Mary Allen
Many pains can also be relieved with heat or cold packs. Talk to your vet about what they recommend in your particular case. This way you are there for your dog when it is in pain and can prevent further suffering.
If you want to get a cat from the animal shelter, you should have them show you all the cats on your first visit. The easiest way is to find the cats, who welcome visitors curiously and let them pet them right away. But especially in the animal shelter, it is worthwhile to consciously pay attention to the quieter cats.
Many cats are rather shy
The cats waiting quietly in the background at the shelter are anything but the second choice! Imagine you come home but your key no longer fits. Your family, everything that was important in your life is gone. You are left with nothing… Would you be in the mood to have a successful interview right now? This is exactly the situation cats in shelters find themselves in.
Very few animals there are brought by a loving owner who has tried in vain to avoid separation. Found cats predominate – abandoned, brutally abandoned animals, which are deeply shocked and afraid after what they experienced. But they are slumbering clingy sofa lions who only need to thaw out a little before they can give someone their full trust again. But patience pays off.
The animal shelter is an exceptional situation
With an understanding person by their side, in an environment that makes them feel safe, a cat will get over negative experiences. But an animal shelter is hardly the right place for this, despite all the efforts of the keepers. There are too many animals in a small space, too much stress, too many smells, and noises. For many cats, their nightmare at the shelter often lingers on.
They hide, try to make themselves “invisible”. Many save themselves by withdrawing completely into themselves, simply ignoring the other cats and above all the strangers who are constantly standing in front of them. Unfortunately, they are supposed to conduct an “application interview” with exactly these people about a possible adoption.
Also, look for “Cinderella”
People who are looking for a purring companion may still have a clear idea of what kind of cat they are looking for in front of the animal shelter door – only to forget them very quickly behind the door. There are the kittens that rush towards the visitor with concentrated baby charm and (almost always) very quickly wrap their little paws around them.
With the older animals, the self-confident ones, the dominant ones, push themselves to the fore, they see their chance and use it consistently. They caress your legs, want to be hugged, and purr “Get me out of here” in all pitches because they know that a delighted visitor can be their ticket to a new life.
On the other hand, the shy, the sensitive, the elderly, the mentally injured, who cannot present themselves perfectly as a dream cat, have a bad hand.
4 tips for making choices at the shelter
However, to ensure that you really find your very own dream cat in the animal shelter, you should adhere to the following rules:
- Think beforehand which cat fits into your life and what you can offer her. Don’t put yourself under pressure like “This morning I’m going to the animal shelter and I’ll get a cat”.
- At the shelter, take time to observe and get to know the cats. Feel free to visit the cats there for several days.
- Don’t be “convinced” by the first confident cat that approaches.
- Take a special look at the reserved cats in the background. If necessary, come several times – otherwise, you could possibly miss the find of a lifetime.
Don’t choose a cat as a Christmas present
It’s a sad truth: cats given away for Christmas end up in shelters by January at the latest!
- The Christmas season, with lots of visitors and turmoil in the house, is the worst time to take a cat into the family.
- Children and young people in particular have the wrong idea of how much work and consideration an animal in the household means.
- Younger children are overwhelmed with the responsibility of a cat; older ones hardly have enough time to take care of a cat. It is better if you give a book about cats, a voucher for a “trial cat” (holiday care), then the whole family will know whether a catsuits them.
- Never give a cat as a comfort companion to an elderly person. A cat does not replace a human, and caring for them tends to become more of a burden as they get older.