With Christmas around the corner, adopt a pet and get a friend for life

Pic: A sheltered dog at Battersea Cats and Dogs. (Credit: Dominique Frances)

Get yourself an early Christmas present, by adopting a furry friend for life. Charities like the RSPCA and Battersea aim to find lovable homes for mistreated animals before the new year is over, reports Moona Popal

A cat being found hanged with a noose in the neighbour’s garden, has shed light on more and more pets being abused daily.

As I walked through the close roomed shelter of Battersea Cats and Dogs, which shelter’s 148 Dogs and 135 Cats, on site at any one time, and looked at each cage too small in size, yet still seeing hope in the eyes of each animal to finally call a place home, day after day.

Charities like the RSPCA and Battersea Cats and Dogs aim to make that a reality by making sure they are adopted by a loving family.

Haida Amirzadah from Hendon, adopted her cat on her as a kitten in 2014, and hasn’t looked back since.

As she sits in her leather couch with her cat on her lap, she tells me: “I’ve always wanted a pet, and so a cat was my first option. I think adopting animals not only helps the shelters out but brings a long a new love to your life. You know that whenever you come home, you’ll always have someone waiting for you. My perspective on animals changed since I adopted my cat. Before I didn’t pay much attention to animal cruelty but since I’ve got a cat; I have more affection towards any other animal and have more interest on how I can help stop animal cruelty.”

Charities like Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, believe that: “…every dog and cat should live in a home where they are treated with love, care and respect.” “We are one of the few animal rescue centres’ that operates a non-selective intake policy, accepting any breed of animal, of any age, including cats and dogs with serious medical conditions and behavioural problems.” In 2016, ‘Battersea Dogs and Cats’, cared for around 7k dogs and cats.

After speaking to Gemma Nethersole from RSPCA, I felt more at ease after knowing, that these shelters follow: “ certain procedures, including a home visit if necessary, to ensure that each cat and dog goes to a suitable home. We also have an ‘adopt with confidence’ pledge, which means prospective owners can be confident that any cat adopted from us has benefited from the very highest standards of care and attention. Each Cats Protection cat will have been examined by a veterinary surgeon, microchipped, vaccinated, neutered if appropriate and will also come with a period of free pet insurance. We provide these benefits so people don’t have to worry about them following adoption.”

Nethersole also stated that: “We support adoption rather than the purchase of pets, only because there are thousands of unwanted cats and kittens currently in care which need loving homes.”

According to Nethersole, they would advise to adopt just before Christmas or after: “As many cats do not settle well into a new home during this very busy time of year, but cats and kittens can be reserved for adoption so that they can be collected early in the New Year.”