Black cats, bonded pairs, seniors and cats with special needs often linger longer in animal shelters.
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While there’s an old superstition that black cats bring bad luck, adopting a black cat named Phoenix proved lucky for Rena Lafaille and her family.
“Phoenix fills my home with so much love and joy,” she said. “Honestly, I cannot imagine my life without my black cat. If anything, she’s proven to me and our family that black cats bring nothing but good luck and a whole lot of affection.”
Phoenix showed Rena Lafaille that adopting a black cat can bring good luck.
Rena Lafaille
June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, and Lafaille — who sees lots of adoptable cats in her job as director of administration at the ASPCA Adoption Center in New York City — feels it’s a perfect time to help cats and kittens find homes.
She particularly hopes people will consider adopting cats who tend to linger longer in shelters. In addition to black cats, harder-to-place cats include:
Cats who need to be adopted together because of their close bond — aka a “bonded pair” — can be a boon to adopters since they are already friends.
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Last year, 3 million cats entered U.S. animal shelters and rescue organizations, according to Shelter Animals Count, a program of the ASPCA that maintains a database of U.S. sheltering statistics. So when it comes to adopting the right cat, Lafaille recommends asking the shelter staff for suggestions.
“I would definitely say if you are considering any one of these variety of harder-to-place cats, definitely ask questions to the shelter staff and lean in on them for guidance because ultimately they're the experts at making matches and they know these animals really, really well,” she said.
Adopting cats with special needs has fostered empathy in her 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, according to Lafaille. Mardi, the tripod, was rescued after falling out of a window in a high-rise apartment building in the dead of winter; he also had to have his tail and a piece of an ear amputated due to severe frostbite.
Mardi survived falling out of a window and now thrives on three legs.
Rena Lafaille
“People can't quite tell what he is. He looks kind of like an owl with three legs,” she said. “So yes, we love him and the kids love him. He sleeps with one of my kids every single night.”
Her “soul cat,” Kylie, entered the shelter as a victim of cruelty. Someone had poured bleach on her, leaving her skin burned and in need of a graft. There was so much raw skin that on first glance, she almost looked like a turkey.
Lafaille fostered Kylie and helped nurse her back to health — and ultimately, couldn’t bear to part with her and made her a permanent part of the family. Whenever Lafaille has a bad day, Kylie seems to instinctively know and offers comforting cuddles.
“Kylie reminds me every day just never to give up, especially after what she has gone through,” she said. “These cats teach you these life lessons.”
After surviving past abuse, former shelter cat Kylie now reminds Rena Lafaille to never give up.
Rena Lafaille
If you decide to adopt a cat, set yourself up for success by making sure you have all the supplies you need, including a litter box, scooper, cat food, water bowl, a few toys like a wand toy and a scratching post, according to Lafaille. She strongly suggests installing window screens to help keep cats safely inside.
When you first bring a cat home, confine them to a small space like a bathroom or bedroom with a litter box, food, toys and water to avoid overwhelming them and making them feel scared. When they seem confident about wanting more space, you can introduce them to another room.
“Especially for fearful cats, I would definitely take it slow,” she said. “The first thing that they’re going to want to do is hide under a piece of furniture, usually the bed.”
Because of that instinct, Lafaille likes to block the bed area as much as possible with storage bins or boxes so new cats can’t hide under the middle of the bed where you can’t even see them. Even if the cat is within reach while hiding, resist the urge to pull them out, which would create stress for the cat and keep them under the bed even longer.
With the warmer weather of “kitten season” causing an influx of kittens into shelters across America, people who aren’t ready to commit to adopting a shelter cat can help make space for cats in need by fostering kittens or cats. Lafaille finds fostering incredibly rewarding and said there are tips for getting involved at aspca.com/helpcats.
Fostering kittens and cats helps relieve the strain on animal shelters, which are experiencing an influx of kittens during the warmer months of kitten season.
Courtesy of ASPCA
Ultimately, she hopes Adopt a Shelter Cat Month raises awareness of the wide range of cats waiting for loving homes at animal shelters across the country.
“There are so many cats who really do need homes and we're asking people to keep an open mind and open heart,” she said. “You never know who you may fall in love with.”
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