I'm one of those. I'd been cat-free for nearly ten years mainly because I was doing a lot of travelling. I'd tell people it would be irresponsible of me to own so much as a potted plant. Then when the Corona Virus hit, I realized I wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while.
In May I adopted an older cat, age 17. The vet at the shelter was brutally honest about the cat's health conditions (thyroid and kidney issues) but I'd dealt with those things in the past, so I was fine. The vet said this cat might live two months or two years. She clearly wanted me to know what I was in for. Alas, the cat lasted three and a half weeks. I'm very glad I had her for even such a short time.
Then I dithered about another cat, all the while checking the cat listings on the local shelter's website. Sure enough, a Siamese lynx point (cross between Siamese and tabby) showed up and I kept on looking at her. After a bit she went on an adoption hold. And stayed there. After a couple of weeks I sent an email to put me on a waitlist for the cat, and to my happy surprise I got a call the very next day that the most recent potential adopter had cancelled the appointment. It turned out that two different people had looked at her, and two others had cancelled appointments. If you believe in fate, this was meant to be.
She's been with me just a bit over three and a half weeks. This cat is much younger, only four, or so the shelter estimated as her age. She came as a stray, but clearly had spent most of her life in a good home. She's lively and feisty, talkative like most Siamese. I wish she were more of a cuddler or a lap cat, but she's wonderful as is.
I have a friend who lives in Seattle who is trying to adopt a dog, but all the pooches she has applied for recently have been snatched up before she can come to the top of the list.
So while people will be forced to give up their precious dogs and cats in these trying times, I think that right now there are a lot of people adopting. Which is good.
A while back, as in ten plus years ago, I did volunteer work at an animal shelter. I started working with cat socializing, but since I am actually extremely cat allergic I just couldn't continue doing that, and wound up working the reception desk on weekends. The very best part of that was that I got to appreciate dogs. The facility was such that the dog walkers had to come past the reception desk, and every single dog wanted to greet every single human on the way in and out. It gave me a wonderful insight into the nature of dogs and their connection to humans.
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