Life with Jake: Musings on “Less Adoptable” Animals
Jake with a bike stripe
In most ways, living with a deaf cat is no different than a hearing cat. They play, they talk, they purr, they watch birds out the window, they climb, they knock plants off the windowsill…and yet, there are differences.
Jake doesn’t hear me. I can’t reassure him verbally, or talk back to him the way I do with my other cats. Verbal communication with Jake goes only one way – from him out to the world. And he does communicate verbally, more so than my other cats, which I admit has been something of a surprise. His vocalizations are almost always contextually correct. The “I see a bird/squirrel” sound, the “I’m causing trouble and I bet you want to come check it out” sound, and many others. Sometimes I am 100% certain that he understands that his vocalizations will get our attention, that he understands on some level that we hear him.
Jake and Tristan
Jake doesn’t hear Tempest. When he is pestering her, or even when he’s just in her eyesight, and she growls or hisses at him, he obviously doesn’t hear her…but I’m not sure that this matters. Tristan can hear her just fine, after all, and he ignores her warnings, so Jake’s behavior must seem perfectly normal (if annoying) from Tempest’s perspective.
Jake and Tempest
Jake doesn’t hear anything else. He is not afraid of thunder or the vacuum cleaner, and he even seems to enjoy being vacuumed. He doesn’t wake up from his adorable naps the way the other cats do, and so I have numerous painfully cute pictures of Jake sleeping. He is not easily distracted from whatever has his attention – trying to climb onto the ceiling fan, knocking over the bowls on the shelf (he only does this when I’m at home, so I am pretty sure I’ve inadvertently taught him to do this – his way of manipulating me into play time), or the toy he is playing with. The intensity of his focus is, I am guessing, at least partially due to the fact that he has less distracting input coming in. Much of it is likely simply Jake’s personality; he’s the only deaf-from-birth animal I’ve lived with so I have no one to compare him to, at least not from that perspective.
Jake, becoming a ghost, as he plays with his favorite toy
So yes, there are differences. He doesn’t hear, and while most people would never notice this about him if I didn’t point it out, it is something that I, as his caretaker, keep in mind. For instance, a deaf cat should never be given free access to the outdoors since they won’t be able to hear cars or other dangers. (This is business as usual for me, since all of my cats are indoor-only.)
From my perspective, his deafness is a bonus in most ways. It is nice to know that one of my cats is not going to be stressed when I run the vacuum cleaner, or when there is a storm outside! I have also had a great time with those sleeping cat pictures, impossible to get with my other cats.
Jake sleeping
But perhaps the most important point to make regarding his deafness is that when I think about the differences, they are “positive” or “negative” only from my own perspective; they are neutral from his.
It amazes me that deaf cats are seen as less adoptable by shelters and potential adopters! I don’t understand why, other than the “but he’s not perfect” type of illogical argument; the same comment I got about my princess, Tempest, who has a very kinked tail, and was apparently returned to the shelter once because of it! The reality is that the differences Jake displays as part of his deafness could, in another cat, exist purely as a function of personality. There are cats, hearing cats, who are not afraid of the noise of thunder or vacuum cleaners. Cats who happily snooze away while people take their picture. Cats who might as well be deaf for all the attention they pay to anyone’s vocalizations but their own! Cats who are equally intense in their focus on whatever has their intention.
There are other similar issues that put cats and dogs into “less adoptable” statuses. Blindness, age, Cerebellar Hypoplasia, shyness, and a black coat (especially in large dogs) are just a few examples of the superficial differences that can put a homeless animal at even more risk of needless death.
Next time you are adopting, consider seeking out a companion who is at risk. Educate your family and friends as well. And for those who have or have had a companion who would have been considered less adoptable, share your/their story!
In the meantime, here’s one you might have seen already, but one that remains a favorite of mine and is well worth multiple views: Charley, a cat with Cerebellar Hypoplasia:
Stephanie Ernst
Marji
Kelly G.
Deb
Mary Martin
Thanks for this. As the housemate of two “less-adoptable” dogs (is that an understatement for Mabel? probably), I always so appreciate seeing/hearing people talk about this. And interesting point, this: “But perhaps the most important point to make regarding his deafness is that when I think about the differences, they are ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ only from my own perspective; they are neutral from his.” So no pity for you, little Jake! :)
I got to witness him chasing (and cornering) poor Tempest (poor vocal Tempest) the morning before I left your house, by the way. He was so insistent!
