cat adoption essay

Pets’ Adoption: Cats Make This Life Happier Personal Essay

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• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
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Pets are those animals that make human lives more interesting, fulfill, and real. If a person is looking for a good companion and cannot choose the one among friends, relatives, or family, he/she can easily adopt a pet and devote some part of his/her life to this creature. Of course, pet’s adoption requires certain time, financial support, and, or course, desire.

There are so many benefits of pets’ adoption that people, who really care about own health, should take into account each of possible health benefits. As for me, I cannot imagine my life without cats.

My first meeting with cats happened when I was a little child; then I saw cats on TV. Now, I comprehend that my life will be funnier if I adopt a cat, and even more, if I persuade my close friend to follow my example: a cat does not require too much space, this animal can listen and support, if it is trained properly, and, finally, a cat may be funny to pick me up within a short period of time.

When a person lives alone and has nobody to share own ideas and feeling, it is high time to think about pet’s adoption. To my mind, it is better to talk to a little living being, even not a human, than talk to yourself. However, to make the right choice while adopting a pet, it is better to take into consideration personal preferences and lifestyle.

It is also necessary to realize that pets need love and care. It is not enough to feed it once a day and look after it. Adopting a pet means to choose an animal, who will be a part of this life, a part of a family, not just a toy for a couple of days, but a living being, who is waiting for care and love.

Of course, one of the first questions, which may appear, is what animal is better to pick up. When I watched “Tom and Jerry” for the first time, I cannot but felt sorry for that poor Tom, who always got in troubles, and I did want to help him somehow. Cats are one of the most amazing pets, who do need companionship and love.

They can easily accommodate to any spaces and lifestyles of their masters. Even more, any cat is a real individuality, who will certainly ask for additional attention and care. I, personally, like those animals, which take almost each step deliberately.

This is why a cat is the pet, which suits me a lot: my apartments are not too large, this is why I can hardly loose a little kitten; it may happen that I do not visit home for one or two days, and cats are the only one pets, who may spend such period of time alone; and, finally, if my visitors have bad intentions, my cat may feel their negative moods and scratch them.

There is one old Chinese proverb that says “Happy owner, happy cat. Indifferent owner, reclusive cat” (Allred, 2005). I agree to this very statement without any doubts: if an owner demonstrates his/her careless or angry only, the cat will never be kind to its master. If an owner is indifferent, the reaction of a cat to different events may be unpredictable, because no one trains this animal, and its natural instincts start dominating.

To my mind, it is quite possible to make this life more interesting and captivating with a cat: go outside to breathe fresh air and show your four-footed friend, to participate in numerous competitions and win prizes, to bring together your cat with the cat of your friend, to be happy when your cat gives a birth to several more little kittens. All this can make this life fulfill and happier.

A cat is the only one, whom I really need right now. A good listener, a reason to smile once again, a warm being at hand, and the best friend – all this is about my pet, I am going to adopt. This is why it is high time to stop writing and start searching for a good shelter to meet my new best friend!

Reference List

Allred, A. P. (2005). Cats’ Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities. United States: Potomac Books, Inc.

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Bibliography

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Adopting a cat: Everything you need to know about the adoption process

Adopting a cat doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s everything you need to prepare your home for your furry friend.

— Medically reviewed by Dr. Erica Irish

Everything we create is factually accurate and biased toward science → meet our team of experts

Updated February 28, 2024

Considerations before adopting a cat

Selecting the right cat, choosing the right rescue, preparing to bring your new cat home, how to introduce your cat to other pets, settling in with your new cat, frequently asked questions, the essentials.

• Choose the right rescue organization — Many rescue organizations will spay,  neuter, and vaccinate your adopted cat before you take them home.
• Create a “safe room” for your new cat — Cats take an average of 2-3 weeks to acclimate to their environment and will need a safe space to retreat when they get overwhelmed.
• Be patient when introducing your new cat to other pets  — Cats are territorial by nature, so go slow when it comes to introducing your new cat to another furry friend.

Welcoming a new cat into your home is exciting, but it also comes with a lot of unknowns — especially if it’s your first time adopting or owning a cat. The process can be incredibly rewarding, allowing you to make a difference in the life of a cat in need.

While cats don’t need daily walks and visits to the park the way dogs do, they still need regular care, attention, and exercise. Read on to learn more about the cat adoption process, considerations before getting a cat, and helpful resources that are available to you when you adopt a cat.

If you’re looking to bring a new furry friend into your home, there are a handful of things you’ll want to consider before you pursue adoption — such as:

• Lifestyle. Is your lifestyle busy, or are you a homebody? If you spend a lot of time traveling, you may find having a cat difficult. If you do decide to still get a cat, plan ahead and establish care options to step in while you’re out of town.
• Children. If you have young children, it’s important to teach them how to approach, stroke, and handle cats; encouraging kind treatment from the start.
• Finances. Many humane societies will offer to fix your cat before you take them home. However, if they don’t, you’ll need to factor in the cost of the adoption fee, regular vet appointments, and dental care; as many cats are prone to dental issues.
• Time commitment. While cats and dogs have different needs, they can be just as much of a time commitment as dogs. Be sure to check your schedule to verify that you have plenty of time for attention and play.
• Developmental stage. Kittens are cute and playful, but they also demand a lot of attention, stimulation, and training. Adopting an adult or senior can be easier, however, as a mature cat won’t need as much attention.  Knowing the differences between kitten vs. cat will help you to choose the best furry friend for your current (and future) seasons of life.
• Other pets. Cats usually prefer having their territory, so if you have other pets in the household, they will need the time and space to adjust. Plan ahead about how you’ll provide this for them, and create an introduction plan for other furry family members in your home.
• Home size. Do you have enough space for your newly adopted cat to play and get exercise? If you live in a small apartment, you’ll want to consider where stuff like the litter box will live, and exactly how much space your cat will want to roam.
• Indoor vs. outdoor living. Before you adopt, consider if you’ll be raising your cat to be an indoor or outdoor cat. Remember: Even if you plan for them to be an outdoor cat, they’ll need to stay indoors for a few weeks to get acclimated to their new territory, feel safe, and become familiar with their new home.

Now that you’ve given some thought to the various lifestyle factors to consider when adopting a cat, it’s time to figure out which type of cat makes the right cat for your household.

Adoptive pet parents have many options when it comes to selecting a cat. As a result, many feel overwhelmed by the process.

Like any other major life decision, however, doing a process of elimination can help you reach a decision a little easier. Here are a few factors to consider when you select a cat:

Some people may want to take home a fluffy kitten, whereas others may have their heart set on adopting the oldest cat in the shelter. Shelters usually have a range of age options, so if the age of a cat matters to you, you’ll have plenty of choices.

Before adopting a cat, it’s important to conduct breed research and determine which breed is best for your lifestyle. For example: Some cat breeds are better suited for an apartment (e.g. ragdolls and Persians) while others may enjoy being an outdoor cat better.

Temperament

Like dogs, different cat breeds have unique characteristics, personalities, and temperaments. Some breeds are very affectionate and like to snuggle, while others are more aloof or reserved. Knowing what type of temperament your breed of choice has ahead of time can make the transition to cat ownership smoother.

Younger cats or kittens tend to have fewer health issues than older cats. Older cats tend to have more health or dental issues, so you’ll want to be prepared for additional vet expenses, particularly if you’re adopting a senior cat.

👉 We do want to note: Cats of any age can have health issues. Establishing your new pet with a veterinarian as soon as possible is always best. Your vet can help ensure they’re up to date on their vaccinations, and can diagnose any health issues or extra care they might need.  

Cats do not vary as much in size as dogs might, so this is usually less of a concern for some. However, if you’re living somewhere where there may be animal restrictions or pet deposits based on size, it’s an important factor to consider. We recommend researching average breed sizes, incorporating this consideration into your breed selection process.

Scouting out the right rescue is an important part of the cat adoption process. You’ll want to pick your place based on its proximity to you, your budget, and its overall quality. We recommend reviewing rescues to see what other pet parents had to say about their animal care and selection experience.

👉 Depending on the organization, you may be able to view the animals on a rescue’s website before visiting them in person, which can help you narrow down some options to find available cats.

Our favorite rescue organizations

While some adoption organizations allow you to use a filter on their website to search for specific breeds, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to find a certain breed at a shelter.

Some cat breeds, like Savannah cats , aren’t likely to be found in rescues just because of their rarity and relative newness.

👉 If you’re looking to adopt a specific breed, you may want to consider buying from a breeder. 

Bringing your new cat home for the first time is an exciting process, but it can also be somewhat nerve-wracking. Here are a few things you can do to make sure you and your new cat are set up for success from the start.

Cat-proof your home

If you’ve never owned a cat, you’ll quickly learn that they teach you not to leave things lying out.

As you cat-proof, be sure to secure or put away breakable items. Cats love to jump on counters, explore, and climb — so they’ll likely be able to reach places you wouldn’t expect.

