Blog the Change For Animals (#BtC4A)

100 comments

Blog the Change for Animals (#BtC4A) is a chance for bloggers to write about an animal related cause. I want to write about adopting more than one cat from the shelter.

It breaks my heart when families get torn apart ( people and animal). When I went to adopt Sammy, I did not know he had a sister. As soon as I saw he had a sibling, there was no way I was leaving her behind. I had only brought $70 for his adoption fee and I was already tempting fate adopting him without asking my husband’s input on the matter.

I didn’t ask because I knew he would say no, we already had 13 cats at the time. In matters concerning cats, I find it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I ended up paying Sammy’s fee, but leaving him there for the weekend because I did not want Joanie (Meghan, at the time) to be without him. I was also told they had another sibling that had already been adopted which haunts me still. I can’t believe shelters will separate families of cats and that people are willing to adopt just one. They were already 4 years old at the time and were obviously bonded.

  These two have given me so much happiness. And my hubby is very close to both of them too.

If you are thinking of adopting a cat, how about adopting a bonded pair? I am sure you will not regret it.

We are also joining The Cat on My Head’s Sunday Selfie Blog Hop.

I thought there was a hop for Blog the Change, but I can’t find the information right now so I will add it as soon as I find it.

 

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100 comments

  1. I agree with you, Ellen, that if there are bonded siblings, they should be kept together. The complications are likely to be less of a problem than people tend to obsess on.

  3. It’s always tougher for bonded pairs of kitties to get adopted, which is strange when you think about it – isn’t it better to adopt two kitties so they can keep each other company/ busy? And if they are already bonded, that should be a plus!

  4. It is very sad that bonded pairs are tougher to find homes for. It’s wonderful that you took both Sammy and his sister Joanie. Two times the LOVE!

    Hugs, Pam and Teddy too

  7. It is hard to leave a sibling behind. We left Floki’s sibling behind and I felt bad about that but we were already over our allowed limit. We did adopt two pairs of siblings in the past, Abbey and Alex, and Tigger and Flash. All of them were well worth it.

  8. That is such a great post and I so agree with you. I hate to see families separated. They do bond with each other. I have several brothers and sisters that definitely hang out together. You all have a great Sunday.

  9. You have a heart of gold. All your fur babies are truly loved and I’ve no doubt that your hubby is proud of all you do. Sneaking in a cat or two in need of a good home is a very forgivable action 🙂 It is truly heartbreaking when bonded pairs (or sometimes more than just two) are separated.

  10. Ellen, for the most part, I agree with you, but I I warn that there can be anomalies. For instance, my one and (thus far) only experience with adopting shelter animals has been Gunner & Halo, who were supposedly bonded bunny brothers. The shelter had them in separate cages, but insisted that they were bonded and needed to be kept together.
    In retrospect, I suspect they didn’t want to use the space for bunnies. They weren’t the same age or even the same type of bunny, so I’m even wondering if they ever lived i in the same home.
    Regardless, those two fought worse than any cat/dog I’ve ever seen. We had to invest in two of everything and make sure we kept them apart. Individually, they were fine, but it took a lot of effort and neither of them ever liked the other, though they had no issues with the cats or dog.

    1. I think that shelter played you for suckers. I am glad you gave them both a good home though. XO

  14. We agree totally. It was so obvious that Brother Simon and Sister Seal were bonded as feral kittens so there was no splitting them up.

  16. Makes perfect sense to me, a ready made family and less strife. Why folks dont is beyond me. You sure have a loving home and great family friendships and we are so lucky to be able to share them with you.
    Toodle pips and happy bonded pair purrs
    ERin

  18. Sammy and Joanie are so lucky you came along! I know that some of the shelters in our area require that bonded pairs be adopted together, which I think is a good policy. 🙂

  19. When animals are bonded, one should never separate them. They need each other just like children should never be separated from their siblings. I’m glad more people are thinking this way

  20. My two cats Zeke and Opie are siblings. They were stray feral kittens I was given. I didn’t want Zeke at first as I had too many cats i thought, but I took him anyway and I am glad I did.

  22. it is rare that you find people willing to adopt two adult cats (although it is becoming more popular) but a trio is so hard and the shelter has to weigh the chance of them staying together vs the reality that more likely they would remain at the shelter for the rest of their life. It is a heartbreaking choice.

    1. That is why I am trying to spread the word with the hope that more will adopt bonded pairs. It is sad.

  24. If we every have room at the Inn Dad says he is going to adopt and elder and if there is a bonded pair they will both come to our home and be made welcome
    Purrs as always.
    Toby says thanks fur the birthday wishes
    Timmy Tomcat

  25. Mee-you Aunty Ellen wee not know Sammy an Joanie are fursibss! You did thee rite fing an mee betss hubby ree-alized that all so.
    Grate Selfiess Joanie an Sammy!
    Sorry about mee bloggie; WP went berserker an thee Sunday selfie linky takess efurryone to Katurday’ss blog?!?!?! Weered huh?
    ***nose rubsss*** Siddhartha Henry xxxxxxxxxxxx

    1. Yup, they sure are. They are both very sweet and piggies at meal times, but Sammy is more mellow -except when chasing Brody.
      Hubby was not happy about them for a long time, he said I was insane and that is when I started going to a therapist.
      That is weird about the link. XO

      1. Mee-you why you go to a Therapiss-t Aunty?? there was nuthin wrong with you; you were an are just a kitty luvvin Hu’man. Thee werld needss more peepull like you an LadyMum!!
        An sumtimess WP just goess crazy, mew mew mew……

        1. Thank you, you are very sweet. If I didn’t go, I would end up being a hoarder and I didn’t want that to happen. XO

          1. Mee-you mee wood not want you inn trubbull with too many katss Aunty…..
            You know LadyMum still wunderss if shee did thee rite fing adoptin just mee….as Tyerrone mee Brofur iss still at Mumma Mary-Ellen’ss with Aunty Tinkerbelle an leah kat an thee barn kat gang. Mee doess not mind beein here with LadyMum alone butt mee knowss shee wurriess if mee iss OKAY!