Also, that last photo of him? Print and frame. Print and frame.
No pity for Jake at all! Pity Tempest, if anyone, the poor princess who isn’t quite sure how to hold onto her throne! We went through this with Tristan as well (he’s just 3 or 4 months older than Jake), so I figure another couple months and Jake will stop giving her such a hard time. Not that she doesn’t hold her own reasonably well, but she IS a princess, after all!
I have found that the challenges that the “less adoptable” animals bring (Tristan’s feral-ness, Jake’s deafness) make for a deeper understanding and a deeper bond. This is most obvious with animals like my friend Nicole’s Alec: http://alec-story.blogspot.com/ (But to fully understand that, you’d have to start reading her blog from the beginning…the upcoming ending is heartbreakingly sad, and I wish I could rewrite it.)
Oh god. I remember this story, but I lost track of the blog a long time ago. I just read the last few posts. How unbearably horrible. I don’t know her, but this made me want to throw my arms around her and sob with her.
I’m going to go throw my arms around Chance and Mabel instead — with whom I’ve been experiencing a range of deep emotions lately already — and probably still sob a little.
I know, it seems so freaking unfair (as if life is about fairness) that after all they went through (Alec walking again!) that cancer strikes him down. I have sobbed so many times these past few weeks, thinking/reading about them. The “Vigil” post is what I read Sunday night right after getting home from that intense session by the gazebo.
Yes! A Jake post here! And fabulous photos, of course. Thanks for educating me. Also, I’d never seen Charley. He looks so sweet!
Adopt “less adoptable” animals is my mantra. They’re full of gratitude. Also, they’re great for advocacy because you can tell their story and educate people about shelters or biases or whatever other issue is involved.
!!! I somehow bypassed the video the first time around. I may have to watch that weekly now.
I’m glad I was able to share Charley with people who hadn’t seen him before! They did such a great job with that video.
That’s a good point about how they can be great advocates, just by being themselves. Cats like Tristan (invisible to all but me) and dogs like Mabel are more challenging in that regard, because people can’t really meet them in person. But I’m sure Stephanie would agree that having their trust is all the sweeter for knowing it isn’t given to just anyone.
The last AND the first photo, print and frame.
Deb, this is a bit of a tangent from your “adopt the less-adoptable” theme, but I had two friends tell me recently they think it’s fine for their cats to be indoors/outdoors. One was in the middle of a phone conversation with me when I heard a strange “ewwwww” sound coming from her. She explained that her cat, for whom she had left the door ajar, had just come in and dropped a dead mouse at her feet.
I replied, surprisingly mildly, that I didn’t think it fair to the mouse or the cat to let the latter out. Later I realized it’s also not fair to the neighborhood owls, who need to feed their owlets, hard as that image is to bear. She answered, not surprisingly, “We’ve always let our cats outdoors.”
What (solicited or unsolicited) thoughts, if any, have you shared with people who don’t keep their cats indoors?
This is a tough one in some ways. There is the issue of their safety – cars, poisons, other animals (including other cats), people (I don’t trust them!), illness/disease, random accidents (I found a neighborhood cat dead, caught in a garage door as it had been closing, when I was a kid…) – and then there is the harm they can cause. Mice, birds, other cats! This opinion piece is decently balanced, though the bird people are (with one exception) distressingly in favor of lethal solutions of one species to prevent the death of other species. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/the-truth-about-cats-and-birds/
The one exception said it really well: “Almost a third of bird species in Oregon are in serious trouble, Mr. Sallinger says, but “even if we solve the cat problem tomorrow, it’s not going to stop bird populations from declining. It would just be removing one pressure—and none of [the pressures] are going to be solved overnight.”
I can see why people want to let their cats outdoors – it’s like a playground for cats who have a full-time home – but I personally feel that the risks to the cats are just too high, in addition to the harm they can cause. In promising to care for them to the best of my ability, it is one of the choices I have to make, and having grown up with indoor/outdoor cats in a very small town in rural Connecticut (i.e., about as safe a place for indoor/outdoor cats as you can get), I have seen just how dangerous it can be for them.