🚨 Keep a close eye on harmful household things like electric cords or consumables that kittens might chew on. 

👉 Having a variety of interesting kitten-safe toys for your kitten to play with will help prevent them from getting into trouble. Cat-safe toys like mouse toys, feathers, jingle balls, and crinkle balls are all great ways to enrich your cat’s life and entice their instinct to play and pretend hunt. 

Create a safe place so your new cat can acclimate

Creating a safe room or space is one of the best things you can do for a new cat, especially if you have other pets or people in your household. If they get overwhelmed, they’ll be able to go to the “safe room” and acclimate at their own pace.  Here’s how you can set up your kitty’s new safe room.

Choose a small room — Ideally, your cat’s “safe room” will be a small space, preferably with a door. A bathroom, large closet, or smaller guest room are typical choices.

Identify any hiding places — Cats can squeeze into all kinds of small spaces. Block off tight spaces behind or under furniture to keep your cat’s room safe.

Check the safe room for any potential dangers — Make sure there are no cleaning chemicals, electrical cords, tie-up pull cords on blinds, or toxic houseplants or flowers.

Add cat necessities — There should be a litter box, food and water dishes, something soft to snuggle up in, a scratcher, and a variety of toys in your safe room before you use it. It seems like a lot — but these things will help your cat acclimate quickly.

Separate the litter box from the food area — Cats don’t typically like to eat close to the area where they pee and poop, so consider placing the litter box and food dishes at opposite ends of the room to minimize stress.

Gather the necessary supplies

Planning ahead and purchasing the basic supplies for their new cat or kitten is a great way to kick off your time together.

• Food and water. Before you bring your feline friend home, make sure they have adequate food and water at the ready. It’s best to consult your family veterinarian for guidance on your kitten or cat’s dietary needs, as they can offer tailored medical advice for your cat’s specific needs.
• Litter. Choose a vet-recommended cat litter that is anti-clumping/clay-based, as other types can pose a risk if ingested. Plus, these formulas often produce less dust, reducing strain on your kitten’s respiratory system. Pelleted litter is one of the best choices out there for your cat, although there are other safe natural options.
• Collars and leashes. Cat collars should be safety collars that will self-release if a cat gets stuck. If you plan on taking your cat outside to let them roam on a leash , it’s important that you also get a cat harness. A cat’s neck is delicate and a collar should never be used for walking on a leash. The best harnesses look like little vests and should be secured in place with multiple velcro straps or buckles.

Get set up with the vet

One of the first steps in getting a new furry friend is to make sure they’re set up with a good veterinarian. If you have other pets and already have an established vet, you can usually take your new pal and start the process —but if not, you’ll want to search for a local vet with good reviews.

👉 While this step can take time, it’s vitally important. Routine veterinary care helps make sure your pet remains healthy well into their senior years. 

The first visit is especially important for adopted cats, as their known medical history may be incomplete. Vets will conduct a thorough physical exam: checking your cat’s eyes, ears, heart, lungs, and more, establishing what their unique baseline looks like.

After this, they’ll proactively address any risks or conditions your pet is dealing with, setting them up for a lifetime of health.

Cats and kittens can be territorial animals, and generally take time to warm up to other animals.

Introducing a cat to a dog

Introducing your new cat to a dog in the home is a delicate procedure. This is where a cat’s “safe room” really comes in handy, allowing the cat to have a safe place after the interaction.

Keep the pets separate at first — It’s best to keep your cat separate from your dog for the first 3-4 days in your home. The safe room comes in handy during this time. The goal here is to allow the pets to get used to each other’s presence without face-to-face contact. Even if they can’t see each other, they can hear and smell each other.

Feed them on opposite sides of a closed door — This helps your dog and cat get further used to each other’s presence with a safety barricade between them. It also associates the other animal’s presence with pleasant things, such as food. With each feeding, move their food bowls a little closer to the closed door. Continue this process until each pet can eat calmly right next to the door.

Introduce face-to-face meetings — Once your pets can eat their food calmly right next to the door, it’s time to conduct meet and greets in a common area of the house. Keep your dog on a leash, and let the cat approach and go as he wishes. Make sure to give your dog commands to “sit” and “stay” as you go, and reward them with treats for calm behavior. If either pet demonstrates aggression, calmly redirect them and return your cat to its safe room.

Repeat sessions — Repeat these sessions as part of a daily routine until the interactions become pleasant and relaxed. If the cat attempts to leave the room, allow it to do so, and do not let the dog chase it.

Allow pets to be loose together — When both animals appear to get along, it’s time to let them interact off-leash. If tension erupts, go back to the earlier introduction steps and repeat the process. Make sure your new cat continues to have access to a dog-proof safe room at all times.

🚨 Be sure to never use either animal’s sanctuary area as a place of meeting, and do not restrain either pet in your arms. Either misstep could lead to injuries for both you and your pet pal.

Introducing a cat to a cat

Once a cat is fully comfortable in their “safe room,” it’s time to start introducing them to other household cats. Here’s how to start:

• Scent swapping — Start by gradually introducing the scent of the other cat to each cat (without actually physically meeting). Begin scent swapping by taking one piece of each cat’s bedding (e.g. — a single blanket) and placing it in one of the other cat’s beds. This allows them to get used to each other without the stress of a physical meeting.
• Allow exploration of each cat’s area —  If both cats are calm after scent swapping, allow each cat to explore the other cat’s area. For example, the resident cat could be briefly confined to the owner’s bedroom for the evening, which would allow the new cat to inspect the resident cat’s area of the home — and vice versa.
• Allow visual contact —  Letting cats see each other should only happen through a physical barrier. You can do this by holding a door slightly ajar with each cat on either side, through a mesh barrier like a screen, or by using a child’s stair gate or pet crate. Pick one, and allow cats to sniff each other through the barrier.

👉 If either cat exhibits signs of aggressive behavior like hissing or swatting, separate them — but don’t punish them. Repeat the process of visual contact a few times until the cats are calm.

• Supervised physical contact — Once both cats respond well to visual contact, the next step is to remove the barrier and let the cats mingle. You can do this over a feeding time when there is food as a positive element. The goal is to make sure cats are comfortable in each other’s presence, however, they don’t need to interact. If the cat’s interaction is negative, go back a step.
• Free unsupervised access — If both cats appear to be comfortable with supervised physical contact, allow for short bouts (3-5 minutes) of unsupervised time. Cats should still have their areas or pet-safe spaces to retreat to if necessary. However, if the interactions remain positive, you can slowly combine areas.

Pay attention to both cat’s reactions to reintroducing the bedding. If either actively avoids it or even hisses, remember to go at your cat’s speed and take things at a slower pace. Also, be sure each cat has their own food and water bowls to avoid competition.

Most cats will adjust to their new home on their own within 1-3 weeks. However, there are some things you can do to help them settle in and bond quickly. Our tip? Give them extra attention for the first few days at home. Play with them, pet them , and allow them to walk up to you and interact with you. All these things will help them learn that you’re “safe” to trust.

Adopting a cat is an exciting adventure, offering prospective paw-rents the chance to give a shelter animal a new life. Whether you’re adopting a cat or a kitten, there are some basic considerations and guidelines you’ll want to follow to make sure your furry friend has a calm transition home. You can always turn to your local veterinarian or the resources at betterpet if you need support on your cat parent journey

What is the 3 3 3 rule for cats?

Cats take some time to get used to their new environment and new routines. The “3 3 3 Rule” or “Rule of Three” helps pet parents gauge the time it might take for their cat to fully acclimate to his home — a process that typically occurs in threes. For example — your cat might take three days, three weeks, and three months to acclimate

What to avoid when adopting a cat?

One of the biggest things to avoid when adopting a new cat is making sudden changes in its environment such as to its food, litter, or water. While kittens tend to adapt to change faster, adult cats find change stressful, especially when entering a new home. It’s best to introduce changes gradually after the settling-in period is over.

Is it a good idea to adopt a cat?

It’s always good to adopt rather than buy from a breeder. Each year, approximately 530,000 cats are euthanized Trusted Source American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty to animals. Go to source in kill shelters. Adopting a cat is a chance to give an animal a new life and have a very rewarding experience by giving an animal a furever home.

What is the best cat age to adopt?

The best age to adopt a cat ultimately depends on your lifestyle and the commitment you’re looking to take on as a pet owner. Kittens have a lot of energy, whereas a senior cat may be a better fit for a slower-paced household.

What are the red flags when adopting a cat?

Some red flags when adopting a cat from an animal shelter would be if they have a poor track record of adoption or repeat instances of adoption returns. While this doesn’t mean that they are “bad,” you might want to ask why they have this in their history.

If you’re adopting from a breeder, a private party, or a foster home, beware of people who have multiple litters of cats at once or who don’t allow you to see where the adoptable cats are kept as this could indicate the cats aren’t being kept in a good condition or may have health issues.