  26. Keeping cats that have been together a long time with each other is a good goal. Right now we have a pair at the shelter that are not siblings, but one is blind and the other became his friend and helps him get around. We have to keep them together so we are looking for a very special home.

  27. All this time and I did not know that Joanie and Sammy are siblings! You have such a big heart. It’s so kind of you to adopt them both. I completely understand the “ask forgiveness” philosophy. I’ve done the same more than once with my hubby. It always works out.

    There’s a shelter I follow on Instagram that’s in MA (Stray Pets in Need) and they never break up bonded pairs. In kitten season they ask the potential adopter to also adopt an adult.

  28. That’s how Ivan and Izzy came to us! Mom was actually interested in the little girl who shared their pod at the shelter, but she did not want anything to do with Mom. Ivan glommed right onto her, though, and Izzy the protector followed suit. The boys were clearly bonded, and although they weren’t litter mates, Mom did not have the heart to split them up or leave them behind. They’d already been through a lot.

  29. Ellen, you are the purest spirit. Thank you so much for Sammy and Joanie being together. xoo

  31. They are so lucky that you found out they were family and I think I’m going to adopt your motto of forgiveness rather than permission. Our latest addition to the family, Lord Rocky Horror, came from a home where animals were being hoarded in not the best environment, but no others had been rescued at that stage.
    I’m glad your husband is close to them and they must give you lots and lots of joy.

  32. What a great post. I could never turn away siblings. I only have 7, but 4 of them are siblings that turned up on my doorstep one day. I couldn’t turn them away and they are now part of my family. Adopting is the best way to go 🙂

  33. We just wrote an article about adopting pairs of kittens and bonded pairs of adult cats for Cole and Marmalade, but it hasn’t posted yet. Thank you so much for rescuing that precious family, and I hope their other sibling is happy wherever she is.

    1. I look forward to your article. It should be promoted more, Joanie and Sammy were not even listed together so it was good they were in the cage together so I knew.

  34. This a fantastic Idea. I joined you.My blog was just published. I did it on animal cruelty/animal abuse and how a animal should be treated. Your cats look like they’re friendly and bonded with each other. Have a great weekend.

  35. Excellent post Ellen! What a big heart you have. Bonded animals deserve to be together and keeping Joanie and Sammy together was wonderful!
    Love Barb

  37. We’re glad you took both Sammy and Joanie. Ernie had a sister at the shelter but she was already adopted out when the mom adopted Ernie. We don’t know if they were bonded or not…we’ll never know.

  39. I never owned a cat until in 2001 I agreed to bottle feed three abandoned kittens for a friend (as long as the two small dogs I had were okay with it). During the three weeks of bottle feeding, I told my husband I wanted to keep them. He said we could keep one. So every day, I would change my mind on which one we would keep. When it came time to put them up for adoption, I told my friend that I already had found them a home together. Yep, they stayed with us. And one still remains after all these years. I could never have separated them!

  40. Not always cats like their siblings; it all depends what the shelter says, but the two you adopted are very cute and seem to love each other !

  41. Shelters often push for adopting kittens in pairs – why not adults, too? As long as they are bonded or get along, I think two cats (or more) is always better. Great post!

  42. I adore this message that you shared here. I love hearing of bonded pairs being adopted together. You are such a kind person and such a wonderful cat mom, making sure Sammy and Joanie stayed together. Two of my parents’ cats are a bonded pair. A few months after Angel Rosie passed, my mom was hoping to adopt another calico. One of our local rescues had one at the pet store one day. She had a tabby tortie friend with her, and so my parents adopted them both.

    1. Thank you for your kind words. I am glad your parents kept siblings together too. XO

  44. That was so pawsum of you awnty Ellen. We’re so glad Sammy and Joanie got to stay together. We don’t like to see bonded kitties broken up either, but livin’ where we can only have a certain nummer of anipa;s, we do unnerstand peeps only adoptin’ one kitty. Me had 10 littermates and sis Raena had 3 left when mommy picked her up. Altho’ we were both so young, we weren’t truly bonded with them. Sometimes, it’s better to have a furever home with luv than to remain in a cage without it. But, great posty. Big hugs

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Raena

    1. I know everyone can’t adopt pairs, but I hope to convince those that can to do it. XO

  48. Through the years we have had many siblings. When I adopted Giulietta, I almost walked away without Fiona. They were the most bonded of any cats we’ve ever had, and I know Giulietta is still mourning the loss of her sister, as am I. Joanie and Sammy are so sweet together. Trust me, I know about asking for forgiveness. Thanks for hopping with us. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer

  49. Twice when we adopted animals to our home, we came home with two instead of the one we had planned on! I’m sure it will happen again, although next time I’ll most likely be planning on the two.

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