

This is about as sad a photo as you'll see of a cat at an animal shelter awaiting adoption or death. Photo taken by: Delanie Pruit.

They are telling words because they remind me that not uncommonly shelter staff assess kittens and adult cats incorrectly as to their adaptability based upon their character. We don't know how often this happens but it is certain that hundreds of thousands (millions?) of shelter cats and dogs, on the planet, or perhaps just in the USA, UK and Europe are killed unnecessarily because they have been incorrectly assessed as feral or with behavioural problems.

RELATED: Delightful Cat Deemed Unadoptable By Animal Shelter Stress.

We all know that an animal shelter environment is not the best place to assess the character of an animal. They are stressful places. They are strange and noisy places. The whole experience is going to make even the best of cats nervous and how can a nervous cat present their best to an adopter? 

And if the cat is already slightly nervous and anxious the whole thing may just make them completely unadoptable. But take them out of the shelter environment into a foster home and you might be lucky to see the true character. How many times have you seen shelter cats described as aggressive and then re-assessed as being the friendliest cat that they have met?

RELATED: Temperament Testing Of Cats.

The story

"I recently saw a kitten listed on the Philly Urgents page. They list cats and dogs that don’t have much time left. This kitten would have been killed that night after closing if someone didn’t take her. Since I work with ferals, I went to get her, aiming to socialize and find her a home. 

She had a big sign across her cage that said, “Barn Cat Only.” I asked the shelter staff if she came in with a litter, worried that any other would be killed. 

She did come in with 2…one was already gone. When I met the other and saw how friendly she was, I knew they had made a mistake with the other.

I brought them both home. It didn’t take long to realize that the feral cat was just a shy little girl, but one of the friendliest cats I’ve ever had the pleasure of handling! 

She just needed her sister to help her relax, because she was sick and has vision trouble in one eye. How sad that she was going to be killed."

Man looks after severely neglected cat but is accused of stealing the cat by the owner

This is a cat ownership story that ends well but it's a bit of a saga to get to that point. It appears to come from America where a kind-hearted man was concerned about a cat that had been locked outside for around two years by his owner, a woman. The man took pity on the cat and fed him and let him in when he could. As a consequence, the woman came around to his home and accused him of stealing her cat. He felt obliged to stop helping the cat at that point as he didn't want to cause any trouble.

Read the story in the light of this update, please: I have learned that the woman's then boyfriend insisted the cat was put outside. She complied. She's now dumped her boyfriend. I feel sorry for her but she's lost her cat. Moral: stand your ground if your boyfriend tells you to get rid of the cat.

He is now called Jarvis. This is the star of the story. He's now loved by a good man. Photo: Reddit.

About two weeks later he actually saw this cat hit by a car while crossing the road at a time when his neighbour was not at home. The cat was badly injured. The man took the cat to the vet where a leg was amputated at a cost of $3000.

The man decided to take steps to keep the cat. He reported the cat as a stray to the vet. The vet checked the cat for a microchip but he didn't have one so he helped him contact a shelter to file a "lost pet" report. There is a five day holding period at that shelter during which the owner can claim ownership. After the five days is up the cat is available for rehoming. Nobody claimed the cat. The man claimed ownership.

The previous owner, the negligent woman who had previously accused him of stealing the cat, saw the now three-legged cat in the man's window and demanded that he hand over her pet. She threatened him by saying that she would contact the police. She accused him again of stealing her cat. He said that she must have the wrong cat because he has three legs. He slammed the door in her face.

She screamed through the door for a while and then left. The man is waiting to find out if she did indeed contact the police. He posted the story on Reddit.com and ask for advice. Everyone said that he did a good job. They praised him. They said he was safe from any prosecution for theft because he had reported the matter to the local shelter and the true owner had had a five day period to claim her pet.

He posted on Reddit:

"The cat’s name is Jarvis and he is very happy back as an indoor cat. He is chipped even though I didn’t plan on letting him out again. He’s been recovering remarkably well, even if he’d rather meow at me to carry him rather than walk on his own -.- we’re gonna have a good life together."

My opinion: Great ending. Nice man. The Reddit users are correct. The man did the right thing. He is safe from prosecution. The woman is all mouth and no trousers. She has lost her cat companion and rightly so. The story ended up well as this cat is now loved and in a warm and friendly home. Sadly he has lost one of his legs in the journey to a good home. This should not have happened. This man is also very generous in spending $3000 on someone else's (at the time).

