June is the American Humane Society’s Adopt-a-Cat Month

Shelters, especially ours, the , have more cats and kittens than they can house. The newly opened  adoption center, which specializes in finding home for cats, also has plenty of four-legged kitties looking for homes. We’ve got the scoop on why you should adopt and some other facts about cats as we celebrate them this month.

Before You Take One Home…

The American Human Society offers a Top Ten Checklist for Adopting a Cat. You can read this list and find more advice on their website, but here's a highlight of what we think is the most important checklist item: “Find a cat whose personality matches with yours.”

Ancient Cats

According to Catfacts.org, the cat’s “most immediate ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat. The cat has been living in close association with humans for somewhere between 3,500 and 8,000 years.”

Cats were also very prominent in Egyptian culture and it’s believed that Cleopatra’s make up of heavy black eyeliner was derived from the natural rim present around cat eyes.

Outdoor vs. Indoor Cats

If you’re thinking about taking a cat home, it’s important to decide if your pet will be an indoor cat or an outdoor cat. According to www.cat-world.com.au, statistics show that the life span of an indoor cat is longer than its outdoor counterpart. On average, they state, an indoor cat lives 12 years, but some live as long as 20 years; an outdoor cat’s life expectancy is less than five years.

When adopting, it’s important to note that not all places will give hopeful cat owners a pet if they plan to allow the cat outside. Forgotten Felines, based in Clinton, has a strict rule against adopting out cats to homes where the owner/s will allow the cat outdoors or already owns an outdoor cat.

How Many Cats is Too Many?

Adopting a cat is a great thing, but only when it is practical to do so. There are many websites that state the proper square footage per cat is about 500 to 1,000 square feet. While there are no rules, just make sure if you are going to keep indoor cats, they have things to climb on and plenty of places to explore.

Money is also a factor when considering owning multiple cats – especially if you decide to let your cats outside. Veterinarian bills can be expensive and owners should anticipate a few hundred dollars a year in maintenance for each cat in addition to cat litter and food.

Ironically, as we celebrate Adopt-a-Cat Month, the Humane Society just had its biggest cat hoarding case at a cat sanctuary in High Springs, FL, where nearly 700 felines were rescued. One of the leading veterinarian schools, Tufts University, also runs HARC, the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium. This website offers information for animal hoarders and is a must read for anyone who might suspect they or a loved one has a problem.

Famous Cats

We know… everyone thinks their cat should be famous. We’ve picked two to highlight:

Morris the Cat, making his debut as the 9Lives Cat Food commercial star in the 1970s, Morris the Cat has been inspiring people to use his moniker for their orange cats since then. According to www.kittens-lair.net, Morris the Cat was 20 minutes away from execution in a shelter in suburban Chicago when he was rescued in 1968 and shortly after became a celebrity. Many cats have played Morris over the years and the current one lives in Los Angeles with his handler, Rose Ordile. Fun Fact: Morris the Cat even has his own Facebook page with more than 60,000 friends.

Keyboard Cat, also known as Fatso, is one of those celebrities who didn’t find fame until after death. Fatso, owned by Charlie Schmidt of Spokane, Washington, was filmed back in 1984, and then the footage was shelved until 2007 when Schmidt put the clip on his website. He reports on the site that the video got 25 hits a day in the beginning. Brad O'Farrell obtained Schmidt's permission to use the video shortly after and added an edited version of the clip to YouTube; Keyboard Cat became an internet sensation. Keyboard Cat was ranked No. 2 on Current TV’s list of 50 Greatest Viral Videos.