Deciding to bring a new pet into the home is not a decision to be taken lightly, nor is the decision where to get this pet. There are many options available to people searching for a new pet, but we hope you will consider Adoption first. Why?

Adoption Saves Lives

Animals in a rescue may be receiving adequate food and care, but that in no way means they have been "saved." Many shelters are not no-kill and therefore any animals they are not able to find homes for within a certain amount of time will be euthanized. Sad fact is that millions of animals are euthanized at shelters every year for this very reason. They have limited capacity for keeping and caring for animals and once they reach that capacity they must either turn down animals needing to be rescued, or euthanize to make room.

DFPR is a no-kill rescue, but we are not a shelter. We keep our cats in foster homes where they are cared for and treated as members of the family. All food and care expenses are covered by the foster parent. This means the foster parents also have limited capacity for taking in more rescue cats. Those already taken in are safe from being abandoned or euthanized for space, but the less room we have to take more in the less cats we can save. Many cats we are not able to take in will either be surrendered to a shelter, abandoned, or euthanized. Every cat adopted, therefore, is another cat rescued and another life saved.

Rescue vs Shelter, what's the difference?

The difference between rescues and shelters is huge, especially for the cat. In the rescue setting, as is the case for Divine Felines and many other (but not all) rescues, the cats are kept in homes and cared for by foster parents. This has many benefits for the cat including a lower-stress environment,and more people interaction and attention. The benefit for you is that you can see a true sampling of the cat's personality in a natural setting when you visit a foster home. Cats get little opportunity to show "their stuff" when they are cooped up in a cage day and night.

Shelters are high density and high stress. While we are glad they are working to take care and rehome cats in need, they do have some drawbacks that must be considered. The high density and high stress environment lends itself more easily to health or behavior problems. It is also difficult to get a good feel for the cat's true temperament while it is in a cage and feeling stressed. The shelter will do its best to place a cat in an acceptable home but because the workers do not live with the cats 24/7 and do not see the cats interact in a natural environment, their knowledge about the cat and its behaviors as well as their ability to place the cat in the best possible home is quite limited.

At DFPR we do our best to screen our potential adopters and match them with the cat that will best fit their home and personality. Happiness for both cat and owner is our biggest priority, but making sure the home will be forever is a very close second.