Is It Cruel to Abandon a Pet?
I once thought so until caring for Louie changed my way of seeing.
It’s inevitable. When people hear that I foster, they always want to know the backstory. How did the animal end up in my care? Louie came to me from a three-week stay at animal impound after he was found in a cat carrier outside a vacated home. Since he hadn’t been claimed at the crowded shelter, he was on the euthanasia list. Second Chance Animal Rescue stepped in, and I stepped up to foster.
My initial thoughts about Louie’s predicament mirrored the judgment of everyone who comments on the story. “How can someone be so cruel?”
People can be cruel. Filthy and flea-ridden Angus was thrown from a car on a busy highway. Sprout was found covered in an adhesive that had bound his fur into tight balls. Little Herbert and his litter mates were born in a stable where the horses were fed like kings, yet the owner had no interest in caring for cats or kittens. Herbie’s litter mates died from the same raging respiratory illness that claimed Herbie’s eye.
Here’s an undisputable fact I know about Louie. He had been cared for. I may not know his life story, but I do know what’s before me.
He came to me in good health and of good weight.
He was neutered.
He knows what a litter box is and uses it.
He doesn’t climb the window screens.
He’s been a gentleman around furniture, using the scratching posts and boxes instead.
He has no triggers – no biting, no batting, no hissing.
His long fur was unmatted. He leans into brushing, craving attention and affection.
My experiences with fostering pets and volunteering for human and animal welfare groups has opened my eyes to many things, including hardships people face that I could never imagine for myself nor wish for anyone else. As a volunteer for The Street Dog Coalition that helps pets of the homeless, The Bond Between pet food shelf that provides social services to pets of people in crisis, and Leech Lake Legacy animal welfare group, I can imagine some scenarios based on individuals I have met along the way.
1. Perhaps Louie’s person had been evicted from their home, and caring for Louie wouldn’t work with the limited options they had, whether to live in a car, to couch surf, or to live on the streets.
2. Maybe a single parent with no known family died. The kids were sent to foster homes. Louie was left behind.
3. If Louie’s pet parent died, was hospitalized, or moved to assisted care, there might have been no support system for Louie.
4. It’s conceivable that Louie’s person fled their home to escape domestic violence.
To willingly leave Louie in a cat carrier outside a vacant home sounds cruel, but it may have been the best someone could do under the circumstances and with the options before them.
1. It’s easy to say, “He should have been brought to a shelter.” Given the overcrowding in shelters and lack of foster homes in the rescue systems, this may have been an option that was pursued and abandoned.
2. They could have booted him out the door, leaving him to figure out how to find food, water, shelter, and companionship.
3. They could have left him to roam an empty house, hiding when someone did appear. That someone not knowing there was a cat in need of help.
4. They could have left him in the carrier in the house. Who knows how long it would have been before someone entered and found him.
5. A cat in a carrier in a front yard draws attention – which it did!
Caring for the sweet soul that is Louie has enabled me to think differently about his former life and the people who’d been in it. My heart aches for their heartache from the difficult circumstance that led to their loss.
There are a million things to be angry about in animal welfare, especially the cruelty that humans can inflict on animals and each other. Caring for Louie taught me that this is not a time for anger but of compassion.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. - Plato
If this stirred your desire to help, there are plenty of things you can do.
1. Volunteer with an animal or human welfare group. “Time” is a hot commodity that can make or break the ability of an organization to serve.
2. Donate. “Money” is another hot commodity that can make or break the ability of an organization to serve.
3. Foster a pet or a kid in need.
4. Share this post!
5. Read or share the following posts to get the information where it is needed.
If you or someone you know needs help rehoming a pet, you can find ideas in this post, Rehoming When Your Home is No Longer an Option.
ReHome by Adopt A Pet is part of the Adopt A Pet search engine used by many rescues and supported by big name retailers to help connect people and animals. This particular part of the website is specifically designed to help people rehome their pets.
Help for Your Pet When You are in Crisis includes many resources and ideas to help people struggling to feed and care for their pets.
Cindy, what a beautiful piece about perspective. We often don't think about things from the other side of the coin.
Abandonment is how my best friend came upon her last dog. Someone moved out of a home and left him behind. Fortunately, neighbors figured it out and took him in while they placed an ad to find him a new home. That's how Drake came into my friend's life for many years that followed. At 125 lbs, he was kind, well trained, gentle and lovely.
I recently rehomed my very loved and very missed 1 year old cat King Rory. It was so difficult to do, and it was done because I needed to my own health first. In making this decision, I was determined to find him a good home and I did that with the help of my vet. I wrote a bit about my experience on my Substack.