IT TAKES one to love one. That’s the message for seniors from the Cat Protection Society of Victoria, which is encouraging older people to consider the benefits of adopting older cats.
Its shelter in Greensborough almost always has a mature-age feline in need of a loving home.
The society says that with their generally more placid and quiet nature, adult cats make wonderful companions for retirees.
Happy to cuddle up on the couch or sit quietly by their owner, they are low maintenance, usually toilet- and house-trained, and demand far less attention and play time than their younger counterparts.
One such adoptee is Nillumbik resident Jay, who visited the shelter and felt an immediate connection with Phoenix, who was found abandoned in a burnt-down house a few months ago, and who, like her, is deaf.
Phoenix reciprocated the love and fell straight to sleep in her arms.
Since then, Phoenix has settled in well to her new home, and Jay thanked the society for uniting the pair.
“It would be nice for people to see that older cats can adapt so well when they’re adopted... and hearing-impaired ones, too!” she said. “I’m deaf and I love having a cat that understands me.”
Adopting an adult cat costs $80 for a feline aged one-six years and $70 for a cat seven years and older.
That includes desexing if required, microchipping, current vaccination, worming and defleaing, a cat carry box and two weeks’ health cover.
- The society, at 200 Elder Street, Greensborough, is open Monday-Friday 10am-4pm and weekends 10am-3pm.
(03) 8457-6500, www.catprotection.com.au