I'm only surprised this isn't intuitive: pets need love to thrive. They need a somewhat natural environment. Katie's Place has a very long list now of animals whose health and/or behaviour made them unadoptable at SPCA shelters. Just to give a few examples...

When Black Jack first came to Katie's Place, he was withdrawn and unresponsive. His file listed him as possibly semi-feral. He recovered his trust and optimism with love and attention. After he was adopted, his adopter wrote, "It was only a few days before we let Jack meet Cuddles, our resident Siamese cat. Cuddles is a tad high strung and does not welcome competition for our affection well. This was part of the attraction of what was written about Jack ["Black Jack is 22 pounds of good-natured friendliness..."] Jack has shown all the patience you described. Jack's only desire is to be Cuddles's friend. Jack is slowly winning him over, day by day."

Puma was dubious of his new circumstances when he first came into shelter care. He didn't want to make any new friends. At Katie's Place he mellowed out with time and finally made friends with someone who came looking for a new cat. His new person sent us this note: "He was a little shy at first and not too sure what to do with all the space he now had. He stuck close by to us and didn't want to go very far even to explore. But, after a few days he started to settle in and found his favourite spots. He's all comfortable and happy now and has revealed his quirky personality. He's quite chatty and always makes sure we know exactly what he thinks we should be doing! Despite all the fancy cat toys, his favourite is an old shoe lace which he'll drag over to our feet to let us know he wants us play."

Candy is a little character who came to us from another shelter when time passed and she got cranky waiting to be adopted. She was the lucky one chosen by adopters in mid-October '07. A week later, we got a report that Candy was settling in and "...that Candy is very happy at her new home. She likes to sleep on our bed at night or in the chair beside us. She is social and enjoys following us around the house."

Gizmo, who now calls himself Frodo, came to us from another shelter where he'd been so scared that he was unadoptable. He found a new home and his person sent us an update, saying, "He's happy in my little home and has become very close to me and my other kitty, Moya (you can catch them snuggling all the time). I wanted to let you know how he's doing, and to send some pictures of him all happy and healthy! :)"

Gus arrived from another shelter, too terrified and withdrawn to be adoptable. He cowered in a corner at Katie's Place too for a while but eventually proved to be a loving fellow who found a loving home. The report from his new family is, "Can't tell you how thrilled we are to have Simon (previously Gus) in our home. He is a most delightful cat.still trying to settle in.but just a sweetheart."

Ozzy was so traumatized by losing his home and suddenly being surrounded by strange cats in a strange shelter that he made himself unadoptable in his first shelter. So he came to Katie's Place. With a bit more space and time, Ozzy finally relaxed and proved to be such a great fellow that he found a new home. His family sent us a photo of Ozzy sitting contentedly beside his own bowl and water dish.

Sure they get sick. They've been taken from familiar surroundings and dumped into a strange place. But if they're given a homelike environment, they recover from illness better than in solitary confinement. Stress taxes the immune system and I'm convinced that stress is behind the illnesses and NOT exposure to germs through casual handing. Cats really seem to appreciate being with people who love them.

Not every cat is happy at Katie's Place of course. A shelter is always a poor substitute for a good home. But a shelter with social contact and stimulation is a whole lot better than a steel cage and a sterile environment. I only wish all shelters could allow the animals normal behaviours in a normal environment and love them. Even if they can't all make it out alive, they deserve at least that much in their last days. They're not inventory or product. They're companion animals. "Companion" goes two ways, we humans owe them something. Shelters have a responsibility to them. We who shelter them are supposedly providing a haven from a world that doesn't value them.