Buying Or Adopting A Cat? What Is Best For You
When the time comes to welcome a cat into the family, the question of whether to purchase a cat from a breeder or pet store or to instead adopt a cat from another family or an animal shelter can come up.
If your quest is to get a cat that you can show, a pedigree may be the best option, however, most organizations have a “household cat” category where you can show off your precious one.
Acquiring your cat from a reputable breeder, (again, a caution about buying a cat from a pet store, in the US at least, many of these cats come from kitten mills where the cats are raised in deplorable conditions) can have some benefits. Many breeders offer a guarantee, and you can research past generations for health issues as well.
Some people are really attracted to certain breeds which have the looks they like and are more likely to display a breed characteristic temperament. For some, this is the only way they would consider getting a cat. Bringing a cat into your family is a long term affair. Getting a nice match with the cats personality is important.
Adopting a cat opens up the possibilities considerably, because there are usually a huge variety of cats of all breeds and ages awaiting adoption. Since a lot of these cats had previous owners, most of them are litter box trained and used to living with people.
Not only do cats at shelters come with a medical history, along with information about how they deal with young children or other pets or cats, adopting a cat, giving it a safe loving home is a particularly heartwarming thing to do, knowing that you just may have rescued this cat from death.
Not all adopted cats come from shelters. Some people have to give their cats away for whatever reason - allergies develop, moving to another city, financial problems - so if you peruse the pet ads within a local newspaper you’ll probably find an impressive selection of cats looking for new homes.
The advantage of adopting a cat from another family is that there usually isn’t any charge involved unless the cat is a purebred with documentation. The disadvantage is that unless you take the cat to a veterinarian beforehand, you can’t ever be quite sure if the cat has some underlying health issues that may wind up costing you quite a bit of money.
Some struggle with the decision of whether to rescue a cat at the shelter, or to purchase one from a breeder. Rest assured that once you do decide to get a cat, one will find you. Cats are just like that. You can start your search, investigating your options, and before you know it “your” cat will appear.
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