There are ways to give the cats outdoor time without putting them in danger, which I think makes a good compromise. It is definitely easier all around for cats that have never really lived outside. None of my cats seem to want to go outside (though Tempest and Tristan were both rescued from the streets, so they did live outside in their early weeks…I don’t know about Jake, but it is likely the same was true for him.) so it’s much easier all around for me in that regard.
Your reply and the link you supplied were most helpful, Deb. I’m now armed with plenty of reasons to keep cats indoors!
That said, I agree with the comment that cats are far from the only danger to birds.
Also, I wouldn’t put domesticated cats in the same “boat” as feral ones, which I forgot to mention earlier. Nathan Winograd, the No Kill consultant who advocates for TNR for feral cats, says that many studies unscientifically inflate the number of birds killed by feral cats. Besides, if they are fed by kindly humans, as many are, feral cats have no need to kill for food. Of course, neither do domesticated cats….
I’m glad your cats are frantic to go out. You give them everything they could need or want, and they’re grateful! :-)
Deb, that was a great post, and I love the photos! I have a soft spot in my heart for older dogs and cats because I know they are less adoptable. I adopted my dog Poncho from a rescue that specializes in older dogs and cats, and he’s been great. He’s not hyper like younger dogs can be, so he fit with my personality and lifestyle right from the start.
Thanks Tracy! I find it hopeful that there are more and more rescues that specialize in the less adoptable animals, and that there are more and more people who seek them out. There are a lot of benefits to adopting older animals…a big one is that they are so much less work! And it’s also easier to see the personality, which can help in finding a good fit personality-wise overall. It’s very rewarding. It’s hard to understand why most people want the babies. Especially with puppies, I think it is more work than people expect! It’s great to hear about Poncho, and your local rescue specializing in older dogs and cats. :)
Hi Deb
Thanks for the post and the reminder of the love that these animals not only need but give as well. One of our 3 cats, Tobi, has a low spinal injury, feline leprosy (almost 2 years now which she somehow keeps under control) and chronic renal failure. Three times a week she sits patiently while I give her 100ml of subcutaneous fluid. Half an hour later she’s on top of the bed between my legs ready to stay there for the night.
As to indoor/ outdoor cats we’ve found that the best intentioned plans don’t always work out. Determined not to have cats on our 40 acre + property with abundant wildlife we never adopted any. Until feral cats moved in. Not prepared to euthanise them we tamed the mother (Tobi – a healthy young cat then) and her kittens, had them spayed/ neutered, fed them truckfulls to decrease their hunting, and tried to entice them inside. A few years down the track we have Tobi and Thomas who go outside purely for sunshine and a roll in the grass, but spend most of their time on our bed! and Jerry who’s chosen to keep living in the shed but often hangs around the kitchen door waiting to go on the twice daily feed rounds with me. She’s only marginally tame and won’t come inside (very different personality to her mum and brother) and taking her to a shelter would simply result in her being euthanised. So she’s an outside cat.
Hunting – a part of feline nature. But never seen Tobi or Jerry hunt – they must be pretty happy with the food we give them although we know food alone does not stop cats hunting. Thomas though, an enormous cat, is a master hunter who fortunately seems to be giving it up. Before he decided he was an inside cat his visits used to be purely to bring us (or his mum) ‘gifts’. Fortunately most were alive and unharmed physically and he would give them to us so we could release them. That’s now extremely rare. Not sure if it’s a mellowing after kittenhood, our refusal to make a fuss when a ‘gift’ was delivered so as not to inadvertently reward him, or the multiple bells on his collar that would make Mike Oldfield proud.
So cats as part of the family – difficult choices.
Thanks for sharing your stories, of Tobi as well as the others. Great points about the difficult choices, especially when it comes to the ferals. I have a friend in somewhat rural Virginia and for some reason she gets cats dumped off in her backyard all the time. She already has a houseful (between her kids and the animals she already lives with) and the area is really awful for getting animals adopted – the shelter is infamously bad, so it would be almost guaranteed death for her to bring the cats there. So she gets them to the vet for spay/neuter/shots/etc, feeds them, gives them shelter in the garage and does her best to look out for them, but they are essentially outdoor cats. It’s the best option she has, and certainly far better than most of the alternatives.
