50 People Share How Their Beloved Cats Have Changed Since Being Adopted (New Pics)

Anyone who’s adopted a fluffy little kitty into their family before knows all too well the impact that it can have on your life, as well as the cat’s. Suddenly, you have a curious companion crawling on top of every single surface in your home, and you’re able to see the amazing growth that this tiny creature can experience. And while it can be tempting to pick out a precious kitten from a breeder, getting a rescue cat can be much more rewarding, for you and the little fur ball itself. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), about 3.2 million cats enter the animal shelter system in the US every year.

These cuties are just sitting there waiting to be adopted into loving homes, but unfortunately, many of them will never live to see their “gotcha day”. Approximately 530,000 cats are euthanized in American shelters annually, meanwhile plenty of breeders are out there bringing new kitties into the world unnecessarily. But the good news is that people simply love cats. We can’t get enough of them! That’s why over one third of all households in the US have a feline family member, and it’s estimated that there are over 600 million kitties in the world, with about 400 million of them residing in Asia. 

There’s a common joke online that dog owners tend to get their pets from prestigious breeders that charged them hundreds of dollars, while cat owners tend to acquire their pets through finding them in dumpsters or simply being followed home by them on a random day. And while this is not always the case, of course, it is common for people to take in strays. In fact, behind obtaining their kitties from friends and/or family members, adopting a stray or feral cat is the second most common way cat owners acquired their little fur balls in the United States. About one third of all cat-owning homes in the US report that at least one of their cats came from the street.

To learn more about why it’s important to adopt rather than shop when it comes to welcoming cats into our families, we reached out to Vicky Halls, Head of Unowned Cats at International Cat Care, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. “There are so many pre-loved cats out there and even kittens, part of unwanted litters or born to cats that are unowned,” Vicky says. “It makes perfect sense to adopt a cat or kitten that really needs you. Why encourage people to breed and sell cats to meet a demand that can be filled by cats waiting for their forever homes in cattery pens or foster care around the world?”

We were also curious about what kinds of transformations Vicky has seen rescue cats undergo. “Many cats struggle in homing centers, they hate being in cages and pens which makes them feel so out of control - everything seems so unpredictable. Once they find themselves in a loving home, they often blossom,” she shared. 

“It's so hard to predict how a cat might behave in a new home though, particularly if the homing organization has not been able to get any information on a cat's back story,” Vicky noted. “You have to make educated guesses about cats in this challenging environment, but there are many really experienced people out there doing just that and using that information to ensure the match between adoptive family and cat is the right one.”