When I was six years old I saw my across-the-street neighbor take the cutest kitten out of the back of his car. I asked about the kitten and discovered that he found the cat in the street and rescued it. I wanted this kitten and my parents let me keep him. I named him George and enjoyed him his whole life. He was mean, ornery, expensive, and mine.
Not long after I got an apartment I looked into getting a cat. I wanted a young adult cat so I wouldn’t have to deal with the destructive kitten period. I adopted BJ from Casitas Hotel for Cats near the Los Angeles zoo. BJ was not the cat I initially wanted. She was all black and I wanted a fluffy multi-colored. BJ also had only one eye and an interesting rescue story. I just knew that BJ would have a lot of health issues. She imprinted herself on my heart, though, and I had to have her.
A few months later I found a fluffy black and white, tuxedo patterned, kitten in a local newspaper. I adopted Whiskers when she was about four months old and she’s about 13 now. Together, my husband and I adopted two tortoiseshell calico kittens over the years. Both were adopted through PetSmart.
I have always loved going to pet stores to look at the animals on display. I don’t like the methods that pet stores acquire their animals for sale, however. I would much rather adopt a pet from a shelter.
From spring to fall is kitten season. Because of the economy many families are giving their pets to shelters. Shelters are experiencing severe over-crowding and resorting to gimmicks to help potential owners decide to adopt. I hope they do. Baby animals are wonderful, but adult animals are wonderful too. I never would have known the joy of BJ if I’d looked past her.