Do Rescue Cats Need a Matchmaker?

There are online dating sites for all sorts of humans — religious humans, hipster humans, even humans who love heavy metal! And these sites really do work — humans go on dates already knowing they have something in common, and sometimes lasting friendships and relationships form. So why not do the same for humans and cats? Wouldn’t it be helpful to know that you were looking at cats that shared your energy level, that would be happy in the space you have to offer them, that have a personality that compliments yours? There will soon be a website that does just that!

Actually PawsLikeMe.com already offers an adoption match service for dogs, and it has been working pretty well. Last year, using the first ever human-to-pet matching algorithm, they were able to connect 2 million humans with adoptable dogs using a simple quiz… and now they want to do the same for cats! The algorithm has to be retooled because, as you know, feline personality is way different from canine personality. We kitties have our own list of needs, very different from dogs — plus we are not all alike! Just look at my household — you couldn’t find three cats that are any more different than me, Binga and Boodie! In fact, let’s see what Binga and Boodie might want to look for in a human.

Binga’s ideal human…

Does what he is told
Does not mind nagging
Likes cats who are rebels and troublemakers
Follows orders promptly
Knows that cats belong on dining room tables, counters, and anywhere else they care to be
Has treats and food on hand always and shares human food — or does not mind it being stolen
Listens to complaints and modifies behavior accordingly
Other cats are okay, but only if they recognize dominance and brilliance
Did I mention obedience?

Boodie’s ideal human, on the other hand…

Must have other cats in the family
Never bothers her and leaves her alone
Okay, can grab her if she is going to pet her
Never mind, go away
Is quiet and, yes, non-grabby
Well, grabby is okay if it means petting maybe this once
Nope, would rather be left alone
Is patient about grooming and does not use restraint
Does not take her toys away when she is hunting them and screaming at 3 AM

See what I mean? Actually I’m not so sure that Binga and Boodie are ideal matches with the humans here, but they are definitely well suited for each other!

Anyhow, PawsLikeMe needs funds to add cats to their pet matching site, and they have an Indiegogo campaign that recently started which deserves your support! I think it would be really helpful for humans to do an assessment of what they are really looking for in a cat — and what they have to offer one – and then find cats who fit that. Their campaign is trying to raise $15,000 — but if they go over, they will use the extra money to supply shelters with PawsLikeMe kiosks to match adopters to pets inside the shelter! There are a variety of cool perks in this Indiegogo campaign, so check them out!

Do you think this idea is as awesome as I do? And if you kitties were able to pick your ideal human, what traits would you want?

No disclosure here — this post is completely unsolicited.
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