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How To Create A Great Cat Adoption Profile

Creating a great cat adoption profile is crucial in helping your furry friend find a forever home. A well-crafted adoption profile can make all the difference in getting your cats and kittens noticed by potential adopters and increasing the chances of a quick and successful adoption.

Having a great listing that is up-to-date, accurate, and has great photography will help your listing rise to the top of the searches, helping your cats get more views on their profile. A good listing will also help potential adopters connect with your cat emotionally and help them understand what it would be like to live with them. With so many cats and kittens in need of homes, it’s important to do everything you can to make your cat’s profile stand out and increase the chances of a successful adoption.

Here are some tips for cat fosters or shelters on how to create an effective cat adoption profile that will stand out on websites like Petfinder or Adopt-A-Pet .

Cat Adoption Profile Examples

Here are a few examples of great cat adoption profiles. These follow the adoption profile template we outline below, with creative and personality-fitting Petfinder names, detailed and story-driven descriptions, and cute photography and videos.

Name: Tatum

Description: Meet Tatum! Little Tatum Tot is the full package. He’s a talkative and opinionated cat who loves to engage with humans. He’s absolutely gorgeous! He’s a strong young male cat who enjoys being active and exploring.

Tatum is incredibly loving and a total companion cat. He is a lap cat, a shoulder cat, and a cuddler, and you can even dress him up in outfits for the holidays! He’ll follow you around the house and then sit next to you on the couch.

He loves feather toys, scratchers, and laser points. He says he prefers to have his own space to do his activities without other pets bugging him all the time. He might be an introvert..

Tater is FIV positive, which means he is immunocompromised and should have a healthy diet and safe indoor life.

If you’ve made it this far, then you can tell that there’s something special about Tatum. There is! This kitty is ready to thrive and make someone very, very happy. He will make a great friend and active companion. He’s totally a cool dude!

Name: Dusty

Description: Dusty is a gorgeous kitten who is extremely cuddly and melts in your arms. She is great with other cats and kittens and will be perfect as a companion to a lonely cat. Dusty has medium-length hair but keeps herself perfectly groomed!

Name: Tokka

Description: Meet Tokka! Tokka was born in an outdoor cat colony, but she’s incredibly friendly and ready to be indoor-only . She’s playful, talkative, feisty, and cuddly. She has it all!

Tokka may cause cuteness overload! Her cuteness is overwhelming and may cause you to fall down due to excessive cute kitten behavior.

Tokka has an adorable wide face and is very expressive. She will tell you about everything you did wrong with a single glare!

Contact us today and ask about Tokka. This cute monster won’t last long!

Name: Bebop

Description: Meet Bebop! This incredibly friendly kitty is transitioning to become an indoor-only cat and looking for a new home. He’s a member of an outdoor cat colony and was, unfortunately, probably an abandoned kitty.

He’s very friendly, a lap cat, and a shoulder cat! This kitty is one of a kind! Be sure to check out all his videos online because he’s a bit of a social influencer already. You’ll probably need to make him his own instacats profile or website to showcase all his crazy antics 🙂 He should go to an active family.

Check out our other videos of Bebop on Instagram and YouTube @trapandreturn .

Name: Skeletor

Description: Outta my way, can’t you see I’m playin’ here! Ok, let’s do a quick cuddle break, but then I want to play some more. I’m very social, I have a lot of other cat friends, and I like to live my own life. I also have a lot of nicknames because I’m such a cool-looking cat!

I like to play ball and catch, which is my favorite thing. I would come play for you if you would be my forever home!

Cat Adoption Profile Template

Here is an effective pet adoption template and tips for a Petfinder profile or animal bio that will help showcase all your pet’s best features. From a cute profile picture to a compelling description that leaves the reader feeling like they already have a new best friend, these profile tips and ideas will help your little guy find the perfect match and new family.

Take Great Photos And Videos

First impressions are everything, and a great photo is the first thing that potential adopters will see when they come across your pet’s profile. Make sure to take multiple photos, including close-ups of their face and full-body shots. It’s also a good idea to take photos of your cats doing something they love, such as playing with a toy or cuddling with you, as this can help potential adopters see their personality and what it would be like to live with them.

Petfinder allows you to load six photos, or five photos and one video. Load as many high-resolution photos as you can. If you have a few good ones, avoid loading poor-quality photos and only use the good ones.

Here are 21 more ways to take great cat adoption photos !

Write A Compelling Description

The next step is to write a compelling and heartfelt description of your pet. Start by introducing your pet and giving its name, age, breed, and sex. You don’t need to have great writing skills to make a nice pet profile. You can even use Chat GPT or other AI writing tools to help you!

Writing the description in 1st person tone is another way to make the profile more engaging. You can also make up a cat persona that fits its personality to give the description more life and emotion.

Give a brief overview of their personality and use descriptors like sweet, affectionate, friendly, outgoing, or shy. Highlight any unique traits that make them special and different from other pets. If they are shy or skittish with humans, explain how you’ve been working with them to help them come out of their shells and put a positive spin on it. You can also describe the cat’s favorite things and what toys they like to play with.

If you know the cat’s rescue story, including it in the pet profile will help potential adopters understand how the cat came to be in need of a new home and will also help them connect with the kitty on an emotional level. Many potential adopters ask how the rescue got the cat and want to know if there are any littermates and siblings. Some people will adopt two cats, especially if they are siblings or bonded cats .

Be sure to include any special needs or requirements the cat or kitten may have, such as medication, a specific diet, or even fun food they prefer. You don’t want to surprise the adopter, which can result in them returning the cat.

Finally, you can explain what kind of home your cat needs. For example, if they are great with kids or if they would do better in a home without other pets or other cats.

Give Them A Clever Name

An adopted cat’s name will likely change unless it’s a purrfect match. So, why not create a fun and imaginative name that gets your cats and kittens noticed? Here’s our curated list with hundreds of awesome names for cats that potential adopters will love. Naming cats is our favourite thing!

Accuracy Is Important

Many adopters have a few requirements in mind when looking for cats. Age, breed, gender, activity levels, hair length, etc. It’s important to provide as much accurate information on your profile as possible to reduce inquiries and visits that are a mismatch.

Petfinder and other adoption websites allow you to provide additional details such as microchip status, whether the cat is spayed/neutered, and a checklist of behavioral and health-related topics. Fill these out as best you can, and avoid guessing if you don’t know the correct status.

Update Pet Profiles Often

Once your cat’s profile is complete, be sure to keep it updated and refreshed weekly. This means regularly adding new photos and updating your pet’s status (if they have been adopted, for example). Many cat adoption websites will display results based on location or recent updates, which means an updated profile will appear at the top of the results.

Additionally, be sure to keep your rescue’s profile and contact information up-to-date so that potential adopters can reach out to you with any questions they may have. Petfinder and most pet adoption websites are search engines and rely on complete profiles, keywords, descriptions, and addresses to determine the search results.

Which Cats Are The Hardest To Adopt

Not every cat is a cute photogenic kitten, which means some cats are going to be much harder to get adopted. Black cats, senior cats, and cats with special needs tend to be the hardest to adopt.

These cats often have a harder time getting noticed in a sea of other pet profiles. This is why it is so crucial to have a great profile that stands out and highlights your pet’s unique features and personality. A great profile will not only increase the chances of your pet being noticed but also help potential adopters connect with your pet on an emotional level, which can make all the difference in finding them their forever home. Put the focus on the animal’s best features to help adopters see past any other concerns.

A great Petfinder cat adoption profile is crucial in helping your furry friend find a forever home. By taking wonderful photos, writing compelling descriptions, highlighting their personality, and keeping their profile updated, you increase the chances of your cats and kittens getting noticed and adopted quickly.

Adopting out animals isn’t always easy, but by following these pet profile tips, you’ll do an amazing job and find the right human for your perfect cat. With a little effort and creativity, you can help get your cats out of the shelter and into the loving homes they deserve!

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How to Adopt a Cat, and What to Know About Bringing One Home

These are the things your adopted cat needs to adjust well to its new home.

If you find yourself with a cat-shaped hole in your heart lately, you're far from alone. Adoption rates skyrocketed through March and April at many animal shelters, as people across the country prepared to shelter in place and wanted a furry face to cuddle through the uncertainty. On Petfinder.com , for example, adoption inquiries jumped 122 percent between March 15 and April 15, compared to the previous four weeks. Foster applications are up too, as people suddenly found themselves with lots more time at home and plenty of anxiety-fueled hugs to give.

Depending on where you live, that may mean your own adoption journey could take a little longer. Smaller shelters in particular may get overwhelmed as they process more applications than usual, while doing their due diligence to screen potential pet owners and safely introduce them to their new family members. But that's good news too, because it gives you time to get your home ready for its newest arrival. Here's what you need to check off your list before welcoming a pet into your household.

