I don’t like pictures of animals in cages, especially ones that are clearly behind bars. But while I was photographing cats available for adoption at Miss Kitty’s Rescue last week I decided to take a few “behind the bars” images, and I’ll hesitantly share them here.
The reason for sharing them is simple: living in cages is the reality for many cats. There are simply too many cats, and not enough loving enough homes for them all.
Awesome cats like Oliver and Trista end up being born feral or getting tossed out onto the street by an unloving owner. If they’re lucky, they’re picked up by a rescue like Miss Kitty’s, who befriends them and sees if they could make a good pet. If they can make a good pet they live in a foster home for some time, then move to a cage at a display location like Petsmart in the hopes that someone will adopt them, enduring the hundreds of kids and dogs that knock on their cage’s window and bark at them. And that’s if they’re lucky.
Won’t you help?
When you do want a new companion, adopt a pet in need (not from a breeder). But if you can’t adopt right now, you can also help spread the word about pets in need of adoption. You could also volunteer to help at your local rescue or shelter; they’re always looking for good people (and if you’re a photographer, see if they want a volunteer photographer). Or donate to organizations like the Humane Society, an organization that works to, among other things, fund efforts to spay and neuter cats and dogs to help reduce the pet overpopulation problem.
Whatever you do, just make it so that I don’t need to take pictures of cats in need of a home anymore.
Both of these cats (as of this writing) are currently available for adoption through Miss Kitty’s Rescue in Costa Mesa, CA. For more information on the rescue, and to find out how to adopt them, contact Mindy at misskittysrescue@yahoo.com.
More kitties?
To see more cats available for adoption at Miss Kitty’s Rescue in Orange County, CA, head to my cats available for adoption in Orange County, CA page.
To see more cat pictures I’ve taken, you can see a list of all of my pet posts, or head straight to my pets portfolio page.