What drew you to your cat? Out of all of the millions of cats in the world, why did you adopt your kitty?
A new study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior tries to answer the question of why people choose the cats they adopt from a shelter. They surveyed adopters at Loudon County Animal Services in Waterford, Virginia.
Why People Say They Adopt
Unsurprisingly, most people who responded to the survey said that they adopted the cat for companionship for themselves.
What is surprising is the second biggest reason that people gave for adopting: to save the cat. Maybe this should be less surprising since the survey was done at a municipal shelter that at the time euthanized for time, space, and behavior.
Other reasons people gave for adopting were for companionship for their children or for their cat.
Why People Adopt a Particular Cat
The biggest behavioral reason that people said was very important wasn’t a surprise. They said it was most important that the cat be friendly toward the adopter. Friendliness toward children and other cats were also important criteria in deciding to adopt a cat to many adopters. So were the cat seeming to be a playful and happy.
An unexpectedly important adoption factor was the cat’s history or story. Could shelters use information given to them about a cat on intake to help get cats adopted more quickly? Looking at this study, the answer may be yes!
Survey respondents also named seeing toys in the cage with the cat as being a very important factor in making their decision. This is something else that shelters and rescue organizations can take advantage of right away. If people are more drawn to cats with toys, then let potential adopters see them with toys, especially harder-to-adopt cats like adults who adopters favor over kittens.
Physical characteristics such as a coat length or particular gender were less important selection factors for adopters, but those that felt either was important were more likely to prefer short hair or a male cat.
Behavioral Characteristics More Important to Adopters
Overall, the study concludes that behavioral characteristics are more important to adopters than physical characteristics when they are choosing a cat to be part of their family.
How does this agree – or not – with the reason you adopted your cat?
Research and further reading
Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Factors Affecting the Selection of Cats by Adopters
Loudon County Virginia Animal Service Statistics Archives
Image credits: depositphotos/belchonock, c-foto, photo-deti
This is all very interesting! I guess the humans adopted Binga because she was friendly… they didn’t know about the rest of it!
Good morning All
Well I once heard we don’t get the cats we want…we get the cats we need. Mom often says I am 360 degrees different from Milky-Way. BUT that is followed by Milky-Way was so laid back he would never have done anything that would make good blogging material.
Thus she needed me MOL
As for the renovations, it is a looooooooong one. Master bath full gut job making the shower tub combo into a walkin shower. Powder room remove wall paper and new vanity. then when they are finished the guest bath will have wall paper removed, new floor and new vanity. After all this interior will be painted then carpet. We were told 4-6 weeks. Week two is about to begin. We hope the master will be tiled today
I might come see you all
Hugs madi your bfff
Great post! I’ve heard many shelter/rescue workers say that cats with distinct physical problems actually get adopted faster. As long as it’s not something that requires extra care, people seem drawn to “special” kitties.
Very interesting post ! Behavioral characteristics are sometimes more difficult to deal with than physical ones. Purrs
I chose Hannah and Lucy from the RSPCA – When I entered the site I couldn’t believe the number of cats who were there! I was told they were rescued from a house with over 100 cats living there and they had brought the majority to their site. I chose Hannah straight away as she looked me in the eye and I couldn’t leave her there. The staff said they would like two cats or more to each family so they wouldn’t feel sad and lonely. Lucy was leaning on Hannah and looked so tiny and scared that I brought her home too.
That’s so interesting!!! I actually filled out adoption applications for both Truffles and Mudpie based on their pictures and online profiles alone…the first time I met both of them was the day I brought them home! That might seem unwise to some, but I saw them and just *knew* they were the ones.
Boo, Ping & Jinx came as a package deal to my doorstep. They were all fairly aloof cats. I loved Boo so much and wanted her to be a lap cat which she STILL isn’t! HA on me! So I went looking for another tuxedo girl to be friends with Boo and be my lap cat. Hence Abby. SHE was a lap cat but boy oh boy no friend to Boo or anyone else for that matter. She was such an alpha cat. After I lost her and found my love of manxies, I was led to adopt Annabelle because she was a tiny manx like Abby. After having lost both Gracie and Abby within a 6 month span I needed to bring her in, I wasn’t ready to, but once I got her I was over the moon with her. She is 180 degrees different from Abby. She is as far from an alpha as is possible. I can’t say personality played any roles in any of my adoptions, which is strange because I can understand why that is so important.