Compile a list of agencies

If you're like many pet lovers, you may already have a few of your local adoption agencies bookmarked for midnight scrolling. But if not, compile a list of a few handfuls nearby. Look for reputable organizations that are registered as 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and do a little background research on their website, social media, and any local media to make sure you're working with someone who treats their animals well and sources them ethically. Websites like PetFinder and Adopt-a-Pet can help you find pets at shelters and rescue organizations near you.

Keep an open mind

Before you go to look at potential cat pals, sit down with all members of your household to talk about the decision. Even if you live with roommates or plan to take care of her entirely yourself, everyone has to be on board with bringing an animal into the home. Setting expectations early — including feeding, cleanup, and playtime schedules — can help prevent conflict later. Then, brace yourself for a barrage of adorable faces as you begin your prowl.

"There is a cat that's right for every lifestyle — so ask yourself what kind of lifestyle you can provide to the cat and then find the cat who fits best," advises cat adoption advocate Hannah Shaw, the Kitten Lady and Royal Canin partner. Active kittens need equally engaged owners, who can give them the stimulation they need, not to mention good feline citizen training. Senior cats, on the other hand, do better in a quiet environment with lots of calm cuddles. Older animals may have more medical needs too, so have a frank look at your budget before you adopt one. But Shaw also suggests letting fate have a hand in finding your feline soulmate. "Go with an open mind and let your heart match you with your future best friend," she says.

Get the goods you need

Before you bring home a cat, get your place ready for its arrival. In addition to food and litter (more on that later), you'll need to create a happy, safe environment for your new furry friend. Put away precarious tchotchkes — cats love to knock things off ledges. Look for exposed wires, poisonous plants , or unsecured furniture that could injure a curious kitty if they topple it. Equip your space with at least one scratching post and a cat tree for climbing, especially if you don't want to find a kitten on top of your kitchen cabinets. You'll also want to get them cat toys to keep them occupied, or DIY it for a fun weekend project.

Also make sure you get a veterinarian lined up. The shelter or rescue organization may already have a relationship with one, or be able to make a recommendation.

Pick the right food and feeding setup

Look for wide, shallow feeding bowls that won't disturb their highly sensitive whiskers at meal time, advises Lambert Wang, co-founder of Cat Person . And because cats are obligate carnivores, meat is the name of the game. "Feed your new friend a high-quality diet that has high amounts of animal protein, moderate amounts of fat, and a limited amount of carbohydrates," Wang says. While dry food can be more convenient, wet food helps your cat get enough water, since cats often prefer to play with water over actually drinking it. A mix of protein flavors and formats will give their diet a little variety, as well as cultivate a more varied palate in kittens, in particular. Besides, you wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day. Neither will they.

Get used to scooping litter

Cats can be picky about their litter box style and location, so it might take a little trial and error to find one they like. Place it in a quiet, low-traffic area of your home so they can potty in peace. You may also want to choose a covered or partially covered style so you don't end up with litter all over the place when they bury their mess. Wang advises scooping it at least daily, to keep your pet's toilet clean and cut down on that smell. Cats sometimes do their business outside of their box if they don't like their litter, its style or location, or if they're feeling stressed out or unhappy. Scooping it regularly will eliminate at least one of those factors, so set a schedule and stick to it.

Set them up for success

When you first bring your cat home, give them time and space to get used to their new digs. "Especially true for kittens and timider adult cats, it is important to help them transition into a new environment by giving them a dedicated area to relax and adjust to their new surroundings," Wang says. That goes double if you have other cats or dogs in the home. Set up a spare room or a corner of the bathroom with their litter box, food and water, and some of those toys, and then let them come to you. Most cats will get curious after a few days, but it can take some time for them to warm up.

And even though cats have the reputation of being aloof, don't forget daily playtime, Wang says. An afternoon game of chase that squeaker will help them maintain a healthy weight, stay mentally sharp, and best of all, help form the bond that children's movies are made of.

Lizz (she/her) is a senior editor at Good Housekeeping , where she runs the GH Book Club, edits essays and long-form features and writes about pets, books and lifestyle topics. A journalist for almost two decades, she is the author of Biography of a Body and Buffalo Steel. She also teaches journalism as an adjunct professor at New York University's School of Professional Studies and creative nonfiction at the Muse Writing Center, and coaches with the New York Writing Room. 

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To Learn Persuasive Writing, These Students Wrote “Why You Should Adopt Me” Essays for Shelter Pets

The real-world connection made this project so engaging.

Authentic, real-world applications in the classroom keep students engaged and excited! Coming across a lesson that can truly make a difference and tie into a great cause is a huge win. Teacher Amy McKinney from Pennsylvania partnered with a local animal shelter for a persuasive-writing assignment with her third graders. Each student wrote about an adoptable pet and even drew an adorable photo! The goal was to help pets find their forever homes while students practiced their writing skills (and have a little fun, of course). The shelter is displaying these awesome write-ups with the adoptable pets and also shared them on their social media.

Take a look at this partnership:

McKinney’s daughter works with a local animal shelter, making the partnership a no-brainer. For other teachers looking to start a project like this, McKinney said, “I recommend that they reach out to animal shelters in their area. I’m sure they would love the opportunity to work with elementary students to help find homes for their pets!”

Authentic experiences increase student engagement.

McKinney shared the project on her Instagram and noted, “My students’ engagement was tremendous! They knew the work they were doing would make a huge difference in a pet’s life, so what normally takes us a couple of weeks to do, we completed in just days.”

The project was a huge success and McKinney told us both she and the animal shelter hope to continue this as an ongoing project. It keeps students engaged in the lesson while benefiting animals in need of a home.

Would your students enjoy this persuasive-writing project? Let us know in the comments.

For more teaching ideas like this, subscribe to our newsletters., you might also like.

101 Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids and Teens

Use your words to sway the reader. Continue Reading

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Essay on Animals: How to Write a Persuasive Paper

When writing a persuasive paper, your purpose is to convince your audience to agree with your idea or accept your recommendation for a course of action. If you’ve decided to write an essay on animals (either for a school assignment or for another purpose), here are the steps to follow.

1. Choose a topic

Some sample topics for an essay on animals include:

• Everyone should spay or neuter their pets .
• Adoption is the best option.
• Dogs should be treated as individuals, not discriminated against because of breed.
• Microchipping is important to keep pets with their families.

2. Research information on the topic

You can do research online and at the library, plus talk to experts in the field, to get more information. While reviewing the materials, look for interesting facts or tidbits that will hook your readers.

3. Create a flow chart 

Home starts with you

Reason 2   

   Supporting data   

Reason 3   

4. Write the thesis statement for your paper

Now it's time to fill in the flow chart, first with your thesis statement. For example: "Everyone should spay or neuter their pets." This statement will go in the first box in your flow chart. The flow chart is a visual way to help you create an outline. An outline will help you organize the information in a logical order. Your finished product will have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

5. Write the reasons and supporting data

The body will contain the reasons and the supporting data listed on your flow chart. The body not only contains evidence to support your opinion but also addresses one or two opposing views. 

Be sure to include your counter-argument when stating the opposing view. For example, one opposing view to the above statement might be this: "Many people think that an animal who has been spayed or neutered will become lazy and fat." Your counter-argument could be this: "This is a misconception. The main reason pets become overweight is lack of exercise and overfeeding."

6. Note engaging facts

Keep the flow chart handy as you read through all the information you have gathered. In a separate place, write “Hooks and facts to grab the reader’s attention,” and as you review your material, jot down cool facts that you come across. For example: "Just one female cat and her offspring can produce an estimated 420,000 cats in only seven years."

7. Consider all angles

Be sure to address a wide variety of reasons to support your topic statement. For example: Think about pet overpopulation, overcrowded shelters, the costs to your city or town, the effects on pet health, and pet behavior. What would your audience find most important?

8. Expand each reason individually

Before writing your actual paper, keep your facts straight by writing each reason and the supporting evidence on separate sheets of paper or documents.

9. Write your essay

Write your first draft. Then, revise your outline and draft as needed until you have your final draft. If necessary, include a bibliography.

Foster caregivers team up to save orphaned kittens

Be our best friend, best friends animal society is working with you to save the lives of cats and dogs all across the country, giving pets second chances and happy homes..

Just a few short years ago, cats and dogs were killed in staggering numbers in this country simply because shelters didn't have the community support or the resources to save their lives. That number is now less that half a million per year, but there's still work to do to ensure a bright future for every dog and cat in America.

Best Friends operates the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and is committed to saving the lives of homeless pets by working with shelters and passionate people like you. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill in 2025. Together, we will Save Them All.

Adopting pets from animal shelters or rescues

Looking to add a pet to your family? Local animal shelters and rescue groups can be great places to search for a new cat, dog, bird, small animal—or even a horse or pig! Here’s how to go about it.

Do your homework

So you’ve decided to add a new pet to your family. First, you should answer some questions: What kind of pet will be the best fit for your household? Do you have enough time to devote to the daily needs of a dog? Is there someone in your household who is allergic? What about a non-traditional pet such as a rat or another small animal ?

