Pets

Often I complain about my cats. The female has a bad habit of chewing plastic. I have even caught her trying to chew on electric cables! She also has scratched the leather couch and chair, even though we mostly keep them covered. We have a scratching post and that has made things better, thankfully. The male cat sheds like crazy and makes me sneeze with his dander. He neglects to cover after himself when he uses the litter box, which causes me to rush with the scoop so as to eliminate the stench. He also has a tendency to gorge on food, and that causes him to throw up sometimes.

As much as I complain, I love my cats. None of their behaviors make me want to get rid of them. As our pets, they are part of the family and we have a responsibility to care for them and stick with them until their time comes.

Today I was looking through the Houston SPCA Available Cat Adoptions page and it broke my heart to see so many older cats in need of a home. I try not to judge people who give up older adult pets, since I do not know what is their situation. I wonder what turn of the wheel would drive them to do such a thing, if they have fallen on hard times, whether they are feeling as sad as I would feel in that situation. Older cats are not adopted at the same rate as kittens, so many of these pets will likely be euthanized. It's truly heartbreaking.

That being said, I feel it is important to make a difference between giving up a pet to a shelter, and abandoning or hurting an animal, like this idiot did.

I was visiting the SPCA website because I am looking for a dog. I do not know if/when we will get one, but both girls keep insisting on a dog, so I decided to see who was up for adoption. While there, I checked out the cat adoptions page and I have not been able to get those older cats out of my head for hours.

I am highly allergic to dog hair/dander, more so than with cats, and I have heard of a few breeds that may be tolerable for me, so I wanted to see if there were any puppies of those breeds available. I need a puppy so the cats can get used to the dog and the dog grows up tolerant of cats. A lot of people have recommended poodles as a breed good for people with allergies/asthma. We'll see what happens.

If you are looking to adopt an animal, please do not buy from pet shops. Adopt instead. There are many shelters and rescue organizations dedicated to caring for animals and placing them in good homes. Pets help brighten our lives with their silly antics and unconditional love.