Reasons Not to Adopt
I very stupidly browsed the listings for animals available for adoption in SoCal. Now I really want these two cats to come live with me. I'm guessing, because of the same approximate age and that the pictures were posted one after the other, that they might have come from the same house. I need reasons not to adopt.
http://www.petsadoption.com/includes/phpThumb.php?src=../uploads/cats/39-Kareem.jpg&w=500&h=500
Breed: DSH – Black/White
Age: 8 years, 7 months
Sex: Male
Description: I'm Kareem, a black and white male feline. I am absolutely terrified to be here and have a long road ahead of me. I come out to eat but only when there are no people around. I allowed my picture to be taken after I first got here, but I've taken a step backwards and I'm more uncomfortable now more than ever. I miss my home very much and I don't trust the kind people here at the shelter yet.
and
http://www.petsadoption.com/includes/phpThumb.php?src=../uploads/cats/97-Kasey.jpg&w=500&h=500
Breed: DSH – Gray/White Mix
Age: 8 years, 7 months
Sex: Female
Description: I'm Kasey, a grey and white female cat. I was absolutely terrified to be here and I have a long road ahead of me still but I've showed some progress lately by coming out of hiding and exercising with the other cats in the cattery. This was a huge step for me!
budget
travel
emotional costs
puncture wounds
I thought of another one. Fire. I used to be on edge all fall because if a fire started in my area, they wouldn't let me in to get Cat. It was kind of better before my neighbors retired, but now they're traveling a lot so they'll be no one to grab the kittehs on the way out.
Please dont be mad at me, I cant help myself. ::)
budget--thats a good one, just remember preventative care is cheeper than worring about things that went undetected for a long time costing you more in the long run...plus, a lot of places give discounts on your second adoption....so here you might get "by one get one half off." Petting cats also has been shown to reduce hyertension...so maybe you will even save on health costs for you? (okay Im stretching it, we all know vegans gont get hypertensive anyways...) Because these two are older they age probably already altered and have many of their shots,s o you will save on that.
travelthese cats both sound like the sort thatr are okay with being alonel...so if you had to go away for a feew days you could potentially just put out food and water for them and they would be okay till you came home, or you could have someone check in on them.
emotional costsA cost/bennifit analysis tells me that cats are more of an assest in the emotioal department than a risk. They bring a lot of love, joy and laughter to ones life and I think that far outweighs and emotional cost.
puncture wounds Should not be an issue if you are keeping them inside...
Now HH, you were browsing those listings for a reason...something in you is telling you its time to let another little kitty or two into your heart and your home. I know its a risk, but I think you would get so much love from them and you have so much love to give. So, so much love to give. I think a visit with these two little guys might be in order? :)>>>
I know! Being loner cats, they're perfect for me. I wish the pictures still showed. I'd have to get through the fire season before I make a decision. I had hypertension all fire season (mid September through mid November) with Cat because I'm a commuter and if a fire started I'd be blocked from getting him. Full on stress. I have a feeling they'll probably still be there if they don't interact with people.
That settles it. There's a guy who had 20 rescue dogs burn on Sunday in a SoCal fire. I definitely won't be able to share my home with another animal until I move out of SoCal.
thats horrible....poor doggies
my goodness, thats just terrible. :( thoser poor babies. I could cry.
I wonder if there are any organizations that help people come up with plans for wildfires like that? Maybe like a sort of insurance where if fire breaks out in your area, nearby responders get your pets out??? Maybe the rescues would know about what options there are? It just seems like an awful sort of thing to happen and I can see why you wouold worry about it.
I'll have to think about reasons not to adopt, but...
There were some forest fires here that took out quite a few houses, but this one house survived the flames mostly because the owner had a swimming pool, and as the fire approached he pumped the water from the pool and sprayed it on his house. I guess that when a fire is approaching, everyone at once tries to use the water, and the water pressure drops to zero.
So now you have a reason to put in a swimming pool!
Any chance if a fire is near you could put them in a travel crate and take them to work with you?
How soon can you move? If fire season is almost over, you'd have a year to relocate after adopting them.
Any chance if a fire is near you could put them in a travel crate and take them to work with you?
How soon can you move? If fire season is almost over, you'd have a year to relocate after adopting them.
this is a great idea! Or if not bring them with you are there pet sitting places they could go for the day?
Oohhh. I want a pool.
I don't if you hear about Southern California fires where you live. We have a lot. It's estimated that 98% of them are caused by human activity - sometimes accidental, but there's lots of arson. That means we don't really know when or where a fire will occur. In the fall, when it's dry, we get strong Santa Ana winds (about 40 mph sustained winds with 70 mph to 115 mph gusts). Arsonists really like those conditions. You never know if they'll set a fire in your area and which direction the wind will move it.
Because I'd have heart failure worrying about them, what I should do is figure out how to take pictures like Leesia Teh. She takes pictures for rescues and shelters. What I've noticed about her work is that she focuses on the animal's face and the rest of the picture is fuzzy/soft focus. I'm not sure how to do that, but maybe I could take pictures for rescues/shelters that are better than the ones they post.
http://www.atlantapetrescue.org/www_ver2/pet_pages/cats/images/Csusie_DSC9559.jpg
Beautiful photos for a good cause - I'm enamored! <3
The soft focus background thing can be acheived in a couple of ways:
1) Getting to know depth of field - whether the lense is focused in the foreground, midground or background of the photo. If you have a decent camera info about how to use DOF on your camera should be in the instruction manual or on the internet (probably a good place to start anyway), and playing around is the best way to learn.
2) Taking a normal photo where the entire picture is in focus, and using photoshop (or similar) to apply blur to the parts you don't want in focus. This is easier, less technical photography-wise and means you can play around with the photo as many times as you want to get it exactly right.
Both ways are valid and look awesome, depends which might suit you. Happy to talk about it more and provide examples/advice on either way, I think it's a fantastic idea!
Thanks. I have a Cannon point-and-shoot. It's a nicer point-and-shoot, but I'm not sure I can achieve a shallow depth of field with it. I have the freebie GIMP. I haven't used it much. Maybe I'll try playing around with it to see what it can do for me. I hadn't thought about fuzzing it out after the fact.