Lots of choices

Each year, millions of pets enter shelters and rescues in the United States. Some are victims of cruelty and may have behavioral or medical issues, but many more are surrendered by loving families who can’t access affordable, pet-friendly housing or veterinary care. Shelters and rescues have many animals who have already been housetrained and/or have learned to live with other animals or children. While adult cats and neonatal kittens make up a large portion of animals looking for a home, you can also find dogs , rabbits , guinea pigs , companion birds and even horses at local shelters. Breed-specific rescues have purebred dogs.

Look locally

National websites are a great place to start, but not every shelter or every pet is listed on them, so it’s important to check the individual websites of your local shelters and rescues. Then visit in person—sometimes all it takes to find your perfect match is to look directly into an animal's eyes and fall in love! If you can’t find who you’re looking for right away, don’t be discouraged. Your local shelter or rescue can connect you with other shelters and rescues in the area and may be able to tell you how to find a responsible breeder .

Sign up to receive our exclusive e-book full of important information about caring for your pet, including training techniques and answers to frequently asked questions.

Perks of adoption

Your local shelter or rescue can help you find the right fit for your lifestyle and family. Here at the Humane Society of the United States, we promote  Adopters Welcome , a conversational approach to the adoption process. Once adopted, pets from shelters and rescue groups typically cost less than pets purchased or even acquired for free, when you add in the cost of vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery, microchipping, flea and tick treatment and dewormer included in your adoption fee. Shelter and rescue groups also provide advice on making your relationship with your pet the best it can be. Many organizations offer free behavior support. Some may negotiate with a future landlord with you, provide free pet food if you’re facing financial challenges or offer veterinary care for your pet through a clinic.

Don’t support cruelty

If you buy a dog from a pet store, online seller or flea market, you’re almost certainly getting a dog from a puppy mill. Puppy mills  are factory-style breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs. They will continue to operate until people stop supporting them. By adopting a pet, you can be certain you aren't giving them a dime.

Build a more humane society

If enough people adopt pets from shelters, and animals are leaving shelters faster than they are arriving, it allows these organizations to focus on the root causes of pet intake. They can strengthen programs to reunite lost pets with their families or meet with elected officials to create more pet-friendly housing.

Once you get to know your local shelter, you can find ways to support them and animals in the community. You could help with a fundraising event or collect pet food donations for their pantry. You could volunteer at a low-cost spay/neuter clinic or foster a pet from someone who is going into the hospital. You can work to  keep pets and their families together .

We never know where disasters will strike or when animals may need rescue, but we know we must be ready. Donate today to support all our lifesaving work. 

• journey home

How Adoption Works

Your adoption: as unique as you and your pet.

That’s because we partner with thousands of local adoption groups that provide the dogs and cats you see in PetSmart stores and at our events. And when you adopt one of these pets, we pay the partner group a small fee, which helps them save another pet’s life.

Working together, we can solve the pet homelessness problem — starting with your community. 

The process: here’s what to expect

Each adoption center or event takes on the local flavor of its community and adoption partners. That means the process will be slightly different depending on where you go. But there are some common things you can expect:

• An interview.  Once you’ve chosen the pet who seems right for your family, you’ll meet with a representative from the local adoption group. They’ll ask you some questions to make sure that the pet is a good match for your home and will make you and your pet happy for many years to come. They may also have valuable information for you about the pet’s personality, medical history and habits.
• Some paperwork.  You will fill out an application and pay a reasonable adoption fee, which is usually set by the adoption partner. It’s a good idea to reserve 30 minutes to up to 2 hours to complete the interview and paperwork. 
• Taking your pet home … soon.  In many cases, you’ll bring your pet home the same day. But there are some adoption partners that require a background check and/or home visit to ensure the pet’s long-term safety. Ask your adoption representative about this at the beginning of the process if waiting a few days is not what you had in mind. Another PetSmart store in your area may have a partner that does same-day adoptions.   

Resources to find your new pet now 

Adorable pets are waiting to meet you today. To get started, you can: 

• Visit a PetSmart Charities Adoption Center at a  PetSmart store  near you.
• Find upcoming  PetSmart Charities Adoption Events .
• View adoptable pets online .

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Cat Adoption

781-899-4610

Waltham, MA

Adoption Process

Our application process is designed to match each of our cats with the most compatible family. We interview potential adopters and ask many questions about your home, family, current pets and day-to-day activities. Please be assured that we only ask these questions because we’ve found that they are the best way to ensure that our adoptions are successful.

To be considered an eligible adopter, we ask that you do the following:

• Complete an Adoption Application online for The Cat Connection to review. One of our adoption counselors will review your application and contact you for an interview in 2-3 weeks . Note: You must be at least 21 years of age to adopt a cat.

We are not open to the public , so an adoption counselor will match you with your perfect cat.

• Provide verification of home ownership or landlord’s consent. We will accept a tax notice, water bill or mortgage bill as verification of ownership of your own home. If you rent, permission has to be granted in your lease, on your landlord’s letterhead, or by a call from The Cat Connection to your landlord.
• If applicable, provide contact information for a veterinarian used for current and past pets.
• Provide or buy a cat carrier for cat and kitten adoptions.
• Sign an Adoption Contract and pay the adoption fee . We request $125 for each cat 10 years and older, $250 for each cat 5-9 years old, $300 for each cat 1-4 years old, $375 for each kitten under 12 months old. These fees fund neutering, vaccinations (rabies and FVRCP), combo testing (feline leukemia and FIV), microchip, and flea treatment for your adopted cat, as well as rescue efforts, shelter and veterinary care.

Kittens are only adopted in pairs.

We’ve found that kittens have a higher success rate when they have a companion, and they tend to burn off their youthful energy on each other rather than on your sofa!

Apply to Adopt

All prospective adopters are carefully screened to ensure that they are ready to take on the responsibilities inherent in caring for a cat. We ask for an adoption fee for each cat adopted. This adoption fee, which is used to feed and care for other cats in our system, allows us to provide a vet exam, sterilization, and initial vaccinations to the adopted cat.

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Fiona, age three, with her adoptive grandparents. All images supplied by and © the author

The adoption paradox

Even happy families cannot avoid the reality – my reality – that adoption is predicated on transacting the life of a child.

by Fiona Sampson   + BIO

A child of four or five sits colouring at a low table. Memory can be tricky: the image is dim and rather unstable. But I know that the child is me, and that she’s been caught showing off by her grandmother, who is looking after her. (Where are the parents? I don’t know.)

‘I’m going to show my mummy and daddy,’ says the little girl, about her picture.

‘They’re not your mummy and daddy,’ says the old woman on the sofa, witchily. ‘You have a real mummy and daddy somewhere else.’

The child I remember doesn’t show her face; she keeps on colouring. But words have magic powers. Real… somewhere else. This single sentence sucks the reality out of everything around her: the red carpet, the blue Formica tabletop, the buttoned upholstery of the sofa on which her grandmother sits watching her.

The author, aged two and a half

You could call it a life sentence , for this is the moment in which I learn that I am adopted.

I will repress this memory for decades, and for all the usual reasons. Like every child, I want to be happy. Still, what makes adoption so through-the-mirror, so literally unheimlich, so ‘un-homing’, has nothing to do with unhappy families or childhood abuse. Indeed, I suspect the reason that comparatively few stories of adoptee experience make it to the mainstream is that this is not classic misery memoir territory. Instead, at its heart are existential questions of identity, about the foundations of the self.

C hildren who are adopted must ask themselves ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What does it mean to be me?’: generally when they’re still too young to manage this kind of world-shifting thought experiment. And they can never put the experiment aside. This shifty, shifting interplay of alternative narratives is who they are.

Perhaps inevitably, my grandmother’s revelation is followed by a scene in the bathroom – maybe that evening, maybe days later – when my child self, having listened to my mother tell some apparently irrelevant story about how babies grow in tummies, insists in tears: ‘But I am still really your little girl, aren’t I?’ Searching around, as I will for years to come, for some kind of inalienability. This I do remember: the bathroom mirror, the cold light.

But of course, there is no inalienability anywhere in the adoption triangle. Adoption is precisely predicated upon alienability. Within it, everything – name, home, belonging, life chances – can be negotiated. Which means everything can also be negotiated away. Adoption goes deeper even than those inalienable – intrinsic – rights that we hold to be part of, and help us to define, the human individual: self-determination, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and so on. Adoption says that not even the individual’s identity is intrinsic. Not even, to put it another way, their individuality itself.

‘Normal’ family life – kids growing up in birth families of whatever form – is scarily circumstantial

For the child, this total alienability means there’s nothing intrinsic to herself that guarantees her connection to anyone. What has been chosen can be unchosen. The existential lack of givenness with which adoptees live is why, for us, adoptive ‘parents’ who return ‘their’ kids to the system when the going gets tough are more than stories about abuse, they have a kind of abysmal horror. We don’t just read them with sympathy, they ‘take us apart’.

