7 reasons you really never should adopt a rescue cat
January 23, 2019Ever heard that all rescue cats are feral? Can’t be tamed? Make bad pets?
Well, we can safely confirm its all catnip – and we’re here to myth-bust any and all rumours you may have heard about our whiskered friends.
We’ve even come up with proof, in the form of cute cat photos and some of our most successful adoption stories to date.
1. Rescue cats are all feral
Guilty of thinking rescue cats are completely feral? Think again. By nature, cats are sweet, loving and often-independent creatures just looking for a safe place to go about their business.
Most of the rescue cats that come through the doors of RSPCA South Australia are successfully and very happily rehomed, giving them the chance to live out their days care-free.
Myth busted: Stray cat Polly and her gorgeous baby, Sam
Bought into RSPCA South Australia as strays, Polly and her 2-week-old baby Sam were ravenous and in dire need of care. After a few weeks of recovery, the duo was sent to kind-hearted foster carer, Rebecca, until they were ready for adoption – only they never made it to their adoption date.
Polly and Sam so effectively stole their foster mum’s heart that Rebecca couldn’t bear to see them go. Adopted and now making their new house a home, Sam and Polly are proof that stray cats make the best pets.
2. Rescue cats are standoffish and aggressive
A fairly common misconception that rescue cats can’t seem to shake, or scratch, is that they are standoffish or hostile. Again, another untruth that seems to follow rescue cats around like shadows.
Most rescue cats are affection-hungry monsters, whose appetite for cuddles can only be appeased by copious amounts of belly rubs.
While this is not a universal rule and some cats are independent, shy creatures, they do all just want to be loved. It’s all about getting to know the cat, finding out how they like to be shown love, and then responding accordingly.
Myth busted: Chilli, the love-hungry rescue cat
Below you can see rescue cat Chilli displaying some seriously aggressive and concerning behaviour, not at all cuddly and not at all in love with his mummy … ha!
Our favourite little battler, Chilli came into RSPCA Lonsdale with a serious leg injury as a 12-week-old stray. Extensive x-rays revealed that Chilli’s leg couldn’t be saved.
His tripod frame made no difference to his new mum Kym, who soon adopted him and has never looked back.
“He’s settled right in like he’s been here forever, a bunch of snuggly mischief with the loudest purr ever!” she told us.
3. Rescue cats are really shy and scared of people
Apparently rescue cats are shy and scared? News to us! A huge number of our wonderful cats and kittens are simply longing for love.
Like us humans, some cats can be a little hesitant when meeting new people and entering new environments, so give them time and space to acclimatise. Most cats are innately social creatures and will soon be your best buddy.
Myth busted: Meet Hugo, the rescue cat showing the world who’s boss
Adventurous little Hugo is providing us with some pretty compelling proof that rescue cats aren’t scared, shy or damaged goods, and that dogs aren’t the only ones who can rock a lead.
This little guy was adopted from our Lonsdale shelter in early 2017 and taken home by the Drazil family, who are now completely enamoured by the little guy.
“Adopting our fur baby has been the best decision we could have made. He has really made our house a home – we could not be more in love with each other!”
4. Rescue cats are all moggies
Despite the rumours, not all rescue cats are mixed breeds. While it is common to find (adorable!) moggies in rescue centres, purebred cats do occassionally come through our doors, too.
Having said that, we truly believe that all cats are equally deserving of a wonderful, safe home, regardless of their pedigree.
Myth busted: Persian brothers, Harry and Alfie
Brothers Alfie and Harry found themselves looking for a new home at RSPCA Lonsdale after their former owner sadly passed away. After a short shelter stay, the brothers went home with Gabby and Dave to begin their new lives.
Now featuring on their own Instagram page, @grumpycatinadelaide, these two grumpy cats are anything but! Their fur-dad Dave can’t get enough of his two newest additions.
“My wife and I are so glad we welcomed these two distinguished gentleman into our home,” he told us.
5. Rescue cats won’t love me like a kitten will
Under the impression that you must get a kitten, not an adult cat, for them to love you loyally for life? Na-uh.
As highly intelligent beings, cats who have lived tough as strays or endured abuse often seem to understand and appreciate the beauty of a loving home with food, water and shelter. Aside from basking in feline gratitude, there’s the personal rewards of knowing you are giving an older moggie a second chance at love. Awwwww…
The adoption option is always a winner, whatever way you look at it!
