Our little kitten now needed a name that the both of our little ones needed to agree upon. Our daughter (11) just redecorated her room in a French theme, so she threw out “Paris”. Our son (6) stood there and thought about it for awhile and agreed that since the pair of them were getting her together “Pair of us” would be a great name! Even though we had different meanings, spellings, etc, we did have an agreement. Done! Paris she became.

Our daughter understanding the misunderstanding of the naming of the little female fur ball and graciously offered to her brother the honor of naming the little boy. She also determined in her bigger sister authority that the little boy kitten would belong to him anyway. Our son, not looking a gift cat in the mouth (if you will), proudly and quickly named him Thunder. No one knows why, not even our son, but Thunder it is now and forever!

Okay to celebrate Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, we as a family decided to adopt a cat from our local SPCA. Our cat of 17 years passed over the Rainbow Bridge a little over a year ago, so our family was ready for a new addition. Even our little puppies who grew up under her watch were ready for another tail chasing, nose thumping bundle of joy.

Let me tell you a little bit about our SPCA. They have a very nice facility, animals are well taken care of and staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Plus we have been there multiple times to check out the cats and dogs – window shopping, if you will. And to top it off, they recently opened a new building specifically designed for cats. The center has multiple indoor cages and the main room is surrounded by mini rooms (bedroom size) for cat families with have multiple windows into the main room and outside and the all important window sills for sun bathing. In addition, each room has multiple cat houses and some that resemble trees for climbing. The most impressive thing is that each room has a kitty door to an outside sitting and sun bathing patio (caged of course). It is the same size as the main room and cats and come and go as they please. Great for the cats and a great way to interact and get to know the little kitties.

So, we had previously decided that the kids would be the ones to pick our new friend. Our two little ones (6 and 11) ran around meeting every cat, pointing and shouting, “This one! No, this one!” over and over with exclamations of excitement, “how cuuutttee”, “what a sweetie”, “aaahhh”, and “who’s a pretty kitty”. The last one was our son in his sweetest littlest voice. My wife and I were trying to steer them to some nice older, calmer cats but all those attempts fell on deaf ears.

They finally decided on a cat, as you can image, it was a little 8-week old female, jet black and big green eyes. With the assistance of the volunteers we went to the meet and greet rooms where we all got to interact one on one with the little kitten. This is where she sealed the deal by playing with the little mouse, running and jumping with such exuberance that it amazed our little ones with more gasps and glee’s of joy – “this is the one. She is our new little kitten!”

Now, we just had to wait for her to be spayed, which would take four grueling days of waiting.

Later that night a discussion by the adults pursued and the reflection on the little kitten. The story of how she was found on the streets and brought into the shelter with her little brother, who by the way is her identical twin and in the same cage as her was a cry in itself for them not to be separated. The kids joined in on the conversation and the guilt was laid – we went the very next day to adopt her twin, as he has become to be known.

Several shelters and other organizations including the SPCA are celebrating the American Humane Society’s Adopt a Shelter Cat Month throughout June. The American Humane Society estimates that 6-8 million dogs and cats end up in a shelter in the United States each year and about half, 3-4 million, are euthanized each year. This is an alarming number of pets but there is some good news that we have seen a positive trend in not just the number of pets being euthanized but the total number of pets even going into a shelter has significantly reduced in the past 40 years. Quoting the Humane Society’s website (www.humanesociety.org),

“In the 1970s, American shelters euthanized 12-20 million dogs and cats, at a time when there were 67 million pets in homes. Today, shelters euthanize around 4 million animals, while there are more than 135 million dogs and cats in homes. This enormous decline in euthanasia numbers—from around 25 percent of American dogs and cats euthanized every year to about 3 percent—represents substantial progress. We will make still greater progress by working together to strike at the roots of animal overpopulation.”

The best way to reduce overpopulation is to spay or neuter your pet and the second is to spread the word on pet population control.

The absolutely best way to celebrate Adopt a Shelter Cat Month is to actually adopt a kitty or two. There are so many felines that come into shelters during the spring and early summer across the US making June a perfect time to adopt a kitten or full grown cat. Plus this may be the best time for your families as summer vacation may mean vacations and exploring but it also means more free time, no after school programs and limited organized sports. Then again in this current economy stay-cations may mean less traveling and more time at home. It is the best time to adopt a new pet, especially a little one, that you will have more time to bond with, teach them, and more importantly – more time to love on them!

If you have kids, it is well worth the effort to teach your kids about the responsibilities of pet ownership, which includes building responsibility and providing them a friend for live that provides unconditional love. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry mention the following emotional benefits on their website.

Advantages of Pet Ownership

Children raised with pets show many benefits. Developing positive feelings about pets can contribute to a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Positive relationships with pets can aid in the development of trusting relationships with others. A good relationship with a pet can also help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion, and empathy. Pets can serve different purposes for children:

* They can be safe recipients of secrets and private thoughts–children often talk to their pets, like they do their stuffed animals.
* They provide lessons about life; reproduction, birth, illnesses, accidents, death, and bereavement.
* They can help develop responsible behavior in the children who care for them.
* They provide a connection to nature.
* They can teach respect for other living things.

Other physical and emotional needs fulfilled by pet ownership include:

* Physical activity
* Comfort contact
* Love, loyalty, and affection
* Experience with loss if a pet is lost or dies.

There are also health benefits for children and adults, alike. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) state the following health benefits:

Pets can decrease your:

Blood pressure
Cholesterol levels
Triglyceride levels
Feelings of loneliness

Pets can increase your:

Opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities
Opportunities for socialization

Here at If It Wags we are doing several things to celebrate and promote Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. We are informing the public, offering free shipping on all cat collars, making a donation to the SPCA for each cat collar sold in the month of June and taking part in the best thing anyone can do during this time (or really anytime) of year – adopting a cat or two!