that is interesting. we do get lots of “what do you know about this cat” questions, so that makes sense. on the other hand, we do think that people are drawn to certain physical qualities…whether they admit it or not
guys…de food servizz gurl adopted me …tuna…coz when her sat on de
floor wear we all were; I walked over two her N sat on her legz….her waz
knot goin any wear til eye went with her; & sauce waz adopted that same
day…tho hiz storee iza long one, but a total lee awesum one bout her, sauce
& de shelterz peepulz ♥♥♥
Interesting blog post! Actually, when I adopted Cody he was my LAST choice. I adopted him from a Petco adoption drive, where a shelter had brought in cats. My Angel Bobo had passed a mere two weeks prior. I first chose Cody’s brother and sister (littermates), both had markings almost identical to my Angel Bobo. Neither of those two wanted anything to do with me. So, I said let me see that gray one jumping around in the back (a gray cat would have been my LAST choice, but I did want the cat to be male, why, I don’t know!)….once I picked Cody up that was it. He settled in immediately, crawled up my chest, nuzzled, sat on my lap and made NO attempt to leave. That was it. I wasn’t even planning on bringing home a cat that day. I called my husband to tell him I “had found a special cat” and was coming to get the carrier……..I couldn’t have been more correct about his having been “special” 🙂
Those are all good ones and we do think knowing the cats story has a big impact.
understanding human behavior is so important in saving cats..
I love black cats.That would be my first choice if I were to adopt.
I got lucky. My Julie was a stray in need of a home.
She is a black cat too 🙂 At the time of her rescue, she had big patches of fur missing.
Now, she has all her fur back and a shiny coat. She is a love bug too 🙂
That is a great post and very interesting. I would think a lot of the factors are which cat seems to be what they want or think they want.
Most of my cats just showed up. 2 from shelters were based on their colors and the other 2 I felt bad for.
We like what Madi said. Our mom obviously needed every one of us, because every time she’d go to the shelter expecting to adopt a cat she’d pictured in her head, she’d get one of us!
Thi is an inneresting read. The place where I came from said looks were very important and cats of certain breeds were the first to be adopted. My peeps were looking for a short-haired adult female cat. I was one of the few who fit the bill. TW had always wanted a dark gray cat too.
Very interesting. I got adopted because I was orange. The mom really wanted an orange kitty. And given I was a baby kit when she adopted me, it was really too early to know exactly what my purrsonality would be. Ernie was adopted because he was black and a polydactyl. And he was pretty friendly when the mom first met him…that helped too. Now Zoey…she needed a home…and somehow ended up with us. ~Wally
Bear is gorgeous. GORGEOUS. But when that homeless cat walked into my life, I was dead set against adopting another cat because my 15 year old had diabetes AND hepatic lipidosis and the balance was fragile, even at the best of times. Yes, his green eyes are mesmerizing. But what captured my heart was his heart. After the first time I fed him, he showed up EVERY DAY and would ignore the food for as long as I’d sit outside and pet him. I wanted to dump the food and not get attached, but those times became the best part of my day. Here’s this hungry, starving kitten – who probably couldn’t hunt – and my love was more important than the food. It’s funny. When I started blogging, I saw appearance foremost. Now, I see the beauty in every single life – all black cats, gingers, tuxies, breeds, tabbies … they are ALL beautiful because of the personalities God gave them. I guess I forgot to mention that seeing Bear for the first time was like finding my other half – we were both curious about and saw something in the other that made it impossible to turn away. I haven’t regretted ONE DAY of the past ten years. And EVERY SINGLE DAY he’s saved my life. I get annoyed when I see comments like, “If I could get a cat that looks like that, I’d get a cat.” Yes, bengals are gorgeous, but unless you understand their unique needs, their beauty will not guarantee them a place in one’s home forever. Same with Sphinxes. There was one at BlogPaws that’d been chosen based on looks and returned based on personality and needs. How sad.
What an interesting post. While I am a cat owner of three, I wouldn’t be able to respond about adopting a cat. All three of mine were strays, so I didn’t have a choice. Although, I certainly can’t imagine choosing a different cat over any of the ones I have!
Friendliness is something that most people like to look for in a pet. If you don’t have a pet that doesn’t show affection towards you, that probably won’t change once you bring him or her home. Plus, it is fun having a pet that loves you. That way you can enjoy your time more together, play with your pet, take him/her on walks, etc…