why do "some" people choose not to adopt cats/dogs from their local SPCA or shelter?

Question

if they want pup/kit then they just let their pet get pregnant. that is soooooooo totally wrong I think. you are saving a innocent life by adopting from the SPCA or shelter. people don't want to pay for adoption fee, gas, or waist time. people are soooooo ignorant and selfish these days. in my opinion, adopting from a shelter or SPCA is the BEST way to get a dog/cat. I adopted my 5 month old kitten from my SPCA about a month ago. my 2 year old female was a stray who I just happen to pick up and take home (some loser dumped her at a car wash). anyways, what do you think? do you agree with me? it's my opinion. the only way that I will ever have a cat/dog again is if I find them as a stray or decide to adopt one from the SPCA or shelter. I don't support breeders and never will. mixed breeds are the GREATEST!!!!

I know there all other rescues, but those of the two that I thought of right off the top of my head. those are very good too.

my cat was 5 weeks old when I found her and if she was somebodys pet then they obviously weren't taking very good care of her.

Trishy: Amen!!!!

Answer 1

When you adopt from a shelter you are actually saving a life. It could the life of the animal you've adopted or just the fact that your adoption opened up a kennel for another dog that may have been euthanized because there was no room.
Without question, when you find a stray, if no one claims it after at least 30 days, you have saved a life.

There is a need for breeders, good ones anyway. Their mission is to breed the best specimen of that breed by keeping the breed going. Most mixed dogs somewhere down the line, came from a purebred dog. Good breeders will breed carefully, not breeding bitches each time they are in season. What people shouldn't do, is buy from a pet store, these are puppy mill puppies. These dogs, usually small dogs, are bred every heat cycle. Most are kept in cages their entire lives to just bred. Can you imagine what these poor creatures suffer, being bred every heat cycle just to furnish pet stores and fatten the wallets of puppy mill owners? Sad, very sad.
I have owned one purebred dog with no regrets and I have adopted shelter dogs, with no regrets. It all depends on where your heart is and what you're looking for.

Regardless, I agree, way too many homeless animals that desperately need homes in shelters all across the nation. Save a life adopt a pet!

Answer 2

I don't know really. Some people may just like the purebred cats and dogs so they can show them. They don't have to necessary have to breed them but certain dog and cat shows they have to have papers. I personally think more people should adopt from local animal shelters to give a needy animal a loving and caring home. Though some people might try to adopt from an animal shelter and be turned down.Or some might not be able to afford the price of a shelter animal over the free puppies and kitten ads in the local paper. I have known some good breeders that actually cared for thier animals and got the puppies spayed/neutered and had a paper saying that the buyer would return the dog if the buyer couldn't care for it anymore. Though I would say that not all breeders are like that and most just breed them for money. I say shelter animals are one of a kind breed!

Answer 3

Please get off your high horse. I work for a local cat shelter and yes, in an ideal world then everyone could or should adopt a cat that needs re-homing. However, this is not always possible. Lots of people do not want an older cat, they want a kitten from the very start, so they can build a relationship with the cat. Other people (such as myself) live in apartments that do not have outside gardens or access to outside space, and for that reason I cannot adopt a cat from a shelter, I do not know any shelters in London that let people adopt cats as house cats, especially as most of the adult cats are used to being outside and it would not be fair to keep them inside all the time. So as much as I would have liked to adopt, I could not. So I went to a breeder and bought two beautiful pedigree kittens as indoor cats, why should I not be allowed to have cats, just because I have no garden? Mixed breeds are fine, but pedigrees are also fine, please do not preach at people in this way, it is not fair. I agree that every pet owner has a responsibility to look after their animals and spay/neuter them, but if people choose to buy a kitten from a breeder then that is their choice, and not your business to judge.

Answer 4

One major problem with adopting a pet from there is that you don't know anything about the animal. It may have been abused or raised to be violent. You don't know what may be wrong with the animal, and especially if you have children or fragile belongings this can be very bad. Some people question the "value" of an animal adopted from a shelter for the very fact that they are in the shelter. A pet in a store is far more expensive and people are used to cheap things being cheap for a reason.

