veterinarian

It's Adopt-a-Cat Month! Reasons to Have a Feline Friend in Your Home

Spring is the beginning of “kitten season” in South Florida - and by summer, our rescues and shelters are bursting at the seams with cats and kittens in need of forever homes. Cat adoptions save lives. Reducing the number of kitties in our shelters and streets benefits our entire community. And that’s great. But here’s the real reason you should consider adopting a cat.

Cats are awesome.

Here are just a few of the advantages to having a cat in your world:

Cats can - and should - stay indoors.

Yes, that means keeping litter boxes in the house. It also means not having to walk your pet during thunderstorms, brutal heat waves, or tropical storm force winds. Unlike their canine counterparts, cats that live exclusively indoors are not likely to bring fleas, ticks, and intestinal parasites into your home. Ditto for muddy pawprints. Indoor cats have less exposure to disease, and are not at risk of being killed by cars, wild animals, or off-leash dogs. For these reasons, they often live well into their twenties.

Cats can live safely with children and babies.

My parents’ generation grew up believing that cats routinely smothered babies in their cribs. It was widely believed that cats were attracted to the milky smell of a baby’s breath. This may have originated from a 1791 coroner’s report on an infant death. The coroner claimed the family’s cat had “sucked the breath from the baby’s lungs.” Cats do not do this. Period. Since 1931, only two infant mortalities have been associated with cats. In both cases, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was listed as the more likely cause of death. Interactions between children and pets should always be closely supervised, but this in no way implies that cats and babies cannot coexist. If baby is sleeping, close the door to the nursery, turn on the baby monitor, and enjoy a little down time with your cat.

While millions of children are bitten by dogs each year, very few are injured by cats. Cats are agile and fast enough to avoid being grabbed or cornered by an undiscerning child. They can remove themselves from a stressful situation by jumping out of reach, or darting under a bed. Additionally, the feline body language cues that precede a scratch or bite are far less subtle than those displayed by dogs. In other words, it’s pretty obvious when a cat has had enough.

Cats are clean.

No bathing. No trips to the groomer. They take care of it themselves - for free!

Cats are less likely to complicate a housing search.

Many landlords and HOA’s place severe restrictions on dog ownership. Some only accept dogs weighing less than 20 or 40 pounds. Others don’t allow them at all. Many municipalities (including Miami) stubbornly adhere to cruel and ineffective breed bans. Homeowners with large breed dogs pay higher insurance premiums - if they can get insured at all. Yet even where the official policy is “no pets allowed”, cats are often quietly given a pass. This is a big advantage in areas like South Florida where affordable housing is notoriously difficult to find.

Cats have common sense.

A client once asked me why my articles on first aid and safety tips focus so heavily on dogs. The honest answer is that cats don’t seem to get themselves into the kinds of situations that require emergency care. When I think back to patients that have eaten rocks, tussled with wildlife, fallen into pools, ingested toxins, choked on squeaky toys, jumped out of moving cars, swallowed fish hooks and crashed face first into sliding glass doors, they’re all dogs! Those crazy misadventures that lead to great stories and not-so-great vet bills? Cats just don’t seem to do those things. Which leads me to my next point.

Cats are smart.

If you think cats are impossible to train, think again. Most are using the litter box on their own by six weeks of age. It can take months to housebreak a puppy. And those cool tricks we teach our dogs? Get a clicker and a bag of cat treats and get ready to have some fun. I’ve met cats that play fetch and retrieve objects. They love finding hidden treats. Once you teach them which behaviors you like, it becomes easier to teach them what you don’t like (i.e. scratching furniture). If clickers aren’t your thing, no worries. Just wave a cat dancer toy while you’re lounging on the sofa, and enjoy the acrobatics display. Because here’s the thing...

Cats are entertaining.

While cats may not technically own the internet, they certainly seem to dominate it. Cat videos on YouTube got over 26 billion views in 2014 alone! And if you’re one of those people who spends way too much time watching them, don’t feel guilty. A study released just last week suggests watching online cat videos can reduce anxiety, boost energy levels, and increase positive thinking. I said it earlier, I’ll say it again. Cats are awesome!

Still not convinced? Are you “just not a cat person”? Oh dear. I hope you’re still reading, because this next point is crucial.

Cats know if you’re “not a cat person”.

And they will do everything in their power to convert you. There are all sorts of theories as to why cats seem to gravitate towards the person in the room who likes them the least. I won’t pretend to know the answer, because truth be told, I really don’t care. I love watching cats charm the socks off “that guy” - successfully, I might add.

Like Liam Neeson’s character in the “Taken” series, cats have a very particular set of skills. If you are “that guy”, they will find you. And when they find you, they will win you.

My advice? Just roll with it. Come on over to the cat side. You’re one of us now.

Besides - we have catnip.

Do you have a question for Dr.Kupkee? Click here to send him an email.

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To find the perfect cat or kitten for your family, contact any of the following organizations:

Cat Network

Miami Dade Animal Services 

Humane Society of Broward County 

Humane Society of Greater Miami

Broward County Animal Care and Adoption

Or check out our Facebook page to check out some adoptable kitties - including one who plays fetch!

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