My comment on indoor/outdoor cats was focused on a different type of situation entirely, I should have made that more clear!
Jake is handsome! Three cheers for the “less adoptable” cats. And dogs. And horses, pigs, ducks, cows, goats, sheep and so on. The rescue I work with has a program manager who loves CH (cerebellar hypoplasia) cats so much that whenever one comes in to our local animal control, they call her immediately. This is nice. They also have a tendency to call her about deaf, blind or otherwise physically different cats. Surprisingly, the CH, deaf and blind cats almost always get adopted quickly, and rarely get returned. We have three diabetic cats who have been at the rescue for almost a year however – no one wants to adopt an aged, diabetic cat except me, apparently.
My most recent dog had a grade 4 luxated patella before I adopted him, which was surgically corrected. He’s 2, but he’s going to be on medications for the rest of his life to manage the arthritis that has already settled in the joint. There’s a decent probability his patella will re-luxate and he’ll need surgery again. He’s also a American Bulldog/American Pit Bull Terrier mix. Two strikes against him. He’s an amazing dog, and I’ll never regret bringing him home.
That’s really great that the animal control people know to call your rescue’s program manager. Personal connections like that are bound to make a huge difference. And very interesting that the CH, deaf and blind cats get adopted first!
The diabetic animals (of any age) are definitely more challenging. I wonder if it would help if there were clinics, sort of “caring for diabetic animals 101″ in the community. It is still a challenging health issue to manage, but it would be less daunting if people knew what to expect, I think. Have you read Mary Martin’s posts on her diabetic dog, Violet? She’s had some great ones recently, just very practical types of posts. I found it helpful to read even though I don’t have a diabetic animal in my care!
Thanks for sharing your story about your dog! Breed is something else that belongs on my (definitely incomplete) list of things that put dogs and cats at more risk. I find the general issue of the Pit Bull especially frustrating given that most people can’t accurately identify pits anyway! They get a bad rap primarily because the majority of bites/attacks are going to be attributed to a pit regardless of what kind of dog it actually was. And no one questions the validity of any random person declaring a dog to be a pit in the first place!
Thanks for the mention, Deb. Here’s the most recent recap regarding diabetes and vetsulin: http://www.animalperson.net/animal_person/2010/07/diabetes-and-vetsulin-recap.html
It always amazes me that people would consider animals like Jake “less” adoptable than others. I’ve never actually had to adopt an animal — my three just found me (two drop-offs, one in my car engine) — but I find that I am more inclined to look for those less-wanted animals. My male dog is a pit bull mix and that was nearly his death sentence years ago, and since then I’ve had a particular interest in pit bulls, until I went to an adoption fair with a rescue group and noticed the huge number of unwanted bloodhounds (I live in NC). I guess for me it’s just the shyer, more scared, less-wanted an animal seems, the more I want to protect and save her/him.
Indoor/outdoors: I used to be totally in favor of only-indoors cats until I noticed how my female cat, who had been a stray, pines to be outside. They are animals, no matter how domesticated, and I think it’s unfair for them to be cooped in the house for their entire lives when they don’t want to be. Because I am also extremely concerned about traffics, coyotes, and rednecks (not necessarily in that order) killing my companions, and because I don’t have a fenced-in area I have comromised: they go outside on leashes and harness, accompanied by me. It’s not ideal, but it gets them outside where most animals seem to yearn to be at least part of the time.
My male cat doesn’t get the leash-harness treatment because he made an escape three years ago late at night and when he came back something had scared the crap out of him. He likes to think he wants to be outside, but as soon as he goes out he almost always runs right back in ;)
I think sometimes in our desire to be the best guardians we can be too overprotective, forgetting that our companions are NOT children, that they are adults in their species for most of the time we spend with them, and that insofar as it’s not overly dangerous or impossible (say, if you live in a big city), that it’s good for us to recognize that they get something, just as we do, from being in nature — perhaps they get more.
Leashes and harnesses: great idea! Especially if you rescue them as kittens and they get used to the cat-walk early in life. :-)
Thanks, everyone, for the wise comments on the subject of indoor/outdoor. You’all have widened my perspective a lot.