Still, some biological parents do abandon their kids, or are forced to hand them over to authorities of various kinds, or prevented by destitution or illness from being able to raise them. Some die. Their babies get kidnapped by regimes, ‘charities’, people smugglers. Viewed this way, ‘normal’ family life – kids growing up in birth families of whatever form: step-, half-, single-parent, gay, IVF, grandparental – is scarily circumstantial. Plus, even within bio families, no one reposes entirely within the bosom of inalienability. Divorces lead to custody battles; adult siblings drift apart; parents offer addict offspring tough love.

But we don’t really want to think about this. It’s already difficult enough working out who you are, paying the bills, and just generally hustling a living. Having something to count on through thick and thin – a touchstone of something absolute, perhaps, even within the most secular of lives – is as attractive as ever. The political rhetoric of ‘hardworking families’ – invoked by all major political parties around the world – reaches across the ideological spectrum. Though it’s the Right, of course, that crosses its fingers hardest against those it sees as lacking the social status of a nuclear family, with habitual targets including single mothers and the LGBTQ+ community.

A doptees lack that social status too. Which leads me to ask again why, that summer afternoon in our house on a suburban street in south-west England, my grandmother chose to poke at the story of my adoption. From family diaries I’ve inherited, I know how much she had been against the idea in the first place. Still, in those days before IVF, there was no other ‘solution’ to childlessness. Every week of my childhood we prayed in church for ‘the barren woman’, and as I got older and understood what this meant, I became embarrassed for my mum. But perhaps my grandmother, if not consciously, blamed my father instead. I began to notice how neither of my adoptive parents got on well with their in-laws. My father’s side thought my mother nervy and pretentious, while my mother’s family found my father, son of a country vicar, too down to earth. ‘The rectory kitchen had an earth floor ,’ my mother hissed once in explanation.

The author, age five, in the garden of her grandfather’s house

Where was I in this? Since I was problematic, I think each side identified me with the ‘other’. Until puberty, I was a daddy’s girl; certainly, at four or five, I was already bookish like him. Family memory has my (dyslexic) mother tearing a newspaper out of my hands when I’m two years old.

Perhaps my grandmother thought of the pair of us as a kind of trouble her daughter had got into. Or perhaps she was indulging in magical thinking. The lurking alienability of the closest human bonds is frightening, after all. And adoption, being founded upon this risk, reminds society about it at the same time as denying it, through pretending that its own remedial process is a problem-busting happy ending.

In truth, it can only ever be a happi er ending. Of course, every kid who escapes institutional care to grow up in a loving adoptive family has a happier ending – and middle, and almost-beginning – than would otherwise be the case. And even though it’s undoubtedly harder to love someone else’s biological child than your own – why else would stepmothers have such a wicked reputation in folk wisdom? – there are innumerable such families, such kids. But to say this is as good as family bonds that never fractured in the first place is to confuse the contingent with an absolute good. Like claiming that fantastic orthopaedic surgery after a major accident is as good as never having had the accident in the first place.

The social pressure to be grateful prevents the sheer effort of being an adoptee from being talked about

The new adoptive family, forming like a scar, is built on loss and breakage. It has to try and heal each corner of its triad: biological parents who have lost (or chosen to lose) their kids, adoptive parents who are often dealing with infertility and the loss of the dream of ‘kids of their own’, and an adoptee who will grow up without the restful privilege of a family that is ‘their own’.

Over the years, I’ve come to think that my grandmother was also poking me. My childish psyche, tentacled like a sea anemone, would shut if she hurt it enough. It did shut. And she was compelled to make it do so because I was a stranger in the family. The cuckoo in the nest , a phrase I got to know well. Both a stranger: and so anomalously strange that I would eventually pass more and better exams than any of her four biological grandchildren.

An official photo sent by the (then) prospective adopters back to the agency within three days of the child’s arrival. Note the shaved head

Still, I had to strive to do so and, as that striving suggests, in my experience living in adoption means living with anxiety. I believe the social pressure on us to be grateful prevents the sheer effort of being an adoptee from being talked about. There’s a lot of negative expectation, talk of bad blood , around what’s going to emerge from the default cuteness of being a child. Not that I was a cute kid. My adoptive mother’s strategy was to keep me always slightly undernourished and overstretched, continually slightly unwell, in order to underline her charity in taking on a child whose background could be assumed to be, at best, what she called ‘common’.

But many adoptees I’ve known are, or were, cute. They strove as hard to sparkle as I did to be good: obedient and hardworking, I was desperate to please. Every attempt to be loveable is an attempt to be seductive. I have a theory, based only on personal experience of what happened to several of my contemporaries, that adopted kids are extra vulnerable to grooming. Cases that made the national news, scandals known only to classmates: perhaps I was lucky to be kept plain and awkward. I can’t forget the ones who dropped out, who killed themselves.

So much innocent striving. It came from being a source of anxiety in our adoptive families. Would the taint show in some way? Would we be naughty, or dishonest, or – particularly for girls when I was growing up – promiscuous? The reverse too: what unexpected talents, skills, strengths might emerge from our profound unknown-ness as an unrelated child? As I grew through childhood, for example, I took to books like a duck to water. But I was also inevitably clumsier than the adults I lived with. This natural developmental stage became parsed as an attribute – poor coordination – into which I accordingly grew: children are very amenable. I suspect adoptive children take on particular family roles even more than other kids: the good one, the bad one, the brainy stupid sporty pretty blond dark funny one… The result in my case was to make all of us in that house feel I was like an unexploded bomb. The cut glass on the sideboard, the best china stacked within it, seemed to shudder as I passed, and I shuddered too. I was afraid that, even without touching, I would somehow knock or chip or crack something.

B eing an adoptee is performative. Some words for this are: being good enough, assimilating, fighting for acceptance, not being but being- as . For me it meant, among other things, never being allowed to go out of the house with teenaged friends. Adoption is arduous for everyone, even when it works. So I find the social media trend for videos of adopters and adoptees meeting for the first time incomprehensible. It’s not just that it’s voyeuristic: it’s that those posting and viewing them seem unable to see what’s there in plain sight.

Today, many domestic adoptions, in the UK at least, are open. The child they’re built around knows where she came from. The adoptive family may even stay in touch with her birth family during her childhood. But when I was a baby, most adoptions were not only retroactively ‘closed’ but conducted ‘blind’, with no choosing each other. Indeed, no meeting at all prior to the child being handed over for life. This was understood not to matter because the child was seen as completely interchangeable – apart, perhaps, from its sex. The baby as tabula rasa for the adopters to ‘make their own’. Will this idea return, as more accidental babies come up for adoption following the striking down of Roe v Wade in the United States, and a more general shift in the Global North away from prioritising women’s rights?

Whatever happens next, international adoption – where allowed – continues to be ‘blind’. And at the end of all the fees and paperwork, two or three unrelated people, small and big, meet each other. Videos that parade this meeting are usually labelled #happymoment: which I imagine is in the nature of a Users’ Guide, because they quite plainly are not. They make everything that’s difficult about adoption visible, starting with the control exercised by the adoption agency. A stunned, often weeping child is led, like the bride in a forced marriage, into the presence of strangers with whom the child must spend the rest of her life. The adoptive parents’ emotions are visible too: this is the apotheosis of years of longing. (If they’re disappointed, they certainly can’t show it now.) This small person must now sustain their big longing. The new parents generally offer some small cheap toy to draw her forward into the ambush of an embrace . (Don’t take treats from strangers, kids!) And the tackiness of these greeting gifts seems to sum up the contingency of adoption, its underlying Oh, this will do ethos.

It was less than a week before Christmas. If I wasn’t placed before the holiday, I was to be put into an institution

I wasn’t adopted as an ambulatory child, thank goodness, but after a few months of being passed between foster mothers. Nevertheless, I know quite a lot about my own #happymoment. (I almost prefer the crudeness of the alternative, #gotchaday – also, of course, used for pets and rescue animals – with its implied compulsion.) From my biological mother, whom I traced years ago, I know how an agency worker took me from her, carried me through a nearby door – and that my adoptive parents were right on the other side. She heard my adoptive mother laugh – a laugh I know intimately of course. I know too that in the long taxi journey across London to the agency in Fitzrovia, my bio mother apologised to me and had a little cry.

I know the bleached London brick of those windy Fitzrovia terraces.

I know from my adoptive dad’s diary that we nearly didn’t turn up. We arrived for the handover 50 minutes late, leaving my new parents just 10 minutes to interact with me at the agency before they took me away. Checks, balances?

I don’t know how much I was priced at, but I do know that my grandmother told my mother they could have paid more and got a younger baby. I know from my case file that it was less than a week before Christmas and that, if I wasn’t placed before the holiday, I was to be put into an institution. My file also tells me I was hard to place because I was a girl. And also because someone has noted on the file that my biological mother is plain and I resemble her.

