A few hours ago, I noticed that a fellow Twitterer was asking people for advice on what kind of cat to get. He was considering either a Russian Blue (which I’ve had in the past) or an Abyssinian (which I was also thinking about getting last year), and I wanted to let him know about the best website for finding a cat in Australia.
To cut and paste the address of said website, I of course had to go to it. And that’s when I got stuck. For the past three hours I’ve been sucked back into that wonderful site, looking at cats’ profiles, dreaming of adopting them, and having my heart both filled with admiration for the people saving these kittens and cats from certain death, and disgust at the kind of people who let them reach that point.
Now I’d like to point out that all of the photos in this blog entry – apart from the one above – are of cats that as of today are looking for homes. They’re just some of the 557 kittens and cats up for adoption today on the Pet Rescue site, which I would highly recommend to anyone.
You see it was just under a year ago that I found my own cat through Pet Rescue. In fact, it’s her first birthday this month. That’s her Pet Rescue profile photo above. She was a bag of bones on death row when Beth, one of the foster mums from a group called Shine, rescued her a year ago. Beth helped her get healthy, put her profile up on the website, and a few weeks later I fell in love with her.
Of course, what I’ve never told Miss Kitty Fantastico (for yes, Buffy fans, that is what I named my kitten) is that she was actually on a short list when I saw her.
Taking a leaf out of Tyra Banks’ and Sarah Murdoch’s books, I decided the best way to whittle down the 651 cats and kittens that were on the site at the time, and to find the right cat for me, was to use an Amanda’s Next Top Kitty knockout process.
I cut and pasted the profile links of ones I fell for as I went through all 651 the first time round. Then I created a top 20. Then a top 10.
As Tyra and Sarah would say, the competition was fierce. They were all gorgeous, but some had the incredible backstory (being found in a box, covered in ticks and fleas but full of determination), others had the pedigree and the papers to prove it, while others just had that je ne sais quoi.
After getting it down to a top 5, I decided the time had come to meet each one in the flesh and see how the chemistry was between us. But that night, as I fell asleep I kept seeing one cat’s profile flashing before my eyes. I dreamt about that kitten that night, and even though she didn’t have the most dramatic story, wasn’t an Abyssinian and didn’t hold a pedigree in one of the other breeds I’d been considering getting, I knew she was the one.
The next day I went to see her with my friend Brett. As I held her for the first time she purred up a storm, and after handing her over to Brett I saw he was a goner too.
Today as I looked through the cats looking for their new home, I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s too soon to bring another boy or girl into the fold. I’ll ponder that for a while longer, because as Bubble would say, “it’s not just for life, it’s for Christmas!”
But in the meantime, I’ll just hope that anyone else who is thinking about getting a cat (or a dog, a bunny, a guinea pig, or any animal for that matter) will go to Pet Rescue’s website rather than to a pet store.
Just think, this way you not only get to see what they look like, but you also get the added advantage of having a bit of insight into their personalities. The profiles people put up about them are a great way to get a feel for what kind of cat or dog or creature they are.
Do they like to be picked up and cuddled? Do they prefer to come to you? Are they shy? Are they demanding? All these questions and more can be answered by someone who has actually spent real time with your possible pet, rather than just changed the shredded newspaper in their Perspex box.
Again, the few pictures I’ve included on this site, and the links below them to their profiles, are just a handful of the amazing cats and kittens who are looking for homes. If they’re gone by the time you look (and oh, how wonderful it would be if they all are) there are literally hundreds more on the site.
Good luck finding your own fantastic kitty, (or puppy, or bunny, or… ) and please do share your own experiences in the comments page below. I’d love to hear your stories.
If you want to see what happened when Miss Kitty Fantastico grew up, you may enjoy checking out the story about when she tried out the Pampered Pet Program at The Langham Sydney.
For now, I’ll leave you with pictures of kittens. Because if you’ve stuck with me this long, you deserve a little awwwww….
Have to hit the road with your cat? Check out my tips for taking a road trip with a cat that hates cars.
Cat lovers may also enjoy finding out what it’s like to visit the Burmese Cat Village in Myanmar.
We got Max from there and he is the best cat ever! Cannot ‘like’ this post enough Amanda!