Top three reasons why Australians adopt cats from animal shelters

A study published in 2015 titled Determinants of Choice and outcomes for adult cats and kittens adopted from an Australian animal shelter found that the top three reasons for adopting a cat from an animal shelter are (1) it was the right thing to do and (2) they wanted to help the shelter and (3) they believed that the shelter was a trusted and a credible option. The remaining 13 reasons are listed below in a chart and in words:

The shelter provided cats and kittens which are sterilised, vaccinated and micro-chipped. It was also convenient to get to the shelter because their opening hours were suitable. Another reason is that they had checked perhaps online and wanted a particular kitten at a shelter. They also wanted after adoption support and they found that shelter cats and kittens were good value. They also believed that a shelter provided lots of choice and that they were convenient to get to. Some had already adopted from a shelter and they were happy with the experience while others had been referred to a shelter. Some felt that shelter cats and kittens were cheap to adopt and had heard about low-cost promotions for cats. Others found that cats and kittens were cheaper when adopted from a shelter and finally others said that friends and family thought that they should adopt from a shelter because, I presume, they advised that it was the right thing to do.

The chart:

Chart showing reasons for adoption. Source: the study referred to above.

The study was conducted by Sarah Zito, Mandy Paterson, Dianne Vankan, John Morton, Pauleen Bennett and Clive Phillips.

The study confirms that the type of person who adopts from an animal shelter is thoughtful and in general wants to do the right thing which is what I'd expect.

Cat coat colour and personality stereotyping

'You can't judge a cat by its colour' is the mantra to follow at a cat shelter. Adopters should spend time with cats at shelters and not prejudge using stereotyping. Some people judge domestic cats by their coat colour but there is little evidence that a cat's coat type and colour has an effect on personality. 

Male white British Longhair cat bred in Russia by the Golden Leris cattery. Photo:  Питомник британских кошек Golden Leris located in Moscow, Russia. White cats seen as aloof.

It is anecdotal and stereotypes circulate on the internet. The trouble is that typecasting cats by their colour has implications at cat shelters. We know the colours which are the least popular such as black. Here are some more associations between colour and personality:

• Orange cats (usually orange or red tabbies) are stereotyped as friendly;
• Black, white and tricolour (tortoiseshell) cats are stereotyped as being antisocial;
• Black cats are regarded as having less extreme character traits;
• White cats are typecast as being aloof, shy, lazy, and calm;
• Tortoiseshell cats are regarded as being intolerant ('catitude) and are more trainable.

The lead author of a study, Delgado, on this stereotyping said: "To date there is little evidence that these perceived differences between differently colored cats actually exist, but there are serious repercussions for cats if people believe that some cat colors are friendlier than others...".

Perhaps it is time for a definitive study on the link between coat type and color and the cat's personality if a link exists. 

Red tabbies are regarded as 'leadership material'! (my thoughts). 

Tortoiseshell and calico cats (tortoiseshell-and-white) cats are widely seen as having an attitude problem of sorts. 

Black cats are seen as bring bad luck. A stupid throwback to the Middle Ages. You'd think that by now people would have given up this absurd stereotype. 

Delgado and his fellow researchers used Craigslist to reach out to cat owners, requesting them to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 the personalities of black, white, bicolor, tricolor (tortoiseshell) and orange cats using the following traits: active, aloof, bold, calm, friendly, intolerant, shy, stubborn, tolerant and trainable. 

Most participants said that personality was an important factor in selecting a cat to adopt but coat color played an unconscious or conscious role in that choice. 

When more than one black cat is in a shelter adoption room few adoptions take place said Berkeley East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) cat coordinator Cathy Marden.

Three things to think about before adopting from a shelter

I will leave it to Joanna Miller, the Director of Operations at the SPCA, to explain three points worth considering before adopting a cat or dog from an animal shelter.

 

Cat Sanctuary Picture

Cat Sanctuary - copyright All rights reserved by fofurasfelinas

This is perhaps the best cat sanctuary picture on the internet. The other ones by Giane Portal (the photographer) are as good. Giane is one of the best cat photographers on the internet. This cat sanctuary is in Brazil and it is a genuine sanctuary or shelter. In other words these were homeless cats that now have a permanent home in really pleasant surroundings. I have enormous admiration for the people who own and manage the sanctuary. It can't be easy both on a financial level and in terms of simply looking after 300 cats. Giane has given me permission to publish the photograph here. Thanks Giane. It is interesting on another level. You might be able to detect what cat coat types are most common in Brazil from the picture. On this evidence, black or dilute black cats and orange cats lead.