So on Friday, we visited the local SPCA where we found a couple of cats that appealed to one or the other of us and we went to the desk to ask about taking the cats out of their cages. The staffer at that point spent 10 minutes talking us out of those cats and suggesting others. Fine, we took that under advisement and went back to look at other cats.One I liked seemed to hate Hubby -- hissing and batting at him; one he liked hissed and yowled when I approached. So we looked at slightly older cats and found another couple of potential pets. Again, the staffer talked us out of them, spending so much time talking us out of taking -- well, pretty much any of the cats, that we ran right up against closing time for viewing.
I understand that the staff probably have a good idea of each pet's temperament -- and this was not the first time we had selected a shelter animal -- but she seemed overly concerned with the fact that we had another cat and a child. We knew going in that there was every chance that the visit would not result in our getting a cat but we never expected to be so dissuaded. It was very disappointing.
On our way out, we did take a peek in the small animals area -- two chinchillas, a rat, a couple of guinea pigs and a LOT of rabbits. I wonder if they would have talked us out of those too?
[photo by MendocinoAnimalCare]
