Читать книгу Cats For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 40

At the beginning of her career as a pet-care writer, Gina went to a conference for shelter workers and sat in on a seminar on making cats comfortable and keeping them healthy in the high-stress environment of a shelter. One of the presenters was a woman who’d made great changes in how her facility handled cats, and she had the pictures to prove it.

Previously, the cat facilities at her shelter had been a converted dog run with a lid on it to prevent escapes. All the cats were thrown into that run — and “thrown” is exactly how they got there. The only way a cat left that run was for adoption or death, and either way, the escape was the same: He was lassoed by a noose on the end of a pole and lifted out by the neck, hissing in anger and crying in terror. Imagine what a horrible impression a cat who’d been treated that way would make on a prospective adopter! (Not that the impression mattered much, however, because nearly all the cats were put to death at that horrid place.)

That shelter has changed so much today, and so have many others (sadly, though, not all). Cats and kittens are treated with more respect and caring, even at the end of their lives, and are housed in ways that make them feel more comfortable and keep them healthier, even in the challenging environment of a shelter. Many shelters today offer clean cages in a quiet area away from dogs, or multicat “colony” housing, making the surroundings as pleasant as possible for the cats.

Part of the trend towards keeping cats and kittens relaxed and comfortable while they wait for new homes is expressed in how many shelters offer “hiding spaces” for these pets so they can escape and chill without being stared at. Some of these retreats are as simple as cardboard boxes with a hole cut into the side. The nation’s shelter veterinarians have been promoting “portals,” which are passageways between two existing cages that allow cats to have their litter box separate from food and water dishes. C’mon: You wouldn’t want to eat in the bathroom, would you?

Creative outreach programs — especially online — working in partnership with the media and with businesses such as pet-supply superstores take pets where the people are to increase the volume of adoptions. And shelters themselves are changing — after years of listening to people talk about avoiding the gloomy surroundings, progressive organizations are giving their buildings a face-lift to make them light, bright, and inviting. The best shelters have well-trained, caring staffs and a healthy core of volunteers to keep cats socialized and counsel potential adopters about their responsibilities to their new companion.

Today’s shelter cats are more adoptable than ever before, thanks to programs that evaluate pets and perform basic health services — and some extraordinary ones — before animals are made available to the public. Forget your old ideas about shelters as nothing more than gloomy places for pets to die — bright, clean, airy, and upbeat are the words to describe many shelters today.

Making a decision about a shelter cat or kitten can be difficult. You may want to take them all, and the realization that some of these animals aren’t going to find a new home softens even the hardest heart. But you aren’t doing anyone any favors if you let your heart make all the decisions here. Take a friend to help keep you from settling for a poor fit — and make sure that your friend isn’t a bigger mush than you are, or you may both end up with the wrong pet! Play it cool.

Be aware of some potential problems with shelter pets. Shelter kittens and cats are stressed, which puts them at higher risk for contracting upper respiratory infections, which are generally treatable but will mean veterinary care from the start, adding to the cost of start-up care.

Although most shelter cats — like most cats in general — are shorthaired and of no particular breed, purebred cats do show up in shelters, although not with the frequency of purebred dogs. You may never see a rare breed of cat — such as the Devon Rex or Havana Brown — show up at your local shelter, but if you’re looking for a more common Persian or Siamese, keep shelters in mind. You could get the breed of your dreams at a very reasonable price. (There are also many breed-specific rescue groups, so check out those, too.)

All shelters are not the same. Some are run by municipal animal-control facilities, some by nonprofit humane organizations — and decent shelters exist in both categories. Good kittens and cats are in any shelter, no matter how run-down the facilities and demoralized the staff. After all, a cat can’t help where he’s dumped. But just as you can improve your odds of buying a healthy, happy kitten by choosing a reputable breeder, you can better the chance of a successful adoption by choosing a progressive shelter, one that visibly cares about the animals, the adopters, and its staff.