Myth busted: Cooper the trooper
Ragdoll Cooper isn’t just easy on the eyes, but a total affection monster too. Adopted by mum Tiffany and her partner, Coop now lives the dream life. Welcoming his parents home after a long day at work and keeping Tiffany’s lap warm is a full-time job for the adorable Cooper.
An adult cat when adopted, Coop slotted right into his new family without having to be potty trained. He also didn’t waste a minute before becoming best friends with the family’s other cat.
“He was not at all distant or detached from the family, he fit in perfectly and began projecting affection from minute one,” Tiffany told us.
6. Rescue cats don’t get on with other animals
Cats are naturally inquisitive and many are likely to extend a paw to a fellow fur-ball when given the choice.
Although some felines are shy, given the time and space, many will likely become steadfast pals and even best fur-buds with other animals.
Myth busted: Kenzo and Chloe, best buds for life
One-year old Chloe and 10-year-old Kenzo came from completely different walks of life, but both found themselves at RSPCA Lonsdale looking for their fur-ever homes.
The comfort of having a best friend to occupy the long hours, days, weeks and months at RSPCA Lonsdale was too alluring to resist. Soon the girls were so inseparable that RSPCA carers knew they had to be adopted as a package deal.
Proof is in the purr and these little soul mates have finally found a loving home with each other and their new parents, David and Gabby.
7. Rescue cats with health conditions don’t make good pets
Sadly, a number of the gorgeous animals that come into our care have health issues or disabilities that trigger red flag for potential parents. However, the truth about these special animals might surprise you!
Animals with disabilities are resilient and strong creatures, and often adapt to new circumstances better than we do. Their disabilities can be the result of abuse, neglect or even genetics, yet they can usually be managed with regular care, lots of love and a little patience.
Myth busted: Evie, the tough girl showing us all how it’s done
Eight-month-old Evie was found in a paddock in mid-2015 with serious injuries to her tail and, astonishingly, no eyes at all. As the result of her ordeal, Evie was left completely blind and with a short tail, but that didn’t stop warm-hearted Steve, Kerry, Jaidyn and Bailey from falling in love with her.
“Evie was surprising. I thought because she was blind that she would be more cautious, but she was full of spunk. Steve and I met her at her foster home and loved her on sight,” Kerry recalls.
Evie spends her days indoors, lavishing her owners with cuddles and exploring her home with much enthusiasm. Double aaaaaaw.
Have we got you convinced? Is a cat the missing jigsaw piece in your life?
We have an abundance of beautiful cats waiting for a loving homes at our three South Australian shelters. Head to our adoption pages to find yourself a best feline friend for life.
Hi, I love kittens and cats more than anything. I hate splitting up siblings so I usually adopt siblings. I am also setting up a regular donation each fortnight to help the RSPCA care for their charges (cats, kittens)I won’t stop helping save as many as possible for as long as possible. Cats are the most beautiful and amazing creatures on the planet. I am so happy about the new harsher laws, fines and prison. It’s about time these cruel idiots are made to pay for dumping and hurting innocent animals. Please don’t dump or hurt these wonderful gifts of love, cuddles and companionship. They all deserve love and kindness and a happy life. There is nothing like the love of cats.
Thank you so much for your support, Carolyn.
i think your title is written incorrectly- it sounds like you’re about to list the reasons why you shouldn’t adopt a rescue!
Hi Jamie, that’s correct – the title is satirical :)
I can’t seem to find help or advice anywhere that fits to our situation.
Our boy of 3.5 years MaoMao has been through a lot of sudden changes since his male companion BoBo died Nov 22nd. We were still grieving when we lost our house and everything in bushfire a month later on Dec 20th and MaoMao was very distressed by the 1 hour car ride when we had to evacuate without a cat cage in 44 degree heat. MaoMao has never liked any other humans’ company besides my partner and mine, but now he was surrounded by constant strangers in our temp accom in Adelaide and he could no longer go outside as he was used to in the country. He spent most of the 3 months hiding and sleeping under a bed waiting out each day for the strangers to go to bed so he could come out and hang out with my partner and I as we stayed up late dealing with our own trauma together, trying to get time alone to console each other. March 25th 2020 we finally moved out of temp accom to our new house back up in the Hills and at first MaoMao seemed curious and explorative, but the next day we picked up another boy we were meant to adopt before the bushfire. Poor MaoMao isn’t the same cat through all of these events, he loses his confidence quickly, and he has been sleeping most of the days away.