Wendy, I kept hoping that someone in need would just happen to find me, but somehow that doesn’t seem to happen to me! I know others who seem to be magnets for animals in need. In fact, the people I adopted Tristan from are local-ish friends who are always running across animals in need! Tristan was one of them. :)
I feel the same way about the “less adoptable” animals – I think it triggers an even deeper compassion in us, and I also feel that with limited space and resources to rescue, I want to make each one count that much more, and adopting a “less adoptable” seems an obvious way to do that.
Good point about being over protective as guardians. This is one of the most difficult aspects of being a good guardian, and I tend to think it is a moving target. Where I lived in Arizona for a while, there were several cases each year of small dogs being taken by coyotes while someone was standing right there on the patio with them! The danger was obviously extremely high there for any small animal outside, with or without supervision. That’s sort of extreme though, but still, each situation needs to be evaluated individually. This is a similar decision (how much freedom vs how much safety) that each sanctuary has to make – especially for the ever-vulnerable chickens.
I cat-sit for a deaf cat and he’s absolutely lovely! He’s the most vocal, loudest cat I’ve ever met and sooo affectionate. His people found him in the woods behind their house a few years ago and he came to live with them immediately. He was severely malnourished, so he’s kind of small (growth was stunted) and they also think that’s the reason he’s deaf (in other words, no one is convinced he was born that way). He likes to ride around on my shoulders when I visit him :D
I’ve also always lived with “less adoptable” cats, typically thought of that way because they’re all in the double digits when I adopt them. Malcolm, the catness who shares our home right now, is a special case b/c in Denmark, they tend to euthanize cats over a certain age as well as FIV+ cats. Malcolm was ten when we met him and I honestly don’t know why he survived to make it to the shelter based on the random, cruel age criteria, but thankfully, when I walked into the shelter and said, “I’ll take who needs me. I’m especially good with older cats,” they walked me down to meet him immediately. He had a tendency to swat at people who visited him but he started rubbing his big cat face on me from the moment I walked in the door. And well, that was that.
We don’t let Malcolm go outside, in part because he was rescued from the streets and has a few major scars from whatever happened out there. We recently moved to a place where his window access is a lot more restricted than it was, and I feel really guilty about that. At least in our old place, he could lie on the patio (enclosed with a giant net to keep him safe/keep birds out). Now he’s sort of fully stuck inside — especially since he tried to leap out an open window at the top of the window frame the other night. We live on the ground floor but he sure did scare the snot out of me. So, no open windows when we aren’t looking :-/
I definitely have a lot of anxiety about adopting older animals; I lost my two previous cats both within a year of adopting them, and that was horrifically sad to the point where I still get upset, two years later, and even went to an animal loss support group briefly. But I also adore living with older cats and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. People like to tell it makes me a good person for adopting them, but I have to wonder why that sort of adoption isn’t just obvious. It’s horrible to lose them sooner than some people would expect you’d lose a new friend, but is the alternative really to not adopt them?? But then, I clearly don’t understand most people’s relationships w/ animals in the first place…
That is horrifying that there is a blanket policy to kill any animal that comes in over a certain age at shelters there. Sometimes the obstacles to a compassionate world are overwhelming.
But I’m glad to hear that Malcolm somehow survived the system so you could find him! He sounds like a character. Have you ever tried walking him on a leash/halter? Sounds like he might enjoy it. Or those strollers for cats? (They seem absurd, and yet I bet at least some cats love them!)
Oh and I hadn’t seen that Charley video either but it’s SO great!!
I love that video! Thanks to Charley’s guardian and whomever else for making it and educating others. Cats with Cerebellar Hypoplasia ROCK! I have 3 “wobblers”…siblings Rocky and Adrian and their pal, Sasha. They are amazing individuals, each with their own unique walk and wobbles! They forge through life with the same vigor as my other cats. If they fall or stumble, they just keep moving. Failure is not in their vocabulary, only perseverance. They truly have wonderful lessons to teach us.
I love that, “wobblers”! I had been looking at a pair of siblings with CH on petfinder before I ended up adopting Tristan (a feral kitten) and then Jake. The Charley video really inspired me, and if you look online for info on CH you always find endless testimonials from people (like you!) who have amazing stories to share about their “wobblers” and how rewarding it is to live with them. It definitely put a soft spot in my heart for cats with CH! Glad to hear about your three, they sound inspiring!