June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. The event was created to help the underdog in the shelter, namely cats, find good homes. You see, people generally go to shelters to adopt puppies, then dogs, then kittens, and then maybe cats. That’s because people often acquire cats differently than dogs. Dogs are often a choice; cats, on the other hand, like to choose us. They wander onto our porches, sit in our backyards, and just, in general, slowly move into our spaces.

Bruce, above, whose face may make you think of Garfield the cat, and Corbin, who is more like his canine counterpart Odie in cat fur, are just two examples of how different cat personalities can be. In spite of misconceptions, all cats are not alike. Each resonates with a unique personality that is often not seen until they spot the right person.

But there are lots of great cats that wander into spaces where people can’t keep them. Those cats end up at shelters and with their wandering days over, they really have no chance of entrancing would be caretakers unless those caretakers wander into them.

So Adopt A Shelter Cat month is really a good-natured attempt to lure people into the shelter so that cats can work their magic. And, of course, it’s no coincidence that the month is slap-dab in the middle of cat breeding season, when the population of homeless felines is at its highest. (Just a friendly reminder folks to spay/neuter your pets.)

So why don’t cats get adopted as much as dogs? They talk more than they listen. But so do humans, so we don’t often hear what they are saying. They don’t follow us around the house as if we were gods. Dogs do and so get our approval more. But cats keep us humble, and we consider it an honor when they grace us with their presence. Most people I know could benefit from having both dogs and cats in their lives. I have two dogs and two cats and, thankfully, my cats remind me daily that I am not nearly as special as my dogs make me out to be.

There also seems to be more of a preponderance of self-proclaimed dog people than cat people. And, I am not sure why, but lots of people feel they can confess to me their displeasure and disapproval of cats. They can never give me a solid reason for not liking them, only that they are dog people, and apparently they think real dog people don’t like cats.

Of course, that’s just a bunch of hooey, because I am a dog person and a cat person — yes, you can be both.

I don’t try to change their minds: people usually hold on tightly to their beliefs. But I do try to convey the incredible nature of cats in the hopes that they might open their eyes for just a minute and see what I see. It usually falls on deaf hears, but hey, I have to give it a try, right?

So it makes sense to call attention to felines during a month when the highest population of them need homes. Cats have about three litters a year; and most of the population is born between April and October. But the summer months bring the most cats to shelters, and thus it is up to shelters to find creative ways to get self-proclaimed cat people to adopt.

If you are one of those special people, but haven’t been chosen yet, visit a shelter to see if there is a cat there looking for you. I bet there are cats willing to give dog people a chance, too.

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