I know from my adoptive mother that, less than an hour later, I was throwing up on her on the train, and so my dad asked people in the compartment to stop smoking. Since she was widowed, she’s kept returning to this story. It’s as if, like her own mother, she associates me with my father. In the same vein, it’s she who recently brought back my memory of the primal scene with her mother. I had remembered the terror of ‘But I am still really your little girl, aren’t I?’ but forgotten its cause. The search for reassurance was a screen memory; behind it was the abyss of disconnection.

T here are a hundred ways to tell a child she’s adopted: adoption is not culture specific. There have always been orphans and foundlings, and people wishing to take them into their families. Sources as varied as the 6th- to 5th-century BCE story of Moses, or the accounts of apprentice-adoptions of gifted child artists in Giorgio Vasari’s 16th-century Lives of the Artists , tell us this. Yet adoption is laden with cultural meanings, and not, usually, by adoptees themselves. How strange it is, for example, that even with our era’s embrace of essential identities – through identity politics, in gender transitioning – adoption remains an exception, held to define an individual regardless of their own experience and understanding of themselves.

Even the happiest of families cannot completely resolve the difficulty that adoption is necessarily about de-essentialisation, a destabilising of identity, which almost compels some kind of remedial stabilisation. Adoptee views and experiences of this central ‘knot’ vary hugely. For some, their adoptive identity and the life they lead with it is ‘real’ and the rest almost fabular. For others, nature trumps nurture. Still others feel that a range of inherited and learnt characteristics coexist within them. But whatever their personal take on identity, their legal standing will not flex with it. An adoptee may wish to acknowledge their birth identity, but legal processes such as citizenship accept only documentation, not DNA testing, as evidence of identity. Or they may wish to deny that part of their identity altogether, and fix themselves more fully in their adoptive family. Just as gender transitioning is understood to cancel out someone’s first-given identity, so the neither-nor of adoptive identity can feel like a lie that needs cancelling out. Yet this too is unachievable. There is no legal form that can further undo the residue of biological embodiment at the heart of the adoption experience. And no adoptee can transition to biological belonging: familial relatedness would require a total genetic rewrite.

Consciousness of adoption is surely the original impostor syndrome

However happy an adoption, birth identity remains. It is Thomas Hardy’s ‘Heredity’, ‘the family face’ that will ‘live on, /Projecting trait and trace/ … And leaping from place to place’ in the poem the British writer published in 1917. Or else it’s a question in medical histories. Or it’s something that rises to the surface, an old scar now, at such moments of family pressure as marriage or inheritance.

Whatever an adoptee’s beliefs, in other words, a duality, a kind of astigmatism of the self, remains part of their experience. Perhaps it helps to see this a little aslant. In the canonical French novelist George Sand’s memoir Histoire de ma Vie (1855), she addresses having been (mis-)informed that she was ‘really’ an earlier, older child than herself, who had been born to her parents before they married and was therefore omitted from the records:

It’s no more than two or three years that I’ve known positively who I am. I was indeed born [as registered]; I am truly – myself – in a word, which doesn’t stop pleasing me, for there’s something troubling about doubting one’s name, one’s age and one’s country … I could have died without knowing whether I had lived – in person – or in someone else’s place. [Author’s translation]

‘In someone else’s place’: consciousness of adoption is surely the original impostor syndrome. To which someone who hasn’t experienced it might respond: ‘But never mind what you’re called : core identity is being the one who experiences and does what you do.’ Well then: but what if this duality, this slippage between two stories about yourself, forms part of that experience? Your identity must then contain that plurality. Like the dragon eating its tail on a Romanesque capital, identity as awareness gives ceaselessly onto awareness of identity.

Adoption is a kind of forcing ground of these forms of identity experiment. I suspect that the more widely it is recognised as such, the more adoptees will find the cultural space to be respected simply as ordinary people who have lived through particular early circumstances. Circumstances that don’t trouble most people, but that throw up problems and fears – about who we are, how we love and where we are safe – in which we all share.

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Essay On Cat – 10 Lines, Short and Long Essay for Students and Children

Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Cats

10 lines on my pet cat.

• Paragraph On Cats

Short Essay On Cats

• Long Essay On My Favourite Pet Cat
• Fun Facts About Cats That Kids Should Know

What Your Will Child Learn From The Essay?

Cats are beloved pets known for their cute, furry appearances, serious expressions, carefree attitudes, and silly antics that captivate people worldwide. Their long history of coexistence with humans has led to an enduring fascination, with some even questioning whether we have domesticated them or they have domesticated us.    

Cats have a unique charm that sets them apart from other pets. From playful kittens to graceful adults, cats possess an irresistible appeal that has made them a staple in popular culture, with countless books, movies, and TV shows featuring feline characters. In this article, we will go over what makes cats a favourite and show you how to write cat essays in English for classes 1, 2 and 3 in short and long forms.   

Here are some essential tips on how to write an essay on cats:   

• If you plan to write about your pet cat in the essay exclusively, start from their adoption and continue the essay writing about their behaviour.   
• When writing a generic essay about cats, discuss their habits, food preferences, instincts, and general nature.   
• Long-form essays should have introductory and concluding sentences/paragraphs.   
• A good essay can balance information about your cat’s behaviour and nature.   

If your little one could use some help describing cats, this section about the appearance of cats will come in handy.   

Cats & Their Appearance

The common cat is a four-legged mammal with furry skin, soft paws, attentive ears, and a heightened sense of alertness. They are born with different colours such as black, white, grey, orange and sometimes a mix of all the three. The fur on cats is to protect them from cold. They have soft, padded paws that dampen noise when they are hunting or moving about. They also have long whiskers around their nose to sense the movement of prey and a rough tongue to scrape the flesh off of bones. Cats are carnivores that hunt little animals in the wild. An adult cat can weigh between 3.5 to 4.5 kilos.

This 10-line my pet cat essay is easy to follow for children in classes 1 and 2. Here is how you can frame 10 lines on cats:   

• I have a pet cat, and his name is fluffy.
• Fluffy is a male cat with a long furry tail.
• He is white with orange stripes on different parts of his body.
• Fluffy is a good boy and behaves well all the time.
• He poops in his litter box and eats up all his food without making a mess.
• Sometimes he becomes very playful and runs all around the house.
• Fluffy follows me wherever I go and sleeps below my desk all the time.
• He also loves to relax and laze around everywhere in the house.
• Fluffy loves spending time cuddling with us and makes soft purring sounds.
• I love my pet cat, Fluffy, and I know he loves me a lot, too.

Paragraph On Cats   

Here is an example of my pet cat essay in around 100 words:   

My pet cat is an orange tabby named Lizzy. We raised Lizzy since she was a 12-week-old kitten. She is nine months old now and loves to play all the time. She likes to chase her toy ball around the house. She also chews on all my stuff and pulls the curtains and sheets. When she is not playing, she wants to eat and sleep. I always look for Lizzy the first thing in the morning when I wake up, and I pet her goodnight before going to sleep.   

A short essay is an excellent exercise to establish flow and narrative. Here is an example of a ‘My Pet Cat’ essay in 150 to 200 words:   

We have a pet cat in the house called Momo. He is a stray we adopted from our street when he was three months old. Momo has been in our family for two years now. He stays inside the house and lazes around all day but is very energetic at night. That’s when he loves to run around and often topples things in the house.   

Having a pet cat is a huge responsibility. Since letting them outside exposes them to diseases and other dangers, you must provide them with everything inside the house. Cats need fresh and healthy food, a litterbox to poop in, and a good bed to sleep on. They also have to be vaccinated against several diseases to ensure their safety.   

Cats are carnivores by nature. Momo loves to eat chicken, fish, dry cat food, and wet cat food. Sometimes, he also brings the small animals he hunts from the garden inside the house. Everybody in the family loves Momo, and he loves us back even more. Although they appear calm, cats have a different way of showing affection to their owners. Momo loves me when he slowly blinks his eyes when I call out for him or curls up beside my feet when I study.   

Long Essay On My Favourite Pet Cat   

A long, descriptive essay on my pet cat requires children to plan for what they wish to include in the essay and build a good narrative. Here is an example of an essay for Class 3:   

My pet cat, Rocket, is a Maine Coon cat. As a popular breed for its size and furry looks, Rocket is as impressive as any pet can get! He is white, black, and grey and quite a graceful-looking feline by his appearance. He sits majestically and walks majestically but sleeps in silly postures. He loves spending his time with me or outside looking at birds sitting in the backyard.   

I’ve always wanted to have a pet cat that is furry and cute. Maine Coon is my favourite cat breed as I think they are the most majestic-looking cats in the world. These cats live in cold climates and higher latitudes where it snows and the temperature regularly falls below freezing levels. Because their natural habitat is cold, they naturally have thick fur. Therefore, we must take extra precautions to ensure Rocket doesn’t get too hot in the lower latitudes we live in. He gets his air-conditioned room where the temperature is always maintained cool. It has his bed, play area, and a window leading him to the backyard.   

