Dog in Cage, Image Courtesy of sixninepixels, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Research conducted by the National Council on Pet Population & Study has found that the top 10 reasons for surrendering cats and dogs to shelters are as follows.
The top 10 reasons cats are relinquished to shelters:
- Too many in house
- Allergies
- Moving
- Cost of pet maintenance
- Landlord issues
- No homes for littermates
- House soiling
- Personal problems
- Inadequate facilities
- Doesn’t get along with other pets
The top 10 reasons that owners give up their dogs:
- Moving
- Landlord issues
- Cost of pet maintenance
- No time for pet
- Inadequate facilities
- Too many pets in home
- Pet illness(es)
- Personal problems
- Biting
- No homes for littermates
A Ralston Purina survey conducted in 2000 found that the top reasons for relinquishment of cats were as follows:
- 33% – eliminating outside the litterbox
- 14% – biting people
- 11% – intolerant of children
- 11% – scratching people
- 8% – destroying household or personal items
ZooToo.com’s list of the most stupid reasons that people abandon their pets was obtained from leading animal welfare organizations in the UK and North America. Some of the reasons that animals were surrendered to shelters included:
- Did not match the furniture or carpet
- “Looks evil”
- Devoured the Christmas turkey
- Too old
- Caused a guinea pig to feel worried
- Did not bark or meow
- Wasn’t aggressive enough to guard the house
- Did not alert owner when telephone or doorbell rang
One couple even complained that the little piglet they had bought grew up to be a big pig.
Eleni Hale of the Herald and Weekly Times lists more stupid reasons that people have given for abandoning their pets to the RSPCA, including:
- Puppy not house trained when they got it
- Great Dane too big
- Boyfriend didn’t like dog
- Cat was too playful
- Dalmation looked like it might be snarling
- Golden retriever obviously wasn’t listening as it wagged its tail while its owner was talking
People have tried to swap older pets for younger models, or those that better match their decor. One woman even dumped four-week-old kittens on the RSPCA, saying: “It was important for me to show my kids that cats have kittens. Now they are four weeks old, I need to show them what you do with them by taking them to the RSPCA.”
Pets provide unconditional love, amusement, and even health benefits, but a pet is a lifetime commitment. Those seeking to adopt should do some research regarding the species and breed, and spend as much time with the animal as possible before taking such an important step. The ridiculous reasons offered for surrendering so many animals indicate that many people are not fit to be pet owners. Only those who are willing to take this commitment seriously should pursue pet ownership.
For more cat articles, see the main Cats page. For more dog articles, see the main Dogs page.