6 Reasons to Adopt a Senior Cat

To quote the Beatles, “Won’t you please, please help me?”

November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month. Aging cats and dogs are the last pets adopted and the first on the euthanasia list. But why? They are so much more desirable pets than kittens and puppies. So often they often wind up locked out of their homes or dumped at animal shelters for reasons that weren’t their fault: an elderly owner dies or goes into nursing care, the family moves, has a baby or the owner starts dating someone who doesn’t like the pet. It happens all the time.

Last year, my neighbor Connor Olson, brought me a blind cat with horribly ingrown toenails he’d found standing in the street, disoriented and confused. I named her MethuseLeah, a feminine version of Methuselah, the oldest man to ever live. She was, after all, older than dirt.

We kept MethuseLeah. Had we taken her to the shelter, she likely wouldn’t have fared well. Next time you adopt or foster a cat or dog, consider taking a senior pet home.

You’re saving a life. Senior pets are the last ones adopted and the first ones euthanized. By taking him home, you’re saving him from a short and certain future.
What you see is what you get. Kittens’ (and puppies) personalities change when they reach adolescence. (Just like a teenage kid.) Older pets have established personalities. If he’s friendly when you meet him, he’ll be friendly when he gets home.
They’ve outgrown that annoying and destructive stage. Climbing curtains and furniture scratching is ancient history. This little guy wants the same thing you do: gentle love.
They are so grateful. Without anthropomorphizing, they seemed to know you saved them, or at least took them to a better, less scary place. There’s nothing like the relationship between a human and a grateful pet.
The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 14 to 18 years. Adopting a kitten is no guarantee that you’ll have him for a long time. Congenital defects, illnesses and accidents happen. Enjoy your pets for as long as you can no matter his age.
Many senior pets are accustomed to living with senior humans, small children and other cats and dogs.