Rocket spends most of his time indoors during hot summer days, sleeping in my room. We also give him a haircut to make him feel more comfortable. When it’s colder outside, he likes to venture into the garden and hunt little animals. Even though we give him all the best foods, his hunting instincts remain the same as all other cats. He often hunts little birds, pigeons, chipmunks, and other unfortunate critters wandering into the garden.   

Rocket also loves to be pet and cuddled. He likes it when I scratch his back with a comb. When he is not the apex predator in the garden, he is a silly cat playing with random things in the house. I cannot wish for a better pet than Rocket!   

Fun Facts About Cats That Kids Should Know   

Some cool facts about cats for children:   

• Cats are excellent jumpers – they can jump six times their height.   
• Cats always land on their feet when they fall.   
• Cats spend 13 to 16 hours sleeping during the day.   
• One year of a cat’s life is approximately equal to 15 years of human life.   
• Cats show affection to their owners by slowly opening and closing their eyes.   

By studying the examples given above and writing an essay on ‘My Pet Animal’ or ‘My Pet Cat’, your child can learn how to express their observation and knowledge about cats in short and long essays. These examples will equip your little one with ideas on how to present information about their pet cat sequentially for their own composition.

1. Why Should You Get a Pet Cat?

Cats are incredibly adorable pets that are smart enough to take care of themselves. They are also loving and affectionate pets that are very clean and need little grooming or maintenance.

2. What Are Cats’ Eating Habits?

Cats are carnivores; hence they naturally eat meat. Domesticated cats will also eat packaged cat food, dairy products, meat, fish, and other non-vegetarian products.

3. What Are Some Regular Life Habits Of Cats

Domesticated cats spend most of their time sleeping or playing at home. They would also want to go outside the house to explore and even mate if they are not neutered.

4. What Are Different Breeds of Cats? 

There are many different breeds of cats, each with unique characteristics. Some popular breeds include Siamese, Persian, Maine Coon, and Bengal cats.   

5. Do Cats Have Special Abilities? 

Cats have excellent night vision, sharp claws for hunting, and a strong sense of smell. They are also known for their agility and ability to land on their feet.

Cats are amazing creatures that are adored all over the world. If you are writing an essay about your cat, include plenty of information about their behaviours that others can relate to. Keep the essay as cute and fun as your pet!   

Essay on Dog for Kids How to Write An Essay On Lion for Children How to Write An Essay On Parrots for Kids Essay on Elephant for Class 1, 2, and 3 Children

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Children wrote essays to help get shelter dogs adopted — and it worked

Second grade teacher Kensey Jones wanted her students to write something that could have a real impact when she thought about this year's persuasive writing assignment.

So she approached the director of the animal shelter where she volunteers.

“How do you feel about the second graders writing persuasive paragraphs through the eyes of one of the shelter animals?” Jones, 42, who teaches at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia, asked.Shelter director Christie Peters loved the idea — and so did city residents. Of the 24 animals (23 dogs and one cat) that Jones’ students drew pictures of and wrote persuasive essays about, most have been adopted.

“The speed in which they were adopted after we did this promotion really gives merit to it,” Peters, 44, director of Richmond Animal Care and Control, told TODAY Parents. “These were dogs that were overlooked for some time and the (essays) really did bring people into the shelter and maybe make them think about those dogs and the one cat in a different light.”

Related: John Travolta adopts dog from Betty White tribute at the Oscars

Jones and Peters thought it would be best for the children to write about animals that were harder to adopt, for various reasons.

“We were very careful to include animals that were not easily adoptable — animals that maybe are older, maybe had a health issue in the past, they just require a little extra TLC, maybe needed to be an only pet in the home,” Jones explained. “I then sat down with the class and told them about each of the dogs and a little bit about their personality and then assigned each student an animal.”

To help them prepare, Peters brought a puppy, Snow, to school. The students loved it. Playing with Snow and learning how the shelter operates inspired them to write convincingly for their dogs. Parker Witthoefft, 7, was assigned a dog named Missy (that he hoped his family would adopt). While Missy didn't go home with Parker, she was one of the first dogs to be adopted.

“Writing is not always the first thing that they’re drawn to,” mom Jaclyn Witthoefft, 40, of Richmond, told TODAY Parents. “Parker was chomping at the bit. He had so much fun connecting with the story and with the dogs.”

Witthoefft believesParker will always remember this assignment, and said it also reinforced the lessons about empathy she teaches her children.

“I am always asking my children to ‘put yourself in somebody else’s shoes,’” she said. “This was exactly that. It might not have been a human shoe, but it was paws, and they had to put themselves in that dog's place or that cat’s place and think about what you want to persuade someone based on the personality and needs of that animal.”

The essays show how the students really excelled at understanding their pets.

“Hi, I’m Gail Weathers. I would like a home so much. I have a fine life here but I would like my own dog bed a lot. I would like a toy and a big yard. I would like to be the only pet in the home.”

Another says:

“Hi, my name is Sleigh Ride. Do you want to adopt me? You can train me if you want. Can you put a heart on my collar. I am a girl. Who are you? You can snuggle with me. I promise that I will be a good dog. You can even sleep with me if you want. I love going on walks and playing outside. I am a medium sized dog. I’m getting bored at this place. Would you love me forever? Love, a cute puppy.”

Every day since the shelter project started, Jones updates the students on who was adopted.

“I have heard — not directly from an adopter but by word of mouth — that our writings did impact them to adopt from RACC and it just really tugged at their heart strings,” she said.

Peters, whose son Max, 8, is in Jones’ class, hopes that shelters across the country consider similar partnerships with their local schools. She says it's a win-win that requires no extra funding for marketing to make it work.

“The stories and the illustrations were just so adorable and really cute and written from such a wonderful perspective,” she said. “It really was a huge benefit.”

Jones, who volunteers weekly at the shelter by walking and spending time with the dogs, also hopes this idea grows.

“I would love for this idea to be spread to any other teachers, local shelters that could partner together to do something hopefully to get more pets homes,” she said. “As an educator my biggest hope and dream is that I want the students to know no matter how young you are, you can put your mind to something and you can make a true difference.”

Meghan Holohan is a digital health reporter for TODAY.com and covers patient-centered stories, women’s health, disability and rare diseases.

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PURRFECT SAVE: Mother cat, 5 kittens rescued from Westport storm drain in multiday effort

The community effort began last weekend when westport animal shelter advocates got a call from a man driving on the post road near stop & shop..

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Humane Society  of the Palouse

"helping those who cannot help themselves.", we don’t sell pets; we adopt them into responsible and loving homes. .

We're dedicated to finding lasting  forever homes for the unclaimed and homeless p ets in  our care. We want each of these animals’ adoptive homes to be safe, loving, and permanent! We also strive to find the best match for our adopters. Assuring a good fit between an animal and their new family is our number one priority.  We want both the animals and their new families to be safe and happy. Our adoption policies reflect this commitment.

Thank you for considering pet adoption! HSoP finds forever homes for hundreds of homeless animals in our community each year.  Every animal deserves to know love, stability, comfort, and family. Equally, you deserve to know the joy and unconditional love that comes with a rescued dog, cat, or critter.

We strive to learn as much as we can about each animal under our care. HSoP staff and volunteers focus on learning as much as they can about each pet by observing their behaviors, habits, training, history, temperament, and personality.

Our staff offer adoption counseling for potential adopters, along with follow-up behavior counseling as needed following adoption. Each adoption begins with a seven day “foster period” and health guarantee. This foster period allows time for the adopted pet to settle in and become acquainted with their new family, while giving the family time to observe the pet and raise any concerns to shelter staff. Our adoption fees are far less than the total cost of preventative care that each pet adopted from HSoP receives prior to their adoption. Take a look below for more information about the preventative care provided to each pet who finds a home through HSoP:

Before being adopted, all pets receive this veterinary/preventative care:

• Preliminary vaccinations ( DAPPVL & Bordatella (Kennel Cough) for dogs, FVRCP for cats) • Spaying or neutering • Treatment for parasites • Microchip identification • 1-year rabies vaccination (for cats and dogs over 4 months old)

Feline adoption fee includes:

Spay or Neuter

FVRCP vaccination(s)

Rabies vaccination (if old enough to receive  at time of adoption)

Microchip  Identification

7- day foster period (a full week to make sure it's a purrrfect fit!)

7-day health guarantee

Canine adoption fee includes:

DAPPVL vaccination(s)

Bordetella vaccination

Rabies Vaccination (if ol d enough to receive at time of adoption)

7- day foster period  (a full week to make sure it's a purrrfect fit!)

Cats available for adoption

Firefighters rescue cat from storm drain

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Firefighters in Wilmington were called over the weekend to save a cat that found itself stuck in a storm drain.

“After getting reports of a furry friend stuck in a storm drain, Probationary Firefighter Huston climbed down the ladder to coax the little guy out to safety,” the Wilmington Fire Department states.

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.

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