I lost my cat about half a year ago. Finally decided to start looking for a new cat and I spend this past weekend visiting several rescues. There were a lot of cats, mostly kittens, available.
I was a bit taken aback at the aggressiveness of some of the staff, who were like pushing and almost arguing with me that i had to have multiple cats and how superior having multiple cat is and it’s not responsible to only have one cat. I am really looking for an adult cat, but I’d consider a kitten, but the staff were aggressively insisting I had to take two kittens or a kitten and an adult and didn’t really listen to me when I tried to claim my lifestyle isn’t really the best for two cats as I travel quite a bit and I can only travel with one cat, they kind of them went sour grapes on me. It was really jarring and off-putting.
Anyway, least to say I didn’t really get any one on one time with any cat I was interested in and I walked away disappointed. I put my application in anyway, and now I’m getting voicemails and texts again like pleading for me to take 2-3 kittens or bonded adult pairs. When i reply I’m not looking for a kitten and I already have a dog who would be more than happy to play and be friends with a single cat, they just kind of come back at me insisting no you need two cats. This is across five different shelters this same kind of thing happened.
Is this a new thing? I have adopted cats before and never had I had this experience. Both times I adopted before it was far more laid back and the rescue staff were far less pushy, and I ended up adopted an single adult cat who were surrender for behavior issues I was able to rectify after a few months of focused attention and training, who became amazing animals. This is what I’m looking to do again. I am more than happy to put personal effort in, and it is weird to me the staff are like insisting ‘two cats is easier than one’. I don’t want easy. I don’t see why that is problematic?
Are the shelters just like desperate to get rid of animals now and bullying potential adopters? Or is this another kind of trend like raw dog food, that rescue folks insist on pushing on new prospective pet owners? I had to deal when I adopted my dog a few years ago, there were some dog rescues who were like insisting you had to go on a raw dog food diet and it was… weird and offputting. Nobody was insisting you had to adopt two animals or a puppy or anything.
I will even say I have adopted from two of these rescues before, but I also applied to some new ones who seemed to have some cats who fit my needs, but they all actively steered me away from the cats i asked about and were pushing kittens or adults pairs on me that I had not inquired about.
Would having a dog already in my home also be why they are kinda pushing kittens on me? I understand that might be easier to integrate, but I kinda know what I’m looking for and have introduce animals before very successfully.
I’m sorry you’ve had this experience. Bringing home a new family member should be exciting and fun.
It’s hard to answer your question without knowing your location. Even so, different rescues often have different policies, so they’ll vary even in the same area.
Not excusing the staff’s pushiness here, but it’s not uncommon to see rescues only adopting out kittens in multiples. Unlike puppies, having multiple kittens tends to reduce behavior issues and adoption returns. It’s generally better for kittens to have a playmate of a similar age or activity level in regards to their development and temperament. Of course every cat and kitten is an individual, and this isn’t a hard rule.
That doesn’t explain why they’re pushing kittens on you when you’ve expressed interest in adults. Sadly, adoptions are down across the US for both dogs and cats. It’s also the thick of kitten season, so this time of year we see more kitten euthanasias than in the winter. It could be desperation and compassion fatigue on the part of the staff.
I wish you the best of luck in finding a wonderful new cat!
Thanks. If they are going to have to put down kittens, yeah I can understand the desperation. I do feel like they were trying to guilt/shame me a bit, which is manipulative.
To be fair it was really depressing going to the shelters, but I take adoption very seriously and I know the right thing to do is find a cat that integrates with my existing lifestyle and my dog is the highest priority, and am not sure I would enjoy having a kitten, let alone two. Personally I’m not really a puppy/kitten person, my animals are/were all in the 3-5 age range when they were adopted.
The last two cats I adopted had been returned multiple times and it was tremendously rewarding to give them a home where they could be accepted and thrive.
I’ll just say its super easy for a single cat to get lonely and for you to not be enough to keep it feeling socially engaged or entertained or whatever. They are very much social creatures, even if they dont like each other and obviously they as beggars dont get to be choosers but its something I recommend, even if you have to stagger it out (get used to the workflow with one cat then surprise it with a mate later)
I kind of wish I had been in a circumstance to immediately get a second (my first likely would have been better socialized and less rough in playing which i cant do with her because she goes for blood in the absence or a playmate early) but then my third would not have ended up in the roster so it all works out either way but I do recommend it if they are all neutered/spayed and shots etc are up to date
Try not to take it personally, like yes they want to move cats so theres room for new arrivals and all that but its not a bad idea for the cats’ wel-being and taking pressure of you to be its chronic focused entertainer.
There is also a deep joy in watching the two of them develop their own little world between them, seeing them chase each other or compete for shit, and establish their little internal “Pecking Order” that you get to be a fly on the wall for. Its like free AnimalPlanet or some shit haha, little domestic Lions
Maybe the area is struggling with a huge kitten influx?
Yes, one shelter we went to had 50 kittens and like 10 adult cats. The others weren’t that bad, but most had about 50/50 kittens to adults. They were all about 80% full and said they had more cats available in fosters and more incoming.
Oh man that reminds me of my recent adoption story.
I went to the rescue to get a new cat because the last one got eaten by coyotes and they wanted to give me two which I wasn’t completely unreceptive of but they said if I had two cats I needed at least three litter pans.
I’ve only ever had one for my cats even if I had one or two but they said I needed one for each cat plus one extra.
After a little back and forth I decided against getting a cat right at that moment but they still insisted I get a litter pan because even with no cats you still need one litter pan.
Never in my life have I been made to feel more out of place than at a shelter. Ended up with a craigslist puppy instead because it was just easier than submitting to their insane scruples. They also steered me heavily towards the cats (which I did not want) and made me feel like a child molester for asking if i could see the dogs.
