June is Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month,
and I found this great article online
about Penny (the kitty) and her human**.
Has your shelter kitty (kitties) made your life better
than you could dream possible?
Sound off in the comments section below!
10 REASONS WHY A SHELTER CAT
IS YOUR BEST FRIEND:
1. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Make a Difference That You See Every Day
When Penny
first arrived in our apartment, she was skittish and shy, tiny and scared. She
ran behind our couch the second we released her into the apartment, and we
didn’t see her again for another couple of hours. On her papers, under the
section where her capturers were allowed to write in comments, they had instead
written, “Too Many.” Poor Penny—she came with too many comments to even write. However,
over the next few days, weeks and months, slowly but surely, Penny came out of
her shell. I single-handedly watched her grow from a timid kitten to a
beautiful, confident cat, and I’d like to think I had something to do with
that.
2. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and Your Heart Will Be Healthier
Before Penny, I
can tell you that the stresses of life seemed much more all encompassing than
they do these days. A 5-minute tummy rub or a scratch on the ears is sure to
send my ball of fur into a purring frenzy, which melts all my cares away
immediately. Turns out, there’s actually science behind my sentiments—according to
research, cats are such a calming presence in our lives that they reduce the
risk of heart attack by 40 percent.
3. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Never Feel More Needed
While her
initial reaction to our home had me feeling doubtful as to whether or not Penny
would ever take to us the way I had hoped, she quickly proved me wrong. Within
a month’s time, Penny was greeting me at the door when I came home from work,
purring as I pet
her before I fell asleep every night and knocking her head into my hands as I
typed away at my computer because she wants me to scratch her. While I had half
expected to adopt an independent cat who would all but ignore me, what I got
instead was a perfect combo—Penny is happy to entertain herself from time to
time, but she always makes sure to let me know that I’m needed.
4. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Learn Important Lessons in Patience
I’ll be the
first to admit it—I’m not the most patience person in the world. While I’m
admitting things, I might as well also admit to the fact that I was a little
worried when we first brought Penny home, that if she took to scratching the
furniture, messing outside of her litter box or proved to not be as cuddly as I
would have hoped, that I would have immediately run out of patience. What I
learned instead is that when you love something as much as you inevitably will
love any cat you adopt, your patience tends to magically grow. That’s not to
say I don’t still get a tad frustrated when Penny paws at the new chair
I brought home … but I love her all the same.
5. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You Could Actually Lower Your Family’s Incidence of
Allergies and Asthma
Seems
counter-intuitive, I know, but studies have
actually shown that children who grow up in households
with two or more pets have a lower incidence of allergies than children who
were raised in homes with only one or no pets. Saving an animal’s life and
potentially saving your kid from suffering from allergies in the future? That’s
a double-reward we like to hear.
6. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Never See Another Bug In Your House … Again.
Okay, I know
this might seem silly, or trite, but trust me—when you’re a New York City gal
living in a tiny 4th-floor walk-up, the last thing you want to contend with are
bugs. That’s no problem anymore. I’ve seen Penny take down spiders, mosquitos,
flies … anything is fair game. The chicken in me who hates capturing pests, and
feels even worse for killing them, thanks her for taking care of that for me.
7. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Be Happier
It’s a true
story. Not only is it impossible not to smile when that furry little ball of
fuzz cuddles you, or crawls across your computer when you’re working or rubs up
against your legs, but studies have actually shown that it only takes 15 to 20 minutes with a dog or cat to feel less anxious and
less stressed. There is a physical reaction that takes place when
you spend time with your furry friend wherein the level of cortisol, a hormone
associated with stress, is actually lowered, and the production of serotonin, a
chemical associated with well-being, is increased ... all the more reason to
spend even more time together
8. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Lower Your Blood Pressure
The health
benefits just keep on coming when you take in a cat from your local shelter.
Along with a healthier heart, a decreased incidence of allergies and lowered
stress levels, one study of 240 married couples found that pet owners had
lower blood pressure and lower heart rates during rest than people who did not
own a pet.
9. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and Your Risk of Stroke Will Decrease
Although
research isn’t conclusive, studies have found that cat owners have fewer strokes than people who
don’t own cats. This is probably partly due to the overall effects
of owning a pet, but researchers also believe that cats may have a more calming
effect on their owners than other animals.
10. Adopt a
Shelter Cat and You’ll Learn to Appreciate the Small Things in Life
I’m amazed at
what catches Penny’s eye—that cat can literally sit in the window for hours
staring down at the street. What looks like an ordinary piece of string to me
is endless fun for her, and that chore of making the bed that I dread … well
Penny’s favorite thing is to play hide-and-seek under the sheets while I’m busy
doing it. In the two years we’ve had her, Penny has taught me so much more than
I could have ever imagined, and she’s brought more into my life than I can ever
repay her for. I just hope that at the end of the day she knows that even
though I’m the one who takes care of her in the relationship, she’s really the
one whom I’m so grateful for.
Think you need a shelter cat (or two, or three...) in your life?
Check out all the adorable kitties at King Street Cats
looking for their furrever home here!
**Access the full article here.
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