On a side note my family and I have gotten all our pets either from neighbors who had kittens or from shelters. One of them was a mixed breed dog that was horrible, he was desctructive and bit my sister so he had to go. The other 2 dogs we've gotten from shelters were great. And my current cat was adopted from a rescue shelter and she rocks.

Answer 5

While I agree with your general idea (adopting a pet rather than breeding your own pets), I still, personally, would not adopt from my local SPCA.

My reason? I have had horrible experiences with the shelter itself. Nothing wrong with the animals, but the people. I worked at another SPCA for more than 3 years, and ended up having the worst work experience because of the people. Personally, I would head to the local Humane Society or other rescue in town (and there are many).

Still, adoption is one of the best ways to go :)

Answer 6

I agree that going to a shelter or pound to geta cat/dog as a pet is a great place to go...but how do those pets get there? Animals breed. I know that if you decide to breed your animal that you shouldn't take the babies to a shelter or abandon them...you should get it fixed so that doesn't happen. There are breeders out there that take good care of their animals and sell the babies to good homes only. So not all breeders are bad. Alot of people might have been to a shelter or pound and were looking for a certain dog/cat with a certain personality and just didn't find it so that is one reason why they would go to a breeder. I do agree with you that mixed breeds are the best. I have a shepard mix and a pitbull/sharpae mix they are so smart and loyal and they have a very great personality....the one I bought from someone because he was just a pup and they were going to take him to the pound! Most of my animals came from there or someone would give them to me & I didn't have the heart to say no. But I will say that not all breeders are bad. I have breed dogs and cats and took great care of them and they went to good homes only (mostly my family and friends)

Answer 7

Some people feel the adoption process is too intrusive, requiring too much scrutiny into their lifestyles and condescending behavior on the part of staff and adoption counselors. And these people also don't want to receive any information on how to care for their pets, don't want to accept the fact that a cat (or dog) may not be appropriate for their home or lifestyle.

They don't want to pay for an animal when it is so easy to find a "free" one and they are not prepared for the necessary expenses of shots, medical care. speutering, etc. that they will need to give this pet a decent home. They don't know what a bargain a shelter pet is in that many of the initial costs of pet ownership have been taken care of, usually at half the price of the "open" market.

Answer 8

I have adopted 2 out of 4 cats from my local shelter. The other 2 were from people that found strays with kittens and gave them to me for free. The shelter cats cost $60, and at my shelter, most of them have kennel cough, untreated eye infections, fleas, worms, and diarrhea just to name a few. Although I like the cats I adopted from the shelter, I would rather get an unwanted cat from a private person. My experience is those cats tend to be disease free (or have less diseases than shelter cats).

No, I would never buy a cat from a breeder.

Also, I don't like dogs so I don't have to worry about that.

Answer 9

Well we got our dog from a litter of puppies, both our cats were from litters. We don't near a SPCA, we do live near a shelter and we were considering getting a cat there when our friend gave us her cat because she was moving and couldn't afford to take her. I'm totally with adopting pets from shelters/SPCA, but right now all we have is a grumpy old cat who doesn't like any other pets in the house, which is perfectly fine with me. But strays don't always have the best behavior, especially around littler kids. It's just that some strays aren't very nice to children, because of their backround or something like that. "Some" people choose to allow their pet to be pregnant so they can train them to be nice to children and other people. That way they actually know the pet. Breeding is perfectly fine to me, especially if the owners are planning children and need a nice pet. Don't be so onesided. Every cloud has a silver lining, well, almost every cloud. There's good in every situation, it just depends on how you look at it.

Answer 10

I would think that some of it is that these animals are required to be spayed or neutered and the fees are sometimes prohibitive. The myth of neutering your male animal will ruin them is just not true...if anything it makes them a better pet. Same with females...less health issues as they get older.

I have had many pets over the years and in the last 14 of those they are all rescued or shelter animals.

You're correct in the thought not fixing them just so they can have a litter is not fair, not kind and definitely will add to the number of animals not wanted and possibly never adopted and put to sleep.

When I worked at Best Friend Animal Sanctuary a graph came through our offices in the publication department. It said that if you take 1 pair of cats or dogs unaltered and allow them to breed. Never fix them or their future litters that they could possibly create a population of over 1 million animals within a 10 year period!