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At Just Cats, we believe every animal deserves a home that will love them unconditionally. Still, thousands of cats are abandoned every year in Ireland and are left in dire need of a good home to call their own. Even now many shelters across the country are finding that their beds are full of pets that were adopted through the pandemic, only for them to be surplus to requirements now that we’re all back at work.

With that being said, if you think you’re ready to bring a cat into your life maybe you should consider rehoming a sheltered one instead? Today we’ve got five reasons as to why rehoming a cat might suit you better!

5: All The Jabs

Most (if not all) shelters, vets and catterys won’t allow a cat to be adopted by a potential owner unless they’ve had their boosters and vaccines (them, not you). This gives both the owner and the shelter peace of mind and is a guarantee that the forever-friend you choose to give your home to is safe, healthy and protected against the worst feline diseases out there. It also gives your new friend extra defences if they decide they want the best of the indoors while also having the outdoors to roam at their leisure.

4: Toilet Training

Unless you’ve decided to adopt a young kitten or early adolescent, you can almost be guaranteed that the pet you rehome will have had some degree of toilet training. Cats are instinctively proud creatures anyway and will avoid sullying the place they eat with their own waste. Just be sure that the tray and litter you have is suited to their needs and you should have no problems at all when it comes to cleaning up after your fluffy (yet sharp) ball of joy.

3: Indoor, Outdoor, Happy, Sad

Unlike adopting a fresh-faced kitten, adopting a cat from a shelter can give you certain guarantees that suit your lifestyle. Once cats begin reaching maturity you can start to gauge their personalities, their likes, dislikes and all other aspects of their ego – this means that you can almost pick a cat that suits your life as opposed to having to change your life to suit your cat. Of course, cats can develop nuances in their personalities as they grow older, but knowing a cat’s likes and dislikes is half the battle when it comes to integrating them into your home (and goes a long way in making sure they don’t need to be rehomed again).

2: Neutered

Due to the ever-increasing population of cats in Ireland, not to mention to prevalence of many fatal feline STI’s, shelters, Vets and rehoming centres make a point of spaying and neutering every pet that crosses their door. Spaying or neutering is a completely painless process and is performed in the blink of an eye. While keeping a potential forever-friend safe from those aforementioned STI’s, being spayed or neutered can reduce a cat’s hostility and reduce the risk of developing certain cancers. Lastly, it also prevents cute surprises that may appear under your shed or behind your bin in the future.

1: A Second Chance

While there’s nothing wrong with purchasing your ideal pet from a reputable breeder, giving a down-on-their-luck pet a second chance is one of the most selfless things you can do. There’s absolutely no reason as to why a cat in the prime of their life wouldn’t be as playful, as lazy or as fun to be around as a brand-new kitten. If not that then think of the bragging rights you’d have on social media: “Yes, we adopted Shadow from the shelter, though the pictures don’t do him justice.” Trust us, rehoming a previously owned pet is something no one can’t feel good about.

Signing off:

So, we hope this was enough to give you second thoughts. We implore you to step up to the plate and rehome a friend for life; you’ll be so glad you did and, if nothing else, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve done an honest good deed.

Cheerio cat-fans!