Woman kissing head of orange cat

We Rescue Cats to Rescue People

“We Rescue Cats to Rescue People” – Rock N’ Rescue’s motto and truth.  RnR believes that cats (like music and art) can be an alternative therapy for individuals with emotional and/or physical issues.  While dogs are often seen as the “go to” pet for those needing animal therapy, cats can be the better solution for many individuals.  Forget the stereotypical cat!  You know what we are talking about – the cat that only comes to you when it wants to, aloof and independent, the cat that hides under the sofa and is rarely seen, the cat that bites when you touch certain body parts, the cat that dislikes other pets and small children.  These are NOT typical Rock N’ Rescue cats, nor should ANY cat be put into these categories just for being a cat.  If you are that person that believes that cats are only like the latter descriptions, then you just haven’t met the right cat.  Despite so many cats being euthanized in shelters across the country, many of those are not feral or anti-social, but rather euthanized due to lack of space or even a minor kitty sniffle.  Just think if we classified dogs in the same way – there are many dogs that are scared, aggressive, not good with others, nippers/biters etc…  that we adopt happily and train to make them accommodate our vision of a perfect dog despite them being imperfect.  We allow them to have their faults, and yet cats don’t often get the same courtesy despite being able to be trained out of problem behaviors.

            So let’s get back to those special cats – the ones that make a non-cat person go rogue!  Who is “that cat” – the one you have in your life that makes you realize that cats are uber cool, fun and your best friend?  For Rock N’ Rescue, a cat’s temperament test includes the following top 3 traits:

  1. Loves to be loved.  This is a cat that seeks human companionship.  You know the one – the head-butting champion, the purring motor machine, the has-to-sleep-on-your-head, the snuggler/kisser/hugger. 
  2. The “Dog-Cat”.  This is a cat that often greets you at the door, sits (and sometimes chats/plays with you) while you are working, relaxing, or even on the toilet.   This is the cat that watches tv/movies with you and just loves being by your side.
  3. Loves other pets – including children!  Not all cats love everyone – some truly love their family and prefer to be an only cat and this is fine too – but RnR tries to find those cats that love everyone.  We rarely choose a cat that just loves other cats (and hates dogs) or has issues with children.  An ideal cat for us must tolerate (or can easily learn to tolerate) other critters that might already exist at the home or might come in the future.  We understand that a human family can change in the course of a cat’s 20+ yr lifespan, which means a cat needs to adjust to future family members – human or otherwise.

Once we know a cat fits these top 3 traits, we know THAT cat is the one that MUST be saved.  It’s not about color or breed or age, it’s about THAT cat that warms your heart and makes you smile, that cat who will become the love of someone’s life and vice versa.  We know from all the feedback from all of our adopters that our testing works – it is often we hear them tell us “this cat has to be the best cat EVER that you have rescued because we can’t believe he/she could be any more perfect.” Rescuing THAT cat, we also no rescue THAT person each and every day, because happiness is what it’s all about.  Live.  Love.  Rock.  Adopt.

  • Juli Cialone, Founder, Executive Director