SUMMER 2006 • V ol. 41 No. 2 - San Diego Humane Society and ...

president’s message
Consider an Adult Cat
Mark Goldstein, D.V.M.
President of the San Diego
Humane Society and SPCA
with Dalton.
The adorable antics of kittens frolicking about their rooms on our campus quickly draws in adopters. But, how
many people look at the adult cat snoozing quietly in the next room? Kittens are adorable and irresistible, but
we often forget that they grow up to be adult cats and lose that kitten spunk (and if you’ve ever been on the
receiving end of a 3 a.m. face walk from a kitten, you’re glad they do!) This season many kittens will be adopted while
adult or senior cats in our animal welfare organizations will continue to wait for homes. So I’d like to address the
benefits of adopting adult cats and the special and wonderful love they give in return to their new families.
While adult cats may not have the universal kitten appeal, they are wonderful and loveable in their own right.
Each cat has his or her own personality, be they an independent-type, a loveable lap cat, a playful clown or a “pretty
princess” and each makes a good match for different types of homes. And since cats aren’t fully mature until they are
around 18 months to two-years-old, you won’t know for sure what kind of personality a kitten will ultimately develop.
Adult cats, on the other hand, have already established their personalities, allowing adopters to handpick the type of
cat that will fit in best with their lifestyle and home environment.
In addition to having personalities that won’t change over time, mature cats have a medium energy level compared
to kittens. Also, many adult cats have already been socialized to different things like other cats, dogs, children, living
indoors, etc., making it even easier to find the right feline match for you and your family.
Our adopters are often enthralled by the personalities of our mature cats and find it easy to assimilate them into
their homes. On this note, I would like to share with you an experience in my life that relates to the addition of an
adult cat to a new family. Due to a health-related issue, my cousin recently asked my wife Kris and I if we could find
a temporary home for her eight-year-old cat, Dalton. We discussed possible homes and then thought, “why not us?”
Well, in addition to my wife and I, “us” also includes Ren our five-year-old Jack Russell/Beagle mix adopted from the
San Diego Humane Society and Ernie our 27-year-old, 30 pound African Spurred Tortoise.
The fact that Kris is allergic to most cats further complicated the potential arrangement. The allergen that most
people react to comes from a protein in the cat’s saliva. It is the presence or absence of this protein and the cat’s
grooming habits that determine if you will react to them. So, if you’re allergic and don’t think you can have a cat,
don’t rule out all cats if you have had a reaction to some. Thankfully, Kris did not have a reaction to Dalton and so he
came to stay with us.
To our wonderful surprise, myself, Kris, Ren, Ernie and now Dalton are all living together in harmony. Ernie is
still in charge and periodically Ren and Dalton let each other know who is more important in various ways. Overall,
Kris and I are the biggest winners, as we now have another animal in our home providing us with companionship
and unconditional love. We never thought we could have added an adult cat to our home, but now that we have, I am
so glad we took that chance. When you adopt an adult or senior cat, you make a difference for a special pet in need
and in turn, they reward you with love that will last a lifetime and beyond.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to our organization. Your unwavering assistance allows us to continue
caring for the animals and people in support of the human-animal bond.
Mark Goldstein, D.V.M.
President of the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA
AnimalFare • Summer 2006
Photo: Simran Zilaro