The new boy also is also an ex-street cat, and he’s an overly confident fearless, defensive, possessive 17 month old that seems to have missed out on socialisation learnings as a kitten :(
It’s been 3 weeks now keeping them separated in different rooms as we go through a strict introduction process. They got off to a bad start when the new boy lept confidently out of his cage and ran out of my bedroom to go explore every room of our house, see MaoMao, go up without hesitation and have a careful sniff, then wander off to continue checking out the other rooms. When we got a moment I picked him up and took him straight back into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. The problem now is that MaoMao seems totally put out by this young alpha claiming the house and us as his own, and when we’ve allowed them to sniff each other through the crack of open door, they quickly become aggressive and swat and hiss. MaoMao makes a retreat, and the new boy is STILL trying to get at him to chase him down and attack him. Although we’re following a process and adjusting it pending what happens in each moment, I’m at the point of UNadopting the new boy so MaoMao can get a break.. this new boy is just too aggressive and ready to defend his position – and I don’t know whether it will ever change without some professional intervention… I can’t find any info on a new cat being the aggressor and our old cat being traumatised and now having to deal with an unsocialised boy that doesn’t respect boundaries, and will chase him down at every opportunity. They didn’t want to eat near each other even on the opposite side of a closed door, and now I’m not sure how to socialise this new boy.
We need help.
Could anyone direct us to a cat behviouralist or something like that?
Hi Jordan, this is a tricky situation, for which we’d definitely recommend seeking the assistance of a cat behaviorist. Unfortunately our cat care specialists only assist the animals in our care, but you could ask your vet for a referral to a behaviour specialist. Best of luck.
Thanks for your advice, it is very tricky.. my partner and I have spent over 80% of our time for the last 3 weeks in separated halves of the house giving companionship and play to each boy.
Same day as posting my call for help I did contact Adelaide Veterinary Behaviour Services and found out it is $575 for a 2 hour streaming video consultation, $765 if you add a 1 hour follow up streaming video consultation.
Unfortunately their cost places their service outside our ‘sensible course of action’ boundary.
Best Regards and much gratitude for all your good work :)
was about to be really sad that the rspca would say this but saw that the title was merely satirical, my kitty i found under my cubby house when i was 6 (like 11 years ago) she was a little baby and she was fine with my company so my mum eventually let me keep her, we got her microchipped and everything and she’s been well ever since! genuinely my closest friend through my childhood/early adolescence and i wouldn’t trade her for the most pedigree of pet, her name is Shirley btw. after my prep teacher
My 15 year old male cat is missing now for 3 weeks. It’s the first time he’s ever gone missing. Once, shortly before his sibling sister passed away (only 5 weeks ago from a suspected heart seizure) he went missing for 36 hours. I heard someone cough at my front gate at 5am and when I went outside that morning, he was sitting on the chair. I suspect that someone knew who he belonged to, and they dropped him off at my gate. From then on, normally an outdoor cat, he wanted to sleep on my bed with me and his sister who slept with me, was usurped from the bed. I wondered if he had been traumatised and who would have done that to him. Then 2 weeks later, his sister had 3 seizures in half an hour and I had to rushed her to the vet. The vet gave her back to me sedated and she passed away that night. She had vomited before passing. I was devastated. My usual vet said that she should not have been returned to me sedated. Anyway I lost her. After she dies, my male cat decides he no longer wants to sleep on my bed, so he sleeps in the living room. 3 weeks later I let him out to go to the toilet, and he never returned. I’ve posted lost cat notices in pawboost, lost cats.org and in petfinder. But no such luck. 15 cat years is equivalent to 76 human years. I need some closure. What do you think happened to him? Was he sick or missing his sister? Did he die? Would anyone be so kind as to take in a 15 year old stray cat in? Or would he have been left to his defences and is therefore passed away now? I had the other one cremated. It breaks my heart to think that he died in a ditch somewhere appearing as though he meant nothing to anybody when he meant the world to me.
Hi Tonie,
I’m so sorry you have had to go through all of this. Losing a beloved pet can be heartbreaking. Sadly we don’t have an answer to your questions, when a cat goes missing many things can happen. It’s easy to dwell on the worst-case scenarios but always have hope – there are plenty of stories out there of cats disappearing for long periods of time and then returning home. They are versatile and adaptive animals. If your cat returns try keep them indoors and making sure they are microchipped. I hope it all works out for you.
All my cats and l have had many.
Have been street cats and each and everyone with love and patience are the most loving and loyal. They only want a safe secure loving home.